Centered Politics: March 2009 Archives

Making a Good Budget Better

By AliceRivlin on March 30, 2009 12:07 PM

President Obama sent Congress a bold budget reflecting the values of his campaign and the dire economic straits he inherited. This plan would, however, raise deficits to unsustainable levels well after the economy recovers. Now Congress has a chance to make the budget better by reducing the long-term deficits. Or it could make it worse. The president's budget reflects the candidate's diagnosis of America's economic ills and offers good remedies. ...
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Civil Service Health Plan Not Part of the Solution

By Jim Jaffe - Health Care Editor on March 23, 2009 12:03 PM

Allowing America's uninsured access to the health plans offered Members of Congress--along with everyone else on the Federal payroll - may help those who can afford it although many would probably find the premiums beyond their reach, to say nothing of the subsequent deductible and copay requirements. Campaign rhetoric notwithstanding, Members of Congress are in the same insurance program that covers other Federal workers, although they also have access to ...
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Comparing Public Opinion on Health Care Reform 1993 and 2009 -- is this a New Day or just Groundhog Day?

By Sheri Rivlin and Allan Rivlin on March 16, 2009 8:25 PM

Remember 1993? Snoop Dogg was on the radio. Grunge ruled the world of fashion, and one of the top movies was "Groundhog Day" where Bill Murray had to relive the same day over again until he figured out just what he had to offer the world and finally got it right. A charismatic young Democrat had just been elected President promising, among other things, to reform a broken ...
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You Can't Always Get What You Want

By Jim Jaffe - Health Care Editor on March 14, 2009 8:21 PM

The Obama administration wants to guarantee that all Americans can afford the medical care they need. No one argues with that goal. Unfortunately, no one agrees on a definition of need either. Defining what we need is a difficult and delicate chore that won't be advanced by the rhetorical food fights we enjoy on cable. That's what the failed managed care experiment of the l990s was all about. It was ...
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Reform Lessons

By Jim Jaffe - Health Care Editor on March 8, 2009 8:05 PM

The great botched experiment in health reform casting a shadow over today's debate is not the failed Clinton initiative, but the subsequent temporary embrace of managed care. Today's environment is very different, because the old idea of promoting evidence-based medicine is now being linked by policy makers to the creation and reliance upon new government research which will involve culling through computerized patient records. This means that the stage has ...
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Health Reform - The End of the Beginning

By Jim Jaffe - Health Care Editor on March 4, 2009 9:02 AM

This week's White House session on reforming America's health system marks the end of the beginning of a simple idea that has finally become a key part of the debate -that a massive amount of our medical spending is wasted and explains why we spend more and are less healthy than people who live elsewhere. This is a big idea. Experts estimate that costs could be cut by at least ...
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Come and join the First Centered Politics/Zej Media "Centered Salon", where we will exchange ideas and opinions about politics, social media, and life.

By Sun Bear on March 3, 2009 11:50 PM

March 2009 Archives