November 2009 Archives

The health policy team at the Urban Institute is out with a new paper arguing that health reform legislation will do little to constrain costs unless it includes the threat of a government-run program that unilaterally imposes rates the way Medicare does that providers who now serve Medicare patients would be required to participate in.The mere threat of such a strong public plan might be adequate to induce change, the ...
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One reason Congressional leaders are elected is that they can competently count an upcoming vote.  That skill stays with them and explains why they seldom bring major legislation to a vote without confidence that it will ultimately pass.Given such precedents, the perils-of-Pauline press coverage that health reform proposals have been receiving leads to an obvious question -  who doesn't get it, those producing the news or those consuming it?  Reporters ...
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We don't need intercepted dispatches to know there are intense discussions going on now about our national policy -- the marching orders are posted for all to see.  In the past couple of weeks, Markos Moulitsas has openly instructed the followers of his blog, the DailyKos, against donating to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). "If you've got money to give to House races, give directly to those who are fighting for ...
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House passage of health reform legislation is very good news.  It is particularly important for those of us who've done such a conscientious job cataloguing the flaws in this bill - and the foibles of Washington politics generally -- to acknowledge that.      The good news lies in the fact that millions of Americans whose health is at risk because they are uninsured will get insurance coverage.  Its worth mentioning ...
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With billions of taxpayer dollars propping up the largest financial institutions amid news stories about record bonuses on Wall Street and forecasts for a "jobless recovery" at best, there are a lot of good reasons to doubt the core promises of the capitalist system these days.  Populist anger abounds and two movies in theaters now are helping bring the evils of capitalism into focus; "The Yes Men Fix The World" ...
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There is growing reason to believe that new health reforms will do little to constrain costs in the short-run and minimal confidence they will significantly bend the cost increase curve over the longer period. The message is clear -- even tools that experts say are too modest to get the job done are the subject of ongoing opposition.  Optimists who report impressive results think systemic change will take decades. It is possible that ...
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