Quote of the day

Marcus Davies, an official of the Saskatchewan Medical Society, on the difference between Canadians and Americans:
Us Canadians, we’re kind of understated by nature.  We don’t go around chanting ‘We’re No. 1!’ But you know, there are two areas where we feel superior to the U.S.: hockey and health care.”
The quote comes from an article in [...]

Whew

What an unbelievable relief to have Peter Orszag at the Office of Management and Budget.  Here he is introducing Obama’s first budget:
“The single most important thing we can do to improve the long-term fiscal health of our nation is to slow the growth in healthcare costs.  …the path to fiscal responsibility must pass directly through [...]

No compromise

In his blog Paul Krugman makes the point that the stimulus bill before Congress isn’t going to end up with bipartisan support.  The GOP wants tax cuts and the Democrats want spending.  The difference of opinion isn’t so much a debate over the proper course of action, it’s a “collision of fundamentally incompatible world views”.  [...]

Chart of the day

This is kind of fun.
The economists at the Center for Economic and Policy Research have put together an interactive chart demonstrating the effect of healthcare spending on the federal budget.  You can look at the federal budget as projected by the Congressional Budget Office—and recoil in horror as the deficit, which has bubbled along at [...]

Health care stimulus

One of the strange things about our current economic situation is that, over the long run we need to save MORE, but over the short-term we are saving TOO MUCH.  Over the past ten years or so we have been saving almost nothing and consuming with borrowed money.  And the borrowing was against an illusory [...]

Fear Disbelief Relief

No posts since November 2.  What happened?  I think I’ve been going through the 3 stages of political grief (in reverse).
At first it was Fear that despite polls, Obama wouldn’t win.  Then, Disbelief that he actually won.  Then Relief that someone with brains, maturity, and a coherent value system is actually going to be running [...]

Accountant vs. Tsunami

Apparently America’s chief accountant, David Walker, is now a movie star. From the NY Times:
The movie, “I.O.U.S.A.,” debuting Aug. 21, is an 87-minute alarum on what it calls the tsunami of debt bearing down on the United States’ future, caused by the rising national deficit, the trade imbalance and the pending costs of baby [...]

War on Healthcare

Today’s word: medical underwriting. “the use of medical or health status information in the evaluation of an applicant for coverage”
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As I’ve pointed out before McCain’s healthcare plan relies heavily on state-run high-risk pools; it would essentially eliminate employer-sponsored group insurance by making group premiums non-deductible for employers. Everyone would be given a tax [...]

Of helmets and healthcare

Joe Paduda had an interesting post the other day on the limits of personal choice:
There are few issues that do more to crystalize the balance between personal freedom and personal responsibility than motorcycle helmet laws.
Twenty states require motorcyclists to wear helmets.. . Opponents of helmet laws see it is a personal choice and often claim [...]

Medicare Smackdown

As we progressives dream of universal health coverage, one overriding fear clouds the horizon. Who can take on the health insurance lobby? Based on a vote in the House of Representatives last week, one worthy opponent appears to be American Medical Association. The House voted Tuesday on a plan to restrain Medicare [...]