Health Policy Digest - February 09, 2010

February 09, 2010

CAN'T AFFORD HEALTH INSURANCE? CONSIDER THE ALTERNATIVES

Walk-in clinics, often located in big retailers like Wal-Mart and Target and staffed by nurse practitioners, are becoming more popular thanks to their convenient locations and no-appointment-necessary policy, according to Devon Herrick, a senior fellow for the National Center for Policy Analysis...

FOXBUSINESS.COM

A TRUE ROADMAP TO FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY

Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) "Roadmap for America's Future Act of 2010," would bring down premiums and the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, according to the Congressional Budget Office...

HERITAGE FOUNDATION

WHAT COSTS $282 MILLION AN HOUR?

Government health programs are a growing burden on the federal budget, which is running annual deficits of more than $1 trillion, and rising health costs continue to batter private industry, say federal actuaries...

WALL STREET JOURNAL

WHAT HAPPENS IF NOTHING HAPPENS TO HEALTH CARE?

Without some big change, health care will amount to 19.3 percent of gross domestic product by 2019, predicts the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services...

WALL STREET JOURNAL/URBAN INSTITUTE

MICHIGAN TAXPAYERS SPEND $2 BILLION FOR TEACHERS' HEALTH CARE

Moving all Michigan public school employees into a state-run high-deductible Health Savings Account plan would save the state $451 million in the first year and roughly $26 billion over the next decade, according to the Mackinac Center...

HEARTLAND INSTITUTE