Health Policy Digest - October 6, 2009

October 06, 2009

OBAMA'S HEALTH INSURANCE TAX: COMING SOON TO ALL POLICIES

In six years, the average family health insurance policy, now projected to cost $25,000, will, in fact, cost $35,000 due to the Obama-Baucus tax, say Dick Morris, a former adviser to Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and President Bill Clinton; and Eileen McGann, an attorney and consultant...

THE HILL

THE BAUCUS HEALTH BILL: A MEDICARE PHYSICIAN PAYMENT SHELL GAME

Fixing the Medicare physician payment fee schedule would cost $200 billion over 10 years, says researcher Dennis G. Smith...

HERITAGE FOUNDATION

LAWSUIT ABUSE REFORM IS WORKING FOR FLORIDA

Applied nationwide, lawsuit abuse reform could shave billions of dollars off the nation's health care bills while improving the quality of patient care, says N. Michael Helvacian, a senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis...

WASHINGTON EXAMINER

HEALTH CO-OPS AREN"T THE ANSWER

If we want greater competition in health care, then we should allow health plans to compete across state lines and reduce the number of mandated benefits states impose on them, says Dr. William Winkenwerder, a health care consultant...

WALL STREET JOURNAL

SWISS HEALTH CARE THRIVES WITHOUT PUBLIC OPTION

As a potential model for the United States, the Swiss health care system involves some important trade-offs that American consumers, insurers and health care providers might find hard to swallow, say observers...

NEW YORK TIMES

EMPOWER PATIENTS FIRST ACT: ANOTHER SERIOUS CONSERVATIVE HEALTH PLAN

Rep. Tom Price's (R-Ga.) "Empower Patients First Act," would fix the unfairness in the tax treatment of health insurance by extending a tax credit or deduction to those without employer-sponsored insurance...

HERITAGE FOUNDATION