Archive for the ‘Health Care’ Category

Give Employees the Right to Choose Health Insurance

Because health insurance costs are increasing dramatically, some employers are switching from a plan that covers all employees for a specified cost to a cafeteria-type plan in which the employee chooses a particular plan that fits their needs. The average annual family health insurance plan costs an...
November 27th, 2012 | Health Care | Read More

Military Health Care Under the Knife

It would seem as if the overall intent of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is to eventually morph into a single payer government health insurance program. This can be largely accomplished by rendering three major health care programs unsustainable and by significantly lowering participation by medical...
October 25th, 2012 | Health Care | Read More

Health Savings Accounts Empower People

Alaska seems to be a predictor of health care in the future under the Affordable Care Act. We have a very limited market for healthcare, limits on accessibility, limits on number of providers and a generally small market overall. As we know, this leads to many difficulties: few primary care physicians...
October 9th, 2012 | Health Care | Read More

Parnell’s rejection of a state exchange

It’s always important to give praise where praise is due, and Governor Parnell deserves praise for making a right call on Exchanges. If you haven’t been following this issue, here’s the quick version: The proponents of Obamacare needed a way to force businesses to offer health insurance coverage...
August 1st, 2012 | Fiscal Policy, Health Care | Read More

Obamacare Exchanges Are a Poor Fiscal Decision

As part of Obamacare, the federal government requires Alaska to set up what is called a Health Insurance Exchange. Alaska Policy Forum has raised awareness of the problems it would create for Alaskans here and here. There are a lot of assumptions floating around about Health Insurance Exchanges that...
March 23rd, 2012 | Health Care, Recent News | Read More

Quick Answers on Obamacare

On Friday, March 9 2012, Jeremy Thompson and David Boyle from the Alaska Policy Forum interviewed Michael Cannon, Director of Health Care Policy Studies at the Cato Institute about Obamacare and its effect on the economy and women, the hospital lobby’s support for the law and health care exchanges....
March 21st, 2012 | Health Care | Read More

Alaska Health Care Exchange – Pros and Cons

This document explores some responses from people who may favor of the State of Alaska building an Obamacare Exchange. (Read more…)
February 23rd, 2012 | Health Care, Recent News | Read More

How the governor can protect Alaskans from federal overreach on healthcare

The problem: How can the state stop the federal government from imposing penalties on private businesses, health plans, churches, and religious groups for refusing to pay for services that violate their conscience? What can be done: Governor Parnell should protect all Alaskans by refusing to set up what...
February 22nd, 2012 | Health Care | Read More

Is Massachusetts Health Care a Microcosm for Alaska?

(New England Journal of Medicine) Massachusetts was the first state to enact near-universal health care coverage in 2006. Since then, premiums have increased and employment in the health care occupations (excluding nurses) and patient care occupations has risen dramatically. This rise in administrative/ancillary...
October 6th, 2011 | Health Care, National Health Care Reform Legislation | Read More

Medicare Actuary: Obamacare will triple the net growth rate of health care costs

From the Apothecary blog over at Forbes.com: The Office of the Actuary in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently put out its annual projections of national health care spending. And, contrary to the President, the actuaries find that Obamacare will dramatically increase the near-term...
August 10th, 2011 | Health Care, Recent News | Read More

Rethinking the dogma of Electronic Health Records

Alaska has made significant investments in the infrastructure needed for Electronic Health Records, but will EHR’s deliver on the grand promises made? From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: For an industry that relies on data and evidence-based measurements to make decisions on the clinical and pharmaceutical...
August 9th, 2011 | Health Care | Read More

Building the Federal Obamacare Exchange: Should Alaska Do It?

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unpopular, unwieldy, expensive, likely unconstitutional, and will shortly be a prime target for repeal. The dilemma for Governor Parnell is that the law is written with the assumption that the state will be burdened with the execution of many of its worst ideas. ACA...
April 8th, 2011 | Health Care, Recent News | Read More

Is Health Care Reform Unraveling?

Grace-Marie Turner outlines ten reasons she thinks that the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is unraveling: 1. State pushback 2. Voter rejection 3. Lawsuits 4. Rising costs 5. Towering deficits 6. Seniors hit hard 7. Millions losing coverage 8. Job-killing mandates 9. Companies searching for exits 10....
October 26th, 2010 | Health Care, National Health Care Reform Legislation, Recent News | Read More

Broken Promises: Cutting Medicare to Pay for Health Care Reform

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or the recent health care law, was rushed through the political process and touted as deficit neutral legislation. One of the of the ways it was supposed to pay for itself was through cuts in other programs. Devon Herrick from the National Center for Policy...
September 20th, 2010 | Health Care, Recent News | Read More

State health care exchanges of 2014

(NCPA) With examples from Massachusetts’ “Commonwealth Connector” law and California’s proposed health care exchange, NCPA explains one of the new health care law’s requirements and what it means to you. Read the article <here>
September 10th, 2010 | Health Care | Read More

Utah: Reforming health care since 2005

(Heritage Foundation) Utah continues its five-year-old health care reform plan, scheduled to take full effect in the fast approaching 2011 year, all while continuing the fight against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Portable plans for employees of small businesses is just one of the...
August 26th, 2010 | Health Care | Read More
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