Our Health Policy Matters

A person who was unhappy with the outcome of the election suggested that the voters gave President Obama a “Mulligan” on election day – a second chance to do things right.  That’s one way to look at it. But if you belief that, then you also have to say the same thing about the divided Congress – it, too, was being given at least one more chance to get things right. That means agreeing to the surprisingly little compromise on which the future of Medicare will depend. It’s hard to understand how two sides looking at the same reality and sharing the same goals could be so far apart in coming to an agreement about what to do.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the Medicare program debate. Both sides acknowledge that Medicare is as popular as any entitlement, is as well run as any health insurance program, and addresses a need that is only going to grow in the coming years. They also agree on certain facts.  The first is that Medicare hasn’t yet cont...

A person who was unhappy with the outcome of the election suggested that the voters gave President Obama a “Mulligan” on election day – a second chance to do things right.  That’s one way to look at it. But if you belief that, then you also have to say the same thing about the divided Congress – it, too, was being given at least one more chance to get things right. That means agreeing to the surprisingly little compromise on which the future of Medicare will depend. It’s hard to understand how two sides looking at the same reality and sharing the same goals could be so far apart in coming to an agreement about what to do.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the Medicare program debate. Both sides acknowledge that Medicare is as popular as any entitlement, is as well run as any health insurance program, and addresses a need that is only going to grow in the coming years. They also agree on certain facts.  The first is that Medicare hasn’t yet cont...

It was hard to witness the embarrassing spectacle of politicians responding to the credit downgrade by circling their firing squad yet again. I’d like to see some grown-ups emerge from the mess.   But I’m not holding my breath. Sources: CBO, GIH, KFF, CDC, NAPH Our debt problem was caused by tax cuts that didn’t create jobs, wars for which we didn’t pay, and an unsustainable and under-regulated financial bubble that burst .   It wasn’t caused by entitlements. Despite this, politicians are pushing entitlement myths and reforms.   But in the unsteady hands of this unstable Congress, entitlement reform could result in a health and mental health care Armageddon that could blow us all back into the 19 th century – the stone age of modern medicine. The Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds still have surpluses.   They aren’t responsible for the debt.   In fact, Social Security Trust Funds hold U.S. debt, just like China. We can do two things about futur...

It was hard to witness the embarrassing spectacle of politicians responding to the credit downgrade by circling their firing squad yet again. I’d like to see some grown-ups emerge from the mess.   But I’m not holding my breath. Sources: CBO, GIH, KFF, CDC, NAPH Our debt problem was caused by tax cuts that didn’t create jobs, wars for which we didn’t pay, and an unsustainable and under-regulated financial bubble that burst .   It wasn’t caused by entitlements. Despite this, politicians are pushing entitlement myths and reforms.   But in the unsteady hands of this unstable Congress, entitlement reform could result in a health and mental health care Armageddon that could blow us all back into the 19 th century – the stone age of modern medicine. The Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds still have surpluses.   They aren’t responsible for the debt.   In fact, Social Security Trust Funds hold U.S. debt, just like China. We can do two things about fu...

The debt ceiling and deficit reduction command the attention of Congress this week.   Its members are trying to find trillions of dollars of cuts to balance the budget. So why are some members of Congress trying to do something that is guaranteed to increase the already sky-high cost of the Medicaid program?   Do they want to drive us further into debt? The Senate Gang of Six wants to deep six the CLASS Act before it takes effect.   The CLASS Act is the new national long term care insurance program that will take effect next year.   It will cost the federal government nothing and is projected to save the Medicaid program billions of dollars. The Medicaid program, as most U.S. citizens now know, is a federal/state partnership resulting in different plans in every state.   In 2010, roughly 55 million people were insured through state Medicaid programs.   If they were all combined into one plan, Medicaid today would be the single largest health insurer in...

The debt ceiling and deficit reduction command the attention of Congress this week.   Its members are trying to find trillions of dollars of cuts to balance the budget. So why are some members of Congress trying to do something that is guaranteed to increase the already sky-high cost of the Medicaid program?   Do they want to drive us further into debt? The Senate Gang of Six wants to deep six the CLASS Act before it takes effect.   The CLASS Act is the new national long term care insurance program that will take effect next year.   It will cost the federal government nothing and is projected to save the Medicaid program billions of dollars. The Medicaid program, as most U.S. citizens now know, is a federal/state partnership resulting in different plans in every state.   In 2010, roughly 55 million people were insured through state Medicaid programs.   If they were all combined into one plan, Medicaid today would be the single largest health insurer in...

The U.S. debt debate is heating up as Congress and the President argue about the “cut, cap, and balance” plan and move closer to the August 2 nd deadline to raise the debt ceiling. The debt debate is important.   Our U.S. debt is now over $14 trillion, and we need to do something about it.   But Medicare cuts are on the table, and war spending is not. So I would like to propose a switch.   Take Medicare cuts off the table, and put war cuts on it. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost this country over $1.2 trillion since 2001.   The debt ceiling wouldn’t even be an issue if it weren’t for these, because we never paid for them.   We got the two men we wanted.   It’s time to pay the bill and get out. On the other hand, the 2011 summary of the annual report of the Medicare Trust Fund trustees shows that we still have surpluses in the Medicare Trust Funds.   The Medicare Part A Trust Fund had $271.9 billion in it in 2010.   The Part B and...

The U.S. debt debate is heating up as Congress and the President argue about the “cut, cap, and balance” plan and move closer to the August 2 nd deadline to raise the debt ceiling. The debt debate is important.   Our U.S. debt is now over $14 trillion, and we need to do something about it.   But Medicare cuts are on the table, and war spending is not. So I would like to propose a switch.   Take Medicare cuts off the table, and put war cuts on it. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost this country over $1.2 trillion since 2001.   The debt ceiling wouldn’t even be an issue if it weren’t for these, because we never paid for them.   We got the two men we wanted.   It’s time to pay the bill and get out. On the other hand, the 2011 summary of the annual report of the Medicare Trust Fund trustees shows that we still have surpluses in the Medicare Trust Funds.   The Medicare Part A Trust Fund had $271.9 billion in it in 2010.   The Part B and...

Obesity rates in America are higher than ever. This is the conclusion in a new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report entitled F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future .    Released last week, the document notes that one-third of children and two-thirds of adults are now obese or overweight.   Obesity is no minor health matter.   It is linked to disease, disability, and premature death. The report received some media attention for a couple of days, but then we had our fill of it.   It faded into the news background largely because we’ve heard the story before.   No one disputes the two major causes of obesity in America.   Americans take in too many calories, and work off too few. If we accept these causes at face value, the story ends as we decide that weight is a matter of individual – not governmental – responsibility.   The individual choice argument is a powerful one for those who do not think that the government needs to “int...

Obesity rates in America are higher than ever. This is the conclusion in a new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report entitled F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future .    Released last week, the document notes that one-third of children and two-thirds of adults are now obese or overweight.   Obesity is no minor health matter.   It is linked to disease, disability, and premature death. The report received some media attention for a couple of days, but then we had our fill of it.   It faded into the news background largely because we’ve heard the story before.   No one disputes the two major causes of obesity in America.   Americans take in too many calories, and work off too few. If we accept these causes at face value, the story ends as we decide that weight is a matter of individual – not governmental – responsibility.   The individual choice argument is a powerful one for those who do not think that the government needs to “int...