Former Obama Administration budget director Peter Orszag has not exactly worked hard to maintain friendly ties with the White House since he left his post in the summer of 2010. First, he took a job writing columns for The New York Times, the first of which ran in September 2010 and suggested extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, …
Health Care
A Closer Look at Obama’s Big Legal Win on Health Reform
The majority opinion by a 6th circuit panel Wednesday upholding Obama’s health care reform law is a victory for the administration on its face. But to understand just how big a victory it is, you have to read the concurring opinion by Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton. Sutton, a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and a …
What the Sixth Circuit Ruling Means for the Future of Health Reform
Wednesday’s appeals court ruling on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act was undoubtedly a win for the Obama Administration. The Sixth Circuit, based in Cincinnati, agreed with a previous district court ruling that the law’s individual mandate does not violate the Constitution. Challengers argued in this case, as they have in …
Republican-Appointed Judges Uphold Health Reform
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals just upheld a district court decision ruling that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional. One of the jurists on the three-judge panel was appointed by Jimmy Carter. The other two were appointed by Republican presidents – one by Ronald Reagan and one by George W. Bush – but the former included a …
What if There Was a Reasonable Compromise on Medicare?
Sen. Joe Lieberman has found an ally for the middle-of-the-road Medicare reform proposal he laid out a few weeks ago. On Tuesday, the independent Senator from Connecticut and conservative Republican Tom Coburn unveiled a tweaked version of Lieberman’s plan. They hope to build a coalition of support for the proposal, which they say …
Huntsman and Health Care: Underwhelming Reforms and the Shadow of the Individual Mandate
As health care remains a top issue in the contest to win the 2012 GOP nomination for President, candidates are working hard to build their own narratives around the issue. Mitt Romney has decided not to back away from the universal health care reforms he championed in Massachusetts, but to emphasize the difference between a state-based …
Pulling the Plug on Granny, Part 2
(This post was update at 6:35 p.m.)
Yes, we’re back here again already, with at least one Republican claiming this week that Democratic health reform will kill seniors. Sigh.
The target of the GOP attack is the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a controversial group to be appointed by the president and charged with slowing the …
Defining Pawlentycare
On the campaign trial – especially the presidential campaign trail – nuance rarely breaks through the fog of generalization. Mitt Romney is the frontrunner and a flip-flopper on the issues. Michele Bachmann is the Tea Party …
McKinsey Comes Clean About Its Controversial Insurance Study
Nearly two weeks after the consulting firm McKinsey released a study claiming one-third of businesses would drop insurance benefits once health reform kicks in, the company has disclosed how they generated that figure. This disclosure is welcome news. Other studies have not predicted a mass disruptions of the employer-based health …
The McKinsey Study Controversy: Max Baucus Jumps In
Last week, I expressed some skepticism about a study produced by McKinsey consultants claiming that 30% of employers will stop offering health insurance to their workers as a result of health reform. This high percentage is an outlier and so I was interested in how exactly McKinsey came up with this figure. The company wouldn’t say. …
Some Medicare Ideas Worth Considering
Maybe Joe Lieberman was feeling left out of the current debt ceiling and budget fight. That might explain why the independent Ssenator from Connecticut has chosen this moment to offer a new plan to reform Medicare. Lieberman laid out his proposal in a recent Washington Post op-ed. The headline, “How Medicare Can Be Saved,” is a stretch …
Some Healthy Skepticism of the McKinsey Study on Employer Insurance
Yesterday, numerous news outlets – including the Wall Street Journal and Reuters – published stories about a startling new study claiming that some 30% of employers plan to stop offering health insurance to workers as a result of the Affordable Care Act. There’s no doubt that this figure, derived form a study conducted by McKinsey …
Health Care Lawsuits: Why the 11th Circuit Might Matter More
Updated at 3:20 p.m.
The Affordable Care Act was back in court on Wednesday, with the government and a coalition of 26 states presenting arguments in an Atlanta courtroom for and against the constitutionality of the law. Oral …
