Remember when President Barack Obama said that passage of the Affordable Care Act would save middle class families $2,500 a year on their health insurance premiums? Obama claimed much of that savings would come from taxing so-called “Cadillac plans” that gave the rich “overly generous” benefits, and using that windfall to help fund Obamacare....
Deane Waldman, M.D., M.B.A., is director of the Center for Health Care Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. As Republican senators look to scrape together the votes for a deal on health care, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is pushing his own proposal. He calls it “Medicare for All,” and it has already...
Once again, California has the highest poverty rate in the nation, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report. A little more than 1 in 5 Californians—20.4 percent—live in poverty. The national average is 14.7 percent according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure which accounts for regional cost-of-living differences, out-of-pocket medical expenses and other items, unlike...
Owners and guests of short-term and vacation rentals in Texas recently racked up another win at the 3rd Texas Court of Appeals. On August 22, the Austin court joined a growing list of state appellate courts to hold that renting your home out for short periods of time does not magically transform it into a commercial enterprise...
Though not perfect, NAFTA has increased prosperity and improved the lives of millions of Americans through greater competition, affordable products, and wealth and job creation. Potential renegotiations of NAFTA could deter these gains if the deal doesn’t include reducing both trade barriers and government favoritism for certain industries. Consider that Mexico has long maintained...
Liberal California and conservative Texas are different in many ways – including their poverty rates. California’s poverty rate is 20.4 percent and the Texas rate is only 14.7 percent, based on the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which accounts for the regional cost of living, out-of-pocket medical expenses and other items. Why the dramatic difference in poverty...
History suggests that, when citizens come to deeply distrust their country’s institutions, the cancer of political degeneration may be taking hold. In America, cynicism appears to have metastasized to such an extent that it is now afflicting high schools. At least that’s the conclusion suggested by Jessica Contrera’s recent Washington Post piece. Contrera reports that, in...
Hurricane Harvey recovery, especially for the families of the 70 Texans who lost their lives, will take years. The economic impact is also staggering. Early estimates show this storm could cost $190 billion in lost economic output, according to AccuWeather, roughly 14 percent of the state’s personal income and 1 percent of the nation’s total gross domestic product. In addition,...
If you ask anyone, regardless of their political views, who they would rather have behind bars awaiting trial: Someone who poses a threat to society but can afford to pay their way out of jail, or someone who poses little to no threat to society but can’t afford to get out jail? It’d likely...
ObamaCare has created a mess in healthcare. Care is less available, insurance is unaffordable, and the country is heading toward bankruptcy. With Washington hopelessly gridlocked, how can Americans get in to a doctor’s office before they die waiting in line? There is a way to get relief from ObamaCare’s expensive mandates. States can apply for waivers, which temporarily and partially...
So many narratives about healthcare abound, it is hard to understand why no one seems able to fix healthcare. Here are nine examples of commonly accepted wisdom: eight are false; one is true. Washington must stabilize insurance market The latest talk in Washington is a need to stabilize the insurance market with additional, cost-sharing subsidies. The market...
Remember when President Barack Obama said that passage of the Affordable Care Act would save middle class families $2,500 a year on their health insurance premiums? Obama claimed much of that savings would come from taxing so-called “Cadillac Plans” that gave the rich “overly generous” benefits, and using that windfall to help fund Obamacare....