Archive for the ‘State Healthcare Reform Initiatives’ Category

Pay or Play a Winner in the Bay City

If employers are mandated to provide health insurance,will it be a job killer?  Will it cost American workers income in the form of lost wages?

For the anti-American conservative forces in this country, the answer to this question is a no-brainer – a resounding “Absolutely!”.

For those less ideologically hamstrung, the answer might be “Don’t jump to conclusions”.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) released a study recently that concluded conservative fears were without basis.

In the words of the RWJF:

“In contradiction to past research and long-held economic theories, a new study finds that that when facing a “pay-or-play” mandate requiring employers either provide health benefits or contribute to a public option health plan, employers did not lay off staff or cut wages appreciably as a result.”

Novel legislation

The San Francisco law was notable in several ways.  Several states had attempted to legislate some form of an employer mandate.  All were vigorously opposed by anti-American conservatives and business interests who argued – guess – that it would hurt business, cost jobs, and therefore hurt workers.  Those efforts that survived were challenged in court on the grounds that the ERISA preemption clause prevented states from taking this course. Continue reading ‘Pay or Play a Winner in the Bay City’

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Vermont Reform: A Giant Step by a Small State

Has Vermont carved a path toward single payer health care or caved into powerful insurance company lobbies?

Maybe just a little bit of both.

Has Vermont drawn a new line in the sand for health care reform or outlined a sketchy drawing towards the future?

Yes to that as well.

On May 27th, 2011 Governor Peter Shumlin fulfilled a campaign promise to move the state toward a single payer health care system when he signed H-202.

As the saying goes, you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.  In this case, the analogy works pretty well.

H-202 outlines a path that takes features from current state and federal realities and blends it with recipes offered by the federal health care reform to take Vermont where previous federal and state lawmakers have feared to tread. Continue reading ‘Vermont Reform: A Giant Step by a Small State’

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The Affordable Care Act: Immediate Benefits for Hawaii

 

The Affordable Care Act: Immediate Benefits for Hawaii

  • Small business tax credits.  18,600 small businesses in Hawaii could be helped by a new small business tax credit that makes it easier for businesses to provide coverage to their workers and makes premiums more affordable.1  Small businesses pay, on average, 18 percent more than large businesses for the same coverage, and health insurance premiums have gone up three times faster than wages in the past 10 years.  This tax credit is just the first step towards bringing those costs down and making coverage affordable for small businesses.

The Affordable Care Act: Immediate Benefits for Hawaii

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Romney Stands by Massachusetts Health Care Reform

Mitt Romney not backing away from the health care reform law that he pushed forward in Massachusetts.

In a speech he delivered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the state where his father had been governor, the presidential aspirant went on to say that what was right for Massachusetts is not necessarily right for the rest of the country.

He then proceeded to trot out the tired Republican formulas for health care reform:  block grants to states, selling insurance across state borders, medical liability reform, and shifting more costs onto individuals.

I would have offered a different response for Mr. Romney.

The federal law on employee benefits, ERISA, ties the hands of states who want to expand health care coverage.  It’s called the ERISA preemption.  We came up with a solution that ducks the federal preemption.  It works in Massachusetts because Massachusetts has a high rate of unionization, a high rate of income and a very low rate of uninsured.  That is not a solution that could work in states like Texas or Mississippi that have none of those. Continue reading ‘Romney Stands by Massachusetts Health Care Reform’

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Health Care Reform, Money and the Devil

Surprise, surprise!  The health care industry spent lots of money lobbying Congress in 2009 and 2010.

Last December, the New England Journal of Medicine provided some interesting insights into money and the legislative and electoral process.

Devil Tree

Devil Tree

Using data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) for the first nine months of 2009, the Journal estimates that the health sector would spend about a half billion dollars in lobbying in 2009.  About half of that came from the pharmaceutical industry and other health care product manufacturers.

The health care sector does not include the insurance industry which added an additional $160 million to that half billion.

The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) arrives at a much bigger number, $1.5 billion, but their report does not indicate whether it includes spending on elections.  Those amounts are reported separately by CRP. Continue reading ‘Health Care Reform, Money and the Devil’

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