Healthcare

By Hal Scherz, M.D.

Like most other doctors, I went into medicine with enthusiasm and optimism. Doctors go down this difficult road believing that they can help people and make the world a better place. If along the way, we prosper emotionally, professionally or financially, then all the better. More than 30 years later, my desire to help people has not waned, nor has my hope to make things better diminished. To accomplish this, I have taken a side road, becoming a political activist, to advocate for my patients in ways unforeseen to me even a year ago.

By Brian Anderson, Contributing Editor
The current health care debate is grounded in a broader discourse regarding the fundamental roles of the government and the individual in society. The left argues that the federal government should be a provider for its citizens. The right argues that the federal government should secure the freedom of the individuals in society.

By Mark Hillman, Contributing Editor
Talk about personal responsibility is cheap.  Legislating personal responsibility isn't.  Take the movement to require everyone to purchase government-approved health insurance.

Hilary Oswald, Contributing Editor

On April 1, the Associated Press reported that the Integrated Care Collaboration, a nonprofit group of health care providers who care for low-income and uninsured patients, found that nine people accounted for nearly 2,700 of the emergency room visits in the Austin, Texas, area over the last six years. The price tag to taxpayers and hospitals? $3 million, paid through Medicare and Medicaid.

By Hilary Masell Oswald, Contributing Editor

Much of the debate about the economic stimulus bill (officially, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) focused on whether our esteemed elected officials had gotten the right mix of earmarks—ahem, economy-stimulating projects—tax cuts and other incentives to jump-start the economy.

By William Moloney, Contributing Editor
Apart from National Defense the two giants of the U.S. economy are Health Care and Education.  In terms of expenditure, number of employees, and importance to every American family they are unique.

By Hilary Oswald, Contributing Editor
I am baffled by the idea that giving the government a greater role in our health care will yield greater efficiency and affordability, so I decided to look closely at Sen. Barack Obama’s health care plan. What I found was a plan that costs the government—and therefore, taxpayers—a lot of money without really solving the drivers that are pushing health care costs up.

By Bob Beauprez, Editor-in-Chief
America’s health care system is in a crisis. At least that is what one is lead to believe watching the nightly news, or reading (those that still do) the morning newspaper. According to those well-researched sources of information, millions are uninsured and even more are underinsured. Access to care is diminishing, costs are skyrocketing, and quality is on the decline. While these reports might be slightly exaggerated, there are certainly many issues with our current system that need to be addressed.

By Vic Lazzaro
The quality of medical care in the U.S. is believed by many Americans to be the best in the world. However, on many statistics rating different countries, the U.S. often fails to achieve top rankings. Further, costs are among the highest. This article attempts to propose major changes that would significantly improve the results for Americans and maintain and improve quality while ideally containing total system costs. Most of these ideas are not original, though they might not have been collectively articulated as they are here. This would need to be gradually introduced.

By Bob Beauprez
Colorado is going through a process to come up with a silver bullet plan to cure our health care challenges. Governor Ritter appointed one of his many blue ribbon commissions with the charge to make a recommendation of "a plan" to him and the legislature to consider in January. He may be wise to take a close look at the plan already developed by the new Republican Governor-elect in Louisiana.

By Bob Beauprez
The State Children's Health Insurance Plan, SCHIP, was given birth by Congress in 1997 and signed into law by Bill Clinton. It has quickly become one of the "sacred cows" of Congress that not only needs to be maintained, but gorged regularly to expanded proportions. After all, it is for the children.

By Congressman Tom Price, M.D. (GA-6)
Our health care delivery system is in crisis. As a surgeon for over 25 years, I have seen firsthand how the number of uninsured and underinsured in America has reached epidemic level. Those who have health insurance coverage face ever increasing prices, while the uninsured find it more and more difficult to access affordable coverage.

By Jim Frogue, Center for Health Transformation
Conservatives must make Medicaid reform a top priority. The issue has become too big to ignore and without conservatives who understand markets, incentives, and fiscal responsibility, the debate is sure to keep resulting in policies bound to fail.

By Bob Beauprez
Hillary Care -- government operated universal health care -- will be an issue to be dealt with whether she ultimately wins the Presidency or not. Democrat majorities and the heightened concern about access and affordability of coverage throughout the voting population guarantee that the issue will be front and center...

By Bob Beauprez
Back in the honeymoon days of the Clinton Administration, Hillary championed the universal health care initiative. Never mind that she hadn't been elected, her husband had. She waltzed around Capitol Hill and the Oval Office flexing the muscle of the new kids in town. Her efforts failed miserably, even with Democrats, and the result was an embarrassing defeat for the new President and a blow to her ego.