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Will This Study Finally End Democrats’ Magical Thinking About the ‘Cadillac Tax’? 19 Feb 2010 | 04:09 pm
It’s been a fascinating anthropological exercise to watch the health excise tax concept (the so-called “Cadillac tax”) keep its popularity among Democratic and liberals, even as one study after anothe...
A Tax Even Its Defenders Can’t Love 13 Jan 2010 | 04:12 am
People are saying that the so-called Cadillac tax “might fall flat” and “has real problems.” And those are its defenders. I can’t remember any new policy in recent history whose own advocates had so...
Weird Science: Why Politicians and Pundits Cling to the “Cadillac Tax” Idea 8 Jan 2010 | 04:33 pm
The theory behind the “Cadillac tax” on health plans is little more than wishful thinking based on dubious research. Advocates believe that forcing employers to cut benefits will lead to cheaper, bett...
Maggie Mahar Fact-Checks the “Cadillac” Tax 6 Jan 2010 | 02:50 pm
Respected health writer Maggie Mahar (“Money-Driven Medicine”) got curious and decided to fact-check the excise tax. – the tax on misleadingly-named “Cadillac plans” (which are really plans that simpl...
Florida HMOs: Already Meeting The Senate Bill’s New Standards? 5 Jan 2010 | 10:40 am
I found the attached chart, sent via Managed Care OnLine’s “Daily Factoid,” interesting. Why? Because these top Florida HMOs are already well ahead of compliance standards with the Senate’s proposed...
New Massachusetts Polling Data: What’s the Lesson? 22 Dec 2009 | 02:13 pm
Paul Krugman doesn’t like the Rasmussen poll on the popularity of health reform in Massachusetts. I’ve cited that poll in the past, so I have an obligation to present contradictory information. Besi...
The Senate Deal: The Price of Everything 20 Dec 2009 | 07:28 pm
The CBO finally scored the redrafted Senate health care bill, saying it will cost $871 billion over the next ten years. Not that anybody waited for the numbers before cutting a deal. This was never re...
We’re Not Switzerland 20 Dec 2009 | 07:11 pm
The pro-Senate health bill contingent keeps trotting out the example of Switzerland to buttress their arguments. Here’s a quick recap of why the comparison doesn’t work: First or all, Switzerland is...
Is Truth the Next Casualty in the White House’s Push For the Senate Bill? 18 Dec 2009 | 05:44 pm
Many of us admire the wealth of talent on display in the White House, so it’s disappointing when there’s a breakdown in the accuracy or completeness of information being put forward by members of this...
You Call That Health Reform? 14 Dec 2009 | 10:20 am
These days when people ask about health reform, I’m reminded of Gandhi’s visit to England in 1931. Somebody asked him what he thought of “Western civilization” and his answer was, “I think it would be...
