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Incentives, Not Punishments

... are the best response to the obesity problem, argues David Gratzer in the Washington Times: In the British “pounds for pounds” experiment, about 400 people were paid to lose weight. On average, the program cost about $300 per participant. Forty-four percent of participants finished …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday August 3, 2011

What Medicare's Boss Can Learn from Ryan

Yesterday, Medicare's head Dr. Don Berwick labeled Paul Ryan the real "rationer-in-chief." Berwick though may want to pay closer attention to part of the Ryan plan. You have to give the administration and congressional Democrats credit for talking point consistency. They’ve hammered away at one …

Written by Stanley Goldfarb on Tuesday April 26, 2011

The Health Cost Fix Obama Won't Accept

There are new questions about Obamacare's preferred cost control mechanisms. Yet, one possible solution for the president's health cost worries is still off the table. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) -- Obamacare-- is coming under new attacks as the constitutionality of the …

Written by Stanley Goldfarb on Thursday April 21, 2011

Is the GOP Serious About Means-Testing?

I'm all for ferocious cost-cutting within Medicare. But until costs actually drop, means-testing in Medicare will be code for denying Medicare to many older Americans. Can we get beyond the welfare state? Yuval Levin argued yes in an article in National Affairs . I argued no, here . …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday April 19, 2011

Obama Doubles Down on Price Controls

President Obama has outlined a set of proposals for reducing the cost of Medicare. But more price controls and panels won't get the job done. President Obama has outlined a set of proposals for reducing the cost of Medicare. The White House assumes that empowering an independent panel to simply …

Written by Stanley Goldfarb on Thursday April 14, 2011

Obama's Mandate Waiver Trick

Obama's new proposal would grant waivers to states to create their own health plans. But the economics of healthcare may set the states up for failure. On Monday, President Obama announced to the National Governors Association that he would endorse a waiver for states to create their own health …

Written by Stanley Goldfarb on Tuesday March 1, 2011

Giving Moderation a Bad Name

The so-called moderate Baucus plan announced yesterday offers no answers to the problem of rising health costs. It imposes an individual mandate, extends federal subsidies, and imposes a tax on employers to generate some expansion of coverage. But as to cost control, it proposes virtually nothing. …

Written by David Frum on Thursday September 17, 2009

The Hidden Healthcare Problem: Immigration

Steve Sailer points out that Obama has promised to block illegal aliens for benefiting from his 2009 health plan, while also promising to legalize illegal aliens in his proposed 2010 immigration plan. Steve Sailer makes a good point here : If Obama promises both: A) to block illegal …

Written by David Frum on Thursday September 17, 2009

Overview for health-costs