Monthly Archives: March 2009

Colorado HB 1256 would lower insurance costs

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Brian Schwartz

The Denver Business Journal published the following letter of mine in its March 6 edition: Colorado House Bill 1256 would bring affordable insurance to thousands of Coloradans by allowing them to buy less expensive policies available in other states (Health … Continue reading →

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Colorado HB 1293: “The Colorado Healthcare Affordability Act”

Posted on March 12, 2009 by Brian Schwartz

This sounds like a way to get you to pay for other people’s health care, and not address the real problems of high medical and insurance costs. From the Denver Daily News: The Colorado Healthcare Affordability Act (CHAA), introduced last … Continue reading →

Posted in Colorado health care, PPC | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Health-status insurance and becoming uninsurable – a review

Posted on March 10, 2009 by Brian Schwartz

As I noted recently, health-status insurance could be a free-market solution to making sure you’ll have medical insurance when you need it, even if you get sick.  Ronald Bailey provides a good review of John Cochrane’s policy analysis here at … Continue reading →

Posted in insurance, tax code, HSAs | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

HB 1273: Politicians cannot “guarantee” health care

Posted on March 9, 2009 by Brian Schwartz

Politicians cannot guarantee healthcare, but by trying they can create an unaccountable and toxic insurance monopoly. So beware of Colorado House Bill 1273, which will be heard by the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee on March 18.  The Rocky … Continue reading →

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Obama: Wrong on health care

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Brian Schwartz

Michael Tanner outlines why in a brief piece published in the Baltimore Sun.  Some excerpts: From what we can determine so far, “Obamacare” will be based on four pillars: 1) mandates, both for employers and individuals; 2) subsidies for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Policy - National | 5 Comments

Colorado “cares,” but markets provide

Posted on March 3, 2009 by Brian Schwartz

From the Denver Post: Gov. Bill Ritter suffered a quiet loss Tuesday when the Senate gave initial approval to a bill that would repeal a program created by the first bill he signed into law. The Colorado Cares Rx Program … Continue reading →

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Distorted priorities of Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid)

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Brian Schwartz

When politicians decide how to spend taxpayers’ money on health care, they spend it on what is most politically popular.   Linda Gorman writes that this means less emphasis on “procedures to save lives in immediate danger” and more “preventive care … Continue reading →

Posted in Medicaid/Medicare/SCHIP | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments