Healthcare

Things We Read Today (35), Tuesday

By Justin Katz | November 27, 2012 |

Healthcare and what you get for free; making a living trying to fix the dying (state); the dictator prescription; and unhealthily sexist (female) teachers. Continue reading on the Ocean State Current…

RI Governor Gives Nation a Preview of Obama’s Public Welfare Project

By Justin Katz | October 9, 2012 |

People across the United States should consider Rhode Island as a canary in the ObamaCare coal mine, whistling the tune of the President’s larger public welfare project. When he spoke on the first night of the Democratic National Convention, RI’s Lincoln Chafee introduced himself as “the nation’s only independent governor.” That’s “independent” as in belonging…

Things We Read Today (23), Wednesday

By Justin Katz | October 4, 2012 |

Controlling prices across a continent; a look back at erroneous polls; Matthews in the echo chamber; excuse #2 for Benghazi. Continue reading on the Ocean State Current…

President Obama’s Early Inklings of the Dependency Portal

By Justin Katz | September 25, 2012 |

In the battle of hidden video and archived recordings that is sure to characterize political campaigns during the digital age, audio emerged from a 1998 presentation by then-state-senator Barack Obama at Loyola University in Illinois.  The statement that made headlines (at least on the center-right side of the media) was now-President Obama’s belief in economic…

Things We Read Today (18), Monday

By Justin Katz | September 24, 2012 |

Many faces of big government: standardized tests; interest group buy-offs; government as marketing practice; and the United States of Panem. Continue reading on the Ocean State Current…

Things We Read Today (17), Weekend

By Justin Katz | September 23, 2012 |

Returning RI to its natural state; RI as a playground for the rich; the gimmick of QE; the gimmick of digital records; killing coal/economy; when “Mostly False” means true. Continue reading on the Ocean State Current…

Unintended Consequences: Electronic Medical Records Enable “Gundecking”

By Marc Comtois | September 23, 2012 |

Whoda thunk? (via the New York Times) When the federal government began providing billions of dollars in incentives to push hospitals and physicians to use electronic medical and billing records, the goal was not only to improve efficiency and patient safety, but also to reduce health care costs. But, in reality, the move to electronic…

The Environment for RI’s Health Benefit Exchange & Medicaid Expansion

By Justin Katz | August 27, 2012 |

The RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity has been collecting reasons not to pursue a “dependency portal” unified infrastructure, marketing all government services through the health benefits exchange currently in the design phase.  But there are plenty of reasons to resist the exchange and the related expansion of Medicaid eligibility without regard to the cutting…

Meanwhile, ObamaCare Penalties for Excessive Hospital Re-admissions of Seniors Quietly Kick In

By Monique Chartier | August 21, 2012 |

Some lively back and forth with regard to the impact of ObamaCare on Medicare. Republicans have pointed out that ObamaCare cuts $700+ billion from Medicare. Democrats and the Obama campaign have responded variously by denying this assertion and/or saying that this amount would be found by cracking down on waste, fraud and abuse and from…

Differences in Sources Suggest RI Does in Fact Have Most Burdensome Mandates

By Justin Katz | August 21, 2012 |

Admittedly, I’ve been griping about PolitiFact from the sidelines almost since it entered the field.  For many of the uses that the reporters put it toward, the notion of entirely objective facts is as absurd as the notion of entirely objective reporters.  The simplistic (albeit marketable) Truth-o-Meter emphasizes the point; something’s being arguable is not…