While much of Washington worries about how to constrain Medicare costs, two contrarian legislators want the program to spend $1 billion more annually to fund residency training for new doctors.
Their plan responds to a projected physician shortage. There’s heated debate about whether there will be a physician deficit in the future and, if so, how to best respond. There’s less debate about whether increasing the physician supply will increase our medical bills. It’s intuitive. More doctors will not only bill more so they can make an adequate living, but will order more tests and referrals. Normal economic logic that increased supply drives prices down doesn’t work in medicine.
Read More
In a surprising outcome better ascribed to the law of unanticipated consequences than a clever plot, a small group of moderate Republicans, particularly in the House of Representatives, are now poised to play an extremely powerful pivotal role.
No issue with less potential impact on public good gets more attention than tax reform. It is possible to argue that the amount of taxes collected from the public impacts the national economy, but there’s no compelling evidence suggesting that the mechanism used (income tax vs. value-added tax vs. personal property tax) makes much difference.
It’s looking like a very merry holiday season with an extremely prosperous new year ahead for the lobbying community. Fiscal austerity is an ill wind that does blow some good to those paid to influence where the painful spending cuts will be made. And the growing possibility of tax reform is icing on the cake.
Obamacare Prescription: Keep Calm and Carry On
The basic premise of the complaint, as I understand it, is that the infrastructure is not as far along as some would like, which may lead to confusion when major elements become effective next year, that Americans remain ambivalent about the bill because they don’t know what it does for them and that this lack of enthusiasm – coupled with continued GOP opposition – will yield a bad result in Congressional elections next year.
Read More »