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February 10, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
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Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Sept. 11, 2009
/ 22 Elul 5769
Obama's reassurances not believable
By
Robert Robb
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
If the American people want government to have a larger and stronger role in health
care, so be it. I've long thought it was probably inevitable.
But the leap shouldn't be made based upon the reassurances President Barack Obama
sought to convey in his speech to Congress. There's substantial reason to doubt each
and every one of them.
Let's begin with the most important reassurance: If you like the health insurance
you have, you'll be able to keep it.
In the bills congressional Democrats have produced to date, this reassurance comes
with a condition and an expiration date. Existing plans are grandfathered in, but no
new enrollees are permitted. And after five years, all plans have to conform to new
federal requirements yet to be determined.
Employers are not going to maintain plans for long that new employees cannot
participate in.
More fundamentally, Obama's other proposals completely scramble the health care
market. The federal government will determine policies and benefits packages that
can be offered. Medical underwriting will be prohibited and pricing differentials
for other factors sharply limited. New taxes will be imposed on insurers and
employers.
At the end of the process, no one can say what insurance products will be available
at what cost. Or what health insurance, if any, employers will offer.
And then there's the public option. Obama says it will compete on a level playing
field, but this is impossible to believe. The federal government isn't going to
sponsor a health insurance program and then be indifferent to its success.
The government-sponsored health insurance plan will crowd out private insurers.
We've seen this play before. Government-sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
dominated the secondary mortgage market. When they got in trouble, the federal
government bailed them out as investors assumed would happen all along, despite
claims to the contrary by federal officials.
If there's a public option, chances are, over time, private insurance will be
relegated to a supplementary role, such as it currently has with Medicare.
The second reassurance in which the American people should place no faith is the
assertion that health care reform as Obama has proposed will not add to the deficit.
So far, congressional Democrats have yet to field a health care reform that doesn't
add to the deficit. And that's after giving credit to phony savings from provider
cuts that Obama says will pay for most of the plan.
This is a game Congress has played many times. When it needs to show some paper
savings, it passes cuts to health care providers, particularly in Medicare. Then
doctors quit taking Medicare patients and hospitals start to squawk. And the cuts
are restored.
Health care isn't going to be expanded without it costing more, particularly if
nothing is done to change the perverse economic incentives inherent in a third-party
payer system.
Relatedly, the promise to seniors that Medicare services will not be cut also should
not be credited. Even without health care reform, current Medicare financing is
unsustainable. The hospitalization trust fund is already running a deficit.
More directly, Obama cannot fund health care expansion elsewhere through Medicare
spending reductions without cutting Medicare services or changing its basic
fee-for-service approach. In short, Obama's pledge to seniors not to cut services is
incompatible with his pledge to the American people not to increase the deficit.
Now, I happen to favor fundamental health care reform. I'm among those Obama
described as wanting to end employer-provided health care and make it an
individually purchased product, the same as all other personal insurance.
However, the gaps in the existing system that most concern Americans are easily and
relatively inexpensively filled: simply allow people who have expended a certain
percentage of their income on health care to buy into the Medicaid program. No one
goes without coverage because of pre-existing conditions; no one goes bankrupt
because of sickness.
Despite his protests, however, Obama isn't really building on the existing system.
Intentionally or not, he's proposing to blow it up. What arises in its aftermath is
pure conjecture.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Robert Robb is a columnist for The Arizona Republic. Comment by clicking here.
Robert Robb Archives
© 2009, The Arizona Republic
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