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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
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
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
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
July 12, 2009
/ 20 Tamuz 5769
Red Flags On Health Care
By
David Broder
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
President Obama's welcome home from his latest successful overseas trip is clouded by the growing doubts about his most important domestic initiative, the overhaul of the dysfunctional U.S. health-care system.
On the surface, things went well for the No. 1 project on his list while he was away. Hospitals pledged to find $155 billion in savings that could be applied to expanding coverage to more of the uninsured.
The chairmen of three House committees that share jurisdiction over health care prepared to unveil a single proposal a step the Clintons were never able to achieve in their effort at reform. Insurers, doctors and other key interest groups continued to negotiate with the administration, rather than launching broadsides against its plans.
But if you probe a little deeper, what you find are growing questions among insiders the kind of fault lines that could spread to threaten public support for the ambitious overhaul Obama has in mind and the political coalitions needed to move it through Congress.
Veterans of previous health-care battles whom I interviewed this past week are still mainly of the view that Obama can succeed. Dissatisfaction with the status quo pervades much of business leadership, the ranks of state government and millions of households. Obama is widely praised among the insiders for staying flexible and keeping himself available to negotiate the needed compromises.
But on several fronts, forces have been moving against him, leaving even some of his allies uncertain whether he will prevail.
The staggering economy and the continued uncertainty about the timing and strength of a recovery have sapped public confidence in Washington's ability to pull off big ventures. Growing talk that unemployment may top 10 percent and require another stimulus bill could complicate the task of finding a trillion dollars over the next 10 years to finance expanded health-care coverage to the millions of uninsured.
Increasingly, Republicans on Capitol Hill and even some Democrats are voicing doubts about adding to the already enormous budget deficits. Obama has long insisted that his reform can be paid for without increasing the debt, but as the legislative process has unfolded, the question of where the offsetting savings w
ill come from has become more urgent.
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the co-author of the one bipartisan bill already scored as saving money, told me, "As you look at what is being proposed [in two Senate committees] you don't see savings in the 10-year budget. That's why the discussion has shifted to finding new money to finance expanded coverage. But at home, when you tell people we're already spending $2.5 trillion a year on health care and now we're going to spend $1 trillion more, it just doesn't add up."
The realization is spreading in Congress that to achieve significant cost controls, a fundamental restructuring of health-care delivery will be needed. But Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee, a veteran of the failed Clinton effort and the leader of conservative "blue dog" Democrats on health reform, told me that the proposals under discussion "are weak on delivery system reform."
Obama, he said, clearly gets the need for drastic change. The president has been citing the June 1 New Yorker article by Dr. Atul Gawande pointing out the extraordinary differences in the cost of health care between El Paso and McAllen, Tex. El Paso has reorganized its medical services into cooperative networks of practitioners, delivering quality care at low cost. McAllen, like most American cities, relies on an unstructured collection of individual physicians and hospitals, competing for business and raking in as much money as they can.
Many others who have worked in the system argue similar points, and some of them have begun to suggest that before attempting to reorganize the whole health-care system, Congress should rationalize Medicare, where costs are soaring in McAllen-like fashion.
But Congress shows no sign of having the will or the skill to challenge the myriad, well-entrenched and influential players in the current delivery system. Unless he can prod it to act differently, Obama may find himself signing a bill that condemns us to continued medical inflation.
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