Health Care with a Conscience

Posted: Monday, November 17, 2008
Catholic hospitals have long been important providers of American medical care. But as they have increasingly had to contend with secular institutions and regulations, their unique emphasis on values and compassion is being challenged. How can we keep the faith in health care?  [Full Story]

Respect for Life
A voter's choice this election
Posted: Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The two major political parties do differ on many issues, but most are amenable to give and take. Not so regarding respect for life. There is no getting around the fact that only one party is firmly committed to cementing abortion as an accepted and irreversible part of life in the United States. There is no more fundamental or important question on the ballot this election than that.  [Full Story]

A Solvent Medicare

Posted: Friday, October 31, 2008
The United States can provide generous health insurance coverage for seniors in the future, even coverage that costs much more than Medicare does today. But Medicare spending can't continue to rise indefinitely at rates well above the program's revenue base.  The sooner we face up to this reality, the better.  [Full Story]

Great Society Redux?
Senator Obama's economic program is a throwback, not change.
Posted: Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Ironically, Senator Obama really does not represent change on economic matters — or at least not a change toward something that hasn’t already been tried before.  The moment cries out for an aggressive economic reform agenda, not reversion to failed policies that took a generation to fix the last time they were tried.   [Full Story]

The Dems' Health-Care Distortions
Seeing through the Obama smokescreen.
Posted: Saturday, October 11, 2008
What's really remarkable about the recent attacks on Senator McCain's proposal to cover the uninsured with tax credits is that accusations are demonstrably false.  And it's not just Senator McCain's campaign which is saying so.  [Full Story]

Obama's Glass House
It's his health-care plan that would push people out of job-based coverage.
Posted: Tuesday, October 7, 2008
An independent assessment of a reform plan like Senator Obama's found that it would push more than 32 million Americans out of job-based coverage.  In other words, employers would choose to pay a tax in exchange for ending their company-run insurance -- and their workers would have no say in the decision.   [Full Story]

Investing in Middle Class Families
The case for a much expanded child tax credit.
Posted: Sunday, September 21, 2008
The American family has been showing signs of stress for many year now.  Families are smaller, and more and more children are being raised in single-parent households.  It should be a top priority of a new administration to reverse these trends.  An increase in the federal child tax credit from $1000 to $2500 per child would greatly help.  [Full Story]

Dr. Obama's Prescription
It isn't one we should want to take.
Posted: Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Senator Obama's plan, like all government-run health-care systems, would eventually resort to price controls to keep budgetary costs down, and these controls would reduce the number of willing suppliers of health care services, leading to waiting lists. This is not some economist’s theory; it is observable all over the world.  [Full Story]

Daschle's Health-Care Plan
He wants an uber-regulator, on the fast track.
Posted: Thursday, August 28, 2008
Former Democratic senator Tom Daschle seems to understand there is a downside to government-run health care -- which is, well, the government calling the shots.  But his solution would be a nightmare:  creation of an all-powerful, unaccountable, and unelected Board of "wise men" to make the big health care decisions.  [Full Story]

Realistic Options for the Uninsured
New federal insurance not the cure
Posted: Thursday, August 14, 2008
Senator Obama's plan is built on the flawed assumption that the federal government could run the health care system better if only given the chance.  Senator McCain is right to oppose taking such a risk with Americans' health care.  What's needed are more options for insurance coverage, such as reliable bridge insurance for job-seekers.  [Full Story]