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]

TRANSCRIPT: Ethical Questions in the Reform of Health and Medical Care

Posted: Monday, August 4, 2008
EPPC Fellow James C. Capretta presented at a June 26, 2008 session of the President's Council on Bioethics in Chicago, Illinois.  The Council held the session to explore the relative merits of alternative health care reform plans.  Mr. Capretta presented the reasons policymakers should implement a reform program based on consumer choice and market competition.  [Full Story]

Health Care 2008
A Political Primer
Posted: Monday, July 14, 2008
It might turn out that Congress could pass a major health-care reform package in 2009 or 2010. But there are important reasons why such plans have not been enacted to date, and these include not solely the interference of so-called "special interests" in politics, as Senators Obama and Clinton have suggested.  [Full Story]

Obama’s Tax on Work
McCain can win votes by exposing the folly of “pay or play.”
Posted: Thursday, July 10, 2008
Instead of building on today's system of job-based health-insurance coverage, Barack Obama's "pay or play" mandate would drive companies to drop their plans and push their employees into government-sponsored insurance. It would also have devastating consequences for low-wage jobs, with the harm disproportionately concentrated among non-whites, high school drop-outs, and women.  [Full Story]

The Train Wreck Ahead
Medicare is rolling toward disaster, and there is no easy way to fix it.
Posted: Friday, June 13, 2008
Reducing the size of Medicare's financial imbalance cannot be done without controversy or financial sacrifice.  But a reform that promotes consumer choice and strong price competition, much like today's drug benefit, has the potential to improve the program's financial outlook and limit the scope of other changes that might be needed.  [Full Story]

Health Care 2008: A Political Primer

Posted: Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Reform of the U.S. health care system is a tremendously complex undertaking, and while it may seem that those who support government-run health care are nearing victory, James C. Capretta argues that proponents of market-based reforms are starting to coalesce around a workable and politically practicable program-one that would make much-needed incremental changes without disrupting existing arrangements for Americans satisfied with the health care they have today.  [Full Story]

Obama’s Bad Prescription
Paving the way for a full government takeover.
Posted: Thursday, May 29, 2008
Estimates show an Obama-like plan adding 40 million people to public insurance overnight.  Once started, the momentum toward full federal control of health care would be nearly impossible to reverse.  [Full Story]