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| NATIONAL HEALTH NEWS
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Can Greenway Medical Keep Up The Momentum After Its IPO?
Greenway Medical Technologies, a seller of electronic health records, got off to a bumpy start when its bankers re-priced last minute its IPO price downward to $10 from an original range of $11 to $13 a share. It closed today at $13, up 30%?valuing it at three times revenue, in line with competitors such as ...
Repealing the CLASS Act
The first part of the health reform law to fall was not struck down by the Supreme Court, blocked by state governments, or defunded by Congress ? it was struck down by the Obama Administration itself, which stated that the program could not be implemented as passed, and therefore would simply be ignored. The Community ...
Congressional Research Service: Courts Could Force HHS to Implement CLASS Act, Despite Its Insolvency
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 1173, the Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011, sponsored by Rep. Charles Boustany (R., La.). This two-page bill would repeal the fiscal disaster known as the CLASS Act, Obamacare's new long-term care entitlement, which was "suspended" by the Obama Administration because Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius could not certify that the entitlement was fiscally sustainable. Why, you might ask, should Congress bother to repeal CLASS, given that Sebelius has suspended its implementation? Because, according to the Congressional Research Service, courts could force her to implement the new entitlement, despite the fact that it will blow up the deficit.
A Look Back at Year One of The Apothecary at Forbes
One year ago, I moved my little health-care blog from avikroy.org over to Forbes.com. And what a year it's been. There has been no shortage of things to write about???and thanks to the paramount importance of entitlement reform and health policy, that will continue to be true for the foreseeable future. So I wanted to take the chance to reflect on The Apothecary's year that was.
What the Roche Bid for Illumina Tells Us About the Future of Genomics
There's been a flurry of mergers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries lately. My Manhattan Institute colleague Paul Howard has some thoughts on one of the more interesting potential transactions: the hostile bid for Illumina, a genetic diagnostics company, by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche.
The Non-Viable CLASS Act
One of Sen. Ted Kennedy?s long-standing goals was the establishment of a federal program for long-term care for the infirm and disabled. This goal was ? apparently ? achieved posthumously when his Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act was incorporated into the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The CLASS program provides ...
Could the PPACA's Medicaid Expansion be Unconstitutional?
While most of the public debate on the constitutionality of the health reform law has centered on the "individual mandate" - the requirement to obtain government-approved health insurance or pay a penalty - the Supreme Court has also agreed to consider another, far less discussed issue: whether the law?s expansion of Medicaid eligibility might be ...
Ron Paul's Plan for Medicare Reform: Legalize Pot
Libertarians are constantly lecturing the rest of us about the purity of their principles. Conservatives are just as statist as liberals, goes the refrain: conservatives simply want to use government intervention as an instrument for their own ends. So, then, why is it that the libertarian champion in the GOP Presidential race, Ron Paul, has the field's weakest stance on Medicare reform?
Combativeness Doesn't Equal Seriousness about Entitlement Reform
Last week, I wrote about the curious phenomenon of right-wing populists who say that they're the true believers in limited government, while opposing the candidates who actually make substantive proposals to that end. Dan McLaughlin of Redstate.com has put forth a rebuttal that helps illuminate the problem. Dan incorrectly surmises that I "equate having position papers with being serious about reform," when he in fact makes the opposite mistake, by equating a combative personality with being serious about reform.
What Are The Costs And Benefits of Patents for Prescription Drugs?
By , CAIA On January 23, the Journal hosted an interesting debate between Josh Bloom, Phd,??of the American Council on Science and , and Dr. Else Torreele of the Open Society Foundation. (The link is here, and was free when I last checked. If it disappears behind a wall, the citation is: Josh Bloom & ...
State of the ... Health Care Reform
President Obama?s largest legislative accomplishment to date was the passage of the health care reform law, which has been going into effect in stages, with regulations currently being written for the most substantial changes due to take effect in 2014. So it is odd the President mentioned health care only briefly, and in passing, in ...
No Mention of Health Care in White House's State of the Union Talking Points
Many of Obamacare's advocates quaintly cling to the idea that the law is unpopular because it hasn't been explained well to an ignorant and confused electorate. It's the thinking behind Jonathan Gruber's comic book on the law, which appears intended to overcome the supposed fourth-grade intellects of Obamacare's skeptics. But today's memorandum from the White House betrays a greater insight: the problem is not that Americans don't understand Obamacare, but that they understand it all too well.
In South Carolina, Santorum Made the Case against Romneycare
Last week in South Carolina, it was Rick Santorum who made the substantive case against Romneycare???a case that Mitt Romney's other rivals have been incapable of making. Said Santorum, "The problem is that [Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich] would be very difficult to elect on, I think, the most important issue that this country is dealing with right now, which is the robbing of our freedom because of Obamacare."
Is the Conservative Establishment Against Entitlement Reform?
Lasting entitlement reform will require both Republicans and centrist Democrats to come together. That involves???yes???compromise with the dastardly forces of statism. Because we don't have 40 years to fix Medicare. We have to fix it now. From where I sit, it's what some describe as the "establishment" that is doing the most to make that happen.
Is the Individual Mandate Severable?
When the Supreme Court considers the health care reform law in March, one of the main issues will be whether the "individual mandate" - the requirement to obtain government-approved health insurance or pay a penalty - is constitutional. If it?s not, the next issue will be whether it is possible to hold the individual mandate ...
Egyptian Billionaire Naguib Sawiris Faces Trial For Insulting Islam
This past June telecom tycoon tweeted a picture of a bearded Mickey Mouse and a veiled Minnie Mouse. It was poor judgment??on the part of??Sawiris, a Coptic Christian who became heavily involved in politics at the onset of Egypt's uprisings by forming a liberal political party, The Free Egyptians. He quickly followed with an apology ...
Is Rick Santorum a Conservative Health-Care Champion?
Former Sen. Rick Santorum, of course, is the hot story this week in the Republican Presidential sweepstakes. If you go by what Santorum says about health-care and entitlement reform, you could call him a champion of free-market health policy. On paper, he says all of the right things. The trillion-dollar question is: how committed would a President Santorum be to leading the country toward far-reaching reforms? There's reason for doubt.
Gingrich Now Says He Was 'Wrong' to Support Individual Mandate
Well, it was only a matter of time: Newt Gingrich has a new position on the individual mandate requiring every American to purchase health insurance. In a statement filmed by CBS News, Gingrich says he was "wrong" to support the mandate. Gingrich had defended the mandate as recently as seven months ago, so it will ...
Gingrich in 2006: Romneycare is 'Exciting' and 'Has Tremendous Potential'
Newt Gingrich may bash Romneycare today, but he was for it before he was against it. In an April 2006 newsletter from Newt Gingrich's Center for Health Transformation, Gingrich writes that "the most exciting development of the past few weeks is what has been happening up in Massachusetts. The health bill that Governor Romney signed into law this month has tremendous potential to effect major change in the American health system."
The Best Last Minute Christmas Gifts ??? From Lady Gaga to Your Lady
Okay, first, a disclaimer.?? This may not be what every wife or girlfriend wants.?? These are things I, and the women I know would want.???? I'm pretty sure there are women out there that have something really specific in mind that they want this year... "So help me G-d, if I don't get those Naughty ...
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