According to the New America Foundation, premiums in California have grown seven times faster than median household income. Even being the very best, ...
There is widespread agreement that if federal health care reform passes, making it work will depend in great part on getting a handle on spiraling medical costs that already consume nearly one of every five dollars spent in the United States.
From climate change to redistricting, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have teamed up on a number of issues. It's time to add another to the list -- updating the antiquated and misleading way we measure poverty.
It may seem like an odd concern for the Republican duo. But Bloomberg took the lead on the issue last year when conditions in New York City were similar to those California faces today: The economy was down; need was… more
It has been a tough year for California. The Golden State, known
for decades as an innovator and agent of change, had to issue IOUs to
pay its debts. Investment in the future, which used to be California's
guiding vision, has taken a back seat to plugging the many holes in the
leaky dike of our antiquated institutions.
The public's faith in President Barack Obama's plan for health care
reform is fading. Proposals ranging from the public insurance option to
reimbursing physicians for end-of-life counseling are mired in a debate
that's as overheated as August temperatures. Even the seemingly
self-evident idea that the nation has a moral duty to make sure all
citizens have basic access to health care is up for grabs. But there's
one aspect of health care reform that California voters support almost
universally: better medical evidence.
As you ride the bus or freeway to work tomorrow, ask yourself: Can
the person seated next to me, or driving past me, be trusted with the
job of redesigning California's basic political and budgetary rules?
Are "average Californians" ready to don the white powdered wigs to
become the Founding Mothers and Fathers of a new California?
Just a few months ago, national health care reform seemed
solidly on the path to congressional approval. A popular new president made it
his top domestic priority and turned the process over to the leadership of
large Democratic majorities in both houses. The path became rocky, though, with
most Republicans and many conservative Blue Dog Democrats signaling concern.
It's no surprise that wellpoint and other stakeholders would want to take the pulse of the American public, said Jacob Hacker, a professor of political science and co-director for the Center for Health, Economic and Family Security at the University of ...
There is an encouraging – perhaps surprising – amount of agreement that health care in the United States must be reformed now. Key players in the debate, from Wal-Mart executives to labor union leaders, agree that reform should expand affordable health coverage to all, that no one should be denied insurance, and that government, employers and individuals should all share responsibility for funding health care.
