Medicare Meets Mephistopheles

Author : David A. Hyman
Publisher : Cato Institute
Page : 140 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2009-09-25
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781933995359

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Medicare Meets Mephistopheles by David A. Hyman Pdf

Let’s say you’re the devil, and you want to corrupt the American republic. How would you go about it? According to David Hyman, you might create something like Medicare, the federal health care program for the elderly. Hyman submits that Medicare may be the greatest trick the devil ever played. Medicare feeds on the avarice of doctors and other providers, turns seniors into health care gluttons, and makes regions of the United States green with envy over the dollars showered on other regions. The program exploits the sloth of government officials to increase the tax burden on workers and drag down the quality of care for seniors. Medicare makes Democrats lust for socialized medicine, while its imperviousness to reform makes Republicans angrier and angrier. Most of all, Medicare allows its ideological supporters to bleat and preen their way to the heights of moral vanity. In the style of C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, Hyman writes that Medicare has “freed the self-interest of these mortals from its natural restraints. As a result, the seven deadly sins have blossomed.” With epic political battles over Medicare and the future of limited government looming just over the horizon, Hyman uses satire to cast a critical eye on this mediocre government program.

Author : Jay Cost
Publisher : Encounter Books
Page : 408 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2016-07-12
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781594038686

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A Republic No More by Jay Cost Pdf

After the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin was asked, “Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?” Franklin’s response: “A Republic—if you can keep it.” This book argues: we couldn’t keep it. A true republic privileges the common interest above the special interests. To do this, our Constitution established an elaborate system of checks and balances that disperses power among the branches of government, which it places in conflict with one another. The Framers believed that this would keep grasping, covetous factions from acquiring enough power to dominate government. Instead, only the people would rule. Proper institutional design is essential to this system. Each branch must manage responsibly the powers it is granted, as well as rebuke the other branches when they go astray. This is where subsequent generations have run into trouble: we have overloaded our government with more power than it can handle. The Constitution’s checks and balances have broken down because the institutions created in 1787 cannot exercise responsibly the powers of our sprawling, immense twenty-first-century government. The result is the triumph of special interests over the common interest. James Madison called this factionalism. We know it as political corruption. Corruption today is so widespread that our government is not really a republic, but rather a special interest democracy. Everybody may participate, yes, but the contours of public policy depend not so much on the common good, as on the push-and-pull of the various interest groups encamped in Washington, DC.

Author : Eleanor D. Kinney
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 487 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2015-07-20
Category : Health & Fitness
ISBN : 9781107110557

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The Affordable Care Act and Medicare in Comparative Context by Eleanor D. Kinney Pdf

This book provides a comprehensive and approachable overview of Medicare under the Affordable Care Act. The author illustrates how the ACA addresses the long-term fiscal and demographic challenges facing Medicare, as well as the potential for Medicare to become a single-payer system.

Author : Henry Aaron,Jeanne M. Lambrew
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 216 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2009-11-01
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9780815701507

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Reforming Medicare by Henry Aaron,Jeanne M. Lambrew Pdf

Everyone agrees on the need to reform Medicare but not on how to do it. Some argue the program is too comprehensive, others that it is not comprehensive enough. Some suggest it pays too much for health care, others, too little. Meanwhile, the financial stakes continue to mount. Medicare spending exceeded $400 billion in 2007, making it more expensive than the entire health systems of most other nations, as well as the largest national public program other than Social Security and national defense. In R eforming Medicare, Henry J. Aaron and Jeanne M. Lambrew deftly guide readers through this complex debate. They identify and analyze the three leading approaches to reform. Updated social insurance would retain the current system while rationalizing coverage and reducing bureaucracy. Premium support would replace the current system with a capped, per-person payment that beneficiaries could use to buy health insurance. Consumer-directed Medicare would have beneficiaries pay for care up to a high deductible from government- supported savings accounts and offer premium-support coverage above the deductible. In addition to rating each option on its ability to promote access to health care, improve the quality of care, and control costs, the authors evaluate each reform's political strengths and weaknesses. Given the heat generated by the Medicare debate, it is unlikely that any single approach will be implemented in full. Consequently, Aaron and Lambrew describe incremental strategies that blend elements of each plan. Their analysis provides essential insight into the types of hybrid policies that Congress will consider in coming years.

Author : Ross M. Mullner
Publisher : SAGE Publications
Page : 1456 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2009-05-15
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9781452266114

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Encyclopedia of Health Services Research by Ross M. Mullner Pdf

Today, as never before, healthcare has the ability to enhance the quality and duration of life. At the same time, healthcare has become so costly that it can easily bankrupt governments and impoverish individuals and families. Health services research is a highly multidisciplinary field, including such areas as health administration, health economics, medical sociology, medicine, , political science, public health, and public policy. The Encyclopedia of Health Services Research is the first single reference source to capture the diversity and complexity of the field. With more than 400 entries, these two volumes investigate the relationship between the factors of cost, quality, and access to healthcare and their impact upon medical outcomes such as death, disability, disease, discomfort, and dissatisfaction with care. Key Features Examines the growing healthcare crisis facing the United States Encompasses the structure, process, and outcomes of healthcare Aims to improve the equity, efficiency, effectiveness, and safety of healthcare by influencing and developing public policies Describes healthcare systems and issues from around the globe Key Themes Access to Care Accreditation, Associations, Foundations, and Research Organizations Biographies of Current and Past Leaders Cost of Care, Economics, Finance, and Payment Mechanisms Disease, Disability, Health, and Health Behavior Government and International Healthcare Organizations Health Insurance Health Professionals and Healthcare Organizations Health Services Research Laws, Regulations, and Ethics Measurement; Data Sources and Coding; and Research Methods Outcomes of Care Policy Issues, Healthcare Reform, and International Comparisons Public Health Quality and Safety of Care Special and Vulnerable Groups The Encyclopedia is designed to be an introduction to the various topics of health services research for an audience including undergraduate students, graduate students, andgeneral readers seeking non-technical descriptions of the field and its practices. It is also useful for healthcare practitioners wishing to stay abreast of the changes and updates in the field.

Author : Mark A. Hall,Nicholas Bagley,David Orentlicher,Mary Anne Bobinski
Publisher : Aspen Publishing
Page : 907 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2018-05-11
Category : Law
ISBN : 9781543804737

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The Law of Health Care Finance and Regulation by Mark A. Hall,Nicholas Bagley,David Orentlicher,Mary Anne Bobinski Pdf

The Law of Health Care Finance and Regulation is based on Part III, “Institutions, Providers, and the State,” of parent book Health Care Law and Ethics and adds additional coverage of a variety of issues that have shaped health care finance law. Integrating public health, financial and ethical issues, this casebook uses compelling case law, clear notes and comprehensive background information to illuminate the complex and dynamic field of health care law. Key Features: Based on material in Part III of the popular parent book, “Institutions, Providers, and the State,” along with coverage of duty to treat, hospital liability, managed care liability, and regulating access to drugs. Includes cases and material not found in the parent book on: • Judicial and administrative review of Medicare decisions. Certificate of need laws. Review immunity. Integrates public health and ethics issues and features clear notes that provide context, smooth transitions between cases, and background information. Website provides background materials, updates of important events, additional relevant topics and links to other resources on the Internet.

Author : United States. Congress. House. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Subcommittee on Domestic Policy
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 184 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : UCSD:31822037827748

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Between You and Your Doctor by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Subcommittee on Domestic Policy Pdf

Author : Daniel Callahan
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2009-08-17
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 140083094X

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Taming the Beloved Beast by Daniel Callahan Pdf

Technological innovation is deeply woven into the fabric of American culture, and is no less a basic feature of American health care. Medical technology saves lives and relieves suffering, and is enormously popular with the public, profitable for doctors, and a source of great wealth for industry. Yet its costs are rising at a dangerously unsustainable rate. The control of technology costs poses a terrible ethical and policy dilemma. How can we deny people what they may need to live and flourish? Yet is it not also harmful to let rising costs strangle our health care system, eventually harming everyone? In Taming the Beloved Beast, esteemed medical ethicist Daniel Callahan confronts this dilemma head-on. He argues that we can't escape it by organizational changes alone. Nothing less than a fundamental transformation of our thinking about health care is needed to achieve lasting and economically sustainable reform. The technology bubble, he contends, is beginning to burst. Callahan weighs the ethical arguments for and against limiting the use of medical technologies, and he argues that reining in health care costs requires us to change entrenched values about progress and technological innovation. Taming the Beloved Beast shows that the cost crisis is as great as that of the uninsured. Only a government-regulated universal health care system can offer the hope of managing technology and making it affordable for all.

Author : David Boaz
Publisher : Cato Institute
Page : 688 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2009-02-19
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781935308263

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Cato Handbook For Policymakers by David Boaz Pdf

Now in its seventh edition, the Cato Handbook for Policymakers sets the standard in Washington for reducing the power of the federal government and expanding freedom. The 63 chapters—each beginning with a list of major policy recommendations—offer issue-by-issue blueprints for promoting individual liberty, free markets, and peace. Providing both in-depth analysis and concrete recommendations, Cato's Handbook is an invaluable resource for policymakers and anyone else interested in securing liberty and limiting government.

Author : Marc Allen Eisner
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 257 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2010-09-13
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781135837785

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The American Political Economy by Marc Allen Eisner Pdf

Policy debates are often grounded within the conceptual confines of a state-market dichotomy, as though the two existed in complete isolation. In this innovative text, Marc Allen Eisner portrays the state and the market as inextricably linked, exploring the variety of institutions subsumed by the market and the role that the state plays in creating the institutional foundations of economic activity. Through a historical approach, Eisner situates the study of American political economy within a larger evolutionary-institutional framework that integrates perspectives in American political development and economic sociology. This volume provides a rich understanding of the complexity of U.S. economic policy, explaining how public policies become embedded in bureaucracy and reinforced by organized beneficiaries and public expectations. This path dependent layering process helps students better understand the underlying historical dynamics, which provide a clearer sense of the constraints faced by policymakers now and in the future. Thorough coverage of the entitlement crisis, globalization’s impact on the U.S. political economy, and the recent financial crisis in the final chapters demonstrate the importance of this historical institutionalist framework.

Author : Jeffrey W. Stempel,Erik S. Knutsen
Publisher : Wolters Kluwer
Page : 3864 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2015-12-15
Category : Law
ISBN : 9781454857587

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Stempel and Knutsen on Insurance Coverage by Jeffrey W. Stempel,Erik S. Knutsen Pdf

Unlike most other books in the field, which slant toward either policyholder or insurer counsel, Stempel and Knutsen on Insurance Coverage takes an even-handed nonexcess and umbrella aking it useful to attorneys from all sides. Moreover, it's designed for practitioners from all professional backgrounds and insurance experience. Written in clear, jargon-free language, it covers everything from the basic insurance concepts, principles, and structure of insurance policies to today's most complex issues and disputes. The authors, Jeffrey W. Stempel and Erik S. Knutsen, are well-known authorities on the law of insurance coverage, and this new Fourth Edition of Stempel and Knutsen on Insurance Coverage is completely up-to-date on every aspect of its subject. This one-stop resource provides both a sound historical, theoretical and doctrinal grounding in insurance, as well being practice-oriented and packed with practical guidance. After providing information about insurance policies and issues in general, it focuses on specific types of policies and coverage such as property coverage, liability coverage, automobile coverage, excess and umbrella coverage, and reinsurance, plus such vital areas as employment, defective construction, and terrorism claims...Dandamp;O liability...ERISA...bad faith litigation...and much more. Plus, you'll find extensive examination of the commercial general liability (CGL) policy, the type of insurance involved in most major coverage cases. Among the most important CGL issues covered in Stempel and Knutsen on Insurance Coverage are: Pollution-related coverage Trigger of coverage Apportionment of insurer and policyholder responsibility Business risk exclusions Coverage under the andquot;personal injuryandquot; section of the CGL Coverage under andquot;advertising injuryandquot; Nowhere else will you find so much valuable current information, in-depth analysis, sharp insight, authoritative commentary, significant case law, and practical guidance on this critically important area. With its clear explanations and thorough, even-handed coverage, Stempel and Knutsen on Insurance Coverage is unlike any other resource in its field.

Author : Keith Springer
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 194 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2011-05-06
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781462002115

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Facing Goliath by Keith Springer Pdf

A convergence of forces is brewing up a storm of epic proportions. Few will see it coming. Those who are prepared will prosper, while the rest will likely endure serious financial and personal hardship. Facing Goliath sums up complex economic concepts and often-overlooked historical perspective in an engaging style and a sensible approach to impending investment challenges. This book explainsin plain Englishhow we as a nation got into the current financial dilemma, why its not going away anytime soon, and how to prepare for the exceedingly dangerous economic environment that lies ahead.

Author : Jeffrey W. Stempel
Publisher : Wolters Kluwer
Page : 3276 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2005-12-30
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780735554368

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Stempel on Insurance Contracts by Jeffrey W. Stempel Pdf

Author : Ronald Hamowy
Publisher : SAGE Publications
Page : 664 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2008-08-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781506320007

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The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism by Ronald Hamowy Pdf

As a continuation of the older tradition of classical liberalism, libertarian thinking draws on a rich body of thought and scholarship. Contemporary libertarian scholars are continuing that tradition by making substantial contributions to such fields as philosophy, jurisprudence, economics, evolutionary psychology, political theory, and history, in both academia and politics. With more than 300 A-to-Z signed entries written by top scholars, The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism is purposed to be a useful compilation of and introduction to libertarian scholarship. The Encyclopedia starts with an introductory essay offering an extensive historical and thematic overview of key thinkers, events, and publications in the development of libertarian thought. The Reader's Guide groups content for researchers and students alike, allowing them to study libertarianism topically, biographically, and by public policy issues. Key Features Entries conclude with bibliographies and references for further reading and cross-references to related entries. Each entry provides an introduction to a topic or policy question relevant to libertarianism or a biography of a person who has had an impact on libertarianism. Editors take special care to ensure entries clearly explain libertarian approaches to issues, do not take sides on disputed matters or engage in polemics, and represent the views of all sides fairly and accurately.

Author : Steven H. Propp
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 708 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2012-11-16
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 1475958730

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Liberty Means Freedom for All by Steven H. Propp Pdf

Thomas Anderson has just graduated from CSU Stentoria, with his degree in Political Science. Its an election year, and as a young progressive in California who has been raised by equally progressive parents, he is very much concerned with the political issues currently being discussed in the mass media. A chance encounter with a fellow graduate named Kelly Kelso, however, shakes up his sett led view of the world. He is challenged to examine the rising number of alternatives to the two-party system presented by third party movements such as the Libertarian Party and the Green Party, and is forced to acknowledge that there is far more to politics than simply Democrat versus Republican, and liberal versus conservative. Thomas delves energetically into not only the growing Libertarian movement, but the free market perspective of the Austrian School of economics, as well as the rigid yet compelling view of Ayn Rands philosophy of Objectivism. His explorations grow wider, now encompassing the Tea Party movement and the Christi an Right; tax resisters and gun rights advocates; survivalists and militia members; anarchists, communists, and Democratic Socialists; as well as the Occupy Wall Street movement. He debates the radical environmental views of animal welfare and animal rights advocates, and challenges opponents of corporate globalism as well as deniers of global warming, as he struggles to reformulate and articulate his own developing beliefs, while coping with a sea of conflicting ideas and opposition. But this abstract political theory is brought into sharp encounter with concrete political reality, when Thomas hears a news report of an armed conflict with authorities taking place just outside of town, involving someone with whom he has become emotionally involved