“And what manner of man dares to assume the post of insurance commissioner?” LA Weekly columnist Hillel Aron asked recently. It is an important question to consider. Early next year, 29 new governors will take office. Twenty-five of them have the authority — in some cases shared with other executive branch officials — to appoint insurance commissioners. (more)
Calling Obamacare a government takeover of health care is the “lie of the year,” according to the self-proclaimed oracle of all things true and untrue in the political debate. That outrageous proclamation from PolitiFact shows that its editors need a Truth-O-Meter of their own. (more)
A Suffolk Superior Court judge yesterday denied a request that would have let six Massachusetts health insurers go forward with double-digit rate hikes for tens of thousands of small businesses and individuals, setting up a protracted battle that could become a test of government’s role in controlling health care costs. (more)
In the continuing debate over the recently signed health care bill, the flash point is the individual mandate—the requirement that nearly all American adults purchase what the federal government determines is an adequate amount of personal health insurance. Even though this aspect of the bill had received widespread support in the business community and has been supported in the past by some Republicans, many Americans still see such a sweeping mandate as a bridge too far. (more)
On a recent Fox News debate about health insurance, Democratic political strategist Bob Beckel explained that, “The president needed an enemy, and the insurance companies are it.” (more)
The World Economic Forum in Davos has begun with bankers and regulators clashing on plans for more regulation. (more)
It’s time for Republicans to push for health care reform with the same amount of fire and enthusiasm that Democrats have pushed for health care deform. (more)
