Posts tagged as:

Government health care

Kansas news digest

by Bob Weeks on January 25, 2010

News from alternative media around Kansas for January 25, 2010.

Kansas Republicans and Democrats agree Massachusetts upset could benefit Kansans

(Kansas Liberty) “Republican Senatorial candidate Scott Brown made history last night when he defeated Democratic candidate Martha Coakley in the election for Sen. Ted Kennedy’s Massachusetts seat. Kansas Republicans are lining up to proclaim how this victory could signal a change in the tide for the Democratic Party and for the Democrats health care plans.”

Rally members frustrated by mainstream media coverage

(Kansas Liberty) “Last Friday, approximately 400 liberty-minded Kansans flocked to the Statehouse to support a Senate Concurrent Resolution that claims state sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. The resolution serves notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates, provides that certain federal legislation should be prohibited or repealed, and it directs distribution of the resolution to Congress and the President. … According to legislators and organization members who were present at the rally, the grassroots support for the amendment was substantial, but many of the mainstream media outlets painted a watered down picture of the outpouring of support. Several reports also focused in on the sole opponent who testified during the hearing, an educator at Wichita Collegiate School, which is a private K-12 school.”

New coalition plotting to lobby legislators for tax increases

(Kansas Liberty) “Roughly a dozen tax-increase advocacy groups have banned together to form the Kansans for Quality Communities Coalition. According to its mission statement the organization’s key goal is to ‘ensure the prosperity of Kansas communities through the responsible investment of taxpayer dollars.’ To achieve this goal the group is heavily lobbying for tax increases, an action already sanctioned by Democratic leaders, including Gov. Mark Parkinson.”

AG Six requests Kansas Supreme Court to refrain from reopening Montoy case

(Kansas Liberty) “Attorney General Steve Six has asked the Kansas Supreme Court to deny the Schools for Fair Funding coalition’s request to reopen the Montoy v. State of Kansas lawsuit. “The Court in 2006 issued its mandate directing the district court to dismiss the case, and on the stipulation of all parties, the district court did so,’ Six said in a statement issued to the Kansas Supreme Court yesterday. ‘This case is over.’ Six referred to the request as ‘unprecedented’ and said that it ‘achieves no efficiencies, and is merely an attempt to circumvent the procedures for initiating new cases.’”

Kansas Senator Chris Steiniger on County Consolidation and His New Campaign

(State of the State KS) “Kansas Senator Chris Steiniger (D) talks about county consolidation and his recent announcement to run for Secretary of State.”

Legislators Speak at Energy Conference in Wichita

(State of the State KS) “House Assistant Minority Leader Jim Ward (D) and Kansas Senator Carolyn McGinn (R) spoke at an energy panel hosted by City of Wichita’s Dale Goter.” Full video of the conference is at Wichita Energy Conference Legislative Panel .

ProPublica predicts insolvency for Kansas’ unemployment insurance fund

(Kansas Watchdog) “Propublica, a national independent non-profit investigative journalism organization, on Wednesday reported that two dozen states have unemployment funds in the red, with nine more to be in the red within six months.”

U.S. Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance won’t affect Kansas much

(Kansas Watchdog) “The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that businesses and unions may spend freely on political campaigns, but this ruling only affects federal races in Kansas. ‘It won’t affect us at all’ was the response from Carol Williams, the executive director of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission. Williams said that 24 states had corporate and union contribution bans but Kansas did not.”

Wichita Chamber Will Lobby Against Income Tax

(Kansas Watchdog) “The Wichita Business Journal reported in today’s edition that the Wichita Chamber of Commerce is beginning what will likely be a multi-year effort to repeal the personal and business income taxes in Kansas.”

Furlough idea for legislators is dropped

(Kansas Reporter) “TOPEKA, Kan. – Furloughs for the Kansas Legislature are off the table until late in the legislative session, at the earliest, state Senate President Stephen Morris said.”

More budget cuts would hurt Kansas for years, tax backers say

(Kansas Reporter) “TOPEKA, Kan. – Kansas school children, the state’s elderly and its most fragile citizens simply cannot afford any more state budget cuts, proponents of a proposed one-percent sales tax increase told a Kansas House tax policy committee Thursday.”

School’s reserves total at least $1.4 billion

(Kansas Reporter) “TOPEKA, Kan. – In the fight over school funding, both sides agree that school districts in Kansas are sitting on at least $1.4 billion in cash reserves. The battle over whether that money is available to spend played out during two competing presentations Thursday morning in front of the House Appropriations Committee.”

Kansans speculate on future of federal health reform

(Kansas Health Institute News Service) “TOPEKA – The shockwaves emanating from Republican Scott Brown’s U.S. Senate victory in Massachusetts on Tuesday are being felt beyond the Bay state and Washington, D.C. They’re registering in state capitals across the country, including Topeka.”

Senate GOP leaders say some tax increases will be necessary

(Kansas Health Institute News Service) “TOPEKA – Senate leaders today said a combination of tax increases and spending cuts would be the best way to balance the state budget. Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, said he thought a plan to close sales tax exemptions and increase the tobacco tax could win legislative approval as lawmakers try to close a projected $400 million budget gap. Senate Vice President John Vratil, R-Leawood, said balancing the budget solely with more spending cuts would be ‘catastrophic.’”

{ 0 comments }

To some, Democrats not bold enough, despite Massachusetts results

by Bob Weeks on January 21, 2010

in Health care

A coalition of liberal political action groups has released a poll that contradicts the conventional wisdom stemming from Tuesday’s election.

The poll, conducted after Republican Scott Brown’s victory in the United States Senate election in Massachusetts, was sponsored by Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Democracy for America, and MoveOn.org.

According to a communique from Democracy for America, Democrats in Washington should “Be bold, fight for more change — not less, and pass healthcare with a public option.”

The message speaks of “Stay-at-Home Voters and Obama-Voting Independents” as a new set of swing voters. These voters, DFA claims, were responsible for Brown’s victory.

The poll results, delivered under the sub-heading “Even Scott Brown voters want the public option, want Democrats to be bolder” is interpreted by Charles Chamberlain, political director of Democracy for America this way: “In an election between Scott Brown and the public option, the public option would have won.”

Further, according to DFA, “Both sets of swing voters don’t think the current Senate bill goes far enough and over 80% of them want a public option. … If a public option was in the Senate bill then these swing voters would have delivered victory to the Democrats.”

{ 0 comments }

‘The Audacity of Hypocricy’ in Wichita

by Bob Weeks on January 18, 2010

in Politics

The Great American Forum hosts another event: “Come hear our panelists discuss the failed policies of the first year of the Obama Administration, and common-sense solutions to fixing our country! The topics will be: Homeland Security & Defense (Ben Sauceda), Cap & Trade (Rick Macias), Healthcare (Kenya Cox), and Economics (Brandon Rudkin). There will be a question and answer period.”

Thursday, January 21, 2010 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm, at Rhatigan Student Center Room 215 at Wichita State University.

{ 0 comments }

Left’s obsession with funding diverts attention from issues and its own funding

by Bob Weeks on December 8, 2009

in Politics

One of the duties of being a blogger on the left is constant disparaging of the source of funding or leadership of your opposition. All done, of course, while ignoring the painfully obvious problems with your own.

As an example, a recent Boston Globe column — its title is In glitzy shadows, a health reform foe lurks — makes claims that are false. Others are actually something to be proud of, not ashamed.

I don’t recommend you actually read the Globe piece. As one comment left to the article stated: “What an amazingly biased and unbalanced piece.” It’s not worth the time.

Instead, read the Examiner.com’s analysis at Boston Globe falsely claims Koch Industries astroturffed Obamacare protests.

At issue is the funding of Americans for Prosperity, which describes itself — accurately, I would say — as “an organization of grassroots leaders who engage citizens in the name of limited government and free markets on the local, state and federal levels.” Liberals and those in favor of big-taxing and big-spending government make continued charges that AFP is funded by “shadowy” interests — remember the Globe headline — that somehow manipulate ordinary Americans into coming to tea parties and engaging in other forms of political activism.

A key part of the Examiner.com analysis is a quote from a Koch Industries statement: “Not every issue focused on by AFP or AFP Foundation receives support from Koch Industries or a Koch foundation. For example, neither Koch companies, the Koch foundations, Charles Koch or David Koch have contributed funds to AFP’s and AFP Foundation’s efforts on the health care issue, which have included town-hall meetings and citizen rallies around the country.”

As to the totality of AFP funding, a statement that I received a few months ago from Missy Cohlmia, Director of Communications for Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC indicates that David Koch’s contributions to AFP are a relatively small portion of its total budget: “Less than 5 percent of the funding AFP or the AFP Foundation has received in 2009 has been contributed by David Koch, Koch Industries, or Koch foundations.”

Cohlmia also told me about the relationship between Fred Koch and the John Birch Society, which is another favorite talking point of the Left: “Fred Koch, who died in 1967, was a supporter, not a founder, of the John Birch Society in the 1950s. His anti-communist sentiment stemmed from time he spent in the Soviet Union between 1929 and 1932 when his engineering company designed and built oil cracking units to be erected in refineries in the U.S.S.R.”

Charles Koch’s recent book The Science of Success contains this about his father’s experience in Stalin’s Russia:

Fred found the Soviet Union to be “a land of hunger, misery and terror.” Virtually all the Soviet engineers he worked with were purged by Stalin, who exterminated tens of millions of his own people.

This experience, combined with what his Communist associates told him of their methods and plans for world revolution, caused Fred Koch to become a staunch anti-communist.

It reminds me of Ronald Reagan’s quip about an anti-communist being someone who has read Marx and Lenin and understands them. Or, in the case of Fred Koch, someone who actually saw the problems with communism through direct experience.

Additionally, David Koch is very interested in health care. Some details of his contributions to medical and cancer research, and also to education and science are detailed at David H. Koch Charitable Foundation and Personal Philanthropy.

Another source of information about David Koch, his background, and his charitable giving is from The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

In a way, I can understand leftists’ continued harping on these factors. It’s easier for them to focus on the personalities and the source of funding and leadership than on the actual issues. For example, even the headline of the Globe piece — alluding that opposing health care reform is evil — assumes that what the liberals are working through Congress is actual reform: “changes and improvements to a law, social system, or institution.” Many thoughtful people strongly disagree that the Obama plan will improve America’s health care system.

Besides, when you talk about personalities, there are few worse than George Soros, funder of many leftist causes and institutions. A speculator — one of the most evil of all players in the liberal world view — and not just any speculator — a currency speculator — Soros was actually convicted of insider trading.

Yet, the Left welcomes his millions in funding for all sorts of causes opposed to free markets and economic freedom. In fact, the author of the Globe piece is an employee of the Center for American Progress, one of several organizations funded by Soros.

{ 0 comments }

Articles of interest

by Bob Weeks on November 29, 2009

in Politics

Education, health care, Kansas school funding, unintended consequences.

Charter schools: Two studies, two conclusions

This Washington Post article looks at two recent studies of charter schools to try and determine whether they perform better or worse than regular public schools. Kansas, in effect, has no charter schools. They’re allowed by state law, but local boards of education must approve them. Few are approved, as the education establishment, including the teachers union, is firmly opposed to charter schools. Most charter schools operate on a much lower budget than regular public schools. As Kansas tries to work its way out of a tight budget, charter schools could provide a way to create diverse educational opportunities at lower cost.

Health Care is Not a Right

(Competitive Enterprise Institute) A discussion of why there is no right to health care, at least not in a country that understands the true meanings of rights. “Whereas genuine rights protect citizens from state coercion, the ‘right to health care’ serves to justify state coercion against a particular part of the population: those who pay taxes. Moreover, by their very nature, such positive demands cannot be clearly defined and hence are capable of infinite expansions. As one need is satisfied, others arise.”

School Districts: Extra Funds Cannot Replace Legislative Budget Cuts

A story from KAKE Television about Kansas State Board of Education member Walt Chappell and the huge fund balances that Kansas schools are holding. Chappell says that some of the money in these funds could provide a way to get through a year of reduced funding from the state. The Kansas Association of School Boards, a group that advocates for more school spending and tax increases to support it, disagrees.

Bush Was a Big-Government Disaster

A Reason Magazine editorial took a look backwards at the George W. Bush presidency: “Bush’s legacy is thus a bizarro version of Ronald Reagan’s. Reagan entered office declaring that government was not the solution to our problems, it was the problem. Ironically, he demonstrated that government could do some important things right—he helped tame inflation and masterfully drew the Cold War to a nonviolent triumph for the Free World. By contrast, Bush has massively expanded the government along with the sense that government is incompetent.”

The Henry Ford of Heart Surgery

The Wall Street Journal article The Henry Ford of Heart Surgery: In India, a Factory Model for Hospitals Is Cutting Costs and Yielding Profits reports on a new model for reducing health care costs: economies of scale. “By driving huge volumes, even of procedures as sophisticated, delicate and dangerous as heart surgery, Dr. Shetty has managed to drive down the cost of health care in his nation of one billion. His model offers insights for countries worldwide that are struggling with soaring medical costs, including the U.S. as it debates major health-care overhaul.”

Cash for Clubbers

An example of unintended consequences at work: The Wall Street Journal found that the cash for clunkers program worked for something else, too: “We thought cash for clunkers was the ultimate waste of taxpayer money, but as usual we were too optimistic. Thanks to the federal tax credit to buy high-mileage cars that was part of President Obama’s stimulus plan, Uncle Sam is now paying Americans to buy that great necessity of modern life, the golf cart. … This golf-cart fiasco perfectly illustrates tax policy in the age of Obama, when politicians dole out credits and loopholes for everything from plug-in cars to fuel efficient appliances, home insulation and vitamins. Democrats then insist that to pay for these absurdities they have no choice but to raise tax rates on other things — like work and investment — that aren’t politically in vogue. If this keeps up, it’ll soon make more sense to retire and play golf than work for living.”

{ 0 comments }

Wall Street Journal on government health care

by Bob Weeks on November 12, 2009

in Health care

The Wall Street Journal has compiled its editorials and op-eds into a collection titled The WSJ Guide to ObamaCare. It’s an invaluable collection of reporting and analysis.

For example: The German model, promoted by American liberals as a model to follow? “Alas, the German system is starting to come apart at the financial seams.” (The Stressed German Model: It took the Germans 125 years to figure out that their health-care system doesn’t work)

On learning from the states: “Like participants in a national science fair, state governments have tested variants on most of the major components of the health-care reform plans currently being considered in Congress. The results have been dramatically increased premiums in the individual market, spiraling public health-care costs, and reduced access to care. In other words: The reforms have failed.” (The Lesson of State Health-Care Reforms)

On the purported right to health care: “The question of health care is not one of rights but of how best in practice to organize it. America is certainly not a perfect model in this regard. But neither is Britain, where a universal right to health care has been recognized longest in the Western world. Not coincidentally, the U.K. is by far the most unpleasant country in which to be ill in the Western world. Even Greeks living in Britain return home for medical treatment if they are physically able to do so.” (Is There a ‘Right’ to Health Care? In Britain, its recognition has led to substandard care.)

On Obama’s tall tales: “To highlight abusive practices, Mr. Obama referred to an Illinois man who ‘lost his coverage in the middle of chemotherapy because his insurer found he hadn’t reported gallstones that he didn’t even know about.’ The president continued: ‘They delayed his treatment, and he died because of it.’ Although the president has used this example previously, his conclusion is contradicted by the transcript of a June 16 hearing on industry practices before the Subcommittee of Oversight and Investigation of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.” (Fact-Checking the President on Health Insurance: His tales of abuse don’t stand scrutiny.)

{ 0 comments }

Failure of one program doesn’t justify forming another

by Bob Weeks on November 12, 2009

in Health care

The blogger at the KRA got it just right in the post Liberal-socialists ignore government failure in insuring children.

It seems that at a recent rally in Johnson County, a sign said there were 58,000 uninsured children in Kansas.

The blogger points out “But doesn’t the state of Kansas already have a program in place that is supposed to insure children when their family can’t afford to do so? Of course, it’s called Kansas Healthwave!”

At the national level a similar problem exists: people are eligible for government programs, but they don’t sign up. As I wrote in Uninsured count needs explanation:

There’s also the issue that many people are eligible for some sort of government assistance with health insurance, but they don’t take advantage of it. Yet, these people are counted as uninsured. As explained in The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care: A Citizen’s Guide by Sally Pipes of the Pacific Research Institute: “As many as 14 million of the 45.7 million uninsured — poor and low-income Americans — are fully eligible for generous government assistance programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP. The problem is, they’re just not enrolling in these programs.”

{ 0 comments }

Kansas news digest

by Bob Weeks on November 9, 2009

in Politics

News from alternative media around Kansas for November 9, 2009.

Political involvement and Kansas smoking ban

(State of the State Kansas) “This week we focus on two issues: the proposed smoking ban in public places and getting young people involved in the political process.”

Districts Have Funds To Meet Projected $100 Million Shortfall

(Kansas Watchdog) “Kansas school districts will fall about $100 million short of needed funds by the end of the current 2010 fiscal year according to Dale Dennis, Deputy Commissioner of the Kansas Department of Education. But school districts statewide had $175.7 million in their contingency reserve funds at the beginning of the current fiscal year. Dennis says those taxpayers’ dollars can be used to cover the shortfall, but once districts spend that money it’s gone.”

Does not compute: Kansas to use “stimulus” debt to save future interest payments?

(Kansas Watchdog) “So, we’re using $159.2 million in stimulus spending to realize interest savings on bonds? But that $159.2 million is new debt. We’re trading ’saved interest’ for more debt? What we’re doing is only increasing the debt and the interest we owe.”

Human services and school funding dragging state into a deep deficit

(Kansas Liberty) “If Kansas maintains full funding for human-service caseloads and school financing — including the huge outlays for special education — the state’s budget will plummet into a deficit of $722.5 million within the next two years, according the state’s Consensus Estimating Group.”

Roberts warns Democratic health plan may cost taxpayers $2.4 trillion

(Kansas Liberty) “Kansas’ U.S. Senator Pat Roberts said Wednesday that the Democratic health care plan could result in a $2.4 trillion tax burden being placed on United States residents over the next decade. ‘The rushed health care reform proposals being debated behind closed doors could end up costing the taxpayer $2.4 trillion over ten years while doing nothing to lower the rising cost of care for patients and causing insurance premiums to rise,’ Roberts said in a statement. Roberts’ data comes from the Senate Budget Committee, a spokesperson said.”

Proposed health insurance ‘exchanges’ worry Blue Cross

(Kansas Liberty) “The Democratic health care plan’s creation of a ‘health insurance exchange’ brings up some concerns for private health insurance providers — and for Republicans who are opposed to an expansion of government. The exchange will create a marketplace, likely online, which will allow for businesses and individuals to select their health insurance on their own. This will differ from most current practices in which either health insurance brokers, or in-house employees work as facilitators to match businesses and individuals with health insurance plans, although it also duplicates existing private enterprise solutions. … ‘And what we do not need is an insurance version of Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac.’”

{ 0 comments }

Kansas News Digest

by Bob Weeks on November 2, 2009

in Politics

News from alternative media around Kansas for November 2, 2009.

Kansas House leaders question secretary of commerce’s departure to Missouri

(Kansas Liberty) “The Republican leadership of the Kansas House is questioning the timing of former Kansas Secretary of Commerce David Kerr’s resignation to take a job as the director of the Department of Economic Development in Missouri. The Show-Me State is Kansas’ rival for a $414 million economic development project expected to create 4,500 jobs.”

State lawmakers push to preserve Kansans’ right to decide on health care

(Kansas Liberty) “Kansas House and Senate Republicans are joining together to promote an amendment that they say protects Kansans from any government-managed health-care reform that might come out of the U.S. Congress.” More coverage from Kansas Watchdog is at Legislators Propose Health Care Amendment to Kansas Constitution . A contrary view from Forward Kansas is at KS Republican Legislators Waste More Time Scaring the Public on HCR.

Despite AG’s findings, Howe pledges to keep doors closed to some public meetings

(Kansas Liberty) More problems with open records and open meetings in Kansas. “Attorney General Steve Six, responding to an inquiry from state lawmakers about the scope of the Kansas Open Meeting Act, determined that taxes and budget issues cannot be discussed during meetings that are closed to the public, except in cases in which it is “burdensome and impractical, if not impossible” to do so.” Kansas Watchdog coverage is at Letter to JoCo DA from Kansas Press .

Kansas store moves 100 feet to Missouri to avoid taxes, regulations

(Kansas Watchdog) “Normally the opening of a new QuikTrip store is not a news item. But, tomorrow the QuikTrip Convenience Store at 27 Southwest Blvd will reopen in Kansas City, Missouri after ‘moving’ about 100 feet from Kansas to avoid higher taxes and more burdensome regulations in Kansas.”

Small Businesses Struggle with Health Insurance

(State of the State Kansas) “The Wichita Independent Business Association helps small businesses obtain health insurance but it may not be enough.”

Is Populism the Way Out of Desert for Kansas Democrats?

(Kansas Free Press) “It is a sad state of affairs when only multi-millionaires can speak their minds AND succeed in politics. Now both parties feel the need to ’suck up’ to The Man — corporate plutocracy. But before the Democratic party goes too far down that road, shouldn’t we try the ‘Great Commoner’s’ prescription first?”

{ 0 comments }

In Winfield, citizens don’t agree with their opinion leaders

by Bob Weeks on October 30, 2009

in Health care

On Wednesday the Winfield Daily Courier printed an editorial titled ‘Tea party’ bunch is going to extreme.

While criticizing a move made by some Kansas legislators, it uses loaded language like “in full Glenn Beck mode,” “they look silly,” “appealing to prejudice rather than reason,” and “should just laugh at the ‘tea party’ jesters.”

The anonymous author of this piece — probably Dave Seaton, identified in the newspaper’s website as “responsible for the Courier’s editorial content” — seems to be more than a bit out of touch with readers, at least those who have left comments to the editorial.

One comment writer left this: “Kansas is among the states that want it the least. The vote in the last Presidential election showed that a majority didn’t want it or it’s author! We didn’t believe the author’s ‘Kansas Values’ ad then and certainly don’t now!”

Another wrote: “You seem very quick to decry the ‘tea party’ people and Glenn Beck as the demon. You’ve yet to enumerate any inaccuracy held and posed by them, though. … Could that be because you’ve openly embraced and adopted the Saul D. Alinsky tactic of smear and defame those you cannot overcome with clear logic and fact?”

One, identifying himself as the Ayn Rand character John Galt, wrote: “Someone at the Winfield People’s Courier both needs a little fresh air, and reminds me why I generally have done well to avoid the bien pensant opinion of most printed newspapers these days.”

(bien-pensant: right-minded, one who holds orthodox views. I had to look that up.)

It seems like many people in Winfield don’t care for the editorial stance of their newspaper. I understand why.

{ 7 comments }

Kansas news digest

by Bob Weeks on October 26, 2009

in Politics

News from alternative media around Kansas for October 26, 2009.

Kansans will have to pay to support health care in states favored by Democrats

(Kansas Liberty) Special treatment and favors pollute health care reform bill: “Senate Democrats have worked in extra provisions to the reform plans that would give their states special advantages, including financial assistance with Medicaid costs, additional Medicare benefits and extra tax breaks for some residents. Republicans point out that these advantages will shift some of the costs of the plan to other states, including Kansas. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, has been instrumental in adding in extra benefits for himself and for his Democratic colleagues.”

Financial crisis may finally make schools ‘participate in cuts’

(Kansas Liberty) Last week’s meeting centered on discussing possible ways to make additional cuts, and many conservative Republicans are continuing to look at K-12 as a way to decrease state spending. The committee also discussed the possibility of school consolidation to save funds, identifying state agencies that could possibly be scaled back or eliminated, and possibilities for spurring job growth within the state as a way to increase revenues. … Democrats had already started planting the idea that tax increases are necessary.

Flint Hills Changes Name to Kansas Policy Institute

(Kansas Watchdog) “The Flint Hills Center for Public Policy has changed its name to the Kansas Policy Institute. The non-profit, non-partisan organization will continue to pursue the same free market interests under the new name.”

Kansas is Headed for a Budgetary Train Wreck

(Kansas Watchdog) “Educators say K-12 schools need $70 million more in 2010. And the state is expecting a budget shortfall of $500 million or more in 2010 — even without factoring in requests for more spending. One way to help fix the problem might be more honest reporting on the nature of the state’s budgetary woes.”

Labette Community College President reimbursed with tax dollars for political donation

(Kansas Watchdog) “Labette Community College president George Knox donated $500 to the campaign of State Treasurer Dennis McKinney according to a report by KOAM TV. A donation to a political candidate by a private citizen is not unusual, but KOAM TV reported that LCC trustee Mike Howerter questioned the reimbursement claim for the political donation by the college president.”

Letter from the Newsroom: Health Insurance Edition

State of the State Kansas takes a look at health insurance this week, featuring video interviews with Kansas Senator Jim Barnett, Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger, Mary Beth Chambers from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, and others.

{ 1 comment }

Kansas news digest

by Bob Weeks on October 19, 2009

in Politics

News from alternative media around Kansas for October 19, 2009.

Letter from the Newsroom: National Security Edition

This week State of the State Kansas takes an in-depth look at national security, with interviews of Mike Pompeo, Bob Beatty, Dennis Farnsworth, and news stories as well.

Film and Mike Smith Debunk Global Warming

(Kansas Watchdog) Coverage of “Not Evil Just Wrong” and the presentation before the film. “A 50-minute presentation by atmospheric scientist Mike Smith of Wichita preceded the presentation. Smith, CEO and Founder of WeatherData Inc., talked about the science and opinion behind manmade global warming theory. Smith, like the film that followed his presentation, debunked many claims of global warming theorists who are calling for major changes in environmental and economic policy.”

Eye on the Stimulus: 209 New Jobs in Kansas

(Kansas Watchdog) “On Thursday Recovery.gov released its first hard data on stimulus jobs.”

CPA Steve Anderson talks about Performance Review of Johnson County Government

(Kansas Watchdog) “At the October meeting in Overland Park of the Sunflower Republican Club,which was open to the public, CPA Steve Anderson talked about the Performance Review he conducted of Johnson County Kansas government for Americans for Prosperity Kansas. … Anderson said a standard performance review was a look at a single point in time, where his ‘enhanced finanical reporting’ attempted to look at trends in five-years of data and added cost-benefit analysis. Anderson pointed out several issues he had with Johnson County Government, and suggested a ’second set’ of books detailing true cost and benefits would give better government transparency and accountability.”

Roberts: Baucus plan would raise taxes and cut benefits for seniors

(Kansas Liberty) “Before the vote, Roberts cautioned his fellow committee members that the ’so-called moderate’ Baucus plan would become ‘radically’ different once it was voted out of the committee.”

Report recommends changing the way schools can spend special-ed funds

(Kansas Liberty) “So-called ‘catastrophic’ funding to be made more flexible. One big question: How did Shawnee Mission schools go from zero claims to 333 — in one single year?”

State Financial Mess; Please Not the Same Old Thinking

(Kansas Free Press) The case for more taxes in Kansas is made: “I believe we must look at tax fairness. Make sure everyone is paying their fair share. This will mean some who have received tax breaks in the past will need to step up.”

Cerner-Kansas City Wizards Development in Village West Advances

(Forward Kansas) “Great first step in bringing new jobs to Kansas! This a great opportunity for Wyandotte County and Kansas as a whole!”

{ 0 comments }

Physician to speak on health care reform in Wichita

by Bob Weeks on October 6, 2009

in Health care

Please note: Effective October 2, 2009, the location of Wichita Pachyderm Club meetings has changed. The new location is the Wichita Petroleum Club.

This Friday (October 9, 2009) the Wichita Pachyderm Club at the Petroleum Club of Wichita presents Dr. George Watson, D.O. The topic will be “We Need Change in Health Care, and the Correct Diagnosis!”

Dr. Watson operates a patient direct practice, meaning he accepts no government or insurance company payments. He serves his patients 100% and they pay him directly. He is a member of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. On August 27 this group filed a free speech violations case in the health care battle against the White House.

Lunch is $10.00 and is a buffet lunch. The meeting starts at noon.

The Wichita Petroleum Club is on the ninth floor of the Bank of America Building at 100 N. Broadway (north side of Douglas between Topeka and Broadway) in Wichita, Kansas (click for a map and directions). Park in the garage just across Broadway and use the sky walk to enter the Bank of America building. Bring your parking garage ticket to be stamped and your parking fee will be $1.00. There is usually some metered street parking nearby.

{ 0 comments }

In health care debate, can we trust the president?

by Bob Weeks on September 22, 2009

in Health care

In the health care debate, President Obama pleads with Americans to get the facts straight before making up their minds. But that’s easier said than done, and by his actions, I wonder if the president really believes this.

Here’s an example: A page at mybarackobama.com under the title “Setting the Record Straight” holds this prominent statement: “It seems like a new lie about health insurance reform crops up each day. These lies create fear and anger — and we’re seeing the results around the country. It’s time to work together to set the record straight and expose the special interests and partisan attack groups who deliberately spread these rumors and lies in a desperate attempt to preserve the status quo.”

A direct quote from the president shown on this page is “Where we do disagree, let’s disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations that bear no resemblance to anything that’s actually been proposed.”

So what are “things that are real,” Mr. President? Here’s some Wall Street Journal reporting (Fact-Checking the President on Health Insurance: His tales of abuse don’t stand scrutiny, September 14, 2009) that casts doubt on the president’s truthfulness. Referring to the president’s address to Congress earlier this month:

Later in his speech, the president used Alabama to buttress his call for a government insurer to enhance competition in health insurance. He asserted that 90% of the Alabama health-insurance market is controlled by one insurer, and that high market concentration “makes it easier for insurance companies to treat their customers badly — by cherry-picking the healthiest individuals and trying to drop the sickest; by overcharging small businesses who have no leverage; and by jacking up rates.”

In fact, the Birmingham News reported immediately following the speech that the state’s largest health insurer, the nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, has about a 75% market share. A representative of the company indicated that its “profit” averaged only 0.6% of premiums the past decade, and that its administrative expense ratio is 7% of premiums, the fourth lowest among 39 Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans nationwide.

Similarly, a Dec. 31, 2007, report by the Alabama Department of Insurance indicates that the insurer’s ratio of medical-claim costs to premiums for the year was 92%, with an administrative expense ratio (including claims settlement expenses) of 7.5%. Its net income, including investment income, was equivalent to 2% of premiums in that year.

In addition to these consumer friendly numbers, a survey in Consumer Reports this month reported that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama ranked second nationally in customer satisfaction among 41 preferred provider organization health plans. The insurer’s apparent efficiency may explain its dominance, as opposed to a lack of competition — especially since there are no obvious barriers to entry or expansion in Alabama faced by large national health insurers such as United Healthcare and Aetna.

The president and the Birmingham News certainly have different views of the facts.

That speech also told two tales of patients allegedly abused by their private insurance companies. Congressional testimony, however, provided a different set of facts than what the president presented in his speech (Fact-checking the president on health insurance).

{ 3 comments }

Fact-checking the president on health insurance

by Bob Weeks on September 18, 2009

in Health care

Advocates for more government control over health care, including President Obama, cite cases where people have been abused by private health insurance companies. We ought to be sure that these cases are real, and we need to be aware of the scope of the problem, before we assign weight to these arguments.

Wall Street Journal reporting (Fact-Checking the President on Health Insurance: His tales of abuse don’t stand scrutiny, September 14, 2009) provides some vitally important information in the health care debate.

As it turns out, the facts underlying two cases that President Obama cited in his address to Congress last week are quite different from what the president wants us to believe.

In one case, the president said this in his speech: “One man from Illinois lost his coverage in the middle of chemotherapy because his insurer found that he hadn’t reported gallstones that he didn’t even know about. They delayed his treatment, and he died because of it.”

Here’s the Wall Street Journal reporting on this same case: “Although the president has used this example previously, his conclusion is contradicted by the transcript of a June 16 hearing on industry practices before the Subcommittee of Oversight and Investigation of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The deceased’s sister testified that the insurer reinstated her brother’s coverage following intervention by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. She testified that her brother received a prescribed stem-cell transplant within the desired three- to four-week ‘window of opportunity’ from ‘one of the most renowned doctors in the whole world on the specific routine,’ that the procedure ‘was extremely successful,’ and that ‘it extended his life nearly three and a half years.’”

In the second case, the president said this: “Another woman from Texas was about to get a double mastectomy when her insurance company canceled her policy because she forgot to declare a case of acne.”

The Journal reporting: “The woman’s testimony at the June 16 hearing confirms that her surgery was delayed several months. It also suggests that the dermatologist’s chart may have described her skin condition as precancerous, that the insurer also took issue with an apparent failure to disclose an earlier problem with an irregular heartbeat, and that she knowingly underreported her weight on the application.”

Did President Obama lie about these cases? Or is he simply misinformed, and if so, who is feeding him misinformation?

A second issue is the number of cases of rescission. That’s where an insurer cancels a policy, leading to stories like the two above. The number of cases identified by Congressional staff analysis is 20,000 over a five-year period. This may be evidence of a small problem that needs some gentle reform. A wholesale government intervention is not justified by these cases.

{ 3 comments }

Articles of Interest

September 14, 2009

Van Jones, Jay Leno, smoking in Kansas, Obama’s health care speech.

Read the full article →

Health care reform threatens anesthesiology, patients

September 14, 2009

While doctors aren’t the only source of information we should use when considering health care reform, they are on the front lines of providing care, and so their insights are valuable.

Recently, Ronald Dworkin contributed An Anesthesiologist’s Take on Health-Care Reform to the Wall Street Journal. He makes some good observations on doctors in general, and on the special nature of anesthesiology.

Read the full article →

Health Czar, interrupted

September 11, 2009

The Sam Adams Alliance presents another humorous look at health care reform in American. The first, Health rations and you, was very popular on YouTube. Now: “After months of Americans happily sacrificing for the Health Administration Bureau, Health Czar O’Brien holds his first press conference, ready to answer the tough questions.”

Read the full article →

Death goes to Washington

September 11, 2009

Wichita activist Wendy Aylworth has taken her cause, Morticians for National Health Care to Washington. This group, a tongue-in-cheek preview of the future Wendy believes we face under ObamaCare, seeks to inject a little humor and satire into the debate over health care reform.

Read the full article →

President Obama’s health care speech

September 9, 2009

Speaking to a joint session of Congress and the American people, President Barack Obama laid out his latest vision for health care reform.

Read the full article →

Government institutions not role model for health care

September 6, 2009

One of the arguments used to promote more government involvement in the provision of health care is this: government already provides so many services, and government does it so well, that we ought to turn over medicine to it too.

Read the full article →

Some without health insurance are eligible

September 6, 2009

Last week we looked at U.S. Census data regarding the number of people in America without health insurance, and we saw that a large number of people are eligible for various free insurance programs, but haven’t applied. The number may be as high as 14 million.

Today’s Wichita Eagle has a story that may illustrate such a case. A family of four — two adults, two children — earns $2,000 per month, but has no insurance.

Read the full article →

Articles of Interest

August 31, 2009

Kansas budget, expensive college, Kansas education funding, alternatives to ObamaCare.

Read the full article →

Uninsured count needs explanation

August 28, 2009

One of the problems in the health care debate today is lack of facts — at least facts that all sides of the debate can agree on. Without such agreement, without a basic set of facts and data to reason from, we’re not likely to make any progress.

One example of a fact often used as evidence is the high number of uninsured in America. Often the number cited is 45.7 million, which is a substantial fraction of our population. The source of this number is the United States Census Bureau report Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007. Specifically, the table “People Without Health Insurance Coverage by Selected Characteristics: 2006 and 2007″ (page 22) gives this number, along with some detail and breakdown by various characteristics.

Read the full article →

Swiss system could be best of the big-government reform alternatives

August 27, 2009

At a recent forum on health care in Wichita, the system of health care in Switzerland was mentioned as a system that we could learn from.

Read the full article →

Health care talk gives alternative to big-government reform

August 26, 2009

At a recent forum sponsored by the South Central Kansas 9.12 Group, Dr. George Watson of Park City, Kansas laid out a conservative case for health care reform. His messages was different than that of most reformers: instead of more government involvement, we need less government.

“Yes, we need change,” he said. He also said that a public option will result in government takeover of medicine.

Read the full article →

Not all health care administrative costs are wasteful

August 20, 2009

One of the issues discussed in the health care debate today is the allegedly wasteful administrative and overhead costs of private health insurance, compared to — again allegedly — efficient government processes.

The article Comparing Public and Private Health Insurance: Would A Single-Payer System Save Enough to Cover the Uninsured? makes some useful points.

Read the full article →

Free speech shouldn’t be victim of health care reform

August 19, 2009

At a public forum on health care in Wichita held last Sunday, Dr. Douglas Bradham, DrPH, professor and chair of the Department of Preventive medicine and Public Health at the KU Medical School-Wichita, said this: “Direct-to-patient advertising for procedures and for pharmaceuticals, in my mind, should be eliminated.”

Read the full article →

What type of turf is a lie?

August 13, 2009

The Lone Star Times reports how, at a town hall meeting in Texas, an Obama supporter claimed to be a physician when asking a question. But she isn’t: Obama camp plants fake doc, Che fan at Jackson Lee forum.

I wonder if this happened at the same Sheila Jackson Lee town hall where the Member of Congress talked on the telephone while citizens asked questions. Classy.

Read the full article →

Astroturf, Obama style

August 12, 2009

At the recent New Hampshire town hall meeting, President Obama took a softball question from a young girl. It seemed innocent enough. Almost natural.

Read the full article →

The real right to medical care versus socialized medicine

August 11, 2009

In 1994, George Reisman wrote a pamphlet explaining the problems with America’s health care system. He criticized the Clinton plan for reform, and offered an alternative based on freedom and markets rather than government interventionism. It is a brilliant work, and still relevant today: “I wrote this essay to help defeat the Clinton plan for socialized medicine. In all essentials it’s as valid today as it was then. It’s a demonstration that government intervention inspired by the philosophy of collectivism is the cause of America’s medical crisis and that a free market in medical care is the solution for the crisis. I urge everyone who wants to help defeat the essentially similar Obama scheme to read it.”

Read the full article →

Health reform: look at Oregon

August 10, 2009

In less than 90 seconds this video highlights the upside-down priorities of Oregon’s Medicaid system. Lobbying groups have used the political process to push coverage for special-interest causes like substance abuse and weight loss treatment ahead of treatments for some kinds of cancer on the priority list.

Read the full article →

Eliminate all health insurance profits, and what’s left?

August 7, 2009

Those who advocate government takeover of health care and the elimination of private insurance cite the “wasteful overhead” and “high profits” of health insurance companies. But: “Net income comes to just a few cents per dollar of premiums.

Read the full article →

Eugene Robinson doesn’t get it

August 7, 2009

“I don’t know if you’d call it passion or manufactured passion … the uproar at these meetings is counterproductive .. and it’s organized, which I think is the most disturbing part of it.”

Read the full article →

Sebelius takes cover in loving union arms

August 6, 2009

“Possibly to avoid any confrontation with concerned citizens who have read the proposed health care legislation in Congress, HHS Secretary Sebelius will hold a conference call on Friday with health care activists and SEIU members.”

Read the full article →

Profit motive in health care is essential

August 4, 2009

I wonder: who has the greater incentive to avoid wasting money on useless overhead? The government, or a private company who can keep the money saved as profits?

Read the full article →

John Stossel covers Canadian health care

August 4, 2009

John Stossel covers health care, particularly health care in Canada, on the ABC television new show 20/20. Why anyone would want to bring this to the United States is a mystery. Click on Health Care: Does Canada Do It Better? to view the video. Reaction from viewers is at Reaction To Healthcare Segment.

Read the full article →

How will government run our health care?

August 3, 2009

Other than the source of its premiums, Medicare is no different, economically, than a regular health-insurance company. But unlike, say, UnitedHealthcare, it is a bureaucracy-beclotted nightmare, riven with waste and fraud. Last year the Government Accountability Office estimated that no less than one-third of all Medicare disbursements for durable medical equipment, such as wheelchairs and hospital beds, were improper or fraudulent. Medicare was so lax in its oversight that it was approving orthopedic shoes for amputees.

Read the full article →

The right to health care

July 18, 2009

Is there a right to health care in America?

If you believe in liberty, the answer is no.

Read the full article →

In Wichita, concern shown for direction of health care

July 17, 2009

Today, about 30 activists gathered in Wichita to express their concern over the possible takeover of health care by the government. For me, what I will remember from today is the story told by Wendy Aylworth about the death of her cousin’s daughter.

Read the full article →

Health rations and you

July 16, 2009

Normally I shy away from using humor when discussing such a serious issue as health care. But this is a humorous look at what lies ahead if we’re not diligent.

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries