reform

Why Credit Default Swaps Should Regulated as Insurance

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Congress continues to discuss financial reform, but so far have come up with nothing. Last fall, Senator Dodd of Connecticut introduced long and elaborate legislation to reform America’s financial system, but the law and regulation is essentially the same as it was during the 2008 financial collapse. Lately, though, I keep reading short reviews about […]

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Where’s the Real Financial Reform?

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The new credit card rules will make it difficult for banks and credit card processors to be tricksters, which is my word for their erratic and arbitrary fees and penalties. But despite the hostile opinions reported in the popular media, banks continue to have their way in financial matters. Take the student loan program, where […]

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The Right Way to Pay for Health Care

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The health care bill that finally passed the U.S. Senate has many differences from the bill that passed the House of Representatives, but both bills have additional taxes designed to close certain revenue shortages. In the House bill, some of the finance for expanding coverage to the millions without health care comes from an income […]

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How National Health Care Will Improve Your Salary

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The latest turn in the health care debate drops the public option but would extend Medicare eligibility downward to begin at 55 years old. Since the words “public option” bring automatic opposition, health care reform supporters in Congress apparently decided to address the politics with some new words even though Medicare is already a public […]

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Why the Health Care Reform Bill Won’t Control Costs

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For the first time, all but the smallest employers will be required to provide health insurance coverage to the workers, thanks to a bill passed in the House of Representatives (“House Democrats promise health-care victory as Republicans remain opposed to bill,” Washington Post, Nov. 8, 2009). The requirement is new, but the bill perpetuates the […]

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Can a National Risk Pool Save Health Insurance?

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President Obama, in a prime time address to Congress, pledged to reform health care in America. All types of insurance are supposed to let people pay premiums into a risk pool that generates a reserve fund to pay losses. Insurance companies employ mathematicians to analyze actuarial data on mortality — accidents, sickness, disability, retirement and […]

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Health Care Reform Hinges on Wealth Inequality

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The debate over health care reform drags on with charges and countercharges. When the groups opposed to change want to throw down the gauntlet, they will describe the Democrats’ proposals as a “complete takeover of the health care industry.” Using the words “complete takeover” makes it sound like the private insurance industry once served people […]

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It’s Time to Publicly Fund Physician Training

The need for health care reform and new health care policies keeps making the news almost every day. Better access to health care includes better access to the knowledge and services of physicians. That would imply the number of new health care graduates should grow as the population grows, but medical school degree data published […]

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