Patients, especially seniors, can save up to 90 percent on prescription drugs, according to a study written by NCPA Research Manager Devon Herrick entitled "Shopping for Drugs."
NCPA Senior Fellow Edward J. McCaffery wrote a Brief Analysis, "Marriage Penalty Relief in the New Tax Law" on the new Bush tax bill, showing that the bill provides some relief from the marriage penalty, yet still distorts decisions to work, marry and have families.
NCPA President John C. Goodman wrote "The Bush Medicare Reform Plan," a Brief Analysis showing that the sweeping improvements the Bush Administration originally proposed for Medicare would increase seniors' choices, reduce financial risk and rein in escalating costs, but would also expand federal entitlement obligations.
In another study, "Does It Pay to Work?," Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff and Jagadeesh Gokhale of the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank showed that most Americans lose more than half of the income they earn to taxes and reduced government benefits, with the highest penalties imposed on low-income workers.
The federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), a retirement savings plan for federal employees and members of Congress, could serve as a model for Social Security Personal Retirement Accounts, according to a Brief Analysis by NCPA Policy Analyst Matt Moore, entitled "The Federal Thrift Savings Plan: A Model for Social Security Reform."
In the Brief Analysis "Gephardt's Health Plan: Four Flaws," John Goodman and Devon Herrick uncover problems in Rep. Dick Gephardt's health plan.
NCPA Senior Fellow H. Sterling Burnett wrote "Energy Bill Mistakes: Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," a Brief Analysis finding that the National Energy Policy currently being debated in Congress will only retard economic growth and limit consumer choice.
A study written by NCPA Senior Fellow Andrew Rettenmaier and Liqun Liu on Social Security outcomes by race and education appeared in the April edition of the Southern Economic Journal.
"Reforming Medicare," a study written by Rettenmaier and Thomas R. Saving, concerns the rising deficits of the present $23 trillion in Medicare and Social Security obligations and the escalating rate of income tax revenues for future generations.
Professor at Webster University and NCPA Senior Fellow Donald L. Westerfield discusses numerous benefits of AHPs in his study "Insuring the Uninsured through Association Health Plans." Westerfield contrasted the AHP's affordability to more expensive, state-regulated health plans.
Prices for medical services are much lower when patients pay the bill, according to a Brief Analysis written by NCPA Research Manager Devon Herrick, who focused on the market for cosmetic surgery in "Why Are Health Costs Rising?"
In the Brief Analysis "Flexible Spending Accounts: The Case for Reform," NCPA Government Affairs Director Michael Cannon lays out methods of reforming Flexible Spending Accounts in order to empower patients.
In "Is Workers' Compensation a Model for Unemployment Insurance?" NCPA Senior Fellow William B. Conerly suggests reform of unemployment insurance through state waivers.
Sterling Burnett relays the importance of natural gas and the advantages of natural gas sources over other energy sources in his Brief Analysis, "Shaping a Progressive Energy Policy: Natural Gas."
Executive Director of the Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation and NCPA Senior Fellow Stephen J. Entin wrote the Brief Analysis "The Bush Tax Plan: Tax Reform in the Making," explaining the economic impact of President Bush's tax reform package.
Devon Herrick wrote a Brief Analysis stating that Health Reimbursement Accounts offer employees more choice and control over the health care they consume and help employers hold the line on costs.
Creation of a national database for ballistic imaging would be unreliable and costly, according to an NCPA Policy Backgrounder, "Ballistic Imaging: Not Ready for Prime Time," co-authored by Research Director of the Independence Institute David Kopel and H. Sterling Burnett.
"Association Health Plans," a Brief Analysis by Donald L. Westerfield, shows how association health plans would enhance competition in the health insurance market.
The Brief Analysis, "Social Security and Medicare Forecast: 2003," highlights the Social Security Trustees' forecast that more than half of all tax revenues in 2050 will be needed to deliver benefits promised under both entitlement programs.
