Publications -- Regulations

Sep 29, 2000

BA #342 – Reimporting Prescription Drugs

Physicians and patients in the United States have better access to innovative treatments than do those in any other developed country. And the U.S. has become the world leader in biotechnology, including the development and manufacture of new drugs. The main reason is the lack of price controls. In almost every other industrialized country, choice of and access to the most effective new drugs are limited by drug price controls and other government restrictions.

Sep 26, 2000

BA #341 – Facts about Social Security

Social Security reform has emerged as one of the defining issues of the 2000 election. Proposals to "save" Social Security have fueled an onslaught of criticism and praise of the current system - some accurate, some in the neighborhood and some not even close. A number of myths and half-truths about Social Security have clouded the dialogue.

Sep 26, 2000

BA #340 – Should IRA's Be Expanded?

On July 19 the House voted to expand the amount taxpayers can invest in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and 401(k) retirement plans. With the help of 181 Democrats, the Republican-initiated proposal passed 401 to 25. Despite the measure's bipartisan support, it prompted a polemical attack from the White House, which issued a "fact sheet" against congressional tax bills, arguing they would drain money from the surplus, leave too little for "key priorities" (spending) and fail to equally benefit those who pay taxes and those who do not.

Jul 27, 2000

BA #330 – Managing Health Care with the Internet

The Internet is the right tool at the right time to allow Americans to manage their own health care. It is changing the entire health care environment for physicians, insurers and patients. The Internet offers the possibility of one-stop shopping - enabling consumers to compare and price health plans, choose their doctors, apply for insurance coverage, check on the status of claims submitted, and pay premiums online.

Jul 06, 2000

BA #327 – Four Years Of MSAs: The Lessons So Far

The Medical Savings Account (MSA) pilot program expires at the end of this year unless Congress acts soon to extend it.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) allowed small employers and the self-employed to set up a tax-favored savings account to pay for routine medical expenses, provided they also have an insurance plan that meets some very specific requirements.

Jun 28, 2000

BA #329 – MySocialSecurity.org

Social Security has emerged as a key election year issue. Proposals have been introduced in Congress to allow younger workers to save a portion of their payroll taxes in personal retirement accounts. To help you understand how such personal accounts could affect retirement benefits, the NCPA has developed a Social Security calculator that compares the return from the Social Security payroll tax with the return if the entire amount were invested in a personal retirement account. (The calculator is not based on any of the proposals, all of which call for investing only a portion of the total payroll tax.)

Jun 21, 2000

BA #325 – Health Insurance: Letting Employees Choose

While managed care was rather successful at holding down health care inflation in the 1990s, it did so at the price of growing dissatisfaction among workers, their doctors and ultimately politicians. The various proposals in Congress for a "Patient Bill of Rights" are an indication of this dissatisfaction. So too are the dozens of new "anti-managed care" state laws.

Jun 16, 2000

BA #326 – School Choice in San Antonio

The Horizon Program, the most sweeping experiment in school choice ever attempted in the United States, began in 1998 in the Edgewood Independent School District (EISD) in San Antonio, Texas. The Children's Educational Opportunity (CEO) Foundation offered a privately funded full tuition scholarship to any low-income student in the district who wanted to attend another school, private or public. About 90 percent of the 13,500 students in the predominantly Hispanic district are considered economically disadvantaged.

Jun 02, 2000

BA #324 – Texas Concealed Handgun Carriers:Law-abiding Public Benefactors

In 1994, Texas citizens approved a nonbinding resolution asking the state to grant Texans the right to carry concealed weapons. Gov. Ann Richards had vetoed such a bill prior to the vote and vowed that no such bill would pass while she was governor. By contrast, her opponent in the race for governor, George W. Bush, said that if elected he would sign an appropriately structured "right-to-carry" law. Bush won the election and on May 26, 1995, signed a law granting Texans the right to carry concealed firearms. When he did so, Texas joined 22 other states that since 1986 have made it legal to carry concealed weapons.

May 19, 2000

BA #323 – Prescription Drug Costs: Has Canada Found the Answer?

Some Americans faced with the rising costs of prescription drugs have begun looking longingly at Canada, where prescription drugs appear to cost less than in the United States. Some seniors are taking bus trips from New York and New England to Quebec to buy cheaper drugs.