Publications -- Federal Spending

Jan 13, 1998

BA #252 – 10 Guidelines for Insuring Children

The 1997 budget agreement includes a provision giving the states $24 billion over five years to provide health insurance to uninsured children from low-income families - basically those in families with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty level, not eligible for Medicaid, not enrolled in a health plan or covered by health insurance.

Jan 12, 1998

BA #251 – Explaining the Growing Number of Uninsured

The number of people without health insurance continues to grow. The most recent U.S. Census Bureau estimate places the number at 41.4 million people, or 17.7 percent of the nonelderly population - up from 35.7 million, or 16.6 percent in 1990.

Jan 12, 1998

BA #254 – Solving the Problems of Managed Care

Not long ago, American health care was easily the best in the world. Today, we face a quality crisis. Almost 60 million Americans are now members of health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and an estimated 160 million are enrolled in some kind of managed care. Yet polls show that many of these people have no confidence that their health plan will make decisions in their best interest as patients.

Jan 12, 1998

BA #253 – Wrong Medicine at the Wrong Time

With Medicare teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, President Clinton is proposing to add more beneficiaries and more costs. Specifically, all Americans ages 62 to 64 (the Medicare eligibility age is 65) would be able to join Medicare in exchange for a monthly premium between $300 and $400. Those ages 55 to 61 who have involuntarily lost their jobs would have the same option. And employers would face a new mandate: retirees over age 55 who were promised and then denied postretirement health insurance would have the right to buy into their previous employer's health plan. Are these proposals a good idea?

Nov 24, 1997

BA #249 – Can We Afford Consumer Protection? An Analysis of the PARCA Bill

Despite a new government study showing that the rising cost of premiums is the main reason a growing number of people don't have health insurance, more than 200 members of Congress have cosponsored legislation that would make health insurance even more expensive.

Nov 07, 1997

BA #248 – Day Care: Children vs. Government

At a recent White House conference on child care, President Clinton called the day care market "dysfunctional." First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton complained of a "silent crisis" in child care. Both the president and Mrs. Clinton advocated more government intervention, including more federal spending on training day-care workers. But government is the cause of many of the problems parents face, including arbitrary, cost-increasing regulations at the local level and discriminatory tax laws at the federal level.

Oct 27, 1997

BA #244 – Education Savings Accounts

The tax code has always allowed various deductions and credits for investment in physical capital. But there have been few incentives to make comparable investments in human capital - expanding the productive capacity of human beings.

Oct 01, 1997

BA #242 – Best and Worst Ideas for Insuring Children

The budget agreement passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton includes a provision giving the states $24 billion over five years to extend health insurance to more low-income uninsured children - basically those with family incomes below 200 percent of poverty, not eligible for Medicaid, not enrolled in a health plan or covered by health insurance.

Aug 13, 1997

BA #237 – The Cost of Health Insurance Mandates

For more than 30 years, state legislatures have passed laws driving the cost of health insurance higher. Known as mandated health insurance benefit laws, they force insurers, employers and managed care companies to cover - or at least offer - specific providers or procedures not usually included in basic health care plans.

Jul 17, 1997

BA #236 – The EPA's Dirty Little Secrets

Do the nation's current clean air standards need to be made more stringent to save the lives of asthmatic children? President Clinton and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) say yes. But many mayors, governors and members of Congress of both parties say more evidence is needed before standards are tightened.