The much anticipated health care summit was held recently in Washington, D.C. President Obama controlled the microphone and served as moderator, timekeeper, and chief negotiator with the Republicans.

It became clear by hour two of the almost seven hour meeting that very little compromise was possible. Both Democrats and Republicans held firm to their respective beliefs and the entire process devolved into presentations of talking points rather than actual negotiations. read more »

U.S. House and Senate Democrats have passed two sweeping 2,000 page bills that would fundamentally and dramatically change our health care. There are significant differences between the two bills, but the more moderate Senate bill has the best chance of passing through the conference committee and being signed by the President. Both bills passed on a strict party-line vote, with essentially no support from minority Republicans. read more »

The U.S. House of Representative has passed a 1,910 page health care bill essentially along party lines. The Senate is now considering its own 2,074 page bill, again along party lines.

The President’s failure to gain bipartisan support for his health care overhaul is disappointing. The country wants and deserves a bipartisan effort on reform, since health care represents one sixth of our economy. Responding to public concern, the Republicans have offered well over fifty amendments and over thirty health care bills, yet none has receive even a simple congressional hearing. The Democrats seem driven to pass health care legislation regardless of the concerns of the American public. read more »

Everyone agrees the key to improving health care is to get control of unsustainable rising costs. This can be done either through greater market competition and more choices for consumers, or through restricting choice and imposing ever-tighter government controls. The thousands of pages of legislation now under consideration in Washington, D.C. show Congress and the Administration are opting for the second approach. A look at who is advising the White House on health care should cause all Americans to be very worried about our health care future. read more »

Change is coming to the health care system in this country. At $2.1 trillion per year, or 17 percent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), cost should be the driver for this movement to reform our current system.

As the debate continues on in the next few months, however, a number of other arguments will be used to indict our present mix of public and private programs. Many of these arguments are based on a faulty presentation of the facts, so let’s look at the actual data and see what is not wrong with our health care system. read more »