Linda Gorman’s Commentaries

California Dreaming

California Dreaming

California legislators want the state to provide free health care to every resident, including undocumented immigrants. Under the act, it would be illegal for any resident to pay a doctor privately for any medical treatment covered by CalCare. John Goodman and Linda Gorman predict higher taxes, less choice, an exodus of doctors and nurses out of the state, rationing by waiting, and something actually worse than Medicaid for all. See our editorial in the Orange County Register.

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Leftists in Colorado Seem Poised to Try Again for Single Payer Health Insurance

Leftists in Colorado Seem Poised to Try Again for Single Payer Health Insurance

Last time around, the idea was rejected by almost 79% of the voters. And for good reasons. British Columbia’s single payer system is so mismanaged it pays for cancer patient radiation treatments in Bellingham, Washington.  Its hip replacement wait can be almost a year… Because Canadian patients wait twice as long as recommended for MRI scans, those who can afford it pay cash for quick service at US imaging centers in border cities like Buffalo, NY and Bellevue, WA. More.

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Against Medicaid Expansion

Against Medicaid Expansion

Expanding Medicaid to the relatively healthy might make sense if it improved general health. But there is little evidence it does. In Oregon, for example, a first-of-its-kind controlled trial tracked individuals who applied for Medicaid through a lottery. After two years, there was no discernible difference in the physical health of the winners and losers. More

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Hidden Traps in the IRA Bill’s Drug Provisions

Hidden Traps in the IRA Bill’s Drug Provisions

In the near future, the elderly and the disabled will face a double whammy: higher premiums for Part D drug insurance and higher prices at the pharmacy. This is on top of negotiated prices (and the consequent drop in new drug production) which will kick in later in the decade.

John Goodman and Linda Gorman explain why this will happen in The Hill.

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The $3.5T Spending Mistake

The $3.5T Spending Mistake

Congressional Democrats are proposing to spend an enormous amount of taxpayer dollars on what the New York Times calls a “cradle to the grave” addition to U.S. social welfare. When budgeting shenanigans are ignored, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the full cost is not the $3.5 trillion that has been widely advertised, but at least $5.0 trillion and possibly as much as $5.5 trillion.

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Gorman: US Hospitals are Safer

Gorman: US Hospitals are Safer

A frequent criticism of US hospitals is the charge of excessive adverse medical events,  sometimes leading to avoidable deaths. How do our hospitals compare to hospitals in national health care systems? Quite well. The percent of patients who experience an adverse event is twice as high in Canada, three times as high in Britain and four times as high in New Zealand. 

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