President, National Center for Policy Analysis
Founder and President of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a conservative nonprofit think-tank based in Dallas; advisor to John McCain's presidential campaign on healthcare policy
PROFILE
John C. Goodman
Guest
FROM John C. Goodman
Which Way, L.A.?
Does Healthcare Reform Face an Endless Summer? President Obama held a news conference tonight, and tomorrow he'll go back on the road with his campaign for health care reform. What's happened to his hope that Congress would act before the August recess less than two weeks from now?
To the Point
Does Healthcare Reform Face an Endless Summer? Barack Obama is staking his first term as President on achieving healthcare reform . Despite Republicans dragging their heels and Democrats being divided, he yesterday had an upbeat assessment of progress. At tonight's prime-time news conference , the White House says the President will address the questions Americans want answered. We address the political and economic realities that will still face the President and the Congress tomorrow morning. What are the hardest choices that will have to be made? What are special interest lobbyists up to? What if there's no bill by the Congressional recess in August?
Which Way, L.A.?
What's Left of the Promise of Healthcare for the Elderly and Poor? A California doctor gets $24 to spend a half hour with a Medicaid patient, less than it costs to keep the lights on in his office. His plumber gets ten times as much to fix a plugged drain in 45 minutes. Medicaid and Medicare are in trouble, and everybody's known it for years. Medicare, which poses the biggest and most immediate challenge, already accounts for 23% of all federal spending, and medical costs are expected to double in the next 10 years. Starting this year, the hospital insurance trust fund will pay out more in benefits than it gets in revenues. But the principal fix for rising medical costs has been cutting fees for doctors and other providers. More and more doctors are refusing those patients, and the next president will be required by law to do something about it. Are the candidates coming up with solutions?
To the Point
What's Left of the Promise of Healthcare for the Elderly and Poor? A California doctor gets $24 to spend a half hour with a Medicaid patient, less than it costs to keep the lights on in his office. His plumber gets ten times as much to fix a plugged drain in 45 minutes. Medicaid and Medicare are in trouble, and everybody's known it for years. Medicare, which poses the biggest and most immediate challenge, already accounts for 23% of all federal spending, and medical costs are expected to double in the next 10 years. Starting this year, the hospital insurance trust fund will pay out more in benefits than it gets in revenues. But the principal fix for rising medical costs has been cutting fees for doctors and other providers. More and more doctors are refusing those patients, and the next president will be required by law to do something about it. Are the candidates coming up with solutions?
To the Point
Children's Healthcare Coverage Becomes 'Philosophical' Battle President Bush and the Republican Congress created the Medicare prescription drug benefit in 2003 . No new revenue was provided to fund almost $330 billion for five years of increased costs. Now, at a cost of $56 billion in five years, Democrats and some Republicans want to increase health coverage for millions of uninsured children—by raising the tax on tobacco. But President Bush says that's a step toward "government-run healthcare." The dispute is coming to a head this week as Congress debates the State Children's Health Insurance Program , which has to be re-authorized before it expires in September. Why has SCHIP become a political football? Would increasing it be a step toward universal healthcare? Do such well-intentioned stop-gaps prevent comprehensive healthcare reform?
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To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
White House budget proposal slashes and burns President Trump's first budget request is considered dead on arrival in Congress — a familiar development in Capitol Hill. We hear what it reveals about the priorities of the new administration. What's likely to die… and what might survive?
To the Point
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
To the Point
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.