This piece is the last of a four-part series (see parts 1, part 2 and part 3). on improving the nations healthcare while reducing its cost.  Earlier we discussed who can obtain health care coverage, what service coverage should be included and how pricing should be handled.  In this segment, we review some scams that [...]

Today’s Congress Blog in THE HILL published a commentary by Steve Pociask, president of the American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research.  The piece discusses proposed legislation, its economic impact and the level-playing-field for small business lending.  To read the article, click here.

Previous discussion (see part 1 and, in particular, part 2) noted that health care costs are a large part of consumer incomes and noted who in the proposed system can obtain health coverage.  Next up are proposals on services coverage and pricing. In the proposed system, a basic coverage policy is offered by each insurer.  [...]

This commentary builds on yesterday’s piece (part 1) and looks at some ideas that can reduce total healthcare costs, while providing essential coverage. Today’s consumers are saddled with a $2.6 trillion health care system that we pay for directly in “out of pocket” installments, indirectly in current taxes and indirectly in future taxes that repay government [...]

In April 2012, ABC and The Washington Post conducted a poll on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that found that 53% of Americans oppose ACA and 39% support it.  Two thirds say the Supreme Court should toss the law entirely (38%) or toss the individual mandate (28%).  Just one quarter want the law upheld as [...]

The Credit Union National Association found that 90 million American individuals enjoyed $7 billion in direct financial benefits from credit unions during the year ending June 2010.  These benefits came as lower loan rates, higher deposit interest, and lower fees than in offered by bank institutions.  Equally valuable, credit unions members experienced the sense of [...]

Congress is considering the Federal Credit Union Act, S.2231, which would give small businesses access to much needed capital – approximately $13 billion in additional loans.  This would be accomplished by raising the current cap on small business lending by credit unions from 12.25 percent to 27.5 percent, subject to safeguards and monitoring.  Proponents of [...]

Florida’s mandatory automobile insurance no-fault law is beset by runaway personal injury protection (PIP) costs — including the nation’s highest incidence of staged accidents and nearly $1 billion in automobile insurance fraud.   On March 9, 2012, a bill was passed in the Florida House and Senate to reform PIP and reduce fraud.  The bill is [...]

Earlier this week, Sergey Brin, Google’s co-founder, gave an interview to The Guardian in which he expressed concern over Internet freedom—freedom from governments, from corporations, and from so-called “walled gardens” like Facebook and Apple. Most would find Brin’s concerns over government censorship well founded, but might balk at his characterization of Facebook and Apple. The [...]

Last week, the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) released a new study which examined the costs and benefits of municipal broadband programs.  Municipal broadband, for the uninitiated, is government financed Internet that would be provided to a community, free of charge, though financed through tax dollars.  Most would agree that providing access to high-speed Internet access [...]