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Category: The Forum

Despite Court Ruling, Health Law Remains Unworkable, Unaffordable and Unpopular

posted 4 years ago on June 26th, 2015 by Leave a Comment
By Nina Owcharenko This week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the administration to allow ObamaCare subsidies to flow through HealthCare.gov. This is a disappointment for the rule of law and for the states that have fought to keep some of ObamaCare’s flawed policies out of their states. While the administration and ObamaCare supporters attempt to convince the American people that it is now smooth sailing for ObamaCare, nothing could be further from the truth. Despite the decision, the problems with ObamaCare are real and not getting better. The law’s flawed foundation continues to make ObamaCare unworkable, unaffordable and unpopular. As my colleague Ed Haislmaier skillfully points out, “The complexity and cascade of adverse effects are the… View Article

Friday Facts: June 26, 2015

posted 4 years ago on June 26th, 2015 by Leave a Comment
It’s Friday! Quotes of Note “It is simply true: America’s greatest untapped resource is the human capital trapped in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty. These people – these children – represent trillions of dollars in unrealized economic productivity. Liberate this human capital across the nation, and economic benefits will accrue on a scale that could pay off the national debt in a decade or less.” – Tom Cousins “The real question is whether the investment of wealth is likely to be done better by those who created that wealth in the first place or by politicians. The track record of politicians hardly suggests that turning ever more of a nation’s wealth over to them is likely to turn out well.”… View Article

Losing ACA Subsidies ‘Far From the Whole Story’

posted 4 years ago on June 25th, 2015 by Leave a Comment
A version of this op-ed by Tom Payne, Atlanta resident and board member of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on June 18. Access the op-ed online here. Finding Another Way Than ObamaCare By Tom Payne Georgians have a lot at stake in the outcome of the ObamaCare case, King v. Burwell, which will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court this month. As a board member of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the organization leading the litigation, I believe a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs will benefit Georgia’s economy, allow Georgia policymakers to drive down insurance and health care costs, create jobs and help the neediest Georgians gain access to affordable health insurance. For those… View Article

Foundation President Reacts to Court Ruling on Health Care Law

posted 4 years ago on June 25th, 2015 by Leave a Comment
GEORGIA PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release June 25, 2015 Contact Benita Dodd at 404-256-4050 or benitadodd@georgiapolicy.org Supreme Court Ruling on ObamaCare: ‘Deeply Disappointing’  Atlanta — Kelly McCutchen, President and CEO of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, responded today to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in King v. Burwell, which challenged the legality of tax subsidies given to individuals in federally operated exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act: “It is deeply disappointing to hear of the Supreme Court’s decision in King v. Burwell, and more importantly, to know the enormous threat it poses to our cherished principles of separation of powers and the rule of law,” McCutchen said.   “Ironically, this week marked the 10th anniversary of the… View Article

A Reality Check on King v. Burwell and Health Care Subsidies

posted 4 years ago on June 24th, 2015 by Leave a Comment
By Kelly McCutchen The great majority of Georgians get their insurance from government or their employer. As of 2014, only 6 percent of Georgians held an individual policy or a policy bought on the federally operated exchange. Most of the media attention surrounding the upcoming U.S. Supreme court decision in King v. Burwell has focused on the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies in the federally operated exchanges. Individuals with incomes between 100 and 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Line are currently eligible for tax credits that lower the cost of insurance. The average subsidy on Georgia’s exchange, which is federally operated, is $3,288 per year per person. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of King, it would… View Article

King v. Burwell and the Cost of Health Insurance

posted 4 years ago on June 24th, 2015 by Leave a Comment
By Kelly McCutchen A reduction in the underlying cost of health insurance is an often-overlooked benefit of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in favor of the plaintiff in the King v. Burwell case. Regulation of insurance has traditionally been reserved for state government. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) imposed a slew of federal regulations, however, that have resulted in higher premiums. These higher premiums have been hidden somewhat by the generous subsidies available on the exchanges. Just how much did the ACA increase premiums? The Manhattan Institue published a study this year designed to answer that question. The Manhattan Institute collected pre- and post-ACA insurance rates for the most populous ZIP code in every county in the nation. They looked… View Article

Where Does Georgia Rank in K12 Education?

posted 4 years ago on June 23rd, 2015 by 5 Comments
By Kelly McCutchen Where does Georgia rank in education? Most people look at graduation rates and SAT scores and answer: “Near the bottom.” But states have different graduation requirements and not everyone takes the SAT. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) provides a better comparison. A fair analysis also has to address varying poverty rates. No matter how you look at test scores – by state, by system or by school – there is a strong negative correlation between test scores and poverty. In other words, the higher the poverty rate, the lower the test scores. Georgia has one of the top 10 highest K-12 poverty rates in the nation, so the best way to compare states is to… View Article

ESAs and Accountability

posted 4 years ago on June 19th, 2015 by 5 Comments
If Georgia were to follow Nevada’s example and approve universal Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) next year, how would we handle accountability? Matthew Ladner has some helpful guidance in this article written for the Fordham Institute, “New tools for new challenges: Updating accountability for ESAs.” He notes that we should not assume that all public dollars are held accountable, since “high school students have been doing ‘dual enrollment’ in community colleges for decades. How do states hold community colleges accountable for student outcomes? Unfortunately, they generally don’t.” The same holds true, he notes, for classes not measures by state tests, such as foreign language courses. He notes that Arizona’s experience is helpful. They have found it more effective to… View Article

The Great EPA Ozone-Asthma Caper

posted 4 years ago on June 19th, 2015 by 2 Comments
By Harold Brown The first ozone alert of 2015 was issued Wednesday (June 17) amid 90-degree temperatures in metro Atlanta, a “Code Orange” warning children and “sensitive” individuals to “limit prolonged outdoor exertion.” A new proposal by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would once again lower the ozone level allowable under the Clean Air Act. Unfortunately, the EPA is ignoring the failure of an experiment it has conducted for 40 years: Whils it has ordered reductions in the amount of ozone allowable in the air in order to reduce asthma, asthma has increased. From 1979 to 1997, the maximum allowable level for ozone was set at 120 parts per billion (ppb), averaged over one hour. During this period, maximum… View Article

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