Health care

Could drug price regulation produce good and not harm?

Could drug price regulation produce good and not harm?

A sampling of criticism of drug price controls. Trump’s Drug Price Control Orders Are Bound to Backfire At a White House gathering last Friday, President Trump announced four new executive orders intended to restrict the ways pharmaceutical companies set the price of prescription drugs. He signed and issued three that day and promised to issue a fourth if drug industry representatives don’t agree to massive price controls at a meeting tomorrow. Seemingly oblivious to the fact that just eight days earlier he staged a highly publicized press conference to explain how regulation often does more harm than good and portray…
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WichitaLiberty.TV: Kansas State of the State for 2018

WichitaLiberty.TV: Kansas State of the State for 2018

In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: Vice president and policy director of Kansas Policy Institute James Franko joins Karl Peterjohn to discuss Governor Brownback's State of the State Address for 2018. Topics include schools and Medicaid expansion. Bob Weeks hopes to be back next week. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 179, broadcast January 13, 2018. Shownotes Kansas Policy Institute KPI poll on school finance Dave Trabert: 2018 State of the State fails students Governor Brownback’s State of the State address for 2018
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Medicaid expansion survey in Kansas

Medicaid expansion survey in Kansas

Should Kansans accept the results of a public opinion poll when little is known about it? Recently American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network released results of a poll regarding Medicaid expansion in Kansas. What ACS CAN wants us to know is that 82 percent of Kansans favor expansion. But before we accept these results, we need to know that ACS CAN will not release the full results of the survey, as other organizations have done. In particular, last year Kansas Hospital Association conducted a poll on the topic of Medicaid expansion, and it released the complete poll and results.[1. Kansas…
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WichitaLiberty.TV: Health care in Kansas and taxes in Sedgwick County

WichitaLiberty.TV: Health care in Kansas and taxes in Sedgwick County

In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: Bob Weeks and Karl Peterjohn discuss health care in Kansas and taxes in Sedgwick County. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 146, broadcast April 9, 2017. Shownotes Kansas House voting on Medicaid expansion Kansas Senate voting on Medicaid expansion Expanding Medicaid in Kansas. Expanding Medicaid in Kansas would be costly, undoubtedly more costly than estimated, has an uncertain future, and doesn’t provide very good results for those it covers. Sedgwick County to consider raising debt limit
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Kansas House voting on Medicaid expansion

Kansas House voting on Medicaid expansion

Here's a table of the three votes taken in the Kansas House of Representatives in February and April on HB 2044, titled "Establishing the KanCare bridge to a healthy Kansas program and providing medicaid reimbursement for clubhouse rehabilitation services." Medicaid expansion, in other words. This expansion is a key part of Obamacare, but not all states have not adopted the plan. Vote 3 on April 3 was to override the governor's veto. 84 votes are required for a successful override. If you're interested in contacting your legislators on this issue, click on House Roster and Senate Roster. To find the…
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Kansas House voting on Medicaid expansion

There has been another vote on this bill, and the table has been updated. Click here. Here's a table of the two votes taken in the Kansas House of Representatives in February on HB 2044, titled "Establishing the KanCare bridge to a healthy Kansas program and providing medicaid reimbursement for clubhouse rehabilitation services." Medicaid expansion, in other words. This expansion is a key part of Obamacare, but not all states have not adopted the plan. If you're interested in contacting your legislators on this issue, click on House Roster and Senate Roster. To find the district numbers you live in,…
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Kansas Senate voting on Medicaid expansion

Here's a table of the two votes taken in the Kansas Senate this week on HB 2044, titled "Establishing the KanCare bridge to a healthy Kansas program and providing medicaid reimbursement for clubhouse rehabilitation services." Medicaid expansion, in other words. This expansion is a key part of Obamacare, but not all states have not adopted the plan. Reporting on this issue from The Sentinel is at Senate Advances Medicaid Expansion Proposal. If you're interested in contacting your legislators on this issue, click on House Roster and Senate Roster. To find the district numbers you live in, use Locate Your Polling…
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Expanding Medicaid in Kansas

Expanding Medicaid in Kansas would be costly, undoubtedly more costly than estimated, has an uncertain future, and doesn't provide very good results for those it covers. Providing testimony to the Kansas House Committee on Health and Social Services, Michael Tanner advised legislators, "Medicaid expansion, however, is a risky gamble, that is almost certain to cost more than you are currently budgeting, while providing surprisingly little to the poor in terms of improved access to health care." Tanner is Senior Fellow at Cato Institute. The bill in question is HB 2064, titled "Establishing the KanCare bridge to a healthy Kansas program."…
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Sedgwick County Health Department: Services provided

Sedgwick County Health Department: Services provided

Sedgwick County government trimmed spending on health. What has been the result so far? During last year's Sedgwick County budget hearings, there were warnings that trimming spending on health would decimate the health department's ability to provide services. But after six months, that hasn't been the case. The nearby table shows measures of services provided for the first six months of this year compared to the same period the year before. The source of this data is the Sedgwick County Health Department, with my added column calculating the percent change. For most categories of service, the amount provided has risen…
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HB 2615 is a Bi-Partisan Healthcare Solution that Governor Sam Brownback should Support

By Andrew Brown, Foundation for Government Accountability This site recently published an extensive critique of HB 2615, a bill that would protect doctors and health care professionals providing free charity care and reward them with a minor licensing incentive, and the author encouraged Gov. Brownback to veto the bill. Mr. Weeks has graciously allowed me, as a supporter who worked on behalf of HB 2615, to issue a response to his article. I truly appreciate the opportunity to present another side. I agree that we do need to reconsider and reform occupational licensure across the board and we absolutely should…
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