Reality Takes Down The CLASS Act

October 17, 2011

A Washington tradition lives on: burying bad news, in this case the government’s new long term care program, on a Friday afternoon.

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Companies Catch Up On Health Reform

June 20, 2011

In the months since my business ended its company-paid health insurance coverage last October, our employees have been learning to adjust. During that same time, other companies have just been learning. A recent study published in McKinsey Quarterly found that the number of employers who plan to stop offering employer-sponsored health insurance after 2014 — when the bulk of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) comes into effect …

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My Letter To A Senator Friend

March 29, 2011

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., is a personal friend whom I have known for 35 years. My college roommate was his high school classmate in Big Sandy, the farm town on the high plains where Jon maintains his family homestead. I was an enthusiastic supporter when Jon was first elected to the Senate in 2006. His narrow victory over three-term Republican Conrad Burns was crucial in the Democrats’ sweep to a …

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Getting Real Health Insurance On Campus

October 15, 2010

When a student chooses a college, he or she often is selecting a health plan as well. And that plan may not be as good as the classes. More than half of U.S. colleges offer a school-sponsored health insurance plan. Many require that students buy the insurance unless they submit a waiver indicating they are already covered through another plan. In some cases, even students with other coverage do not …

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The End Of Our Company-Paid Health Insurance

September 1, 2010

For 15 years, I have taken pride in paying the full cost of health insurance for every full-time Palisades Hudson employee who wanted it. This month marks the last time I will do that. Beginning in October, our 20 employees will make their own decisions, and their own arrangements, regarding health coverage. They can stay on our company’s plan, but they will have to pay the entire cost — ranging …

Taxing The Tan, Not The Sun

July 21, 2010

Ultraviolet light does not do anyone’s skin any favors, even when it imparts an attractive tan. And skin does not care whether light of a particular wavelength comes from a nearby star or from a fluorescent tube. But the Internal Revenue Service cares. Since July 1, the IRS has cared a lot. The recently passed health care bill has just imposed a new 10 percent “tanning tax,” which makes a …

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A Risk Premium For ‘Riskless’ Debt

March 26, 2010

For decades, finance professors have taught students that the interest rate on U.S. Treasury obligations reflects the cost of money for “riskless” obligations. Other borrowers’ riskiness could be measured by how much more than the Treasury rate they were required to pay. It is time to revise the lesson plan. Our national finances have deteriorated to the point that many corporate obligations are trading at lower yields than Treasury bonds. …

Ending My Company’s Health Care Benefit

March 17, 2010

Since I hired my first full-time employee 15 years ago, I have always offered to pay for my staff’s health insurance. Employees received the same protection my family enjoyed, and if an insurer made life too difficult for anyone, we all switched. This will soon change if the House of Representatives approves the health care overhaul that President Obama has made his top priority. The 20 of us who now …

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So Long, Charlie

March 10, 2010

Last week, the ethically challenged Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a temporary leave of absence from his position as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee until the ethics committee finishes its investigation of him. Given the number of Rangel’s alleged missteps, that could be awhile. The former chairman, who led the committee responsible for writing all of the nation’s tax laws, faces accusations regarding …

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Good Intentions, Unintended Consequences

February 25, 2010

When it comes to making good health care policy, good intentions are not enough. That is something President Obama and lawmakers should remember as they meet today to discuss health care reform. And, if they find that maxim slipping their minds, they need only look to New York for a reminder. In 1992 then-Gov. Mario Cuomo signed a state law regulating the health insurance industry which he predicted would be …

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