The quadrennial choice for president is the only time all Americans vote on the same question. At the same time we do that, we also elect one-third of the Senators and the entire House of Representatives, but in smaller geographic units.

It used to be that, if the...

Even close Supreme Court watchers are reluctant to predict what the justices will decide about the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). In this relative calm before the rhetoric inevitably escalates -- no matter what the decision is -- it might be useful to review the...

Mitt Romney, the soon-to-be Republican presidential nominee, has worked hard to distance himself from the Massachusetts health care reform law he championed during his single term as the state's governor. The reason, of course, is that it is a lot like the Affordable Care Act (ACA) President Obama signed into...

We have just experienced one of the most depressing periods in government and politics since I began following them many years ago.

It is partly due to the Tea Party, of course -- know-nothing ideologues who think government spending and higher taxes on the wealthy and profitable...

Everyone wants to reform Medicare. Program spending has been rising for years and needs to be brought under control. Congressional Republicans, who adopted "the Ryan plan," would like to transform Medicare into financial support for seniors and the disabled who would then search the private insurance market for affordable coverage....

The Times reported recently (Reed Abelson, Health Insurers Making Record Profits as Many Postpone Care, May 13, 2011) that "major health insurers are barreling into a third year of record profits." A major reason for their "success": utilization is down among their policy holders and, therefore, care providers are submitting...

At first glance, it appears to be one of the most remarkable political stories in a long time: a new poll shows not only that 80 percent of all Americans do not want Medicare to be cut, but, amazingly, that total includes 70 percent of self-identified tea-partiers. How...

There may be a lot of reasons to vote against Carly Fiorina as Senator of California. But one reason is obvious, even from 3000 miles away on the other coast. She says she would vote to repeal the new health care law.

Does she think the problems facing...

In the previous article ("Why Support the Imperfect Health Care Reform Law -- Part One"), I made the case that the new Affordable Care Act (ACA) deserves support because of the good it will do for so many Americans and for the health care system as a whole....

We are being told now that Republicans are serious about undoing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that the president signed in March. They want to eliminate specific provisions they don't like and, perhaps even more importantly, to starve it of the funds needed for implementation. Sure, the law is imperfect,...

The imperfect health care reform law President Obama signed in March was no one's first choice. Recognizing the progress in its provisions, however, some have called it Round 1 on the road to a more perfect system. And while it focused primarily on expanding access to coverage, they expect...

I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with me. My new senator, Scott Brown, and his Republican colleagues are telling us that "the American people are angry" about the new health care reform legislation. But even though I am an American born and bred, I'm not angry, and I am...

Policy analysts are focusing now on the cost to the health care system and the nation of doing nothing (see the New York Times's Week in Review section, 2.28.10). But many of the 535 men and women whose votes will determine the outcome on health care reform -- especially...

The New York Times ran a story last week about negotiations between a health insurer and hospital group that deserves comment. First, some familiar context.

The U. S. has the most expensive health care system in the world by far. There are lots of reasons: inefficiencies, waste, high incomes for...

Not surprisingly, progressives are disappointed at the turn the battle over health care reform has taken. The Senate is considering a bill that is much watered down even from the House-passed bill, which also left a lot to be desired.

While both would add 30 million or more Americans...

In my view, the bills still in play are still worth passing - even given their obvious weaknesses. Why? Because this entire health care reform episode has been not an exercise in policy analysis, but rather a lesson in politics. The tipoff came right at the start because the plans...

The release of the PriceWaterhouseCoopers report reveals the insurance industry's true colors for all to see. Everyone who has followed events closely saw insurers publicly supporting reform ("We want to work with you, Mr. President."). The pros knew that, at the same time, their lobbyists have been working hard to...

Reliance on competition among private insurers is fundamentally a weak approach to health care reform. (The reason is that to keep prices low, insurers have only two levers to pull: they can refuse to insure people at high risk for using services, and they can change the conditions of...

As the health care reform debates enter their final phases this fall, the Republicans have ended the pretense and revealed themselves to be unwilling to compromise to produce a bipartisan health care reform bill. So, having been freed of the Republican albatross, the president and congressional leaders can concentrate...

The New York Times quotes Congressman Steny Hoyer (Dem, MD) as saying, "I'm for a public option, but I'm also for passing a bill."

Getting this close to passing a bill is an impressive accomplishment given the history of health care reform efforts and...