I RECALL SITTING in my office in the US Senate’s Hart Office Building in Washington, DC, between 2008 and 2010 with my desk TV always turned onto one of the […]
John E. McDonough
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
The Supreme Court surprise that wasn’t
THOSE CLOSELY WATCHING the US Supreme Court process on the King v. Burwell suit that almost upended insurance subsidies for about 6.4 million Americans knew that one of three outcomes […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
CBO: Obamacare repeal would be costly
MY FAVORED DEFINITION of “health policy wonk” is someone who reads health reports from the Congressional Budget Office — and enjoys it. Guilty as charged. Last Friday’s new report, “Budgetary and […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
A grand bargain on medical device tax
ONE PROPOSAL TO CHANGE the Affordable Care Act would repeal the law’s 2.3 percent tax on sales of medical devices. On June 2, the House Ways and Means Committee voted, once […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Grading Obamacare
IN MY EXPERIENCE, precious few Americans recognize the variety and depth of policies included in the Affordable Care Act. Over the past several months, we have seen numerous report cards […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Reality and unreality in new Congressional Medicare deal
THIS WEEK, YOU can be confident that the US Senate will approve bipartisan legislation approved on March 26 in the House of Representatives by an overwhelming (392-37) bipartisan majority to […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Explaining Obamacare to foreigners
On the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act, I ponder how non-Americans view our momentous and controversial health reform law. Like many US health policy analysts, […]
Posted inHealth Care
The Affordable Care Act is working
IN LATE NOVEMBER, Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, publicly opined that Democrats blew it in 2009 by pursuing passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) instead of maintaining […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Baker’s health care moment
THOUGH THE 2014 gubernatorial campaign lacked any real discussion of health care policy, this will soon be forgotten because Massachusetts has never had a new chief executive as steeped in […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Vermont ends single payer bid
Many American dislike the Affordable Care Act not because it goes too far but because it does not go far enough, as observed in the chart below from the Kaiser […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion, Politics
How the new Congress will try to undermine the ACA
It’s no secret that the new majority Republican Congress will seek any and every opportunity to undermine the existence and operation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). But how? One […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion, Politics
Obamacare in the wake of the GOP romp
So Republicans won enough seats to take control of the US Senate in January for the first time since 2006. Given their continuing opposition to the Affordable Care Act (aka […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Teacher leftovers story sends wrong message
While we appreciate coverage on our efforts to ensure great teachers in every classroom, we worry that Bruce Mohl’s recent article, “Teacher Leftovers,” sends the wrong message. The Boston Public […]
Posted inHealth Care
Counterpoints
Dear Gov. Romney: First of all, thank you. Your willingness to confront the dual crises of health access and affordability has enhanced prospects for reform. We may now be on […]
Posted inPolitics
Taking the laws into their own hands
From the archives This article first appeared in CommonWealth’s Fall 2002 issue. Click here view more issues. WHEN IT COMES TO DEMOCRACY, is it possible to have too much of […]
Posted inState Government
The Speaker Who Believed in Democracy
ASK SOMEONE today, “Who is George Keverian?” and the typical response is a blank stare. Those who recall him at all might say he was the portly Speaker who presided […]
Posted inHealth Care
Understanding the health care crisis that isn’t but could be
At a regional health forum in March, House Speaker Thomas Finneran bluntly told an audience of 300, “I do not believe our health care system is in crisis.” During a […]