Michael Tanner
The Archive
Why repeal of the individual mandate hasn't (yet) brought ObamaCare's death spiral
As you file your tax returns this year, you will be asked whether or not you had health insurance during 2018. If your answer is “No,” you could be subject...
How the government helps keep people poor
Why are people poor? Conservatives suggest much deprivation is the result of flawed behavior by the poor. They point to a strong correlation between poverty and a failure to follow...
Dems are stampeding to support 'health care from hell'
With Republican efforts to repeal and replace ObamaCare all but dead, Democrats appear to be ready to double down on plans for a government takeover of the American health care...
Democrats' disastrous new health Rx
As Republicans continue to stumble and bumble in what is likely a doomed attempt to repeal and replace ObamaCare, there has been an increasingly desperate search for a bipartisan alternative....
What Americans really want from health care reform is impossible
It is an old joke among health policy wonks that what the American people really want from health care reform is unlimited care, from the doctor of their choice, with...
How most doctors, patients will benefit from ObamaCare reform
Republicans have begun the labyrinthian process of repealing and replacing ObamaCare. It will undoubtedly end up taking longer than President-elect Donald Trump believes, and the process will be far messier,...
Here's what happens after ObamaCare is gone
Republicans are wrestling with how to repeal and replace ObamaCare. It turns out that legislating is much more complex than campaigning. Still, ObamaCare as we know it is unlikely to...
What to expect from ObamaCare's replacement
Republicans have officially begun the long and complex road to repealing and “replacing” ObamaCare. And if you believe congressional Democrats, various special-interest groups and much of the media, the Four...
The agony of ObamaCare's collapse has just begun
Listen closely. That’s the sound of a health care plan dying. With the announcement this week of massive premium hikes for health insurance purchased through exchanges, it has become impossible...
Bernie and the high cost of 'free' health care
"If you think health care is expensive today,” humorist P.J. O’Rourke once opined, “just wait until it’s free.” History has repeatedly demonstrated the undeniable truth of O’Rourke’s dictum, but that...
New York welfare: more generous than Sweden or France
When they hear the term “welfare state,” most people think of Europe — especially Denmark or France. No doubt those countries offer a wide range of benefits targeted to the...
This year's glitch --- how ObamaCare will screw you now
Saturday starts round two of ObamaCare open enrollment — and we may be one mouse click away from a repeat of last year’s healthcare.gov debacle. The administration claims that the...
President's celebration skips those asking the hard questions
Talk about spiking the ball. Speaking in the White House Rose Garden yesterday afternoon, President Obama declared flatly that the Affordable Care Act, which he proudly referred to as ObamaCare,...
In fighting the 'job lock,' Democrats opened a poverty trap
When the Congressional Budget Office weighed in earlier this month on the work incentives of ObamaCare, much of the attention was focused on whether millions of Americans could cut back...
The president’s ‘inequality’ absurdities
President Obama’s State of the Union Address is expected to focus heavily on income inequality. Swiping rather liberally from Mayor de Blasio’s playbook, the president will likely imply that the...
ObamaCare's ugly 'progress'
No one expects President Obama to say much about ObamaCare in his State of the Union Address on Tuesday — because there isn’t much good to say about his signature...
ObamaCare damaged the nation's system, some Dems don't mind
At the end of the children’s nursery rhyme, “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.” That’s the lesson Americans should bear in...
It's obvious why people don't trust ObamaCare
If you’re puzzled why ObamaCare is so polarizing, consider how a law that’s ostensibly about fairness — health care for all — can be so unfair. Favored groups like unions...
Obamacare launch will be ugly
ObamaCare officially opens for business Tuesday. Unfortunately, it’s already falling short of promise. The plan: Tomorrow, Americans are supposed to be able to start purchasing insurance through “exchanges” — government-managed...
ObamaCare — what’s already gone wrong
Like the Yankees sputtering through the last few games of a season filled with injuries and frustration, ObamaCare is limping its way toward its official launch next Tuesday, dragging with...