Health Care

America’s health care system does too little to deliver good health, even as spiraling health care costs place increasing burdens on American families, businesses, and the government. The Joint Economic Committee studies how changing health care financing arrangements, increasing consumer choice, altering the tax treatment of health insurance, adopting information technology, and reforming federal entitlement programs can improve America’s economic outlook and the health of its citizens.

Related Studies

October 2010
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Related Charts

  • Play Obamanopoly to find out how much EXTRA Obamacare will cost!

    Oct 27 2010

    Associated Image Last March, President Obama and Democrats in Congress hailed passage of the $1.3 trillion Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, claiming that, despite a massive expansion of government’s role in health care, the 2,801-page law will actually reduce the deficit. Critics pointed out that the legislation is rife with new taxes and relies on an array of classic Washington budget gimmicks, including a raid on an already insolvent Medicare system, to support this claim.
  • Obamanopoly

    Health Care Edition

    Oct 27 2010

    Associated Image

     

    Click on the text link to play the game.  Obamanopoly 

  • Unwinding Obamacare (IV) - Cadillac Tax Revenues

    Oct 04 2010

    Associated Image Last Friday afternoon, the Office of Personnel Management released the new 2011 rates for health insurance plans under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB). While this information was previously only relevant to federal employees, it now has implications for individuals and their health insurance plans nationwide.
*Currently displaying the latest 3 records. Use the select boxes from the filter bar above to view more records.

Related Files

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  • Bennett Explores the Burdens of Health Services Regulation...

    Washington, DC—In conjunction with Cover the Uninsured Week, Joint Economic Committee Chairman Robert F. Bennett held a hearing today to explore how over-regulating health care services has created significant increases in cost, and hampered quality and accessibility of care for many Americans. The committee also released a study today on “The Complex Challenge of the Uninsured.” The report takes a look at who is uninsured, the reasons they may be insured and ways that health care can be made more affordable. Senator Bennett issued the following statement at the hearing: “Health care is certainly a vital item in all our lives, and some regulations can improve its quality and even reduce its cost. However, there is a significant risk that the promised benefits of health services regulations will fall short of their costs if we don’t seek to rein them in. “Health care is one of the most intensively regulated sectors of the U.S. economy. It is also one of the largest, accounting for $1.7 trillion annual spending, which is more than 15% of gross domestic product (GDP). “Much health regulation is premised on the judgment that most health care consumers don’t know, don’t want to know, and cannot know enough to make important decisions for themselves. I don’t know if that’s true often enough to justify the level of health regulation we have, but we hope to find that out today. “Patients, consumers, and taxpayers are the ones who bear their ultimate costs of unnecessary regulation. Excessive regulatory burdens can also harm our most vulnerable individuals, and prevent the uninsured and lower-income health care consumers from accessing the health care they need.” The Joint Economic Committee Report on “The Complex Challenge of the Uninsured” can be viewed at http://jec.senate.gov/_files/Uninsured.pdf. Release05132004.pdf (87.5 KBs)
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    Washington, DC— According to a report released today by the Joint Economic Committee, Medicare faces enormous fiscal challenges as the “Baby Boom” generation retires and as the program expands to cover prescription drugs. Congress is now focused on the need to extend prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries. That need is certainly important, but it is not the only reason that Medicare needs reform. Release06182003.pdf (115.9 KBs)
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    Washington, DC—Joint Economic Committee Chairman Robert F. Bennett will host a hearing to explore the development of consumer driven health care. Consumer driven health care allows for greater flexibility in choosing and paying for health care based on a consumer’s own needs and preferences. The hearing will take a look at recent data from providers and employer plans that have been involved in the consumer driven health care market in the last two years and will explore its long term potential. Advisory02202004.pdf (84.2 KBs)
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    Washington, DC—Senator Bennett, Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, held a hearing today on how technology and innovation affect health care costs. In other sectors, new technologies usually lead to greater efficiency and lower costs in goods and services, yet it is unclear whether the same is true for health care. Bennett welcomed witnesses from the Administration and leading medical research institutions to explore the various ways that technology influences health care costs. Panelists included Dr. Mark McClellan, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Dr. Carolyn Clancy, Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Release07092003.pdf (98.4 KBs)
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