Back during their 2013 session North Dakota lawmakers voted to expand the state’s Medicaid program in accordance with Obamacare despite a Supreme Court ruling declaring any federal retribution for failing to pass that expansion to be unconstitutional. Former Governor Jack Dalrymple, though vocally opposed to Obamacare, was the fourth Republican governor to support the expansion.…
Rod St. Aubyn: Obamacare Is Turning Up The Heat On Americans
As I was reviewing recently introduced legislation, I was reminded of conversations that I previously had with two deceased State Senators with whom I had the pleasure of serving. Sen. Jens Tennefos often wore a lapel pin with a frog character. I asked him why he was wearing the “frog pin”. He stated that if…
Rick Olson: Could "Any Willing Provider" Legislation Be The Key To A Future Measure 7?
Despite the resounding defeat of Measure #7 on Tuesday, I predict that the pharmacy ownership law issue isn’t done yet. In fact, I have heard that it could come up again, but in a manner which is not directly about allowing the large retail stores to have pharmacies. This could happen as soon as the…
Matt Evans: I've Changed My Mind On Measure 7
I changed my mind about Measure 7 I’ve been in favor of Measure 7 – the ballot initiative that would repeal North Dakota’s pharmacy protection law — for a long time. I can’t quite recall for sure, but I think it has come up in past elections, and if it did, I surely voted to…
Goss Column: Affordable Care Act, Social Security and Medicare Shifting Income From Young To Old
More than 25 percent of the U.S. population (including President Obama) was born between 1946 and 1964. U.S. society has made, and continues to make, economic promises to these baby boomers that must be ultimately shouldered by the nation’s youth. Not only are the 25 percenters leaving the workforce at very high rates (consuming instead…
When Shoddy Journalism Obscures A Real Public Policy Problem
Health care prices are out of control. I don’t think that’s a statement many in America would disagree with. But when reporters like the Fargo Forum’s Kyle Potter cover the issue, they often do the problem a real disservice. Potter has a story about prices charged at Fargo-area hospitals, prices that are below the national…
Medicare Could Soon Cover Sex Change Operations
Why not. I mean, it’s not like Medicare is in fiscal crisis or anything. For the first time since 1981, when it dubbed sex-change operations “experimental,” Medicare has opened the door to covering transexual operations, adding to the growing list of operations that would be allowed under Obamacare. Acting on a new request, the Centers…
One In Ten Doctors Expected To Stop Accepting Insurance
Doctors have been moving away from Medicaid for a while now thanks to the federal government implementing price controls which result in doctors operating non-existent profit margins. Now, with Obamacare representing a federal take over of private insurance, many doctors are moving toward cash-only operations that won’t accept insurance at all. Considering the looming doctor…
Being Right Doesn't Always Win Elections
At the Grand Forks Herald, opinion editor Tom Dennis uses the occasion of President Obama’s second-term inauguration to argue that Republicans haven’t been winning a lot of elections of late because they aren’t sufficiently caring. After referencing one of Scott Hennen’s columns here on SAB, Dennis writes that the problem with Republicans is that we…