Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'Affordable Care Act'

Little Sisters, big victories

Religious liberty won two significant victories at the U.S. Supreme Court on July 8. Justices ruled in two separate, 7-2 decisions that the federal government may not interfere in religious institutions’ hiring and firing of ministers, and that the government has the right to grant the Little Sisters of the Poor a religious exemption from a federal Obamacare mandate requiring employers to furnish female employees with no-cost birth control, sterilization, and potentially abortifacient drugs. Continue Reading...

Radio Free Acton: Avik Roy on how to transcend Obamacare

On this edition of Radio Free Acton, we’re joined by Avik Roy, Opinion Editor at Forbes magazine and the founder and president of The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity. He’s been an insightful critic of the health care reform process in the US since Congress began debating the legislation that we now know as Obamacare in 2009. Continue Reading...

Interview: John C. Kennedy III on Pope Francis in America

In late September, the Wall Street Journal asked Catholic business leaders for their reaction to Pope Francis’ economic views in an article titled, “For Business, a Papal Pushback.” It ran with the teaser line: “Corporate leaders see merit in pope’s message, if not his broad-brush attack on capitalism.” Continue Reading...

A ‘Dear John’ Letter To Obamacare

Dr. Kristin Held, a Texas physician, wrote a “Dear John” letter to Aetna, one insurance provider under which she works that now mandates Obamacare. Held believes patients will suffer under the new health care law. Continue Reading...

University Study: Obamacare Cost West Michigan 1000 Jobs

A new study by Grand Valley State University professors Leslie Muller and Paul Isely suggests that the Affordable Care Act has already cost West Michigan 1000 jobs. Muller summarized the results in a Wood TV story: “Firms are actually holding off on hiring or their reducing their hiring that they were thinking they were going to be doing because of the ACA,” said Muller. Continue Reading...

Federalist: Yes, There Will Be a Doctor Shortage

In my blog post yesterday about our statist healthcare system and the need for more economic freedom, I referenced a NYT piece by Scott Gottleib and Zeke Emmanuel and argued that if their rosy view of America’s healthcare future has any chance of coming true, we’ll need far more economic freedom in the system than currently exists. Continue Reading...

The Secret Ingredient for Effective Healthcare Reform

In today’s Acton Commentary I explore how our hyper-regulated and increasingly statist healthcare system is chasing off good physicians. A recent article in Forbes by Bruce Japsen provides some additional support for that argument: Doctor and nurse vacancies are approaching nearly 20 percent at hospitals as these facilities prepare to be inundated by millions of patients who have the ability to pay for medical care thanks to the Affordable Care Act. Continue Reading...

The Various Challenges of the Higher Education Bubble

The latest topic of The City podcast is the higher education bubble, featuring Cate MacDonald, Dr. John Mark Reynolds, and Dr. Holly Ordway. Reynolds makes the point that bubbles can arise when things are overvalued, but that it is important to determine whether that thing is relatively overvalued or absolutely overvalued. Continue Reading...