Well, they did it: Maryland passed an requirement that employers with more than 10,000 employees pay at least 8% of their payroll on health care, or pay into the state's fund. This apparently affects Wal-Mart, and only Wal-Mart.So Maryland … [Read more...]

Another must-read health care column in the Globe today -- yesterday it was <a … [Read more...]

Michael Dukakis published an outstanding op-ed in today's Globe in which he castigates the "business community" (i.e., AIM and the Chamber of Commerce) for opposing all forms of "pay or play" in the health care debate.  Dukakis makes … [Read more...]

The Globe reports this morning that the Senate negotiators on the health care bill are digging in their heels against the employer "pay or play" element of the House's proposal (also misleadingly referred to as a "payroll tax" - it's not a … [Read more...]

Massachusetts employers are already doing more to broaden healthcare access than employers in almost any other state.... In 2003,... 66 percent of Massachusetts employers provided health benefits compared with 56 percent … [Read more...]

Ezra Klein points us to this take on our crap American health care system from a Canadian; it's damn funny -- honest......which then links to this, which is also damn funny: "Panexa -- ask your doctor for a reason to take it." … [Read more...]

Time columnist Joe Klein provided a useful summary of Romney's health care proposal, and criticisms of it from left and right, in a recent issue.He wrote, "Here is how it would work. Massachusetts now spends about $1 billion a year to … [Read more...]

John McDonough of Health Care for All has three emails posted that show business groups firing up the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) machine against the employer health care mandate. Here's a sample:---“Small-business owners’ first … [Read more...]

In talking about health care reform, folks have justifiably complained that there hasn't been enough emphasis on controlling the cost of care. Well, pharmaceuticals are a big culprit in that, and even Merck, who's having a tough time of it … [Read more...]

The conference committee on the infamous budget bill has apparently reached a far-too-typical conclusion: Screw the middle-class and poor. Again. Medicaid slashed by $4.8 billion , $22.8 billion over 10 years, according to Families USA, a … [Read more...]