Single-payer system for the US: you heard it here last

Today's New York Times has an article on the virtually unimpeachable argument in favor of a single-payer health-care financing system for the United States. All the arguments are there (except for one, which may be implicit in the others: we could provide universal coverage and still save a bundle). The article also recognizes that the great stumbling block isn't economics or logic: it's

CBO and tax-exempt hospitals

This month the Congressional Budget Office issued two reports on the tax-exempt hospital industry. Both are worth reading, as much for what they say about the mind-set on Capital Hill these days as for what they tell us about tax-exempt hospitals.1. Nonprofit Hospitals and the Provision of Community Benefits. How much tax benefit do nonprofit hospitals receive as a result of their exemption from

Drug wholesaler settles with New York

New York's AG, Eliot Spitzer, announced on Thursday that his office had reached a settlement with prescription drug behemoth Cardinal Health, Inc., in connection with that drug wholesaler's purchasing practices. Here are some of the salient features of the announcement:Cardinal -- based in Dublin, Ohio and ranked 19th on the Fortune 500 list of America's largest corporations -- is one of the