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Be Careful What You Ask For

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When I read the informative report released by DHCFP and reported on in the Boston Globe today, I was struck by how well this insurance seems to meet the needs of most students.  Less than 1% of students reach the caps that are imposed by the plans.  That seems like a small number to me.  And, the Safety Net Pool will wrap around these plans if the services that exceed that amount are sought in a hospital or community health center.  So, what’s real beef here?  I think some legislators cannot stand that insurance companies are a business and like any other for-profit business need to make a profit.  Is the solution to require every student have coverage equivalent to […]

An enlightening comparison on Afghanistan policy

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Nope, this is not directly related to Pioneer’s mission to promote great policies and big reforms in Massachusetts. But no matter what you think of the decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, it is worth highlighting two of the President’s speeches on the matter — one on March 27, 2009, when he announced “A New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan” and the speech this past Tuesday when, well, he announced a new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. The March 27th speech can be seen here and the December 1 speech can be seen here. Hint: He is very consistent. The only difference between the respective new strategies was the addition of troops with an 18-month window for withdrawal.

MA and federal health care reforms

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Pioneer has never taken a “position” on the MA Health Care Reform Act of 2006. We’ve held events (1, 2, and others) discussing the merits and weaknesses, and we’ve published a paper on how we should monitor its implementation and make corrections. We are worried about cost implications, crowd-out of the private market and other stuff, but we like state experimentation and we think it should be gauged largely by the empirical question: Has it worked? Our Senior Fellow on Health Care Amy Lischko will help us answer those questions. Those who use it as a justification for federal efforts to recast our health care options, however, are just plain uninformed. The fact is we are only getting to know […]

Don't cut the safety net to shreds

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The State House News Service (subscription required) reports that The state will lay off more than 300 mental health workers over the next several days, with about 300 more opting to accept voluntary retirements and layoffs as the Department of Mental Health moves forward with its closing of Westborough State Hospital. The fact is the Governor has been cutting deeply into the safety for a long time, and at a rate that is alarming. See my blog on the Governor’s job cuts, which are 75% from safety net programs. In comparison, and I know this is counter-intuitive to some, Governor Romney’s cuts to safety net program jobs in 2005 and 2006 amounted to only 25% of the overall cuts to […]

Creating Jobs: Reforming Unemployment Insurance in Massachusetts

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Author(s): Steve Poftak — Publication date: 2011-02-10 Category: Economic Opportunity Abstract: Pioneer Institute and the Massachusetts High Technology Council are pleased to present a new study that meets this demand: “Creating Jobs: Reforming Unemployment Insurance in Massachusetts.” As the report highlights, Massachusetts’s Unemployment Insurance system – the most generous in the nation in terms of eligibility requirements and benefit duration – is actually inhibiting job creation. The report offers four reform proposals that could generate 10,000 new jobs and $7.5 billion in economic growth over the next decade. [wpdm_package id=53]