Hsieh Forbes Column: Perks And Incentives For Covid-19 Vaccination May Backfire

My latest Forbes column is now out: "Perks And Incentives For Covid-19 Vaccination May Backfire".

I discuss the proliferation of prizes and incentives being offered to get people vaccinated, and how this can sometimes create the opposite effect of making people more suspicious of the vaccine.

Catron: GOP Governors Squander SCOTUS Victory

An unfortunate update from David Catron: "Eight GOP Governors Squander SCOTUS Victory".

He reminds us that the 2012 Supreme Court decision

...dealt the Obama administration an important defeat on one of the two primary issues decided, namely whether the federal government has the right to withhold all matching funds from a state that fails to expand Medicaid according to the dictates of the unpopular health care law.

Medicaid is a joint state-federal program, yet a provision of Obamacare required the withholding of all federal funds from noncompliant states. The plaintiffs argued that this was so coercive that it amounted to an unconstitutional “commandeering” of the states. Seven of the nine justices agreed. This victory, despite the Court’s ruling that the individual mandate is somehow a tax, was viewed by many as an opportunity for GOP governors to thwart implementation of an integral component of the law.

To the disgust of Obamacare’s opponents, however, eight GOP governors have nonetheless decided to comply with the law’s Medicaid provision. Arizona’s Jan Brewer, Florida’s Rick Scott, Michigan’s Rick Snyder, Nevada’s Brian Sandoval, New Jersey’s Chris Christie, New Mexico’s Susana Martinez, North Dakota’s Jack Dalrymple, and Ohio’s John Kasich have all caved. Even worse, several of these people have been vocal opponents of Obamacare and govern states that participated in the lawsuit that produced the Court’s favorable ruling.

 He discusses the fiscal implications, then adds:

What makes this so infuriating is that these Republican governors are waving the white flag after winning a hard fought legal battle in order to escape this very dilemma.

 (For more details, read the full text of "Eight GOP Governors Squander SCOTUS Victory".)

Ohio Doctor Speaks Out

The 10/19/2012 Daily Caller reports, "Ohio doctor running newspaper ads criticizing Obamacare ahead of election".

First, I'm glad to see more physicians speaking out and telling their patients how ObamaCare will affect them.

Second, Dr. Naffah's article is pretty darned good.  You can read it for yourself here. (Note: It's easier to read if you click on the "full screen" icon after the "+" and "-" icons on the top toolbar)

Third, he has given "blanket permission" for others to recirculate that ad in their own localities. If anyone is interested in contacting Dr. Naffah directly he can be reached at avamarnaffah@aol.com.

(Thanks to Dr. Evan Madianos for making contact with him!)

Doctor Shortages in Ohio

The 8/29/2011 Cleveland Plain Dealer reports on doctor shortages in Ohio, even for "[m]ajor medical centers, including the Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth System and University Hospitals".

The shortages run the gamut from "neurosurgeons, urologists, pediatric oncologists and other specialists" as well as "primary care doctors -- an umbrella term for family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, gynecology and general surgery".

Such shortages will become worse as more doctors try to flee the government-controlled system under ObamaCare. If even the world-renowed Cleveland Clinic has a hard time recruiting and retaining phpysicians, how difficult will it be for the rest of us?