Ten years ago, we were told “you can keep your doctor you can keep your plan” and Medicaid expansion will improve “access—quality-and cost” for everyone including those businesses that insure their employees and those individuals and families who insure themselves. Just ask patients in the Treasure Valley about how hard it is to keep your […]
The most powerful lobbying agency in Idaho is unknown to most Idaho voters. This organization wields enormous power and influence over every state elected official. How do we know this? None of them will openly criticize, or even talk about it. In 1974 the Idaho State Chamber of Commerce and the Associated Industries of Idaho […]
Medicaid Expansion has been a dismal failure and as we predicted ten years ago the people most adversely impacted have been the people that Medicaid was originally designed to help. These are people living on the margins with chronic diseases who through no fault of their own cannot provide for their own medical care. I […]
I am John Livingston and I have practiced surgery and medicine in Idaho and the Military for over 47 years. On July 1st I retired from the practice of Medicine and surgery. I am Board certified in Internal Medicine and General Surgery. I was appointed and served on The YHI Health Insurance Exchange Board for […]
It was back in 2015 that we along with the Idaho Freedom Foundation warned Idahoans about the problems with containing costs if Medicaid Expansion was approved in our state. It was eventually passed by referendum and is now chewing up tax dollars beyond belief. Why are we subsidizing those who are capable of paying for […]
Everything is getting bigger. In my profession, the doctor-patient relationship has been all but destroyed by “vertical and horizontal integration” with hospital systems buying up medical practices and then employing physicians and physician assistants and nurse practitioners. Then the hospital systems are bought up by insurance companies or vice versa, and then the mega company […]
When assessing any corporation or for that matter a business entity it is important that you have an in-depth understanding of those personnel who are running it. When we look at today’s medical facilities such as large integrated hospitals, we find many times that management does not understand the problems that must be delt with […]
I would like to offer a “tip of the hat” to my friends at The Idaho Freedom Foundation. In an article published two days ago, the authors Fred Birnbaum, Ronald Nate PhD., and Niklas Kleinworth outline in a policy paper entitled MEDCAID IN IDAHO: A POLICY PRIMER the predicate, the unfulfilled promise, the financial house […]
In light of the Idaho Republican House of Representatives “kicking the can down the road” regarding our State’s ever-increasing Medicaid budget and recognizing that when the Federal match for the expansion program will most likely drop from 90/10 to 80/20 and the regular Medicaid match will drop even more when the Republicans in Washington regain […]
There seems to be little appetite amongst the rank and file in either the Idaho House of Representatives or The Idaho Senate to address the real “Elephant in The Room” that will eventually—sooner rather than later I believe, come to have a real negative impact on Idaho families, businesses, farmers, and ranchers. CORRUPTION in government […]
Hope springs eternal in Garden City this Christmas season. The celebration of the birth and promise fulfilled by the Baby Jesus will always sustain us no matter the challenges that the secular temporal world can put before us. We must never lose hope for the future. WE know the “rest of the story”. As Mother […]
Who will Stop the Corruption, Malfeasance and Complicity? Two items crossed my computer screen this morning within minutes of each other. One was an e-mail from an Idaho State Legislator complaining about my use of the word “corruption”. He believed by my describing many of the processes that occur in our state government in the […]