Many Pennsylvanians face chronic unemployment, welfare dependency, and the cycle of poverty. This happens because labor incentives have been overridden by bad policies that keep millions out of the workforce and enact excessive red tape. We can reverse this trend by ending the practice of waiving work requirements on able-bodied Pennsylvanians with no dependents, removing barriers to employment for those seeking a fresh start, and creating a healthcare system without burdensome regulations.

Health Care

Medicaid Reforms Needed as Welfare Spending Surpasses Education

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • March 11, 2011

Under Gov. Corbett’s budget proposal, Pennsylvania would spend more on welfare than education for first time. A large chunk of that welfare spending is in Medicaid, a joint state-federal program…

Media

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Health Care

Medicaid Reforms Start with the States

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • March 2, 2011

Medicaid spending threatens to consume the entire Pennsylvania state budget, and we aren’t alone. Without greater flexibility, states will be forced to cut services, raise taxes or drop out…

Media

Read More: Medicaid Reforms Start with the States

Criminal Justice Reform

Pennsylvania Prison Postponed, Pork Prolonged

  • February 18, 2011

Yesterday, Gov. Corbett cancelled a planned prison construction project in Fayette County, estimated to cost taxpayers $200 million. In January, Auditor General Wagner called for a halt on…

Media

Read More: Pennsylvania Prison Postponed, Pork Prolonged

Health Care

Five Reasons Corbett Should Stop Implementing Obamacare

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • February 9, 2011

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has indicated the state will continue to implement federal health care mandates, such as an an insurance exchange, at least for the time being. Here are…

Media

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Health Care

More Bad News for ObamaCare

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • February 2, 2011

After Judge Roger Vinson declared that the entire healthcare overhaul is unconstitutional, Heritage analyst Conn Carroll explained how the decision effectively stops implementation in states (including Pennsylvania) that…

Media

Read More: More Bad News for ObamaCare

Criminal Justice Reform

Criminal Justice Reform Needed

  • January 31, 2011

Auditor General Wagner has warned the Governor and state legislators to begin using alternative-sentencing instead of long-term prison sentences for non-violent offenders, in order to control the ballooning prison…

Media

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Health Care

What State Legislators Can Do to Protect Health Care Freedom

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • January 19, 2011

ALEC’s new State Legislators Guide to Repealing Obamacare is a wealth of ideas for state legislators and in turn, activists who are dedicated to implementing true healthcare freedoms.

Media

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Education

80 Ideas for a Prosperous Pennsylvania

  • January 17, 2011

Pennsylvania must undergo a rapid transformation to reverse the poor policy decisions that have eroded economic freedoms and brought the state to its present condition.  To provide a roadmap for…

Report

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Health Care

Long-Term Care Reform

  • January 11, 2011

Long-term care is very expensive whether provided in a nursing home, an assisted living facility, or in someone's home. Medicaid pays for most professional long-term care (LTC) in Pennsylvania.  LTC…

Report

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Health Care

Medicaid: A State Budget Buster

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • December 20, 2010

Medicaid is gobbling up state budgets left and right, and Pennsylvania is no exception. State Medicaid costs from 2014 through 2020 are estimated to increase by $841.2…

Media

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Health Care

A Free Market in Health Care?!?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • November 1, 2010

A commenter on our latest Policy Points on Health Care Reform describes health care as “the free market, unregulated situation at the time the Act was passed.” I’m not…

Media

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Health Care

Is FactCheck Recycling Talking Points on ObamaCare?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 29, 2010

Here is an email I sent to FactCheck.org: Your recent article claims insurance premiums won’t go up. Are you kidding? Simple economics, or the experience of states like…

Media

Read More: Is FactCheck Recycling Talking Points on ObamaCare?

Health Care

Health Care Reform: An Update

  • October 27, 2010

Before enacting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said Congress had to pass the bill before we'd find out what's in…

Fact Sheet

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Health Care

Pelosi Explains the Health Care Bill

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 20, 2010

In a speech in Pittsburgh to the “Women of Steel”, which includes the Steelworkers union, Lois Lane, Lana Lang, and Supergirl, U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi outlined what…

Media

Read More: Pelosi Explains the Health Care Bill

Health Care

More Side Effects of Obamacare

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • October 18, 2010

Every day it seems we are hearing more bad news about the effects of the new health care reform law. From rising premiums to narrowing coverage, the side effects…

Media

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Health Care

Big Gas, Big Fast Food Chains, and Big Government

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 12, 2010

PA Independent reports that the largest drillers in the Marcellus Shale sat in on the Rendell and the Conquistadors’ Columbus Day meeting: Although 75 companies currently operate wells…

Media

Read More: Big Gas, Big Fast Food Chains, and Big Government

Health Care

ObamaCare will Dramatically Increase Medicaid Costs in PA

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • October 6, 2010

A reader asked us what kind of effect ObamaCare would have on Medicaid costs in Pennsylvania. We’ve put together some numbers, and it’s not pretty. First of all, even without…

Media

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Taxes & Economy

Immigration Verification and Welfare Fraud

  • Elizabeth Stelle, Nathan Benefield
  • October 6, 2010

Thank you for allowing the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives, a non-partisan educational institute based in Harrisburg, to submit written testimony concerning HB 1359, which would require proof of…

Testimony

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Government Accountability

Grassroots Activists Battle Special Interest Agenda

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • September 29, 2010

Earlier this year, we blogged on HB 2246, which would have allowed trial lawyers in auto cases to suggest the amount of compensation their plaintiffs should receive for their…

Media

Read More: Grassroots Activists Battle Special Interest Agenda

Health Care

PA Medicaid Enrollment Reaches All-Time High

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • September 23, 2010

One in six Pennsylvanians are now eligible for Medicaid or Medical Assistance, thanks to the economic downturn and generous eligibility standards. The Post-Gazette reports 2.2 million individuals now rely…

Media

Read More: PA Medicaid Enrollment Reaches All-Time High

Health Care

Why Obama Can’t “Sell” the Health Care Law

  • Nathan Benefield
  • September 23, 2010

The AP writes that President Obama blames himself for not “selling” the health care law — this despite giving dozens of speeches on the issue and spending millions…

Media

Read More: Why Obama Can’t “Sell” the Health Care Law