Policy in Detail
Jul 14, 2011
Top earners have more incentive to move from Minnesota to a lower tax state in 2010 than they did throughout the high-tax decade of the 1970s. Just as important, they have a stronger disincentive to move to Minnesota from a low-tax state today.
Oct 1, 2009
A health insurance exchange is often reported as one of the few key congressional health care proposals with bipartisan support. Whatever bipartisan support people perceive is illusory. The fact is, conservatives and liberals support very different versions of an exchange
Sep 8, 2009
In today’s health care discussions, the Mayo Clinic is regularly held out as a high value health care provider that delivers high quality at a low cost. There is indeed a strong body of research from Dartmouth Medical School that shows Medicare patients at the Mayo Clinic consistently cost far less and experience superior outcomes when compared to similar patients at clinics across the country. However, when it comes to understanding value—the intersection between cost and quality—the Dartmouth research is limited by the fact that it covers only Medicare patients.
Apr 8, 2009
Lawmakers’ top priority for this session is erasing the $4.6 billion shortfall forecast for the 2010-11 biennium. To keep the economy on the right track, budget proposals should aim to advance at least four objectives: First, promote job growth; second, expand economic freedom; third, bring balance beyond the biennium; and fourth, obtain more value from government services. To improve the budget and advance the four objectives listed above, this report offers the following recommendations.
Feb 3, 2009
To protect electricity consumers, prudent long-term planning and investing requires that utilities and their regulators estimate how future CO2 regulations will impact the cost of generating electricity.
May 8, 2008
In searching for ways to improve quality and enhance value in Minnesota‘s health care market, Minnesota lawmakers have hit upon the concept of the “medical home.” Currently there are respective medical home proposals under consideration in the state House and state Senate.1 Governor Pawlenty also has offered a proposal.
Apr 23, 2008
Uniform pricing of health care provider rates hopes to fix a number of problems, yet any positive effect may be limited because uniform pricing fails to address their root cause. Moreover, as will be explained here, uniform pricing can lead to unintended consequences, including higher average prices, reduced access, underutilized health care facilities, and more aggravating health plan policies.
