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September 14, 2022
Title: The Government Takeover of our Medicine Cabinets
Topic: Prescription Drugs
Discussed by David Balat
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
David Balat is the
director of the Right on Healthcare Initiative at the Texas Public
Policy Foundation. Today, David explains how the Inflation
Reduction Act will give the US government control of prescription drug
prices and will amount to a loss of 330 million life years, about 30 times the
loss so far from COVID-19.
Click
here to read more on the issue from David Balat.
Click here to donate to the
Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Americans want cheaper prescriptions, but do many not understand that government
control of the price of our prescriptions will result in less research and
development for new drugs?
Do pharmaceutical companies spend more money and energy marketing their product
than on research and development for new prescription drugs?
How does the “middle man” affect the cost of prescription drugs? David
Balat explains who the “middle men” are and how they are pocketing the
profits – even going so far as comparing their “business model” to the
Mafia.
Can pharmaceutical companies afford to continue investing in research and
development under the new Inflation Reduction Act?
In reality, is the new Inflation Reduction Act another way for
government to distort the market and takeover of our medicine cabinets?
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December 28, 2020
Title: Telemedicine: Future in Medical Care
Topic: Health Care
Discussed by David Balat
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Part 1 of 3
The Texas Legislature will convene in early January to hammer out a new two-year balanced budget and draw new Congressional, State Senate and State Representative district boundaries. Will COVID-19 and other medical care issues get pushed to the back burner?
David Balat is the Director of the Right on Healthcare initiative at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He has broad experience across the medical care spectrum with special expertise in medical care finance.
Click here for more information about David Balat and the TTPF.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
What was Telemedicine pre-COVID?
What is Telemedicine like now?
Prior to March 2020, were there many laws and regulations regarding Telemedicine?
Has Telemedicine helped both doctors and patients during the COVID pandemic?
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Title: Part 2 of 3 - Telemedicine: Future in Medical Care
Topic: Health Care
Discussed by David Balat
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Through the use of Executive Orders, did Governor Abbott rescind some of the
regulations and restrictions on the use of Telemedicine?
Should Texas elected representatives pass new laws regarding Telemedicine and
other medical care issues?
Has the use of Telemedicine across Texas saved lives and reduced overall
individual medical care costs? David Balat believes it’s too early to know; this
is why new laws must be passed.
Have medical care providers responded favorably to the use of Telemedicine?
Are more and more people in favor of Telemedicine? Will it continue after the
fear of COVID is gone?
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Title: Part 3 of 3 - Telemedicine: Future in Medical Care
Topic: Health Care
Discussed by David Balat
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Questions/Issues Discussed:
What are cost-sharing insurance companies? How do they function? What are some
of the benefits?
Should the Texas Legislature review cost-sharing agreements and pass new laws?
Are insurance companies and hospitals fighting cost-sharing companies?
Join the “Right on Healthcare” Facebook page for updates and other information
about Telemedicine and medical care issues in Texas.
Use the CONTACT LINK on our home page to send us your thoughts on Telemedicine.
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October 2, 2020
Title: Medicaid Expansion: A Disaster for Texans
Topic: Medicare for All Boondoggle
Discussed by David Balat
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Part 1 of 2
Nearly half of the Texas budget goes to spending for healthcare.
However, at a time when Texas officials are talking about trimming
the state’s budget to deal with serious revenue shortfalls, one medical
organization is instead pushing the state to expand Medicaid via the
Affordable Care Act.
David Balat, with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, writes that
expanding Medicaid is the “wrong prescription for what ails America’s health
care safety net for the poor. Instead of expanding Medicaid’s reach, let’s
broaden its scope.” As the Director of TPPF’s Right on Healthcare
initiative, David has experience across the healthcare spectrum with special
expertise in healthcare finance.
More on this topic can be found
here.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
How has the COVID-19 economic shut-down effected revenue streams flowing into
Texas government coffers?
Will the projected shortfall effect the dollars available for Medicaid
expenditures? David reminds us that the money doesn’t necessarily go to health “care”;
it goes to health “insurance”.
Does having Medicaid, through a government issued Medicaid Card, equate to
receiving health care?
How many people across America do not health insurance?
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Title: Part 2 of 2 - Medicaid Expansion: A Disaster for Texans
Topic: Medicare for All Boondoggle
Discussed by David Balat
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Why is it so hard to get government officials to change?
Change is hard to sell. How do we get more dollars to those on Medicaid and
fewer dollars to the bureaucrats pushing paper?
How can we change this narrative?
Follow Texas Public Policy Foundation on social media sites like
Twitter and Facebook to receive updates daily.
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September 4, 2020
Title: Is Obamacare Still Working for You?
Topic: Obamacare
Discussed by David Balat
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
A decade after Congress passed the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare),
the majority of Americans believe the country’s health care system is still
broken. In addition, almost half say health care costs have gone
up and the quality has gone down.
David Balat is the Director of Right on Healthcare with the Texas Public
Policy Foundation. Today he wants you to ask yourself this question: “Is
Obamacare Still Working for You?”
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Was Obamacare sold to the American people through the use of
exaggerations, undeliverable promises, and outright lies?
Is the over-arching goal of Democrats nationalized health care for all
Americans?
Do the majority of Americans believe the country’s health care system is still
broken? If so, in what ways?
Reminder: The Democrats behind Obamacare are quoted on camera
saying that they knew it would fail – it would have to. Think about that
when you vote this November!
Do most Americans recognize Obamacare as the flop that it is?
Do most Americans want to be in charge of their own medical insurance and
medical care?
What can help bring up the quality and bring down the cost for insurance? David
suggests looking at
this
article on their website for more information.
Are bankruptcies due to medical costs still as high as they were before
Obamacare?
Who is going to fix this problem in America – Democrats, Republicans, or the people?
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September 23, 2019
Title: I Can’t Get No Satisfaction
Topic: Medicare for All Boondoggle
Discussed by David Balat
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger had heart surgery recently, but
not in the UK, his home. Instead, he came to the US.
David Balat, the Director of the Right on Healthcare Initiative with the
Texas Public Policy Foundation, says this of the proposed “Medicare for
All” boondoggle: “The truth about single-payer schemes like the
National Health Service or the proposed Medicare for All here in the US is that
they can't deliver the timely quality of care and choice of medications each and
every one of us may need.”
Questions/Issues Discussed:
What is the “rest of the story” behind Mick Jagger’s heart surgery in
the US? Is this a typical scenario for those seeking care in a single-payer
system?
Must people living in countries with single-payer systems ration their medical
care?
How does the quality of life in single-payer systems around the world compare to
the quality of life in the US?
Do Texans want a single-payer system? Do Americans?
Click here
for more on this issue.
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July 31, 2019
Title: The Future of Medical Care in America
Topic: Medicare for All Boondoggle
Discussed by David Balat
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
If Canada’s Medicare for All is so great, then why are so
many Canadians coming to America for medical care?
David Balat is the Director of the Right on Healthcare initiative with Texas
Public Policy Foundation. David is a seasoned hospital executive with more
than 20 years of industry leadership and executive management experience.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Did Obama say we could keep our own doctors with the AFA? Did he also
say we could keep our current insurance?
Are Democrats today wanting to replace Obamacare with a system styled
after Canada’s system?
With regards to specialists and surgeries, how does the US rank compare to other
developed countries?
Are many Canadians now traveling to America to receive specialty care and
surgery? If so, why? Listen as David Balat explains how both Canada and England
are refusing treatment for many people…
A 2015 internal audit of the VA reported 307,000 veterans may have died waiting
for care. Is this a great indicator as to what will be in store for all
Americans if “Medicare for All” is passed?
Is a “a la carte” policy the best option for everyone? Why do the Democrats
insist on stopping this?
What is a “health reimbursement arrangement”? When will this go into
effect?
Can the reality of a of single-payer systems summarized in one word: rationing?
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
March 12, 2019
Title: UPDATE: Medicare for All
Topic: Medicare for All Boondoggle
Discussed by David Balat
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Is Medicare for All a deliberate effort to eliminate choice for all Americans
regarding their medical insurance?
David Balat is the Director of the Right on Healthcare Initiative with Texas
Public Policy Foundation. He has a broad base of experience throughout the
healthcare spectrum with special expertise in healthcare finance.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Should voters allow the elites in WDC to roll Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, and
all private health care policies into one large government-controlled scheme
with all Americans subjected to its bureaucratic panels?
What would Medicare for All cost the taxpayers?
Who would decide who receives care under Medicare for All? Will this panel have
complete control over the doctors, surgeons, and hospitals?
For many years, the number one reason for an individual or family to file for
bankruptcy has been medical bills. Did Obamacare reduce this situation?
How can we provide affordable, usable medical insurance to more Texans?
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February 14, 2019
Title: Cutting Out the Middleman
Topic: Medicare/Medicaid
Discussed by David Balat
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has
stated:
“Every day, Americans – particularly our seniors – pay more than they need
to for their prescription drugs because of a hidden system of kickbacks to
middlemen. President Trump is proposing to end this era of backdoor deals in the
drug industry, bring real transparency to drug markets, and deliver savings
directly to patients when they walk into the pharmacy,”
David Balat is the Director of the Right on Healthcare initiative with Texas
Public Policy Foundation. He is a seasoned hospital executive with more
than twenty years of healthcare industry leadership and executive management
experience.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
How do we lower drug costs without hindering the development of new drugs that
save lives?
Who are the middlemen? David Balat uses the outrageous cost of insulin to
explain what is happening with the middlemen… “It’s complicated by design,”
he says. “They want to confuse you… What we need is competition in the
industry.”
What is the “Anti-Kickback Statute”? Are pharmaceutical companies
exempt from this law?
Follow David Balat on Twitter for
updates and more information on this serious issue.
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September 28, 2017
Title: David Balat, Candidate for SD7
Topic: Candidate Interviews
Discussed by David Balat
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
David Balat was born and raised in Houston to parents who moved to the United States from the suburbs of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in Israel. David is a candidate for Senate District 7 in Houston, Texas, hoping to unseat incumbent John Culberson.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
What is an earmark?
Why were voters nationwide upset with the use of earmarks? Why did Congress vote to stop using earmarks?
Congressman John Culberson has been leading the charge to bring back the use of earmarks. Is this why David Balat has decided to run against him in the upcoming election?
David has been a healthcare executive for almost twenty years. What is his opinion on the Graham-Cassidy healthcare replacement bill?
If Obamacare just imploded, would that be a good or a bad thing?
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