
Merrill Matthews, Ph.D., is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation, a research-based, public policy “think tank.” He is a health policy expert and opinion contributor at The Hill. He also serves on the Texas Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Dr. Matthews is a past president of the Health Economics Roundtable for the National Association for Business Economics, the largest trade association of business economists. Dr. Matthews also served for 10 years as the medical ethicist for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center’s Institutional Review Board for Human Experimentation, co-author of On the Edge: America Faces the Entitlements Cliff, and has contributed chapters to several books, including Physician Assisted Suicide: Expanding the Debate and The 21st Century Health Care Leader and Stop Paying the Crooks (on Medicare fraud).
He has been published in numerous journals and newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Barron’s, USA Today, Forbes magazine and the Washington Times. He was an award-winning political analyst for the USA Radio Network.
Dr. Matthews received his Ph.D. in Humanities from the University of Texas at Dallas.
Four Reasons Why Obamacare Will Fail No Matter What Its Website Does
A closer look at the uninsured numbers raises real questions about just how many people will participate.
Physician Plots Escape From 'Obamacare Noose'
IPI's Matthews noted Obamacare's expected 24 percent cut in Medicaid reimbursements coming Jan. 1. That issue has reared its head repeatedly, and each time Congress has stepped in to fix it by spending more money, but that can’t continue forever, he said.
The EU Proposes Yet Another Tax on Capital Investment
The European Union is moving to implement a financial transactions tax that will likely cost the Union tax revenue.
Doctors Face A 24% Pay Cut In Both Medicare And Medicaid Reimbursements
It’s yet another unforeseen consequence of Obamacare. And unless Congress acts, we’re likely to see a huge exodus of doctors who will not accept either Medicare or Medicaid patients.
Another big step in reducing carbon dioxide emissions
The public policy goal should be to meet our energy needs while doing as little damage as possible to the environment and the economy. Natural gas is helping us do that.
Obama's happy talk on Iran sounds like his happy talk on Obamacare
We’re being told the agreement with Iran is a historic step forward. But will we learn in a few weeks, perhaps through leaked emails or documents, that there are caveats that neither Obama nor Kerry are telling us that dramatically undermines all the happy talk?
When Will The Government Start Forcing Doctors To See Obamacare Patients?
Patient access to doctors is approaching a perfect storm of decreased physician supply, more demand for medical care—especially after Obamacare kicks in—and doctors increasingly refusing to see low-paying Medicare or Medicaid patients. If the “promise” of Obamacare’s access to health care is to be kept, government will eventually have to force doctors to accept Obamacare-covered patients.
Liberal Nanny-Statism Always Creates Problems for Liberal Nanny-Staters
Liberal nanny-staters pass laws or impose regulations to make the world better; but those efforts often backfire and create real problems for other nanny-staters.
Why JFK was kind of a crappy President
Polls regularly put Kennedy in the top 10 U.S. presidents and a recent Politico poll ranking the best presidents since 1950 has him in first place. Like another more-recent, young, telegenic, liberal presidential candidate, JFK may have brought new hope and promise to the White House, but not much more.
Obamacare Has A Honey Pot To Buy Insurance Company Support, And Obama Will Need It
HHS plans to open up the money spigots if that’s what it takes to get the insurers on board in a last ditch effort to make the president’s health care law work.