Contributor
James P. Gelfand, Senior Manager, Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Related Link:
http://www.chamberpost.com/james_gelfand/index.html
Biography provided by participant
James P. Gelfand joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in August 2007. He is responsible for health policy issues pending before Congress and the federal agencies, including the protection of ERISA preemption, mental health parity, small business health plans, privacy and confidentiality, consumerist health options, and comprehensive health reform.
He joined the Chamber from The ERISA Industry Committee, where he served as the manager of health policy, focusing on research and advocacy for health issues of concern to Fortune 100 companies.
Gelfand attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, graduating with distinction in political science and legal studies. Previously, he worked at the National Center for Public Policy Research, where he co-authored the 2007 edition of Shattered Dreams: One Hundred Stories of Government Abuse. He also worked in litigation support at the international law firm Sidley, Austin, Brown and Wood.
Gelfand has a background in investigative reporting and formerly served on the editorial board of the Northwestern Chronicle. He is a regular contributor to health policy publications. He is a scholar of ancient Latin and Greek and a student at The George Washington University Law School. Gelfand lives in Washington, D.C.
Recent Responses
November 1, 2010 04:59 PM
This election is about PPACA Tomorrow we will see how Americans really feel about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Yes, the economy is bad. Yes many people are distressed, facing job-loss, foreclosures, and declines in their investments. But to pretend that the election isn’t also about PPACA belies reality. I’ve been travelling the country talking to state and local Chambers of Commerce and small business owners, and it is blindingly obvious that they are enraged about the health care bill. Think back to the town hall meetings in August of 2009 – the thousands of angry, concerned voters…
Read moreAugust 2, 2010 04:51 PM
Kill the Job-Killing Mandate The 1099 paperwork burden needs to go for many reasons - not only will it hurt businesses and cost jobs at a time when we can ill-afford it, but even the IRS taxpayer advocate says it will not be helpful in raising revenue, just causing a paperwork nightmare. What is sad is that Democrats in Congress are holding 1099 repeal hostage - they don't want to let another crisis go to waste, so they decided to tell Americans that if you don't want the 1099 nightmare, you have to agree to a host of other tax…
Read moreJuly 27, 2010 10:19 PM
Digging up bad ideas It's almost as if they want to give the GOP an excuse to make the election even more about health care than it's already going to be... maybe they really do believe that the bill is going to be a net positive in the eyes of voters. There was no other provision during the legislative debate that was nearly as divisive, or as enraging to the grassroots, as the government-run "option". Even the Blue Dogs balked at the idea of this one (which uses Medicare rates "plus a little"). We know that a plan like this would make everyone…
Read moreJuly 12, 2010 04:54 PM
More dishonesty, no transparency. We had no position on whether or not Berwick should head CMS. His writings and sayings in the past did present some cause for concern (in 1995 he wrote criticizing ERISA preemption, and statements glorifying NICE etc.), but we figured he deserved a fair chance in the hearing process. Maybe he had a good explanation. And then he was just appointed, with no hearings. That was bad. But not as bad as lying, saying someone was "delaying critical nominations." How was anyone delaying it, when there was never a hearing or a vote? Chairman Baucus can call…
Read moreJuly 6, 2010 02:26 PM
OMB Seems Confused. Here is a picture of our spending, comparing the status quo to the now "reformed" system. Orszag thinks the PPACA reduces our "long term fiscal shortfall"? Is something very wrong here? Or does he just mean that raising taxes is the key to solving our problems instead of bending the cost curve - after all, PPACA increased taxes around $569 billion. …
Read moreJune 21, 2010 07:47 AM
Grandfathering: Hard To Keep Your Plan If you are a business, especially a small business already struggling to keep up with the costs of providing health insurance to employees, you want to keep the plan you have – you want it to be grandfathered. Grandfathered plans are exempt from some expensive new mandates in the PPACA, such as: · Mandatory 100% coverage of preventative services with no cost-sharing · Underwriting limits (health status, pre-ex for children) · Mandatory cost-sharing limits · Mandated coverage of clinical trials · Mandatory reporting requirements · Network adequacy requirements (access to OBGYNs etc.) At…
Read moreJune 14, 2010 07:33 AM
Small Businesses In For Rough Ride There has never been any doubt that health insurance premiums, particularly for small businesses and the fully-insured products that they buy for their employees, are going to rise as a result of PPACA. Marilyn has singled out some important provisions that will have a direct cost impact – the fully-insured product tax, limits on deductibles and cost-sharing, new mandates – but this is only the tip of the iceberg. First, the tax increases: we have many times in the past discussed the pass-through taxes small businesses will pay (taxes on prescription drugs, medical…
Read moreJune 8, 2010 12:47 PM
How about less entitlements, more jobs? As of this time it looks like the continued Medicaid bailout has been added back into the so-called "tax-extenders" bill. The U.S. Chamber cannot support this bill because it significantly raises taxes. Therefore we also applaud Rep. Stark for his opposition! From a health care perspective, perhaps we should ask ourselves - are we ready for Medicaid bailouts to become a permanent part of this entitlement? Do we really want to give a sense of permanence to COBRA subsidies, turning that into an entitlement too? Even knowing that this hurts small businesses, who have…
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