Maryland’s 0.05 Percent Solution

Originally Published in the Daily Record

By Thomas A. Firey
Published on Friday, April 29, 2005
It is estimated that as many as 700,000 Marylanders—12.7 percent of the state’s population—have no health insurance. That statistic represents both a private and a public concern: private, because the uninsured are exposed to serious medical and financial risks if they become ill or are injured; public, because unpaid medical expenses often are reimbursed with funds from the public fisc. Read More »

Throwing Money at Maryland’s Med-Mal Problem

By Thomas A. Firey
Published on Sunday, January 09, 2005
Late last month (12/28), Maryland lawmakers were called into special session to amend the state’s medical malpractice laws. Policymaker feared that, without changes, malpractice costs will soon lead to higher health expenses and less access to medical care. Read More »

Certificate of Need is indeed a CON

By Thomas A. Firey
Published on Sunday, May 09, 2004
For the past several months, Washington County residents have followed the clash between the City of Hagerstown and the Antietam Health System over the county's hospital. Read More »

The Price of Bad Policy

Originally published in The Baltimore Sun

By Thomas A. Firey
Published on Wednesday, April 21, 2004
WITH GASOLINE prices rapidly rising in Maryland and across the nation, motorists are gritting their teeth and grumbling each time they visit the pump. Some politicians have begun tossing around the usual proposals that are trotted out each time there is a spike in gas prices: implementing new mandates for better fuel efficiency and technological progress, granting more drilling rights in sensitive areas, and changing environmental laws and gas taxes. Read More »

Legalizing Video Slot Gaming in Maryland: A Business Analysis

By Thomas A. Firey, Jeffrey C. Hooke
Published on Tuesday, July 15, 2003
In this report, the authors examine several possible market designs that Maryland could adopt if it were to allow video slot machine gaming in the state. Specifically, we project what revenue the state would receive under each market design, and what other advantages and drawbacks are implicit in the designs. Read More »

How to Build and Pay for the ICC

Maryland Policy Update No.0006

By Thomas A. Firey
Published on Wednesday, April 30, 2003
The Ehrlich administration’s announcement that it has allocated $2 million to restart planning for the intercounty connector is welcomed news for D.C. area commuters weary of gridlocked roads in Rockville, Gaithersburg and Bethesda. Construction of the corridor linking I-270 to I-95 would divert a significant amount of traffic away from the overburdened northwestern side of the Beltway. Read More »

Political Profiteers

Originially Published in The Baltimore Sun

By Thomas A. Firey
Published on Tuesday, April 22, 2003
The public won't pay much attention to one of the General Assembly's most consequential, long-running and disheartening political games: the ever-tightening restrictions on consumer choices in order to increase profit margins for politically favored businesses. The game works like this: Read More »

Removing Two Roadblocks to an ICC

Originally Published in The Washington Post

By Thomas A. Firey
Published on Sunday, April 20, 2003
The Ehrlich administration’s announcement that it has allocated $2 million to restart planning for the intercounty connector is welcomed news for D.C. area commuters weary of gridlocked roads in Rockville, Gaithersburg and Bethesda. Construction of the corridor linking I-270 to I-95 would divert a significant amount of traffic away from the overburdened northwestern side of the Beltway. Read More »