Wayne Winegarden
Blog
Some Positive Tax Changes . . . But We Still Need Tax Reform
With the release of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the long-awaited tax bill has been released. The most pro-growth aspects would change the U.S. corporate income tax system. Corporate income taxes have become a large economic disincentive against investing in the U.S. The TCJA reduces the corporate income ...
Blog
The Price Control Hammer Will Break the Health Care System
From California to Washington D.C. legislators continue to confirm Abraham Kaplan’s famous insight that if you, “give a small boy a hammer, he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.” In the case of our legislators, that hammer is price controls; and, what needs pounding is the price of ...
Business & Economics
Price Controls Will Reduce Innovation and Health Outcomes
Abraham Kaplan famously noted that if you, “give a small boy a hammer, he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.” Put differently, solving problems requires the right tool, not the convenient tool. Congress should remember this wisdom in its upcoming deliberations regarding the cost of prescription drugs. The ...
Business & Economics
Reforming the 340B Program Will Lower the Price of Prescription Drugs
The U.S. health care system needs systemic reforms that comprehensively address the problems of declining quality and rising costs. Alas, beneficial systemic reforms will not be implemented any time soon. There are still opportunities for Congress to implement tailored reforms that can help address these problems in the near term. ...
Blog
A Scientific Basis for the EPA on the Clean Power Plan
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt will make official on Tuesday what we knew all along – the Administration is officially withdrawing the controversial Clean Power Plan rule on power plant emissions. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has railed against the repeal of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) claiming that the EPA’s ...
Blog
To Grow America’s Economy, We Need Tax Reform and Spending Reform
Washington D.C. has turned its sights on tax reform. Critics, almost reflexively, oppose the effort based on claims that tax reform will increase the deficit. A little perspective is in order, consequently. The chart below presents data on total federal, state, and local government revenues and spending relative to the ...
Business & Economics
Let Health Insurance Be Insurance
One of the many flaws with our current health care system is that, too often, health insurance coverage fails people precisely when they need it the most. It’s as if your car insurance has been paying the cost for your oil changes for years, but won’t pay the costs to ...
Business & Economics
Lewis Carroll and the Pricing of Pharmaceuticals
Imagine a pharmaceutical market designed by Lewis Carroll’s Mad Hatter. In contrast to almost every other market, he might begin by charging wholesale prices that are higher than retail prices. He would then make sure that the higher wholesale price goes, the lower retail prices can become. And finally, he ...
Commentary
Just Say No to Pay-fors
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was established in 1997—a program that gives states federal matching funds to provide health insurance to children from families that are too wealthy to qualify for Medicaid, but too poor to afford private insurance. However, current federal funding for CHIP expires on September 30th. ...
Business & Economics
Enriching Lawyers Is Not the Solution to the Opioid Crisis
Effective health care reforms must reduce the excessive costs imposed by frivolous lawsuits. Studies have shown that medical tort reform could reduce total health care premiums between 1 and 3 percent. As estimated by the American Action Forum, this could mean “roughly $15 billion” in savings from effective (but partial) ...
Some Positive Tax Changes . . . But We Still Need Tax Reform
With the release of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the long-awaited tax bill has been released. The most pro-growth aspects would change the U.S. corporate income tax system. Corporate income taxes have become a large economic disincentive against investing in the U.S. The TCJA reduces the corporate income ...
The Price Control Hammer Will Break the Health Care System
From California to Washington D.C. legislators continue to confirm Abraham Kaplan’s famous insight that if you, “give a small boy a hammer, he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.” In the case of our legislators, that hammer is price controls; and, what needs pounding is the price of ...
Price Controls Will Reduce Innovation and Health Outcomes
Abraham Kaplan famously noted that if you, “give a small boy a hammer, he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.” Put differently, solving problems requires the right tool, not the convenient tool. Congress should remember this wisdom in its upcoming deliberations regarding the cost of prescription drugs. The ...
Reforming the 340B Program Will Lower the Price of Prescription Drugs
The U.S. health care system needs systemic reforms that comprehensively address the problems of declining quality and rising costs. Alas, beneficial systemic reforms will not be implemented any time soon. There are still opportunities for Congress to implement tailored reforms that can help address these problems in the near term. ...
A Scientific Basis for the EPA on the Clean Power Plan
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt will make official on Tuesday what we knew all along – the Administration is officially withdrawing the controversial Clean Power Plan rule on power plant emissions. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has railed against the repeal of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) claiming that the EPA’s ...
To Grow America’s Economy, We Need Tax Reform and Spending Reform
Washington D.C. has turned its sights on tax reform. Critics, almost reflexively, oppose the effort based on claims that tax reform will increase the deficit. A little perspective is in order, consequently. The chart below presents data on total federal, state, and local government revenues and spending relative to the ...
Let Health Insurance Be Insurance
One of the many flaws with our current health care system is that, too often, health insurance coverage fails people precisely when they need it the most. It’s as if your car insurance has been paying the cost for your oil changes for years, but won’t pay the costs to ...
Lewis Carroll and the Pricing of Pharmaceuticals
Imagine a pharmaceutical market designed by Lewis Carroll’s Mad Hatter. In contrast to almost every other market, he might begin by charging wholesale prices that are higher than retail prices. He would then make sure that the higher wholesale price goes, the lower retail prices can become. And finally, he ...
Just Say No to Pay-fors
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was established in 1997—a program that gives states federal matching funds to provide health insurance to children from families that are too wealthy to qualify for Medicaid, but too poor to afford private insurance. However, current federal funding for CHIP expires on September 30th. ...
Enriching Lawyers Is Not the Solution to the Opioid Crisis
Effective health care reforms must reduce the excessive costs imposed by frivolous lawsuits. Studies have shown that medical tort reform could reduce total health care premiums between 1 and 3 percent. As estimated by the American Action Forum, this could mean “roughly $15 billion” in savings from effective (but partial) ...
