Health Care
Commentary
States are eyeing a public option through rose-colored glasses
The Affordable Care Act will notch its 12th birthday later this month. To get the measure through Congress and to President Obama’s desk for his signature, Democrats had to cut one of progressives’ signature proposals—a public health insurance option. But the public option didn’t die all those years ago. President ...
Sally C. Pipes
March 14, 2022
Blog
Biden’s Non-Plan for Fighting Inflation
In a recent survey, Americans ranked inflation as the most urgent issue facing the country. So, our ears perked up when Pres. Biden began laying out his plan to bring down inflation in his State of the Union address. After listening to his speech, you can’t help but think that ...
Rowena Itchon
March 11, 2022
Commentary
Light starts to shine on opaque drug pricing tactics
Late last month, the Federal Trade Commission announced it would seek public comments on the ways pharmacy benefit managers distort the prices of prescription drugs. PBMs deserve the scrutiny, as they’re to blame for much of the rise in prescription drug costs. Insurers hire PBMs to negotiate drug prices with ...
Sally C. Pipes
March 8, 2022
Blog
Why A Public Option Would Not Be Successful
Editor’s Note: Last week, PRI President, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy Sally C. Pipes participated in a debate on the public option at the annual conference of the National Council of Insurance Legislators conference in Las Vegas. Nevada Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton moderated the debate. ...
Sally C. Pipes
March 8, 2022
Commentary
Study Echineacea on Your Own Dime
In his last blog post before resigning as director of the National Institutes of Health in December 2021, Francis Collins touted many of the important areas of research NIH conducted or funded in his more than 12 years leading the organization, “from innovative immunotherapies for treating cancer to the gift of mRNA vaccines to combat a ...
Henry Miller, M.S., M.D.
March 7, 2022
Commentary
Mark Cuban shows how the free market helps patients
Billionaire investor Mark Cuban is known for his razzle-dazzle. Not only has he backed a long string of tech, media and cryptocurrency companies, he also owns the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and is a TV star on “Shark Tank.” Getting into discount drugs might not have seemed like an obvious ...
Sally C. Pipes
March 7, 2022
Commentary
Put Patients in Charge to Keep Healthcare Spending in Check
New research suggests health insurers could take some negotiating tips from people who pay for health care out of pocket. According to an analysis from HealthCareInsider, hospital costs for patients with insurance are higher than for those who self-pay. That flies in the face of conventional wisdom. Insurers are in the business ...
Sally C. Pipes
March 7, 2022
Blog
The True Cost of Restrictive Healthcare Licensing Laws: Mother’s Lives
Becoming a mother in the United States is risky. Among developed nations, the US has the highest rate of maternal mortality, carrying double the risk than that of France, and 10 times the risk than that of Norway. Our maternal mortality rates are even increasing. Recently released data from the ...
McKenzie Richards
March 7, 2022
Commentary
Biden’s Half-Baked Covid Treatment Plan
‘Test to Treat’ ignores the significant risk of drug interactions with the Pfizer pill. President Biden touted a new anti-Covid initiative in his State of the Union address Tuesday. “We’re also ready with antiviral treatments. If you get Covid-19, the Pfizer pill reduces your chances of ending up in the hospital by ...
Henry Miller, M.S., M.D.
March 4, 2022
Agriculture
Embrace Genetically Engineered Crops to Mitigate Climate Change
By Henry I. Miller and Kathleen Hefferon Popular wisdom is often wrong. Consider, for example, how it views organic agriculture, which has grown to a $48 billion a year industry in the U.S. Organic products are sold at outlets ranging from local farmers’ markets to large supermarket chains, and many ...
Henry Miller, M.S., M.D.
March 4, 2022
States are eyeing a public option through rose-colored glasses
The Affordable Care Act will notch its 12th birthday later this month. To get the measure through Congress and to President Obama’s desk for his signature, Democrats had to cut one of progressives’ signature proposals—a public health insurance option. But the public option didn’t die all those years ago. President ...
Biden’s Non-Plan for Fighting Inflation
In a recent survey, Americans ranked inflation as the most urgent issue facing the country. So, our ears perked up when Pres. Biden began laying out his plan to bring down inflation in his State of the Union address. After listening to his speech, you can’t help but think that ...
Light starts to shine on opaque drug pricing tactics
Late last month, the Federal Trade Commission announced it would seek public comments on the ways pharmacy benefit managers distort the prices of prescription drugs. PBMs deserve the scrutiny, as they’re to blame for much of the rise in prescription drug costs. Insurers hire PBMs to negotiate drug prices with ...
Why A Public Option Would Not Be Successful
Editor’s Note: Last week, PRI President, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy Sally C. Pipes participated in a debate on the public option at the annual conference of the National Council of Insurance Legislators conference in Las Vegas. Nevada Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton moderated the debate. ...
Study Echineacea on Your Own Dime
In his last blog post before resigning as director of the National Institutes of Health in December 2021, Francis Collins touted many of the important areas of research NIH conducted or funded in his more than 12 years leading the organization, “from innovative immunotherapies for treating cancer to the gift of mRNA vaccines to combat a ...
Mark Cuban shows how the free market helps patients
Billionaire investor Mark Cuban is known for his razzle-dazzle. Not only has he backed a long string of tech, media and cryptocurrency companies, he also owns the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and is a TV star on “Shark Tank.” Getting into discount drugs might not have seemed like an obvious ...
Put Patients in Charge to Keep Healthcare Spending in Check
New research suggests health insurers could take some negotiating tips from people who pay for health care out of pocket. According to an analysis from HealthCareInsider, hospital costs for patients with insurance are higher than for those who self-pay. That flies in the face of conventional wisdom. Insurers are in the business ...
The True Cost of Restrictive Healthcare Licensing Laws: Mother’s Lives
Becoming a mother in the United States is risky. Among developed nations, the US has the highest rate of maternal mortality, carrying double the risk than that of France, and 10 times the risk than that of Norway. Our maternal mortality rates are even increasing. Recently released data from the ...
Biden’s Half-Baked Covid Treatment Plan
‘Test to Treat’ ignores the significant risk of drug interactions with the Pfizer pill. President Biden touted a new anti-Covid initiative in his State of the Union address Tuesday. “We’re also ready with antiviral treatments. If you get Covid-19, the Pfizer pill reduces your chances of ending up in the hospital by ...
Embrace Genetically Engineered Crops to Mitigate Climate Change
By Henry I. Miller and Kathleen Hefferon Popular wisdom is often wrong. Consider, for example, how it views organic agriculture, which has grown to a $48 billion a year industry in the U.S. Organic products are sold at outlets ranging from local farmers’ markets to large supermarket chains, and many ...