Health Care
Commentary
The illogical California lockdown orders
Get ready to stay home indefinitely, my fellow Californians. Gov. Gavin Newsom has suggested that the stay-at-home order he issued Dec. 3 will likely be extended well into January. So for a few more weeks — at least — most Californians won’t be able to engage in a wide range ...
Commentary
Why Joe Biden must keep Donald Trump’s short-term health plans in place
President-elect Joe Biden has promised “a dramatic expansion of health care coverage and bold steps to lower health care costs” once he takes office after his inauguration Jan. 20. But one of his first orders of business may undermine both those goals in one fell swoop. The incoming administration has signaled its intention to roll ...
Commentary
Americans are getting a good return on their healthcare spending
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released new data on Dec. 16 on health expenditures. In 2019, overall spending rose 4.6% to reach a total of $3.8 trillion, or 17.7% of the economy. That’s enough to make anyone do a double take. But a deeper look at the data ...
Commentary
COVID vaccines can give economy a needed shot in the arm once essential workers vaccinated
The arrival of two coronavirus vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use this month has prompted fierce debate about who ought to be immunized first. The latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices put health care workers and older Americans living in nursing ...
Blog
What’s Up with the New “California Driver Benefits Fee”?
Uber customers might have noticed a new fee that’s appearing on their charges. Now, who do we have to thank for that? Oh, yes, the lawmakers who tried to destroy the gig economy and its millions of jobs. Uber added a “California Driver Benefits Fee” to its charges on Dec. ...
Commentary
COVID-19 has shown us how dysfunctional the American regulatory state can be
In November, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first rapid at-home coronavirus test. That would seem to be unabashedly good news. But it’s actually an indictment of federal regulators, who have moved at a snail’s pace in the fight against the coronavirus. These delays have been concerning for folks ...
Commentary
Reforming Rebate Contracting will Improve Drug Affordability
By Wayne Winegarden and Robert Popovian The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a regulation on November 20, 2020 that removed the safe harbor protections for rebates on prescription drugs paid to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and Part D plans. This analysis evaluates the expected impact from this ...
Commentary
Work Requirements Can Preserve Medicaid For Those Who Need It Most
This month, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case early next year that will decide whether states have the power to impose work requirements as a condition of receiving Medicaid benefits. The question before the high court is a legal one. But as a matter of policy, work requirements are a great ...
Commentary
The coming vaccine doesn’t mean we should delay routine care
This week, the first round of people began receiving a vaccine against COVID-19 in the United States. That offers some hope that we’ll finally be able to get the pandemic under control. Some people may take the arrival of a vaccine to mean that they can wait a few more months for ...
Blog
Is Newsom Learning Anything From The Courts That Are Telling Him ‘No’?
Twice in recent weeks, California superior court judges upended government pandemic restrictions. Is the governor’s office getting the message? On Dec. 8, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant told the county that its ban on outdoor dining “is an abuse of the (health) department’s emergency powers, (and) is not ...
The illogical California lockdown orders
Get ready to stay home indefinitely, my fellow Californians. Gov. Gavin Newsom has suggested that the stay-at-home order he issued Dec. 3 will likely be extended well into January. So for a few more weeks — at least — most Californians won’t be able to engage in a wide range ...
Why Joe Biden must keep Donald Trump’s short-term health plans in place
President-elect Joe Biden has promised “a dramatic expansion of health care coverage and bold steps to lower health care costs” once he takes office after his inauguration Jan. 20. But one of his first orders of business may undermine both those goals in one fell swoop. The incoming administration has signaled its intention to roll ...
Americans are getting a good return on their healthcare spending
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released new data on Dec. 16 on health expenditures. In 2019, overall spending rose 4.6% to reach a total of $3.8 trillion, or 17.7% of the economy. That’s enough to make anyone do a double take. But a deeper look at the data ...
COVID vaccines can give economy a needed shot in the arm once essential workers vaccinated
The arrival of two coronavirus vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use this month has prompted fierce debate about who ought to be immunized first. The latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices put health care workers and older Americans living in nursing ...
What’s Up with the New “California Driver Benefits Fee”?
Uber customers might have noticed a new fee that’s appearing on their charges. Now, who do we have to thank for that? Oh, yes, the lawmakers who tried to destroy the gig economy and its millions of jobs. Uber added a “California Driver Benefits Fee” to its charges on Dec. ...
COVID-19 has shown us how dysfunctional the American regulatory state can be
In November, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first rapid at-home coronavirus test. That would seem to be unabashedly good news. But it’s actually an indictment of federal regulators, who have moved at a snail’s pace in the fight against the coronavirus. These delays have been concerning for folks ...
Reforming Rebate Contracting will Improve Drug Affordability
By Wayne Winegarden and Robert Popovian The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a regulation on November 20, 2020 that removed the safe harbor protections for rebates on prescription drugs paid to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and Part D plans. This analysis evaluates the expected impact from this ...
Work Requirements Can Preserve Medicaid For Those Who Need It Most
This month, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case early next year that will decide whether states have the power to impose work requirements as a condition of receiving Medicaid benefits. The question before the high court is a legal one. But as a matter of policy, work requirements are a great ...
The coming vaccine doesn’t mean we should delay routine care
This week, the first round of people began receiving a vaccine against COVID-19 in the United States. That offers some hope that we’ll finally be able to get the pandemic under control. Some people may take the arrival of a vaccine to mean that they can wait a few more months for ...
Is Newsom Learning Anything From The Courts That Are Telling Him ‘No’?
Twice in recent weeks, California superior court judges upended government pandemic restrictions. Is the governor’s office getting the message? On Dec. 8, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant told the county that its ban on outdoor dining “is an abuse of the (health) department’s emergency powers, (and) is not ...
