Commentary

Commentary

Medicaid’s Waivers Are Out of Control – But Also Show How to Save the Program

Are rental vouchers a form of “health care?” Federal bureaucrats evidently think so. They’ve recently approved waivers for states to fund these benefits through Medicaid, the joint federal-state health insurance program that covers over 76 million Americans. These waivers constitute an enormous federal subsidy to state governments, with up to ...
Commentary

Biden’s Disdain for Democracy Revealed in Backdoor Bailout

Few likely noticed when the Biden administration announced a “voluntary Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration” late last month. The initiative aims to “test” whether a new approach to reducing premiums for Medicare prescription drug plans will “increase the efficiency and economy of services” under the program — at least according to the ...
Commentary

Scope-of-practice laws put patients in the crosshairs

New research appears to have found the proverbial “free lunch” economists have long been searching for. States that grant nurse practitioners “full practice authority” — that authorize them to provide care independently, without the supervision of a physician or other provider — reduce total healthcare costs for people with diabetes ...
Commentary

JD Vance’s Healthcare Record Should Give Republicans Pause

The selection of JD Vance as the Republican vice-presidential nominee has made many in the limited-government wing of the GOP squirm. Consider his record on healthcare, where he’s signaled support for more state intervention. He justifies this approach by pointing to the struggles of ordinary Americans to afford healthcare. But more government ...
Commentary

Pending Government Drug Pricing Will Harm Seniors’ Care And Budgets

Any day now, the Biden administration will publish the prices it has set for ten drugs covered by Medicare’s Part D prescription drug benefit. These price controls will provide “meaningful financial relief for millions of people with Medicare,” administration officials say. Many seniors are about to see just how false that ...
Commentary

Read about science of reading legislation

Read Lance Izumi in the NY Post: How politics is getting in the way of teaching kids to read

The inability of America’s children to read proficiently is frightening. On the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) fourth-grade reading exam, 66% of students taking the exam failed to achieve at the proficient level. The results were even worse on the eighth grade reading exam, with 69% of students ...
Commentary

Harris is wrong about medical debt

Is Vice President Kamala Harris trying to rebrand as a centrist? She has recently disavowed her previous progressive positions on everything from border security to fracking to “Medicare for All.” But she and her running mate remain enthusiastic about socializing medical debt. In a recent statement, Harris claimed that “more than 100 million Americans struggle with medical ...
Business & Economics

Read the latest on gig work and worker freedom

Kamala Harris Is Bad News for Gig Workers

Two million independent contractors caught a break from the California supreme court when it recently upheld a ballot initiative that was intended to overcome Sacramento’s patently obvious effort to outlaw gig work. Any celebrations should wait, though. The administration wants to take California’s war on worker freedom national. The PRO ...
Commentary

The Anti-Competitive Middlemen Harming Pharmacies And Patients

Astonishing drug innovations are improving the lives of patients including those living with cancer and autoimmune disorders. These innovations also expose the payment system’s fundamental flaws. The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recently released interim report on pharmacy middlemen demonstrates that these flaws impose a high cost on patients and neighborhood pharmacies. These ...
Commentary

Read the latest on pharmaceutical benefit managers

Legislation Urgently Needed to Rein In Pharmacy Benefit Mgrs.

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing last month with the CEOs of the nation’s three largest pharmacy benefit managers: CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx. The hearing coincided with a new report from the committee on the outsized role these prescription-drug middlemen play in determining what people pay for ...
Commentary

Medicaid’s Waivers Are Out of Control – But Also Show How to Save the Program

Are rental vouchers a form of “health care?” Federal bureaucrats evidently think so. They’ve recently approved waivers for states to fund these benefits through Medicaid, the joint federal-state health insurance program that covers over 76 million Americans. These waivers constitute an enormous federal subsidy to state governments, with up to ...
Commentary

Biden’s Disdain for Democracy Revealed in Backdoor Bailout

Few likely noticed when the Biden administration announced a “voluntary Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration” late last month. The initiative aims to “test” whether a new approach to reducing premiums for Medicare prescription drug plans will “increase the efficiency and economy of services” under the program — at least according to the ...
Commentary

Scope-of-practice laws put patients in the crosshairs

New research appears to have found the proverbial “free lunch” economists have long been searching for. States that grant nurse practitioners “full practice authority” — that authorize them to provide care independently, without the supervision of a physician or other provider — reduce total healthcare costs for people with diabetes ...
Commentary

JD Vance’s Healthcare Record Should Give Republicans Pause

The selection of JD Vance as the Republican vice-presidential nominee has made many in the limited-government wing of the GOP squirm. Consider his record on healthcare, where he’s signaled support for more state intervention. He justifies this approach by pointing to the struggles of ordinary Americans to afford healthcare. But more government ...
Commentary

Pending Government Drug Pricing Will Harm Seniors’ Care And Budgets

Any day now, the Biden administration will publish the prices it has set for ten drugs covered by Medicare’s Part D prescription drug benefit. These price controls will provide “meaningful financial relief for millions of people with Medicare,” administration officials say. Many seniors are about to see just how false that ...
Commentary

Read about science of reading legislation

Read Lance Izumi in the NY Post: How politics is getting in the way of teaching kids to read

The inability of America’s children to read proficiently is frightening. On the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) fourth-grade reading exam, 66% of students taking the exam failed to achieve at the proficient level. The results were even worse on the eighth grade reading exam, with 69% of students ...
Commentary

Harris is wrong about medical debt

Is Vice President Kamala Harris trying to rebrand as a centrist? She has recently disavowed her previous progressive positions on everything from border security to fracking to “Medicare for All.” But she and her running mate remain enthusiastic about socializing medical debt. In a recent statement, Harris claimed that “more than 100 million Americans struggle with medical ...
Business & Economics

Read the latest on gig work and worker freedom

Kamala Harris Is Bad News for Gig Workers

Two million independent contractors caught a break from the California supreme court when it recently upheld a ballot initiative that was intended to overcome Sacramento’s patently obvious effort to outlaw gig work. Any celebrations should wait, though. The administration wants to take California’s war on worker freedom national. The PRO ...
Commentary

The Anti-Competitive Middlemen Harming Pharmacies And Patients

Astonishing drug innovations are improving the lives of patients including those living with cancer and autoimmune disorders. These innovations also expose the payment system’s fundamental flaws. The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recently released interim report on pharmacy middlemen demonstrates that these flaws impose a high cost on patients and neighborhood pharmacies. These ...
Commentary

Read the latest on pharmaceutical benefit managers

Legislation Urgently Needed to Rein In Pharmacy Benefit Mgrs.

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing last month with the CEOs of the nation’s three largest pharmacy benefit managers: CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx. The hearing coincided with a new report from the committee on the outsized role these prescription-drug middlemen play in determining what people pay for ...
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