Commentary
Commentary
Healthcare’s 20-week waiting period
You can do a lot in 20 weeks. Take a semester of college classes and have time for a five-week vacation. Watch an entire NFL season, including the first few rounds of the playoffs. Even earn a private pilot’s license. Or, if you’re Canadian, you can spend 20 weeks waiting ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 1, 2019
Commentary
Surprising findings about your life expectancy and US health care
Do Americans live in a health care hellscape? A report out this week would seem to indicate as much – but that first impression is deceiving. “U.S. life expectancy has not kept pace with that of other wealthy countries and is now decreasing,” concluded the report, published by the medical journal JAMA. Or, as ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 1, 2019
Commentary
Trump drug pricing proposal would doom future cures
President Trump wants to make a deal on drug prices. But his latest proposal could grind medical innovation to a halt. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said last week that the president was looking for “most favored nation status,” whereby the United States got “the best deal among ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 27, 2019
California
San Francisco Mayor: Hardest Job in America?
London Breed breezed through her re-election at the beginning of the month, taking almost 70% of the vote in San Francisco’s mayoral race. But in winning, she might have also lost. No big-city mayor in the country has a tougher job ahead of them. San Francisco’s troubles start with a ...
Kerry Jackson
November 26, 2019
Business & Economics
The FDA Needs More Adult Supervision, Not More Independence
Academics and former agency heads have called for the Food and Drug Administration to become an independent agency, out from under the umbrella of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Although the FDA has real problems, giving it more independence isn’t the solution. The argument may sound compelling. “Partisan ...
Henry Miller, M.S., M.D.
November 25, 2019
Commentary
State-Led Medicare For All Would Import All Of Canada’s Problems
Medicare for All is struggling to gain traction at the national level. Some progressives are hoping that left-leaning states will instead be able to lead the way. This month, California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna introduced the “State-Based Universal Health Care Act,” a bill that would let states take all the ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 25, 2019
Commentary
‘Medicare-for-all’ is still Dems’ goal – don’t be fooled by candidates’ dodges
“Medicare-for-all” is growing increasingly unpopular among the American people as they learn more about this cleverly named government takeover of our health insurance system and the serious harm it would bring about, polls show. As a result, many of the Democrats competing for their party’s presidential nomination are scrambling to soften their support ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 25, 2019
Commentary
Colorado’s public option is bad news
Colorado officials just released their plan to overhaul the state’s health care system. The proposal would make a state-sponsored insurance plan available to Colorado residents shopping for health insurance, starting in January 2022. Proponents of this “state option” claim it will expand access to affordable coverage and encourage competition in ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 21, 2019
Commentary
Understanding ‘Medicare for All’ Could Make Seniors Vote Red
Politicians can be amazingly adept at blowing smoke, especially while electioneering. With the 2020 presidential race unfolding, there is no better example of the phenomenon than the Democrats’ mantra of “Medicare for All.” Healthcare is certainly top-of-mind for many seniors, who are projected to make up nearly a quarter of the ...
Pacific Research Institute
November 19, 2019
Commentary
Don’t be fooled by public option for health care
In recent months, support for the government takeover of health insurance championed by Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren has dropped, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Voters are now split nearly down the middle. Meanwhile, another form of government-run health care is gaining ground. Nearly three-quarters of Americans now ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 18, 2019
Healthcare’s 20-week waiting period
You can do a lot in 20 weeks. Take a semester of college classes and have time for a five-week vacation. Watch an entire NFL season, including the first few rounds of the playoffs. Even earn a private pilot’s license. Or, if you’re Canadian, you can spend 20 weeks waiting ...
Surprising findings about your life expectancy and US health care
Do Americans live in a health care hellscape? A report out this week would seem to indicate as much – but that first impression is deceiving. “U.S. life expectancy has not kept pace with that of other wealthy countries and is now decreasing,” concluded the report, published by the medical journal JAMA. Or, as ...
Trump drug pricing proposal would doom future cures
President Trump wants to make a deal on drug prices. But his latest proposal could grind medical innovation to a halt. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said last week that the president was looking for “most favored nation status,” whereby the United States got “the best deal among ...
San Francisco Mayor: Hardest Job in America?
London Breed breezed through her re-election at the beginning of the month, taking almost 70% of the vote in San Francisco’s mayoral race. But in winning, she might have also lost. No big-city mayor in the country has a tougher job ahead of them. San Francisco’s troubles start with a ...
The FDA Needs More Adult Supervision, Not More Independence
Academics and former agency heads have called for the Food and Drug Administration to become an independent agency, out from under the umbrella of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Although the FDA has real problems, giving it more independence isn’t the solution. The argument may sound compelling. “Partisan ...
State-Led Medicare For All Would Import All Of Canada’s Problems
Medicare for All is struggling to gain traction at the national level. Some progressives are hoping that left-leaning states will instead be able to lead the way. This month, California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna introduced the “State-Based Universal Health Care Act,” a bill that would let states take all the ...
‘Medicare-for-all’ is still Dems’ goal – don’t be fooled by candidates’ dodges
“Medicare-for-all” is growing increasingly unpopular among the American people as they learn more about this cleverly named government takeover of our health insurance system and the serious harm it would bring about, polls show. As a result, many of the Democrats competing for their party’s presidential nomination are scrambling to soften their support ...
Colorado’s public option is bad news
Colorado officials just released their plan to overhaul the state’s health care system. The proposal would make a state-sponsored insurance plan available to Colorado residents shopping for health insurance, starting in January 2022. Proponents of this “state option” claim it will expand access to affordable coverage and encourage competition in ...
Understanding ‘Medicare for All’ Could Make Seniors Vote Red
Politicians can be amazingly adept at blowing smoke, especially while electioneering. With the 2020 presidential race unfolding, there is no better example of the phenomenon than the Democrats’ mantra of “Medicare for All.” Healthcare is certainly top-of-mind for many seniors, who are projected to make up nearly a quarter of the ...
Don’t be fooled by public option for health care
In recent months, support for the government takeover of health insurance championed by Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren has dropped, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Voters are now split nearly down the middle. Meanwhile, another form of government-run health care is gaining ground. Nearly three-quarters of Americans now ...