Commentary
Charter Schools
Are #RedForEd Supporters Hurting Their Own Cause?
Teachers have been striking and walking out in a number of states this spring, including West Virginia, Oklahoma, Colorado, and now North Carolina. But Arizona—the third state to protest teacher pay and conditions—is remarkable for what it reveals about the internal workings of the organizers. Although the pay and funding ...
Commentary
The State’s Dangerous Flirtation with Drug Rationing
Massachusetts may soon stop paying for some of the lifesaving medicines its poorest residents count on. State officials recently requested permission from the federal government to restructure MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program. If their waiver is approved, a small group of state bureaucrats will determine which drugs are off limits ...
Business & Economics
The High Costs of Cost Sharing Insurance
Incentives drive all economic activity. Unfortunately, far too many of the incentives that underlie the U.S. health care sector discourage quality and encourage excessive costs. Our current health insurance system exemplifies this problem. The disincentives created by the way the U.S. health insurance industry operates arise because insurers do not ...
Commentary
North Carolina’s Fiscally Irresponsible Medicaid Reversal
A fundamental management tenet advises organizations to understand their core competencies, and solely focus on these functions. All other tasks should be outsourced to organizations who specialize in providing these services. For more than a decade the North Carolina state government has been following this advice with respect to its ...
Commentary
Liberals Sue Gov. Paul LePage For Protecting Them From Fiscal Disaster
Activist groups in Maine are suing Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican, for refusing to participate in Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion. The suit comes months after Maine became the first state in the nation to expand Medicaid via a ballot vote. Expansion advocates claim that growing the program would enable thousands of ...
Commentary
Trump’s Drug Pricing Speech Mostly Hit the Right Notes
Last Friday, President Trump delivered a major speech from the White House Rose Garden on prescription drug prices. He announced several policies aimed at reducing the overall cost of pharmaceuticals and limiting patients’ out-of-pocket expenses. His reform agenda, entitled “American Patients First,” is largely excellent. It mostly harnesses the power ...
Business & Economics
Pharmaceutical Price Controls Will Not Improve Health Care Outcomes in Illinois
Due to its national implications, last week’s introduction of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) blueprint on drug prices is garnering all the attention. Despite its importance, HHS’ blueprint should not overshadow the many poor, and even unconstitutional, policy proposals that are occurring at the state level. For ...
Business & Economics
Federal Government Must Revamp Spending To Maximize Economic Growth
It’s not news that the federal government spends too much. This year, the federal government will spend about $30,000 per taxpayer. That doesn’t count the public debt — every taxpayers’ share is over $145,000 — or unfunded liabilities like Social Security and Medicare, which add another $600,000 to $1.6 million per taxpayer. ...
Commentary
Privatizing the VA
The Department of Veterans Affairs is once again in need of someone to lead it. The president’s last nominee, Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, withdrew his name from consideration last month [April 26] after a flurry of allegations regarding his professional conduct as White House physician. Dr. Jackson’s demise came just ...
Agriculture
If California Wants to Resist, Let’s Start with Trade Policy
Less than 32 percent of California voters who went to the polls on Election Day in 2016 pulled the lever for Donald Trump. These “deplorables” are probably delighted that Hillary Clinton isn’t president and pleased in general with how Trump has governed. Trump’s trade policies, though, should be another matter. ...
Are #RedForEd Supporters Hurting Their Own Cause?
Teachers have been striking and walking out in a number of states this spring, including West Virginia, Oklahoma, Colorado, and now North Carolina. But Arizona—the third state to protest teacher pay and conditions—is remarkable for what it reveals about the internal workings of the organizers. Although the pay and funding ...
The State’s Dangerous Flirtation with Drug Rationing
Massachusetts may soon stop paying for some of the lifesaving medicines its poorest residents count on. State officials recently requested permission from the federal government to restructure MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program. If their waiver is approved, a small group of state bureaucrats will determine which drugs are off limits ...
The High Costs of Cost Sharing Insurance
Incentives drive all economic activity. Unfortunately, far too many of the incentives that underlie the U.S. health care sector discourage quality and encourage excessive costs. Our current health insurance system exemplifies this problem. The disincentives created by the way the U.S. health insurance industry operates arise because insurers do not ...
North Carolina’s Fiscally Irresponsible Medicaid Reversal
A fundamental management tenet advises organizations to understand their core competencies, and solely focus on these functions. All other tasks should be outsourced to organizations who specialize in providing these services. For more than a decade the North Carolina state government has been following this advice with respect to its ...
Liberals Sue Gov. Paul LePage For Protecting Them From Fiscal Disaster
Activist groups in Maine are suing Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican, for refusing to participate in Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion. The suit comes months after Maine became the first state in the nation to expand Medicaid via a ballot vote. Expansion advocates claim that growing the program would enable thousands of ...
Trump’s Drug Pricing Speech Mostly Hit the Right Notes
Last Friday, President Trump delivered a major speech from the White House Rose Garden on prescription drug prices. He announced several policies aimed at reducing the overall cost of pharmaceuticals and limiting patients’ out-of-pocket expenses. His reform agenda, entitled “American Patients First,” is largely excellent. It mostly harnesses the power ...
Pharmaceutical Price Controls Will Not Improve Health Care Outcomes in Illinois
Due to its national implications, last week’s introduction of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) blueprint on drug prices is garnering all the attention. Despite its importance, HHS’ blueprint should not overshadow the many poor, and even unconstitutional, policy proposals that are occurring at the state level. For ...
Federal Government Must Revamp Spending To Maximize Economic Growth
It’s not news that the federal government spends too much. This year, the federal government will spend about $30,000 per taxpayer. That doesn’t count the public debt — every taxpayers’ share is over $145,000 — or unfunded liabilities like Social Security and Medicare, which add another $600,000 to $1.6 million per taxpayer. ...
Privatizing the VA
The Department of Veterans Affairs is once again in need of someone to lead it. The president’s last nominee, Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, withdrew his name from consideration last month [April 26] after a flurry of allegations regarding his professional conduct as White House physician. Dr. Jackson’s demise came just ...
If California Wants to Resist, Let’s Start with Trade Policy
Less than 32 percent of California voters who went to the polls on Election Day in 2016 pulled the lever for Donald Trump. These “deplorables” are probably delighted that Hillary Clinton isn’t president and pleased in general with how Trump has governed. Trump’s trade policies, though, should be another matter. ...
