Commentary
Commentary
Don’t Let Britain’s Single-Payer Sickness Spread Stateside
Several contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination are staking their candidacies on a government takeover of the U.S. health care system, whereby the feds become the lone payer, or “single-payer” for health care services. Sens. Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Cory Booker are all co-sponsors of a ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 25, 2018
California
New Solar Mandate Latest Chapter in ‘California Craziness’ Story
Making housing more affordable in California has been at the top of the agenda in Sacramento for more than a year. Unfortunately, lawmakers have mishandled the opportunity to pass meaningful reforms and now a new solar energy mandate will soon force homes prices even higher. The Energy Commission, whose five ...
Kerry Jackson
May 24, 2018
California
ZEV Bill Would Hurt Ridesharing Drivers, Do Little to Help Environment
On any given day, tens of thousands of Californians are earning good money driving for Uber, Lyft, and other ridesharing companies. For many, the gig economy has been a windfall. Glassdoor.com says the average annual salary for a Lyft driver in Los Angeles is $36,000, while Uber drivers average about ...
Kerry Jackson
May 24, 2018
Commentary
Infant Health Deserves Careful Research
Want to win a political argument? Accuse your opponent of hurting children. That’s the lesson behind two recent studies regarding the well-being of America’s babies. A new report from the United Nations Children’s Fund finds that America’s infant mortality rate is only slightly better than Sri Lanka’s. The left seized ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 23, 2018
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 ...
Lance Izumi
May 22, 2018
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 ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 22, 2018
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 ...
Wayne Winegarden
May 21, 2018
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 ...
Wayne Winegarden
May 18, 2018
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 ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 17, 2018
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 ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 17, 2018
Don’t Let Britain’s Single-Payer Sickness Spread Stateside
Several contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination are staking their candidacies on a government takeover of the U.S. health care system, whereby the feds become the lone payer, or “single-payer” for health care services. Sens. Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Cory Booker are all co-sponsors of a ...
New Solar Mandate Latest Chapter in ‘California Craziness’ Story
Making housing more affordable in California has been at the top of the agenda in Sacramento for more than a year. Unfortunately, lawmakers have mishandled the opportunity to pass meaningful reforms and now a new solar energy mandate will soon force homes prices even higher. The Energy Commission, whose five ...
ZEV Bill Would Hurt Ridesharing Drivers, Do Little to Help Environment
On any given day, tens of thousands of Californians are earning good money driving for Uber, Lyft, and other ridesharing companies. For many, the gig economy has been a windfall. Glassdoor.com says the average annual salary for a Lyft driver in Los Angeles is $36,000, while Uber drivers average about ...
Infant Health Deserves Careful Research
Want to win a political argument? Accuse your opponent of hurting children. That’s the lesson behind two recent studies regarding the well-being of America’s babies. A new report from the United Nations Children’s Fund finds that America’s infant mortality rate is only slightly better than Sri Lanka’s. The left seized ...
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 ...