Commentary
Commentary
Read the most recent update on the COVID public health emergency
Why is Medicaid still treating COVID-19 as a public health emergency?
The federal public health emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic came to an end Thursday, more than three years after it was first enacted in 2020. That comes on the heels of the World Health Organization’s declaration on May 5 that COVID-19 was no longer a global health emergency. And on ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 17, 2023
Commentary
Medicaid Work Requirements Address Laziness Head On
The spending cuts included in the bill House Republicans passed in late April to raise the debt ceiling have Democrats up in arms. But federal spending has soared. It’s now 5 percentage points higher as a share of GDP than the average since 1960. As House Speaker Kevin McCarthy quipped this week, “Is it ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 15, 2023
Commentary
New Green Mandate Would Increase Electricity Costs
The EPA’s California Dreamin’ would be a nightmare for the country
By Rea S. Hederman Jr. and Wayne Winegarden The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released new emissions rules for coal- and natural gas-fired powerplants. Again. The new rules target greenhouse gases and requires electric utility companies to cut emissions “by 90 percent — or shut down.” The Biden Administration, eager ...
Pacific Research Institute
May 15, 2023
Commentary
Read latest on drug pricing
The Continuing Danger From Progressive’s Faulty Excess Profit Allegations
Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) continuously confirm Alexander Pope’s famous maxim about a little bit of knowledge. It truly is a dangerous thing, especially in the hands of politicians. During a May 11th meeting of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee, Sen. ...
Wayne Winegarden
May 15, 2023
Commentary
Today's commentary on pharmaceutical benefit managers
Will Senate Hearing Expose PBMs’ Unscrupulous Drug Pricing Tactics?
Today , Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will haul executives from three insulin manufacturers and three pharmacy benefit managers before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for a hearing on “the need to make insulin affordable for all Americans.” Sen. Sanders is sure to call the pharmaceutical executives — ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 10, 2023
Commentary
Thank the IRA for Cuts to Critical Drug Research
President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is just eight months old. It hasn’t yet slayed inflation. But it’s already gutting drug research and development. The law gives Medicare the power to impose price controls on certain prescription drugs for the first time. By September, federal officials will select the first 10 ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 9, 2023
Commentary
Small-Molecule Price Controls Are A Big Mistake
The Biden administration is in the midst of setting the terms for its program of price controls on prescription drugs dispensed through Medicare. The first 10 medicines subject to the price caps will be selected by the end of this year. That prospect is already chilling investment in drug research, particularly ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 8, 2023
Commentary
CA banking on offshore wind for energy goals
Gavin Newsom’s Carbon-Neutral Grid Plan Looks To Be Going The Way Of The Bullet Train To Nowhere
California’s planned transition to a carbon-neutral electricity grid by 2045 relies heavily on offshore wind power. It might take a miracle to get there. The growth of offshore wind will have to accelerate faster than a Tesla Model S, which goes from zero to 60 in less than two seconds. ...
Kerry Jackson
May 6, 2023
Commentary
Democrats want a fully socialized healthcare system
The Inflation Reduction Act Was Only The Beginning
As it turns out, the fears that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was simply another step toward a fully socialized healthcare system were well founded. For evidence, less than a year after the IRA was signed into law U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Peter Welch (D-VT) and 23 Democrat colleagues ...
Wayne Winegarden
May 5, 2023
Commentary
Read about Biden's latest policy proposal
Time for Hospitals to Come Clean About Pricing
The Biden administration is cracking down on hospitals that keep their prices secret. Under a policy announced last week, failing to abide by Trump-era hospital price transparency rules will no longer prompt a warning letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Instead, hospitals will have 45 days to ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 5, 2023
Read the most recent update on the COVID public health emergency
Why is Medicaid still treating COVID-19 as a public health emergency?
The federal public health emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic came to an end Thursday, more than three years after it was first enacted in 2020. That comes on the heels of the World Health Organization’s declaration on May 5 that COVID-19 was no longer a global health emergency. And on ...
Medicaid Work Requirements Address Laziness Head On
The spending cuts included in the bill House Republicans passed in late April to raise the debt ceiling have Democrats up in arms. But federal spending has soared. It’s now 5 percentage points higher as a share of GDP than the average since 1960. As House Speaker Kevin McCarthy quipped this week, “Is it ...
New Green Mandate Would Increase Electricity Costs
The EPA’s California Dreamin’ would be a nightmare for the country
By Rea S. Hederman Jr. and Wayne Winegarden The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released new emissions rules for coal- and natural gas-fired powerplants. Again. The new rules target greenhouse gases and requires electric utility companies to cut emissions “by 90 percent — or shut down.” The Biden Administration, eager ...
Read latest on drug pricing
The Continuing Danger From Progressive’s Faulty Excess Profit Allegations
Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) continuously confirm Alexander Pope’s famous maxim about a little bit of knowledge. It truly is a dangerous thing, especially in the hands of politicians. During a May 11th meeting of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee, Sen. ...
Today's commentary on pharmaceutical benefit managers
Will Senate Hearing Expose PBMs’ Unscrupulous Drug Pricing Tactics?
Today , Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will haul executives from three insulin manufacturers and three pharmacy benefit managers before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for a hearing on “the need to make insulin affordable for all Americans.” Sen. Sanders is sure to call the pharmaceutical executives — ...
Thank the IRA for Cuts to Critical Drug Research
President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is just eight months old. It hasn’t yet slayed inflation. But it’s already gutting drug research and development. The law gives Medicare the power to impose price controls on certain prescription drugs for the first time. By September, federal officials will select the first 10 ...
Small-Molecule Price Controls Are A Big Mistake
The Biden administration is in the midst of setting the terms for its program of price controls on prescription drugs dispensed through Medicare. The first 10 medicines subject to the price caps will be selected by the end of this year. That prospect is already chilling investment in drug research, particularly ...
CA banking on offshore wind for energy goals
Gavin Newsom’s Carbon-Neutral Grid Plan Looks To Be Going The Way Of The Bullet Train To Nowhere
California’s planned transition to a carbon-neutral electricity grid by 2045 relies heavily on offshore wind power. It might take a miracle to get there. The growth of offshore wind will have to accelerate faster than a Tesla Model S, which goes from zero to 60 in less than two seconds. ...
Democrats want a fully socialized healthcare system
The Inflation Reduction Act Was Only The Beginning
As it turns out, the fears that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was simply another step toward a fully socialized healthcare system were well founded. For evidence, less than a year after the IRA was signed into law U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Peter Welch (D-VT) and 23 Democrat colleagues ...
Read about Biden's latest policy proposal
Time for Hospitals to Come Clean About Pricing
The Biden administration is cracking down on hospitals that keep their prices secret. Under a policy announced last week, failing to abide by Trump-era hospital price transparency rules will no longer prompt a warning letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Instead, hospitals will have 45 days to ...