Commentary
Commentary
Democratic drug pricing bill is a house of cards
House Democrats just introduced H.R. 3, a bill that would allow the government to cap drug prices based on what they cost in six other developed nations. President Joe Biden is sympathetic to the idea. In his speech to Congress this week, he called for giving the federal government the power to negotiate drug ...
Commentary
Ignore Democrats’ dead-end health care ideas
President Biden laid out a sweeping $1.8 trillion proposal before Congress last week that would make permanent a new round of insurance subsidies included in March’s stimulus package. The White House’s proposal is the latest from Democrats that aims to expand government’s role in health care. In April, several Senate ...
Commentary
With HR 3, House Democrats Lose Their Grip on Reality
Last week, House Democrats introduced H.R. 3, a bill that would empower the federal government to set prescription drug prices for the entire U.S. pharmaceutical market. The measure comes at the worst possible time. The rapid development of effective vaccines against COVID-19 has demonstrated what can happen when the drug industry ...
Commentary
Medicare for All Would Put Even More Strain on Doctors
Medicare for All is back on Congress‘s agenda. More than 100 House Democrats, led by Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Debbie Dingell of Michigan, are behind a bill that would outlaw private insurance and enroll every American in a government-run health plan within two years. They’re joined by a surprisingly large share of ...
Commentary
Europe Negotiates A Poor Vaccine Rollout
Several European countries just instituted another round of lockdowns amid a new wave of Covid-19 cases. This turn of events is sobering but puzzling. Europe seemed to have Covid-19 under control a few months ago, at least compared to the United States. What happened? The countries’ vaccination rates offer an explanation. Europe ...
Commentary
What Health-Care Affordability Crisis?
Some 46 million Americans wouldn’t be able to pay for essential health care if they needed it today, according to a new Gallup poll. That’s nearly one-fifth of all adults. This finding suggests a full-on health-care affordability crisis. Or it would, if the numbers added up. But they don’t. A ...
Blackouts
California’s Big Battery Bet
Following a 2020 summer of blackouts, the darkest since early this century, California is hoping that it can avoid replays in the future by investing in batteries. Big batteries. That are expensive. And come with significant energy storage limitations. Bloomberg News is reporting that by August, there will be 1,700 megawatts ...
Climate Change
President Biden’s 50% Emissions Reduction Target Is Political Theater, Not Serious Policy
At the 2021 global climate summit, President Biden committed the U.S. to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. Cutting emissions in half is a great talking point and a satisfying sounding goal. Unfortunately, the 50% – 52% reduction goal is more of a political statement than an achievable policy. ...
California
Should California create a public bank?
Nearly 200 local and national banks operate more than 6,500 branches in California. But lawmakers believe the state needs one more. A bill in Sacramento establishes a public bank with “a zero-fee, zero-penalty public option for basic financial services.” Assembly Bill 1177, the California Public Banking Option Act, would create ...
Commentary
J&J Vaccine ‘Pause’ Reveals U.S. Regulators’ Abundance of Recklessness
It seems obvious that a rapid, widespread vaccination campaign offers our nation the best chance of bringing the COVID-19 pandemic to a swift end. That observation is apparently lost on federal public health officials. Last week, the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration told ...
Democratic drug pricing bill is a house of cards
House Democrats just introduced H.R. 3, a bill that would allow the government to cap drug prices based on what they cost in six other developed nations. President Joe Biden is sympathetic to the idea. In his speech to Congress this week, he called for giving the federal government the power to negotiate drug ...
Ignore Democrats’ dead-end health care ideas
President Biden laid out a sweeping $1.8 trillion proposal before Congress last week that would make permanent a new round of insurance subsidies included in March’s stimulus package. The White House’s proposal is the latest from Democrats that aims to expand government’s role in health care. In April, several Senate ...
With HR 3, House Democrats Lose Their Grip on Reality
Last week, House Democrats introduced H.R. 3, a bill that would empower the federal government to set prescription drug prices for the entire U.S. pharmaceutical market. The measure comes at the worst possible time. The rapid development of effective vaccines against COVID-19 has demonstrated what can happen when the drug industry ...
Medicare for All Would Put Even More Strain on Doctors
Medicare for All is back on Congress‘s agenda. More than 100 House Democrats, led by Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Debbie Dingell of Michigan, are behind a bill that would outlaw private insurance and enroll every American in a government-run health plan within two years. They’re joined by a surprisingly large share of ...
Europe Negotiates A Poor Vaccine Rollout
Several European countries just instituted another round of lockdowns amid a new wave of Covid-19 cases. This turn of events is sobering but puzzling. Europe seemed to have Covid-19 under control a few months ago, at least compared to the United States. What happened? The countries’ vaccination rates offer an explanation. Europe ...
What Health-Care Affordability Crisis?
Some 46 million Americans wouldn’t be able to pay for essential health care if they needed it today, according to a new Gallup poll. That’s nearly one-fifth of all adults. This finding suggests a full-on health-care affordability crisis. Or it would, if the numbers added up. But they don’t. A ...
California’s Big Battery Bet
Following a 2020 summer of blackouts, the darkest since early this century, California is hoping that it can avoid replays in the future by investing in batteries. Big batteries. That are expensive. And come with significant energy storage limitations. Bloomberg News is reporting that by August, there will be 1,700 megawatts ...
President Biden’s 50% Emissions Reduction Target Is Political Theater, Not Serious Policy
At the 2021 global climate summit, President Biden committed the U.S. to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. Cutting emissions in half is a great talking point and a satisfying sounding goal. Unfortunately, the 50% – 52% reduction goal is more of a political statement than an achievable policy. ...
Should California create a public bank?
Nearly 200 local and national banks operate more than 6,500 branches in California. But lawmakers believe the state needs one more. A bill in Sacramento establishes a public bank with “a zero-fee, zero-penalty public option for basic financial services.” Assembly Bill 1177, the California Public Banking Option Act, would create ...
J&J Vaccine ‘Pause’ Reveals U.S. Regulators’ Abundance of Recklessness
It seems obvious that a rapid, widespread vaccination campaign offers our nation the best chance of bringing the COVID-19 pandemic to a swift end. That observation is apparently lost on federal public health officials. Last week, the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration told ...
