Commentary

COVID-19 Vaccines Will Not Be Enough. We Also Need Effective Treatments

June 10, 2021

The COVID-19 vaccines have been nothing short of miraculous. Life is returning to normal in many places. But ACSH advisor Dr. Henry Miller argues that we will still need effective medical treatments for COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccines are the miracle that has significantly suppressed the pandemic in...

Progress in California Road Repairs Lagging Despite Gas Tax Hike

June 09, 2021

California

Four years ago, Will Kempton, then executive director of Transportation California and a former Caltrans director, said the state’s roads were “the worst I have seen.” A few months later, the state began collecting revenue from a $52 billion, 10-year fuel tax hike to raise enough revenue to...

What’s Really at Stake in the Supreme Court Obamacare Challenge

June 09, 2021

Healthcare

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to issue its ruling in California v. Texas, the latest case challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare, later this month. The conventional wisdom holds that the high court will uphold the law. But that's no sure thing. Regardless of what the court decides,...

Competitive Energy Markets, Not Monopoly, Delivers Affordable, Reliable, And Low-Emission Energy

June 07, 2021

Environment

Texas’ energy debacle during this past winter has led to a great deal of introspection regarding which energy market structure is the most appropriate. Most analysts would agree that energy market regulations should facilitate access to affordable and reliable electricity, while generating the lowest feasible...

The White House Continues Its Campaign To Deny People Insurance Choices

June 07, 2021

Healthcare

The Biden administration is continuing its onslaught against health plans that don't have their seal of approval. At a congressional hearing last month, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra agreed with Rep. Kathy Castor's, D-Fla., characterization of short-term health plans as "junk" insurance—and promised to...

CTA and Democratic allies move to torpedo charter schools

June 02, 2021

Education

While many California school districts have floundered during the COVID-19 pandemic, Democrats in the California Legislature are taking aim again at charter schools, which are among the few remaining school-choice options available for parents dissatisfied with the regular public schools. AB 1316, authored by Assembly education...

Democrats Ask All the Wrong Questions About the Public Option

June 02, 2021

Healthcare

The public option is back on the congressional docket. Last week, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., the head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who helms the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, issued an open request for information...

Telemedicine is here to stay

May 28, 2021

Healthcare

This week, lawmakers in the House and Senate introduced bills that could preserve access to telehealth for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries beyond the pandemic. The House measure would allow Medicare beneficiaries to continue receiving "audio-only" remote care — that is, by phone. The Senate bill would direct the...

Medicare Expansion: A Gift to the Relatively Wealthy

May 26, 2021

Healthcare

President Joe Biden's ambitious proposals to reduce Medicare's eligibility age to 60 may not be the gift to older Americans that its supporters believe it to be. That's the core finding of a new analysis from Avalere, a consultancy. The report concluded that lower-income adults would likely have...

Government Health Insurance: An Offer Businesses Should Refuse

May 25, 2021

Healthcare

Executives at many large corporations want the government to take on a greater role providing health coverage and controlling costs, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey. That seems to indicate big business is sympathetic to the core of the Democrats' healthcare agenda, including the idea...