Commentary
Commentary
Delaying Coverage of Weight-loss Meds Won’t Cure Obesity
In an interview this month, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., appeared open to the idea of Medicare covering drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy for beneficiaries with obesity. “Ideally, over the long term, we’d like to see . . . those drugs available for people after ...
Sally C. Pipes
April 24, 2025
California
What Is Going On In Los Angeles?
Another question comes to mind: Could Los Angeles be the next Detroit? At times, is seems it’s in a race with San Francisco to see which will be the first to reach a Motor City-like nadir. Due to its “serious financial headwinds,” the city is going to have to make cuts, ...
Kerry Jackson
April 23, 2025
Commentary
Drug company profits don’t threaten lives; price controls do
More than 4 in 5 Americans blame the pharmaceutical industry’s profits for the high prices of prescription drugs. It’s little wonder, then, that roughly the same share supports placing price controls on prescription drugs through Medicare. The logic is straight out of Robin Hood. Our leaders should take from the ...
Sally C. Pipes
April 23, 2025
Commentary
Trump is right: Housing isn’t healthcare
The Trump administration shut off federal funding through Medicaid for non-healthcare-related services such as housekeeping, groceries, and internet earlier this month. It’s about time. Medicaid exists to provide health benefits to the nation’s neediest, not to subsidize a laundry list of liberal priorities. Over the last two decades, it has ...
Sally C. Pipes
April 21, 2025
Commentary
Deregulation Is The Pathway To Greater Pharmaceutical Innovation
Surveys confirm that most Americans recognize the value of prescription drugs. But the same surveys also show that Americans are worried that they will be unable to afford needed medicines. These conflicting feelings exemplify the inherent tension when it comes to prescription drugs – how do we incentivize innovation to ...
Wayne H Winegarden
April 21, 2025
Commentary
Common-Sense Fixes in Medicaid Could Save Hundreds of Billions, Making Reform Less Daunting Than Pundits Suggest
Congressional Republicans are currently negotiating a budget reconciliation package that aims to wrest $880 billion in savings from Medicaid over the coming decade. Democrats have asserted that this effort will be devastating to Medicaid’s beneficiaries. They underestimate just how widespread waste, fraud, and abuse are in the program. Read the ...
Sally C. Pipes
April 21, 2025
Commentary
California can’t afford free health care for undocumented immigrants
California’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit could soon grow worse. State tax revenue dropped over 14% in the recession that followed the dot-com bubble, nearly 14% during the Great Financial Crisis from 2008 to 2009, and almost 8% during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with financial markets reeling thanks ...
Sally C. Pipes
April 21, 2025
Commentary
Trump’s Crusade Against ACA ‘Quiet,’ Historic
Last month, the Trump administration proposed a new rule to ensure “Marketplace Integrity and Affordability” on Obamacare’s health insurance exchanges. Washington is awash in proposed rules. But this one stands out. Read the op-ed:
Sally C. Pipes
April 17, 2025
Commentary
To Save Medicaid, We Have to Cut It
Medicaid costs taxpayers nearly $900 billion a year. That figure is on track to exceed $1 trillion by the end of this decade. The entitlement is growing faster than the economy. That kind of growth is unsustainable — and risks shredding the safety net for those who need it most. ...
Sally C. Pipes
April 16, 2025
Commentary
End Medicaid Money Laundering
Earlier this month, Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J., spoke for 25 hours straight, breaking a Senate record. His goal, at least at the outset, was to “defend” Medicare and Medicaid from Republicans’ proposed cuts. “The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are right now discussing how to cut these programs,” Booker ...
Sally C. Pipes
April 14, 2025
Delaying Coverage of Weight-loss Meds Won’t Cure Obesity
In an interview this month, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., appeared open to the idea of Medicare covering drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy for beneficiaries with obesity. “Ideally, over the long term, we’d like to see . . . those drugs available for people after ...
What Is Going On In Los Angeles?
Another question comes to mind: Could Los Angeles be the next Detroit? At times, is seems it’s in a race with San Francisco to see which will be the first to reach a Motor City-like nadir. Due to its “serious financial headwinds,” the city is going to have to make cuts, ...
Drug company profits don’t threaten lives; price controls do
More than 4 in 5 Americans blame the pharmaceutical industry’s profits for the high prices of prescription drugs. It’s little wonder, then, that roughly the same share supports placing price controls on prescription drugs through Medicare. The logic is straight out of Robin Hood. Our leaders should take from the ...
Trump is right: Housing isn’t healthcare
The Trump administration shut off federal funding through Medicaid for non-healthcare-related services such as housekeeping, groceries, and internet earlier this month. It’s about time. Medicaid exists to provide health benefits to the nation’s neediest, not to subsidize a laundry list of liberal priorities. Over the last two decades, it has ...
Deregulation Is The Pathway To Greater Pharmaceutical Innovation
Surveys confirm that most Americans recognize the value of prescription drugs. But the same surveys also show that Americans are worried that they will be unable to afford needed medicines. These conflicting feelings exemplify the inherent tension when it comes to prescription drugs – how do we incentivize innovation to ...
Common-Sense Fixes in Medicaid Could Save Hundreds of Billions, Making Reform Less Daunting Than Pundits Suggest
Congressional Republicans are currently negotiating a budget reconciliation package that aims to wrest $880 billion in savings from Medicaid over the coming decade. Democrats have asserted that this effort will be devastating to Medicaid’s beneficiaries. They underestimate just how widespread waste, fraud, and abuse are in the program. Read the ...
California can’t afford free health care for undocumented immigrants
California’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit could soon grow worse. State tax revenue dropped over 14% in the recession that followed the dot-com bubble, nearly 14% during the Great Financial Crisis from 2008 to 2009, and almost 8% during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with financial markets reeling thanks ...
Trump’s Crusade Against ACA ‘Quiet,’ Historic
Last month, the Trump administration proposed a new rule to ensure “Marketplace Integrity and Affordability” on Obamacare’s health insurance exchanges. Washington is awash in proposed rules. But this one stands out. Read the op-ed:
To Save Medicaid, We Have to Cut It
Medicaid costs taxpayers nearly $900 billion a year. That figure is on track to exceed $1 trillion by the end of this decade. The entitlement is growing faster than the economy. That kind of growth is unsustainable — and risks shredding the safety net for those who need it most. ...
End Medicaid Money Laundering
Earlier this month, Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J., spoke for 25 hours straight, breaking a Senate record. His goal, at least at the outset, was to “defend” Medicare and Medicaid from Republicans’ proposed cuts. “The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are right now discussing how to cut these programs,” Booker ...