Commentary
Commentary
Obamacare Drives Hospital Consolidation, Raising Prices For Patients
Hospital behemoth Sutter Health—a non-profit organization in Northern California that has gradually acquired 24 hospitals and 5,000 physicians—will soon go to court to defend itself against allegations that it has violated the state’s antitrust laws. The plaintiffs claim that Sutter illegally pushed competitors out of the market and raised prices for ...
Sally C. Pipes
September 16, 2019
Commentary
Sorry, Bernie Sanders, American health care is not ‘barbaric’ (and Canada’s system isn’t perfect)
The New York Times has detailed how Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., came to be fixated on Canada’s health care system. That fixation manifested itself again during the Democratic presidential debate in Houston. It started with an illness that befell his mother while Sanders was in high school. His family struggled to pay for her ...
Sally C. Pipes
September 16, 2019
Commentary
Medicare’s finances are full of waste
A new report just uncovered millions of dollars in Medicare waste. The report, from the Office of the Inspector General at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, found that the agency paid for some of the same drugs twice, wasting $160 million. Unfortunately, this is only the latest example of ...
Sally C. Pipes
September 16, 2019
California
Battle over “progressive” solutions leaves independent contractors on edge
As the final week of the legislative session was winding down, the Senate and Assembly in party-line votes approved Assembly Bill 5, which will codify the state Supreme Court’s Dynamex ruling, leaving as many as 2 million freelance workers with an unsure future. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who publicly endorsed the ...
Kerry Jackson
September 12, 2019
Commentary
The saga of Dr. Brian Day and his illegal private clinic in Canada
Canadian orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brian Day may spend more time in the courtroom than the operating room. For the past three years, Day has been arguing that Canadians should have a right to private healthcare before British Columbia’s Supreme Court. His trial ended last month. A ruling could come as early as ...
Sally C. Pipes
September 9, 2019
Commentary
Bernie Sanders’ ‘Medicare-for-all’ means worse health insurance at higher cost for most Americans
Unions shouldn’t let Sanders’ political maneuvering fool them. His brand of “Medicare-for-all” would cripple union health plans and leave workers with something far worse. Union health plans are generally more generous and extensive than non-union benefits. In 2018, three-quarters of union members had access to dental benefits, compared to half ...
Sally C. Pipes
September 9, 2019
Commentary
We Need A Regulatory Reformer to Head The FDA
The Trump administration is conducting a search for a replacement for Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who resigned as head of the Food and Drug Administration in March. The position is one of the most important in the federal government, because the FDA is ubiquitous in Americans’ lives. The agency regulates pharmaceutical ...
Henry Miller, M.S., M.D.
September 6, 2019
Business & Economics
Workers’ Freedom At Risk In California
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, with one eye on California presidential primary votes and the other on the state’s rich political donors, recently wrote an op-ed in the Sacramento Bee in which she demanded someone do something about that “shameful” gig economy. Warren, a Rutgers-trained lawyer, has expended a lot of energy ...
Kerry Jackson
September 5, 2019
Commentary
Defining a Medicines’ Value versus its Price
When it comes to determining value, the U.S. health care system faces unique challenges. Without a better approach, the twin goals of continued innovation and broad-based drug affordability will be difficult, if not impossible, to maintain. Value assessment models are quickly becoming the approach du jour to overcome these challenges. However, value ...
Wayne H Winegarden
September 5, 2019
Business & Economics
Why Is Sen. Schumer Suddenly Decrying High Tax Rates?
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-New York, recently stood in front of a home in a beautiful neighborhood in White Plains, NY, to decry — of all things — the area’s high local tax burden. “We all know that one of the biggest burdens to live in this beautiful place ...
Wayne Winegarden
September 5, 2019
Obamacare Drives Hospital Consolidation, Raising Prices For Patients
Hospital behemoth Sutter Health—a non-profit organization in Northern California that has gradually acquired 24 hospitals and 5,000 physicians—will soon go to court to defend itself against allegations that it has violated the state’s antitrust laws. The plaintiffs claim that Sutter illegally pushed competitors out of the market and raised prices for ...
Sorry, Bernie Sanders, American health care is not ‘barbaric’ (and Canada’s system isn’t perfect)
The New York Times has detailed how Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., came to be fixated on Canada’s health care system. That fixation manifested itself again during the Democratic presidential debate in Houston. It started with an illness that befell his mother while Sanders was in high school. His family struggled to pay for her ...
Medicare’s finances are full of waste
A new report just uncovered millions of dollars in Medicare waste. The report, from the Office of the Inspector General at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, found that the agency paid for some of the same drugs twice, wasting $160 million. Unfortunately, this is only the latest example of ...
Battle over “progressive” solutions leaves independent contractors on edge
As the final week of the legislative session was winding down, the Senate and Assembly in party-line votes approved Assembly Bill 5, which will codify the state Supreme Court’s Dynamex ruling, leaving as many as 2 million freelance workers with an unsure future. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who publicly endorsed the ...
The saga of Dr. Brian Day and his illegal private clinic in Canada
Canadian orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brian Day may spend more time in the courtroom than the operating room. For the past three years, Day has been arguing that Canadians should have a right to private healthcare before British Columbia’s Supreme Court. His trial ended last month. A ruling could come as early as ...
Bernie Sanders’ ‘Medicare-for-all’ means worse health insurance at higher cost for most Americans
Unions shouldn’t let Sanders’ political maneuvering fool them. His brand of “Medicare-for-all” would cripple union health plans and leave workers with something far worse. Union health plans are generally more generous and extensive than non-union benefits. In 2018, three-quarters of union members had access to dental benefits, compared to half ...
We Need A Regulatory Reformer to Head The FDA
The Trump administration is conducting a search for a replacement for Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who resigned as head of the Food and Drug Administration in March. The position is one of the most important in the federal government, because the FDA is ubiquitous in Americans’ lives. The agency regulates pharmaceutical ...
Workers’ Freedom At Risk In California
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, with one eye on California presidential primary votes and the other on the state’s rich political donors, recently wrote an op-ed in the Sacramento Bee in which she demanded someone do something about that “shameful” gig economy. Warren, a Rutgers-trained lawyer, has expended a lot of energy ...
Defining a Medicines’ Value versus its Price
When it comes to determining value, the U.S. health care system faces unique challenges. Without a better approach, the twin goals of continued innovation and broad-based drug affordability will be difficult, if not impossible, to maintain. Value assessment models are quickly becoming the approach du jour to overcome these challenges. However, value ...
Why Is Sen. Schumer Suddenly Decrying High Tax Rates?
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-New York, recently stood in front of a home in a beautiful neighborhood in White Plains, NY, to decry — of all things — the area’s high local tax burden. “We all know that one of the biggest burdens to live in this beautiful place ...