Commentary
Commentary
This Flu Season Should Serve as a Wake-up Call
Seasonal outbreaks of the flu cause thousands of deaths even in a good year, and the last flu season, 2017-2018, was a terrible one. It killed 80,000 Americans and sent 900,000 to the hospital, making it the worst influenza season in decades. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and ...
Henry Miller, M.S., M.D.
November 4, 2018
Commentary
Democrats Bet Their Midterm Fortunes On Failed Health Care Policy
Health care has been the most-mentioned issue in Democratic advertisements in the run-up to this month’s midterm elections. Many Democrats are making Medicare for All the centerpiece of their pitch to voters. Cearly, Democrats didn’t learn their lesson in 2010, when their previous effort at government micromanagement of the health ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 2, 2018
Commentary
Misleading voters on Medicare for All
By Hal Scherz and Sally C. Pipes Health care is the number one issue on voters’ minds as the midterm elections approach. Half of all Democratic campaign ads have focused on it. Democratic candidates are not merely defending Obamacare. Many are proudly running on a platform of Medicare for All, ...
Pacific Research Institute
November 1, 2018
California
During Net Neutrality “Pause,” Lawmakers Should Think Twice and Repeal Misguided Law
On Friday, Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to temporarily delay implementation of California’s so-called “net neutrality” law while a federal lawsuit moves forward in the courts. California lawmakers would be wise to seize the opportunity from this time out to repeal this ...
Bartlett Cleland
October 29, 2018
Commentary
Medicare Advantage’s Popularity Shows Americans Won’t Like Single-Payer
Democrats hope their advocacy of single-payer health care will help them in the upcoming midterm elections. More than half the Democrats running for seats in the House back Medicare for All. It remains to be seen if their embrace of government-run health care, where private coverage is banned for anything ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 29, 2018
Commentary
Follow the FDA’s Self-Interest
Bringing a new drug to market now takes, on average, $2.6 billion and more than 10 years. Those numbers could shrink, and countless patients could benefit, if Food and Drug Administration regulators were less risk-averse. I know that from firsthand experience. Oct. 30 marks the 36th anniversary of the FDA’s ...
Henry Miller, M.S., M.D.
October 29, 2018
Commentary
The Latest Target Of The Eco-Fundamentalists: Plastics
By Hank Campbell and Henry I. Miller A recent op-ed harangue in the Washington Post — “Scientists know plastics are dangerous. Why won’t the government say so? — by radical activist Paul Thacker seeks to create concern about the health effects of plastics and plasticizers. It reads like a cross between a trial attorney’s plea ...
Pacific Research Institute
October 25, 2018
Commentary
Banning Polystyrene Won’t Help California’s Environment — But It Will Hurt Jobs, Economy
Having successfully outlawed plastic bags and straws, the next target of California lawmakers, who seem intent on criminalizing as many consumer conveniences as possible, just might be those foam containers used to hold take-out food. Polystyrene, often called by its brand name Styrofoam, is used for more than packaging food — ...
Kerry Jackson
October 24, 2018
Business & Economics
Repeal the Medical Device Tax
Rarely is there bipartisan agreement that a tax cut won’t cost the federal government money. But, in the case of the medical device tax (a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices and products that was passed as part of the Affordable Care Act) this is true by definition because the ...
Wayne Winegarden
October 24, 2018
Commentary
Drug prices in ads actually hurt consumers
This month, the Trump administration proposed a new rule that would require advertisements for prescription drugs covered by Medicare or Medicaid to include the list price of the medicine. To be sure, a free market is dependent on consumers making informed decisions. But this move would provide patients with incomplete, misleading numbers ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 23, 2018
This Flu Season Should Serve as a Wake-up Call
Seasonal outbreaks of the flu cause thousands of deaths even in a good year, and the last flu season, 2017-2018, was a terrible one. It killed 80,000 Americans and sent 900,000 to the hospital, making it the worst influenza season in decades. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and ...
Democrats Bet Their Midterm Fortunes On Failed Health Care Policy
Health care has been the most-mentioned issue in Democratic advertisements in the run-up to this month’s midterm elections. Many Democrats are making Medicare for All the centerpiece of their pitch to voters. Cearly, Democrats didn’t learn their lesson in 2010, when their previous effort at government micromanagement of the health ...
Misleading voters on Medicare for All
By Hal Scherz and Sally C. Pipes Health care is the number one issue on voters’ minds as the midterm elections approach. Half of all Democratic campaign ads have focused on it. Democratic candidates are not merely defending Obamacare. Many are proudly running on a platform of Medicare for All, ...
During Net Neutrality “Pause,” Lawmakers Should Think Twice and Repeal Misguided Law
On Friday, Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to temporarily delay implementation of California’s so-called “net neutrality” law while a federal lawsuit moves forward in the courts. California lawmakers would be wise to seize the opportunity from this time out to repeal this ...
Medicare Advantage’s Popularity Shows Americans Won’t Like Single-Payer
Democrats hope their advocacy of single-payer health care will help them in the upcoming midterm elections. More than half the Democrats running for seats in the House back Medicare for All. It remains to be seen if their embrace of government-run health care, where private coverage is banned for anything ...
Follow the FDA’s Self-Interest
Bringing a new drug to market now takes, on average, $2.6 billion and more than 10 years. Those numbers could shrink, and countless patients could benefit, if Food and Drug Administration regulators were less risk-averse. I know that from firsthand experience. Oct. 30 marks the 36th anniversary of the FDA’s ...
The Latest Target Of The Eco-Fundamentalists: Plastics
By Hank Campbell and Henry I. Miller A recent op-ed harangue in the Washington Post — “Scientists know plastics are dangerous. Why won’t the government say so? — by radical activist Paul Thacker seeks to create concern about the health effects of plastics and plasticizers. It reads like a cross between a trial attorney’s plea ...
Banning Polystyrene Won’t Help California’s Environment — But It Will Hurt Jobs, Economy
Having successfully outlawed plastic bags and straws, the next target of California lawmakers, who seem intent on criminalizing as many consumer conveniences as possible, just might be those foam containers used to hold take-out food. Polystyrene, often called by its brand name Styrofoam, is used for more than packaging food — ...
Repeal the Medical Device Tax
Rarely is there bipartisan agreement that a tax cut won’t cost the federal government money. But, in the case of the medical device tax (a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices and products that was passed as part of the Affordable Care Act) this is true by definition because the ...
Drug prices in ads actually hurt consumers
This month, the Trump administration proposed a new rule that would require advertisements for prescription drugs covered by Medicare or Medicaid to include the list price of the medicine. To be sure, a free market is dependent on consumers making informed decisions. But this move would provide patients with incomplete, misleading numbers ...