Commentary
Commentary
President Trump didn’t sabotage Obamacare
Four U.S. cities just sued President Trump for failing to faithfully execute the Affordable Care Act. The governments of Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati and Columbus accuse the Trump administration of “waging a relentless campaign to sabotage” Obamacare by cutting its advertising budget, shortening the open enrollment period and ending some legally dubious subsidies. None ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 22, 2018
Business & Economics
The benefits of repealing the medical device tax
As part of the Affordable Care Act, a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices and products was passed. The tax was levied on devices such as pacemakers, advanced imaging technologies (Cat Scan, MRI and ultrasound equipment), artificial joints, surgical gloves, and dental instruments. Devices that the public generally buys for ...
Wayne Winegarden
October 18, 2018
Commentary
Requiring That Drug Advertisements Include List Prices Promotes Misinformation
The largest problems in the health care industry are often created by reformers envisioning themselves as free market saviors, when in reality they are merely advocates for more intrusive government regulations. The Trump administration’s proposal to require that drug advertisements include the medicine’s list price is such an example. On its face, ...
Wayne Winegarden
October 17, 2018
California
Unwilling to Wait for Voters, Los Angeles County Jumps Gun on Temporary Rent Control
Los Angeles County couldn’t wait for voters to decide this fall if local governments can enact rent-control laws. The Board of Supervisors recently enacted a “temporary” restriction on rent increases. If they think that will relieve the housing crisis, they are mistaken. The Los Angeles County ordinance sets rents at ...
Kerry Jackson
October 15, 2018
Commentary
Government Policies Are Driving Doctors To Quit Health Care
Doctors nationwide are burnt out and unsatisfied. Many want to quit the profession entirely, according to a new survey from the Physicians Foundation. The government deserves much of the blame for doctors’ low morale. For years, the feds have cut their pay, meddled in their decisions, and subjected them to ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 15, 2018
California
California’s Leaders Ban Affordable Health Coverage
California just outlawed a form of health insurance that could save thousands of its residents millions of dollars. Late last month, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 910, which bans the sale of short-term health plans — those that last less than a year and don’t have to comply with Obamacare’s ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 15, 2018
Commentary
Bureaucrats Turn ‘Dark Regulatory Matter’ Into Law, But Is It Constitutional?
The Dark State is real and ubiquitous, but it is neither new nor necessarily sinister. In some respects, it is inherent in our system of government. Although our government was conceived as three interdependent, coequal branches, it has evolved into an administrative state run mainly by a gargantuan Executive Branch ...
Henry Miller, M.S., M.D.
October 11, 2018
Commentary
Trump is right: There’s no possible way we can afford ‘Medicare for all’
On Wednesday, President Trump authored an op-ed slamming “Medicare for all.” According to him, if Democrats succeed in implementing their single-payer proposal, “costs will spiral out of control. Taxes will skyrocket. And Democrats will seek to slash budgets for seniors’ Medicare, Social Security and Defense.” He’s absolutely right. Voters would do ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 10, 2018
Commentary
Good news about Obamacare premiums can’t hide long-term pain Donald Trump is trying to fix
Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar recently announced that premiums for a benchmark Affordable Care Act 2019 plan on the federal exchange will drop 2 percent nationally compared with 2018 premiums — the first reduction since the law’s implementation. While this is encouraging news, it is no cause for a major celebration. When Obamacare’s ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 8, 2018
Agriculture
Eco-Bullying Crosses the Pond
Some bad ideas have originated in America. Reality television, spray-on cheese, pineapple pizza, and deep-fried Hostess Twinkies come to mind. But the most obnoxious of all may be eco-activist campaigners armed with Freedom of Information Act requests, or FOIAs, who pervert the intention of the law in order to undermine ...
Henry Miller, M.S., M.D.
October 8, 2018
President Trump didn’t sabotage Obamacare
Four U.S. cities just sued President Trump for failing to faithfully execute the Affordable Care Act. The governments of Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati and Columbus accuse the Trump administration of “waging a relentless campaign to sabotage” Obamacare by cutting its advertising budget, shortening the open enrollment period and ending some legally dubious subsidies. None ...
The benefits of repealing the medical device tax
As part of the Affordable Care Act, a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices and products was passed. The tax was levied on devices such as pacemakers, advanced imaging technologies (Cat Scan, MRI and ultrasound equipment), artificial joints, surgical gloves, and dental instruments. Devices that the public generally buys for ...
Requiring That Drug Advertisements Include List Prices Promotes Misinformation
The largest problems in the health care industry are often created by reformers envisioning themselves as free market saviors, when in reality they are merely advocates for more intrusive government regulations. The Trump administration’s proposal to require that drug advertisements include the medicine’s list price is such an example. On its face, ...
Unwilling to Wait for Voters, Los Angeles County Jumps Gun on Temporary Rent Control
Los Angeles County couldn’t wait for voters to decide this fall if local governments can enact rent-control laws. The Board of Supervisors recently enacted a “temporary” restriction on rent increases. If they think that will relieve the housing crisis, they are mistaken. The Los Angeles County ordinance sets rents at ...
Government Policies Are Driving Doctors To Quit Health Care
Doctors nationwide are burnt out and unsatisfied. Many want to quit the profession entirely, according to a new survey from the Physicians Foundation. The government deserves much of the blame for doctors’ low morale. For years, the feds have cut their pay, meddled in their decisions, and subjected them to ...
California’s Leaders Ban Affordable Health Coverage
California just outlawed a form of health insurance that could save thousands of its residents millions of dollars. Late last month, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 910, which bans the sale of short-term health plans — those that last less than a year and don’t have to comply with Obamacare’s ...
Bureaucrats Turn ‘Dark Regulatory Matter’ Into Law, But Is It Constitutional?
The Dark State is real and ubiquitous, but it is neither new nor necessarily sinister. In some respects, it is inherent in our system of government. Although our government was conceived as three interdependent, coequal branches, it has evolved into an administrative state run mainly by a gargantuan Executive Branch ...
Trump is right: There’s no possible way we can afford ‘Medicare for all’
On Wednesday, President Trump authored an op-ed slamming “Medicare for all.” According to him, if Democrats succeed in implementing their single-payer proposal, “costs will spiral out of control. Taxes will skyrocket. And Democrats will seek to slash budgets for seniors’ Medicare, Social Security and Defense.” He’s absolutely right. Voters would do ...
Good news about Obamacare premiums can’t hide long-term pain Donald Trump is trying to fix
Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar recently announced that premiums for a benchmark Affordable Care Act 2019 plan on the federal exchange will drop 2 percent nationally compared with 2018 premiums — the first reduction since the law’s implementation. While this is encouraging news, it is no cause for a major celebration. When Obamacare’s ...
Eco-Bullying Crosses the Pond
Some bad ideas have originated in America. Reality television, spray-on cheese, pineapple pizza, and deep-fried Hostess Twinkies come to mind. But the most obnoxious of all may be eco-activist campaigners armed with Freedom of Information Act requests, or FOIAs, who pervert the intention of the law in order to undermine ...