Commentary
Commentary
GAO Provides Yet More Evidence for Why Enhanced Obamacare Subsidies Must Expire
Defrauding the government through Obamacare’s insurance exchanges is shockingly easy, per a new government report. The study found that federal insurance subsidies were granted for 90 percent of the fake exchange accounts set up as part of a Government Accountability Office investigation — at a cost of more than $10,000 ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 12, 2025
Commentary
Despite Dems’ protests, affordable health plans are about to multiply
Obamacare premiums are climbing yet again during open enrollment. But there’s also some good news for cost-conscious shoppers ― a new way to secure affordable coverage without forgoing access to care. This year, many people can buy low-cost “catastrophic” health plans for the very first time. Combine one of these ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 12, 2025
Commentary
How Competition Drives Healthcare Innovation & Affordability
Making healthcare more affordable requires reforms that strengthen competitive markets, as I outlined in a recent Pacific Research Institute1 paper. Unfortunately, as we’re seeing in California and elsewhere, the trend in government is away from competition and toward fewer choices, hurting patients and increasing costs. When applied to other industries, ...
Wayne H Winegarden
December 10, 2025
Business & Economics
Government Shutdowns Are a Reminder To Privatize
Federal government shutdowns mean many things to different people. For ordinary Americans, they are a reminder of dysfunction in Washington. For partisans, they are an opportunity to blame the other side. But they can also be an opportunity for Americans to reconsider how and why the federal government does some ...
Sal Rodriguez
December 10, 2025
California
Checking the fine print on Newsom’s “donor state” boast
California brags about its donor state status, that is, it forwards more in tax dollars to Washington than it gets back in federal spending. But that’s changed. According to the Rockefeller Institute of Government, California’s balance of payments with the federal government – the net difference between federal revenue collected ...
Kerry Jackson
December 10, 2025
California
Los Angeles Tries to ‘Fix’ Rent Control
Los Angeles is one of more than a dozen California cities with rent-control laws, and by no coincidence, is one of the most unaffordable places to live. The City Council recently approved a proposal that gives owners more leeway to raise rents. It’s by no means a bold plan. It ...
Kerry Jackson
December 8, 2025
Commentary
Trade Policy Is The Right Way To Fight Foreign Freeloading
Last week, the United States and the United Kingdom announced a trade deal that will require Britain’s National Health Service to pay more for novel prescription drugs in exchange for a reprieve of at least three years from tariffs on its pharmaceutical exports. It’s a perfect example of how the ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 8, 2025
California
California Looking For ‘Foreign’ Aid
If there were a list of faltering, ineffective and counterproductive programs and projects that California policymakers are bitterly clinging to, the “bullet train” would be at the top. Voters asked for an ambitious high-speed rail that never leaves the state, but California cannot get the job done alone. The rest ...
Kerry Jackson
December 5, 2025
Commentary
‘Soak the Rich’ Won’t Rescue Calif. Healthcare
A group of unions in California has proposed a new plan for paying for healthcare — soak the rich. That’s the idea behind the Billionaire Tax Act, a 2026 ballot initiative that would impose a 5% tax on the state’s billionaires in order to raise money for healthcare programs and ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 2, 2025
Commentary
Competition, not price controls, just slashed GLP-1 prices
Novo Nordisk just announced price cuts for Ozempic and Wegovy, whose list prices as recently as last year were around $1,000 a month. Patients buying directly from the manufacturer will be able to pay as little as $349 for a monthly dose of these medicines. The company has also dropped ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 1, 2025
GAO Provides Yet More Evidence for Why Enhanced Obamacare Subsidies Must Expire
Defrauding the government through Obamacare’s insurance exchanges is shockingly easy, per a new government report. The study found that federal insurance subsidies were granted for 90 percent of the fake exchange accounts set up as part of a Government Accountability Office investigation — at a cost of more than $10,000 ...
Despite Dems’ protests, affordable health plans are about to multiply
Obamacare premiums are climbing yet again during open enrollment. But there’s also some good news for cost-conscious shoppers ― a new way to secure affordable coverage without forgoing access to care. This year, many people can buy low-cost “catastrophic” health plans for the very first time. Combine one of these ...
How Competition Drives Healthcare Innovation & Affordability
Making healthcare more affordable requires reforms that strengthen competitive markets, as I outlined in a recent Pacific Research Institute1 paper. Unfortunately, as we’re seeing in California and elsewhere, the trend in government is away from competition and toward fewer choices, hurting patients and increasing costs. When applied to other industries, ...
Government Shutdowns Are a Reminder To Privatize
Federal government shutdowns mean many things to different people. For ordinary Americans, they are a reminder of dysfunction in Washington. For partisans, they are an opportunity to blame the other side. But they can also be an opportunity for Americans to reconsider how and why the federal government does some ...
Checking the fine print on Newsom’s “donor state” boast
California brags about its donor state status, that is, it forwards more in tax dollars to Washington than it gets back in federal spending. But that’s changed. According to the Rockefeller Institute of Government, California’s balance of payments with the federal government – the net difference between federal revenue collected ...
Los Angeles Tries to ‘Fix’ Rent Control
Los Angeles is one of more than a dozen California cities with rent-control laws, and by no coincidence, is one of the most unaffordable places to live. The City Council recently approved a proposal that gives owners more leeway to raise rents. It’s by no means a bold plan. It ...
Trade Policy Is The Right Way To Fight Foreign Freeloading
Last week, the United States and the United Kingdom announced a trade deal that will require Britain’s National Health Service to pay more for novel prescription drugs in exchange for a reprieve of at least three years from tariffs on its pharmaceutical exports. It’s a perfect example of how the ...
California Looking For ‘Foreign’ Aid
If there were a list of faltering, ineffective and counterproductive programs and projects that California policymakers are bitterly clinging to, the “bullet train” would be at the top. Voters asked for an ambitious high-speed rail that never leaves the state, but California cannot get the job done alone. The rest ...
‘Soak the Rich’ Won’t Rescue Calif. Healthcare
A group of unions in California has proposed a new plan for paying for healthcare — soak the rich. That’s the idea behind the Billionaire Tax Act, a 2026 ballot initiative that would impose a 5% tax on the state’s billionaires in order to raise money for healthcare programs and ...
Competition, not price controls, just slashed GLP-1 prices
Novo Nordisk just announced price cuts for Ozempic and Wegovy, whose list prices as recently as last year were around $1,000 a month. Patients buying directly from the manufacturer will be able to pay as little as $349 for a monthly dose of these medicines. The company has also dropped ...