Commentary
Commentary
Read about California's water woes
California Sets Fire To The Rain
The Los Angeles Times recently noted that even after “a ‘miracle’ water year,” challenges are still ahead for California, and they might arrive as early as the coming winter. And what are those challenges? The San Francisco Chronicle puts it plainly: “California will soon require many cities to significantly cut ...
Kerry Jackson
October 11, 2023
Commentary
Learn about states and Medicaid disenrollment
States Are Wasting Money by Slow-Rolling Medicaid Reviews
During the COVID-19 public health emergency, Congress forbade states from disenrolling people from Medicaid. The idea was to prevent people from losing coverage during the pandemic. But the emergency is over. On April 1, state Medicaid programs regained the ability to drop people no longer eligible. Some states have moved ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 9, 2023
Commentary
Read about problems with drug price controls
Inflation Reduction Act kills incentives for medical innovation
The Biden administration recently announced the first 10 drugs that will be subject to price controls under Medicare as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. The president celebrated the occasion, saying, “We took on Big Pharma and special interests, overcoming opposition from every Republican in Congress, and the American people ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 5, 2023
Commentary
Read latest about problems with Obamacare
Will Dems Ever Own Up to Obamacare Failure?
Exchange coverage is far more expensive than originally predicted. It’s also proved difficult for beneficiaries to put to use. In short, Democrats have engineered an insurance marketplace that serves the interests of neither taxpayers nor patients. And they’ve spent lavishly to keep it running. Click to read the full article ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 5, 2023
Commentary
Read about Medicare spending
Congress must rein in spending by cutting costs in Medicare and Medicaid
Enrollment in Medicaid has skyrocketed, largely due to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion and a pandemic-era prohibition on disenrolling people from the program. As of June 2023, Medicaid and the related Children’s Health Insurance Program covered nearly 93 million people — a 60% increase relative to the pre-Obamacare figure . Read the ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 4, 2023
Commentary
Read about the importance of drug price transparency
Transparency Is The Cure For What Ails American Health Care
A government shutdown has been averted—for now. Congress approved a continuing resolution this weekend that funds the government through mid-November. But the weeks-long fight put other important legislative work on hold. Take the “Lower Costs, More Transparency Act.” Late last month, lawmakers pulled it from the floor ahead of an ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 2, 2023
Commentary
Read about benefits of health savings accounts
A Boom in Health Savings Accounts Can Save Our Health System
A bill introduced last week by Reps. Greg Steube, R-Fla., and Kat Cammack, R-Fla., could change that. The ACCESS Act allows people to accept federal contributions to an HSA in lieu of reduced cost-sharing for insurance purchased through an exchange. The reform would bring the benefits of HSAs to millions ...
Sally C. Pipes
September 29, 2023
Commentary
Read Wayne Winegarden's latest at Fox News
New study reveals why Americans are fleeing big cities
Apologists for the declining cities will cite COVID-19 as a causal explanation and even optimistically claim that the declines have moderated. Such blind optimism overlooks the obvious – people are leaving big cities like San Francisco, New York and Boston because of bad public policy choices in those cities. They’re ...
Wayne Winegarden
September 28, 2023
Commentary
Read about problems with drug price controls
Let’s Hope Drug Companies Win Price Controls War
The IRA gives federal officials the authority to dictate what Medicare pays for certain medicines — a scheme intended to reduce the government’s drug bill. Late last month, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the first 10 drugs subject to the law’s price controls, which include the blood thinners ...
Sally C. Pipes
September 26, 2023
Commentary
Read about problems of PBMs
Congress Waking Up to PBMs Drug Cost Manipulations
PBMs work for (or increasingly are part of) insurance companies. They decide which drugs patients can access and negotiate rebates to drugs’ list prices. The term “rebates” sounds like these discounts should benefit patients, but PBMs and insurers pocket these savings while basing patients’ costs on the higher undiscounted prices. ...
Pacific Research Institute
September 21, 2023
Read about California's water woes
California Sets Fire To The Rain
The Los Angeles Times recently noted that even after “a ‘miracle’ water year,” challenges are still ahead for California, and they might arrive as early as the coming winter. And what are those challenges? The San Francisco Chronicle puts it plainly: “California will soon require many cities to significantly cut ...
Learn about states and Medicaid disenrollment
States Are Wasting Money by Slow-Rolling Medicaid Reviews
During the COVID-19 public health emergency, Congress forbade states from disenrolling people from Medicaid. The idea was to prevent people from losing coverage during the pandemic. But the emergency is over. On April 1, state Medicaid programs regained the ability to drop people no longer eligible. Some states have moved ...
Read about problems with drug price controls
Inflation Reduction Act kills incentives for medical innovation
The Biden administration recently announced the first 10 drugs that will be subject to price controls under Medicare as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. The president celebrated the occasion, saying, “We took on Big Pharma and special interests, overcoming opposition from every Republican in Congress, and the American people ...
Read latest about problems with Obamacare
Will Dems Ever Own Up to Obamacare Failure?
Exchange coverage is far more expensive than originally predicted. It’s also proved difficult for beneficiaries to put to use. In short, Democrats have engineered an insurance marketplace that serves the interests of neither taxpayers nor patients. And they’ve spent lavishly to keep it running. Click to read the full article ...
Read about Medicare spending
Congress must rein in spending by cutting costs in Medicare and Medicaid
Enrollment in Medicaid has skyrocketed, largely due to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion and a pandemic-era prohibition on disenrolling people from the program. As of June 2023, Medicaid and the related Children’s Health Insurance Program covered nearly 93 million people — a 60% increase relative to the pre-Obamacare figure . Read the ...
Read about the importance of drug price transparency
Transparency Is The Cure For What Ails American Health Care
A government shutdown has been averted—for now. Congress approved a continuing resolution this weekend that funds the government through mid-November. But the weeks-long fight put other important legislative work on hold. Take the “Lower Costs, More Transparency Act.” Late last month, lawmakers pulled it from the floor ahead of an ...
Read about benefits of health savings accounts
A Boom in Health Savings Accounts Can Save Our Health System
A bill introduced last week by Reps. Greg Steube, R-Fla., and Kat Cammack, R-Fla., could change that. The ACCESS Act allows people to accept federal contributions to an HSA in lieu of reduced cost-sharing for insurance purchased through an exchange. The reform would bring the benefits of HSAs to millions ...
Read Wayne Winegarden's latest at Fox News
New study reveals why Americans are fleeing big cities
Apologists for the declining cities will cite COVID-19 as a causal explanation and even optimistically claim that the declines have moderated. Such blind optimism overlooks the obvious – people are leaving big cities like San Francisco, New York and Boston because of bad public policy choices in those cities. They’re ...
Read about problems with drug price controls
Let’s Hope Drug Companies Win Price Controls War
The IRA gives federal officials the authority to dictate what Medicare pays for certain medicines — a scheme intended to reduce the government’s drug bill. Late last month, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the first 10 drugs subject to the law’s price controls, which include the blood thinners ...
Read about problems of PBMs
Congress Waking Up to PBMs Drug Cost Manipulations
PBMs work for (or increasingly are part of) insurance companies. They decide which drugs patients can access and negotiate rebates to drugs’ list prices. The term “rebates” sounds like these discounts should benefit patients, but PBMs and insurers pocket these savings while basing patients’ costs on the higher undiscounted prices. ...