Health Technology
Climate Change
When it Comes to Food Safety, ‘Organic’ Can Be a Risky Business
By Henry Miller and Kathleen Hefferon Many consumers are committed to organic products for reasons that are more emotional than logical. They frequently define their purchasing choices in terms of what they consider to be “wholesome and natural,” which often translates to the absence of “synthetic” inputs such as fertilizer ...
Pacific Research Institute
July 18, 2022
Commentary
Telehealth is critical to our healthier future
Earlier this month, a group of 17 House Republicans released several ideas for modernizing the healthcare system, improving access to care, and lowering costs. One of the proposals — safeguarding expanded access to telehealth — could help achieve all three of those goals. Lawmakers would do well to relax permanently the telehealth restrictions that ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 13, 2022
Commentary
GOP Must Seize Control of Health Care Narrative
If the polls are any indication, Republicans will take control of Congress in this fall’s midterm elections. After a year and a half of unified Democratic rule, voters in much of the country appear to be looking for something different. But November is still six months away. If Republicans hope to notch ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 13, 2022
Commentary
The free market healthcare idea that blurs party and geographic lines
New survey data from the American Medical Association reveals that nearly 8 in 10 physicians believe the biggest barrier to offering telehealth is the “roll back of COVID-19 waivers, coverage, and payment policies.” That’s no surprise. When the pandemic hit, regulators waived restrictions that limited who could receive and how doctors could ...
Sally C. Pipes
April 4, 2022
Health Technology
Trimming Red Tape Isn’t Just For Health Emergencies
The federal public health emergency prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic is set to expire in mid-April. Some states have already let their own emergency declarations lapse. It’s about time. COVID-19 is no longer the crisis it was back in 2020. Living in a permanent state of emergency is unsustainable. But that doesn’t ...
Sally C. Pipes
March 18, 2022
Commentary
Don’t Dam the Telehealth Flood
To say that Americans are anxiously awaiting the end of the COVID-19 pandemic would be an understatement. But for patients who have enjoyed the ease of attending doctor’s appointments virtually, a return to the way things were pre-pandemic might be bittersweet. That’s because onerous restrictions on telemedicine, which lawmakers relaxed ...
Sally C. Pipes
February 28, 2022
Blog
Is California Turning on Outdoor Dining?
In July, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to make the city’s emergency outdoor dining ordinance permanent. Adopted in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program empowered restaurant owners to convert adjacent on-street parking spaces into “parklets” where they could serve pandemic-weary patrons. The city’s parklet initiative, and ...
M. Nolan Gray
January 18, 2022
Commentary
Expanding telehealth access is a lifesaver for vulnerable patients
It’s hard to find a silver lining in a pandemic. But COVID-19 has convinced the medical and policymaking establishments, perhaps unwittingly, that high-quality care can be delivered remotely. The telehealth revolution is upon us. Lawmakers waived numerous arcane and outdated regulations governing the use of telemedicine to make the service ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 29, 2021
Commentary
Another Warning About Medicare Is Going Unheeded
The annual report from Medicare’s trustees just arrived. The picture it paints is anything but sunny. According to the report, Medicare’s Part A hospital insurance trust fund is set to be exhausted in 2026. Avoiding this fate, the trustees conclude, will require a massive increase in taxes or decrease in ...
Sally C. Pipes
September 13, 2021
Commentary
Upsides are clear: Make the deregulation of telehealth permanent
Many Texans had their first-ever telehealth appointment at some point in the last 18 months—likely a video chat to talk symptoms, prescriptions, or follow-up care with a doctor. Once relatively rare, virtual doctor visits boomed during the pandemic, as public health measures kept us at home. Even giant companies are ...
Sally C. Pipes
August 27, 2021
When it Comes to Food Safety, ‘Organic’ Can Be a Risky Business
By Henry Miller and Kathleen Hefferon Many consumers are committed to organic products for reasons that are more emotional than logical. They frequently define their purchasing choices in terms of what they consider to be “wholesome and natural,” which often translates to the absence of “synthetic” inputs such as fertilizer ...
Telehealth is critical to our healthier future
Earlier this month, a group of 17 House Republicans released several ideas for modernizing the healthcare system, improving access to care, and lowering costs. One of the proposals — safeguarding expanded access to telehealth — could help achieve all three of those goals. Lawmakers would do well to relax permanently the telehealth restrictions that ...
GOP Must Seize Control of Health Care Narrative
If the polls are any indication, Republicans will take control of Congress in this fall’s midterm elections. After a year and a half of unified Democratic rule, voters in much of the country appear to be looking for something different. But November is still six months away. If Republicans hope to notch ...
The free market healthcare idea that blurs party and geographic lines
New survey data from the American Medical Association reveals that nearly 8 in 10 physicians believe the biggest barrier to offering telehealth is the “roll back of COVID-19 waivers, coverage, and payment policies.” That’s no surprise. When the pandemic hit, regulators waived restrictions that limited who could receive and how doctors could ...
Trimming Red Tape Isn’t Just For Health Emergencies
The federal public health emergency prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic is set to expire in mid-April. Some states have already let their own emergency declarations lapse. It’s about time. COVID-19 is no longer the crisis it was back in 2020. Living in a permanent state of emergency is unsustainable. But that doesn’t ...
Don’t Dam the Telehealth Flood
To say that Americans are anxiously awaiting the end of the COVID-19 pandemic would be an understatement. But for patients who have enjoyed the ease of attending doctor’s appointments virtually, a return to the way things were pre-pandemic might be bittersweet. That’s because onerous restrictions on telemedicine, which lawmakers relaxed ...
Is California Turning on Outdoor Dining?
In July, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to make the city’s emergency outdoor dining ordinance permanent. Adopted in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program empowered restaurant owners to convert adjacent on-street parking spaces into “parklets” where they could serve pandemic-weary patrons. The city’s parklet initiative, and ...
Expanding telehealth access is a lifesaver for vulnerable patients
It’s hard to find a silver lining in a pandemic. But COVID-19 has convinced the medical and policymaking establishments, perhaps unwittingly, that high-quality care can be delivered remotely. The telehealth revolution is upon us. Lawmakers waived numerous arcane and outdated regulations governing the use of telemedicine to make the service ...
Another Warning About Medicare Is Going Unheeded
The annual report from Medicare’s trustees just arrived. The picture it paints is anything but sunny. According to the report, Medicare’s Part A hospital insurance trust fund is set to be exhausted in 2026. Avoiding this fate, the trustees conclude, will require a massive increase in taxes or decrease in ...
Upsides are clear: Make the deregulation of telehealth permanent
Many Texans had their first-ever telehealth appointment at some point in the last 18 months—likely a video chat to talk symptoms, prescriptions, or follow-up care with a doctor. Once relatively rare, virtual doctor visits boomed during the pandemic, as public health measures kept us at home. Even giant companies are ...