Publications
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Research & Commentary: Wyoming Legislation Would Combat ESG and Ensure Cowboy State Funds Invested Appropriately
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Legislation in the Wyoming House of Representatives would combat environmental, social and governance (ESG) scoring systems and ensure state pension funds are invested solely to achieve the maximum return on investment for pensioners, rather than advancing social or political causes that may likely lead to lower returns and financial underperformance. ESG scores are essentially a risk assessment mechanism […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Spending, Not Coverage, Is Biggest Problem in Health Care – Commentary
Publication -By Douglas Holtz-Eakin Roughly a decade ago, on October 1, 2013, the ignominious launch of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) healthcare.gov website signaled the end of an era. The years leading up to the passage of the ACA featured two pressing national health policy issues: covering more (or all) Americans with health insurance, and the […] -
Carbon Capture & Property Rights: There Is No Justification for Using Carbon Capture and Storage Projects to Abrogate Property Rights
Publication -Policy Studies -Carbon capture and storage projects pose an immense threat to private property rights, among other significant problems. CCS can and should be opposed at both the state and federal levels of government. -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
States Differ in Responses to 340B Program Abuse
Publication -Widespread and longstanding abuse of a federal program designed to provide prescription drugs to low-income patients has prompted lawmakers in Minnesota and Michigan to try to rein in the 340B program in the absence of significant reforms by the federal government. Minnesota recently enacted a law requiring covered entities to begin providing annual reports with […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Report: Hospital Executives Are Getting Paid Millions of Dollars a Year
Publication -Crain’s Detroit Business published a list of the 25 highest-paid hospital executives in Michigan, and all received compensation in seven figures, based on data from 2022. Philip Incarnati of McLaren Health Care topped the list at $10,783,705 a year, a 9 percent increase in 2022, which happened at the tail end of the COVID-19 restrictions […] -
Research & Commentary: Educational Empowerment Accounts Would Transform Public Education in South Dakota for the Better
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Legislation recently introduced in the South Dakota House of Representatives would establish an “educational empowerment account,” a type of education savings account (ESA) program, in the Mount Rushmore State. These accounts would cover tuition, fees, and curricula for children at private and parochial schools, as well as textbooks, educational therapies, online courses, computer software, and […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
There is a Way to Avoid Paying for Other People’s Health Care – Interview
Publication -As health care spending soars (see page 20) and health insurers increasingly delay or deny claims (see pages 7, 17), consumers are retreating to indemnity-style insurance protection, which pays a cash benefit for adverse health events. Indemnity-style health insurance is a feature of Plan for America (PFA,) a voluntary private savings proposal designed to rescue […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Consumers Seek Solutions to Health Insurance Shortcomings
Publication -Consumers are looking for ways to safeguard themselves financially in the event of a catastrophic illness or injury when health insurance runs out or an insurer denies coverage. Insurance denials are up, according to recent reports, and this year new limitations on short-term, limited-duration health insurance (STLDI) policies go into effect. The use of supplemental […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Why are So Many People Angry at Health Insurers? – Commentary
Publication -The public reaction to the fatal shooting of health insurer UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has been nothing short of shocking. A post on X wishing that the killer would never be caught racked up 95,000 likes. UnitedHealthcare’s own bereavement message online was cruelly mocked by 77,000 laughing responses. What causes that kind of reaction? Before delving into what’s wrong […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Health Insurers Denying, Delaying More Claims
Publication -The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 3 focused national attention on the denial of coverage claims by health insurers, purportedly a motive for the killing. After Thompson’s death, patients and doctors aired their personal stories on social media, while others posted vitriolic comments about insurers, and Thompson’s alleged assassin became a media […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
What Health Insurance Should Be, But Isn’t – Commentary
Publication -By William M. Briggs Now that a health insurance guy has been whacked by an assassin, it’s useful to review why health insurance is such a mess now. Here is an expanded version of a thread I did on Twitter—which is all a repeat of (ignored) arguments I made back when Obamacare was being discussed. […] -
- Health Care News
Increasing Number of Parents Waive Vaccines for Children
Publication -An increasing number of parents are foregoing vaccinations for their children, citing distrust of drug producers, distributors, and health care providers, while health care organizations point the finger at misinformation. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show a decline in vaccination rates in more than 30 states in the 2023-2024 school […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Is Vaccine Hesitancy Causing a Surge in Infectious Diseases?
Publication -An uptick in mentions of measles in 2024 online discussions and forums shows many people are wondering whether vaccine hesitancy contributes to recent increases in the incidence of the disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 284 cases of measles were reported in 32 states and the District of Columbia in […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Congress Failed to Fix Price Transparency in Lame Duck Session
Publication -The Lower Cost, More Transparency Act (LCMTA) and the Health Care PRICE Transparency Act 2.0 (HCPTA 2.0) will have to be reintroduced in 2025 in the wake of the GOP winning control of the White House and Senate and keeping its slim majority in the House. Two bipartisan health care bills failed to gain traction […] -
Research & Commentary: Report Details the Costs, Limitations, and Environmental Impact of Electric Vehicles
Publication -Research and Commentaries -A new report from the Institute for Energy Research (IER) details the costs of electric vehicles (EVs), the limitations to electric vehicle adoption, and the myths surrounding electric vehicle policy. In When Government Chooses Your Car, IER finds that the average price of EVs is 42 percent higher than traditional, internal combustion engine-powered (ICE) vehicles. […] -
- Health Care News
Feds Demand Personal Information from Medical Practices, Others
Publication -New financial disclosure requirements that would sweep in many medical professionals were temporarily put on hold under an order from a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Biden administration rule required an estimated 33 million small businesses, including some nonprofit entities, to report personally identifying information about their “beneficial ownership or interest” by […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Bureaucracy and Band-Aids: How Government Red Tape is Holding Back Health Care Innovation – Commentary
Publication -By Steve Cohen RN MSN CHt Visualize for a moment: you walk into a hospital with a minor scrape, and instead of the doctor reaching for a Band-Aid, he hands you a clipboard. You are confused until he says, ‘You will need to fill out these 17 forms before we can administer any adhesive medical […] -
- Health Care News
Washington State Voters Keep Long-Term Care Tax
Publication -Voters in the state of Washington rejected a proposal that would have made a payroll tax to fund long-term care optional. The proposal, known as Initiative 2124, failed by an 11-point margin in November. Each Washington worker will continue to have 0.58 percent of his or her wages taken from every paycheck to fund WA […] -
- Health Care News
Trump Promises to Mandate IVF Coverage
Publication -During his campaign, President-elect Trump promised to require coverage of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. Trump’s base voters raised concerns about the ethical concerns raised by IVF and reformers have questioned the cost. In response to his opponents asserting Trump would ban IVF, Trump told NBC News in August 2024 he would not only defend […] -
- Health Care News
Health Policy Under President-elect Trump Can Build on First Term
Publication -Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) nominee Robert Kennedy, Jr. will have an opportunity to build on health policy reforms from President-elect Donald Trump’s first administration, many of which the Biden administration reversed or stalled. Used Traditional Reform Approach First-term Trump HHS Secretary Alex Azar was an establishment and big pharma pick who led […] -
- Health Care News
Seniors Love Going to the Doctor – Commentary
Publication -Visiting the doctor is often an exercise in inconvenience. I once read that when you include travel time, waiting time, filling out paperwork, waiting in the exam room, and talking with the office nurse, that 15 minutes of face time with your doctor takes up about three hours out of your day. That sounds a […] -
Research & Commentary: Report Shows Illinois’ Now-Defunct Tax-Credit Scholarship Program Had Saved Land of Lincoln Taxpayers Over $361 Million Through Fiscal Year 2022
Publication -Research and Commentaries -EdChoice has released an updated version of their Fiscal Effects of School Choice analysis, bringing up to date the latest data and demonstrating the large savings education choice programs have provided taxpayers, and the results were good news for Illinois families. The analysis looked at Illinois’ Invest in Kids Scholarship Tax Credit Program for low-income students, enacted in 2017, […] -
Research & Commentary: Two New Reports Mirror EPA Findings of Significant Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions from the Oil and Gas Industry
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Two reports from oil and gas industry groups released in November detail the voluntary greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction efforts led by the industry and highlight the progress being made on that front. The annual progress report of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), a coalition of 12 of the world’s largest oil and […] -
- Health Care News
Texas Supreme Court OKs Future Execution in ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Case
Publication -A medical expert’s testimony on Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) in a 2003 capital murder trial in Texas and the state’s “junk science” law have played a prominent role in legal maneuvers to stop a scheduled execution. Robert L. Roberson, age 58, received the death penalty for the capital murder of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, […]