Publications
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- Health Care News
- Health Care
Trump, Drug Companies Make Deal on Discounted Drugs Through Trump Rx
Publication -Consumers will be able to buy discounted brand-name drugs through a government direct sales exchange called Trump Rx, starting in early 2026. On October 16, the Trump team worked out an agreement with a drug maker to directly sell fertility drugs at a deep discount to lower the cost of in vitro fertilization treatments (see […] -
- Health Care News
Hospitals Not Meeting Charity Requirements, Ways and Means Chairman Says
Publication -U.S. hospitals receive nearly $40 billion annually in federal and state tax benefits through their nonprofit status, yet are coming up short in meeting their “community benefit standard,” testimony at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing revealed. Ways and Means chairman Jason Smith recounted key moments from the September 16 hearing in a news […] -
Research & Commentary: Credit Union Act Would Provide Protection from ESG for Michigan Farmers
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Legislation recently introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives, the Credit Union Act, would combat environmental, social and governance (ESG) scoring systems and ensure Michigan farmers are not discriminated against by credit unions based on environmental policy. ESG scores are essentially a risk assessment mechanism increasingly used by investment firms and financial institutions that force companies […] -
- Health Care News
Federal Agencies Are Using Data Analytics to Stop Health Care Fraud
Publication -Health care fraud enforcement remains a top priority of the Trump administration, warns a law firm specializing in False Claims Act and Whistleblower/Qui Tam Defense. “All individuals and businesses working in any aspect of the health care field should pay close attention to the government’s planned use of data analytics to spot anomalous billing,” wrote Jonathan S. […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Democrats Fight to Extend Obamacare’s Costly Middle-Class Subsidies – Commentary
Publication -Democrats in Congress have been desperately trying to keep Obamacare on life support. A recent scare tactic is from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), which estimates Obamacare premiums will rise 114 percent without extending the so-called enhanced subsidies. “In 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act, a pandemic relief law, temporarily increased the amount of the […] -
Research & Commentary: Briefs Point Out Unnecessary Consumers Costs and Environmental Damage of Renewable Fuel Standard
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The R Street Institute has produced two briefs on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) detailing the consumer costs and negative environmental impacts. A part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, expanded through 2007’s Energy Independence and Security Act and administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), RFS required 36 billion gallons of “renewable” fuel sources such as ethanol […] -
- Health Care News
Government Shutdown Exposes Obamacare’s True Costs
Publication -The COVID-19 pandemic-era enhanced subsidies for Obamacare are set to expire on December 31, and members of Congress are at odds over whether to extend them. On October 1, the federal government shut down when Democrats in the Senate would not join Republicans to pass a continuing resolution (CR) bill to fund the government unless […] -
- Health Care News
States Consider Dozens of Bills to Protect 340B Drug Price Subsidy Abuse
Publication -Lawmakers in states across the country are working through a spate of bills written to shield a growing source of revenue for large hospital systems and drug chains. Congress created the 340B drug pricing program in 1992 to help a small set of safety-net hospitals purchase discounted prescription drugs from manufacturers by subsidizing purchases for […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
White House Announces Policies to Expand IVF, Fertility Treatment
Publication -The White House announced two initiatives it claims will significantly reduce the costs of in vitro fertilization (IVF). On October 16, President Donald Trump announced drugmaker EMD Serono would offer its fertility drug GONAL-F at a 796 percent discount or more, in line with the lowest price paid by other developed nations, known as the […] -
- Health Care News
MAHA Report Sets the Stage for Health Care Policy Changes
Publication -The Make American Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission released its “strategy plan” to combat an epidemic of chronic disease among the nation’s children. The “Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy” follows a less condensed draft version that was leaked to the media on August 18. The official version, released on September 9, contains 120 initiatives. The […] -
Research & Commentary: Analysis Finds West Virginia’s Hope Scholarship Program Delivered $27 Million in Net Fiscal Benefits in 2024
Publication -Research and Commentaries -A recent analysis by the Fiscal Research Center at EdChoice and the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy reports the Mountain State’s Hope Scholarship Program (HSP) has generated $26.9 million in net fiscal benefits to West Virginia taxpayers in its second fiscal year. The Hope Scholarship Program, an education savings account (ESA) program that goes […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Massive Fraud Found in Minnesota Medicaid Housing Assistance Program – Commentary
Publication -“Nonmedical social determinants of health” is a fancy way of saying external conditions can affect people’s well-being. Being homeless is not terribly conducive to good health, and the stress of not having access to affordable housing can worsen an individual’s mental health. Under that premise, numerous states have been diverting Medicaid funding to housing assistance. In 2024, […] -
Research & Commentary: Ohio Legislation Focuses on Safeguarding Affordable, Reliable, and Clean Electric Power in the Buckeye State
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Legislation recently introduced in Ohio provides guidance to the state’s Power Siting Board on the intent of the General Assembly that the energy powering the Buckeye State should be “affordable, reliable and clean” and the energy produced and the manner in which it is produced shall rely on domestically sourced materials and “minimize reliance” on […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Minnesota Lawmakers Approve Medicaid Payment for Home Births
Publication -Minnesota lawmakers approved legislation requiring Medicaid to pay for home births, including paying nurses and midwives the same rate as doctors. The bill, sponsored by a state senator who gave a political speech in 2022 while in labor, was passed as part of a special session agreement with Gov. Tim Walz in June. The legislation […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Trump Takes Steps to Protect Security of U.S. Drug Market
Publication -To ensure a “resilient domestic supply chain for essential medicines,” President Trump issued an executive order (EO) directing the Department of Health and Human Services “to develop a list of approximately 26 drugs critical to national health and security.” The August 13 EO also calls for the development of a “repository to receive and maintain […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Pediatric Group Calls for Elimination of Nonmedical Vaccine Exemptions
Publication -The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a report recommending a nationwide ban on nonmedical exemptions from vaccines. The report, published in the August 2025 issue of Pediatrics, argues the geographical clustering of unvaccinated children results in larger communities with “insufficient” vaccination rates for disease prevention, causing “greater likelihood of disease outbreaks.” In states where […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Judge Blocks Use of Medicaid Data for Immigration Enforcement
Publication -A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to stop sharing Medicaid data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). HHS began sharing Medicaid data in June 2025. On July 4, President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which stops federal funds intended for law-abiding Americans from […] -
Research & Commentary: Polling Shows American Parents Still Hungry for Education Choice Options
Publication -Research and Commentaries -New polling from both EdChoice and the American Federation for Children (AFC) shows the education choice revolution that has been sweeping the states since the beginning of the decade shows no sign of abatement or declining popularity among parents of school-aged children, or of the public at large. EdChoice’s poll, the latest in its annual […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Expanding Medicaid Hasn’t Improved Health Care – Commentary
Publication -The media are clamoring over the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate that 16 million people will lose health insurance by 2034 because of the Trump administration’s policies—10.9 million due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act alone. Most of the news coverage misses three important details. While it’s true that many people will lose insurance, that […] -
Won’t Enforce Short-Term Plan Restrictions, Trump Administration Says
Publication -Under the “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)” deregulatory initiative, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Treasury are reviewing rules imposed by the Biden administration, which restricted short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI) plans to four-month terms with no option to renew. The departments will undertake the notice-and-comment rulemaking process to consider changes to […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Mandatory Charity Care Is Unconstitutional Taking of Property, Hospitals
Publication -Several hospital systems are considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after the New Jersey Supreme Court rejected their claim that inadequate compensation for charity care was an unconstitutional taking of private property without just compensation. New Jersey’s charity care program prohibits hospitals from billing patients who qualify for charity care, which the state […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Democrats Fight to Extend Obamacare Costly Middle-Class Subsidies – Commentary
Publication -Democrats in Congress are desperately trying to keep Obamacare on life support. The latest scare tactic is from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), which estimates that Obamacare premiums will rise 114 percent without extending the so-called enhanced subsidies. The following is from a CNBC article: “In 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act, a pandemic relief law, temporarily […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Urban Hospitals Pose as Rural for Federal Money, Study Finds
Publication -A growing number of urban hospitals are reclassifying themselves as both urban and rural to reap financial benefits Congress intended for rural hospitals only, a new study has found. “In 2016, in response to two federal court decisions, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began allowing geographically urban hospitals to be dually classified as […] -
Research & Commentary: Indiana Should Introduce Forced Labor Prevention Legislation Next Session
Publication -Research and Commentaries -During the 2025 legislative session, Arkansas passed landmark legislation that creates space between Arkansas and China, improves the global supply chain, and uses the power of the state purse to prevent the use of forced labor in far corners of the world. House Bill 1683 prohibits Arkansas from procuring electric vehicles (EV) or EV components that were […]