Publications
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Trump Taps Microbiologist Monarez to Head CDC
Publication -President Donald Trump has nominated microbiologist Susan Monarez to be the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Monarez replaces former U.S. Congressman Dave Weldon, M.D., an army veteran and vaccine skeptic whose nomination was withdrawn in March after it became clear the Senate would not confirm him. With a Ph.D. […] -
Research & Commentary: Texas Bill Would Protect Industries from ESG Lending and De-Banking Discrimination
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Legislation in the Texas Senate would combat environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores by prohibiting lenders from discriminating against organizations based on social credit or value-based standards like ESG. ESG scores are essentially a risk assessment mechanism increasingly being used by investment firms and financial institutions that forces companies, entire industries, and society at large […] -
Research & Commentary: Texas Bill Would Protect Against ESG and Ensure Fair Access to Insurance Services
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Legislation in the Texas Senate would combat environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores by preventing insurance companies and holding companies from including political shareholder proposals in proxy statements and from implementing such politically driven shareholder proposals. ESG scores are essentially a risk assessment mechanism increasingly being used by investment firms and financial institutions that forces […] -
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Murky Health Care Pricing Data Is Making Money for Hospitals – Commentary
Publication -Transparent Health Care Pricing Even though President Donald Trump has issued directives to make hospital prices more transparent twice now, there are no tools to make it easy for patients to compare prices of an MRI, for example. This is more than a casual observation, as noted in a March 19 article in Health Affairs. […] -
Research & Commentary: Texas Bill Would Protect Shareholders from ESG-Driven Proxy Advisor Recommendations
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Legislation in the Texas Senate would combat environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores by mandating that proxy advisory services based in Texas provide recommendations solely based on the financial interests of shareholders and exclude non-financial considerations such as ESG. ESG scores are essentially a risk assessment mechanism increasingly being used by investment firms and financial […] -
Research & Commentary: Texas Bill Would Protect State Pension Funds and Texans’ Retirement Savings From ESG
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Legislation in the Texas Senate would combat environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores by mandating that public retirement systems in Texas, as well as their investment managers and proxy advisors, prioritize objective financial factors in investment decisions. ESG scores are essentially a risk assessment mechanism increasingly being used by investment firms and financial institutions that […] -
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Let’s Reward Patients for Shopping the Best Prices – Commentary
Publication -Patients should have the right to shop. Rules exist to be followed, not ignored. Or at least that’s what most people think. But in many cases, hospitals and insurers haven’t been following the rules—and the government has been letting them get away with it. During President Trump’s first term, his administration pursued health care price […] -
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House Hearing: Can Medicare Deliver Better, Cheaper Post-Acute Care?
Publication -The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee held a hearing on ways to improve access to quality post-acute care. Millions of Medicare enrollees require care after a hospital stay, such as rehabilitation, hospice, and home health care, and quality and access have suffered over the years, the panelists said. Consolidation, mergers, and acquisitions by national […] -
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Violent Attacks in Hospitals, Clinics on Rise
Publication -A violent attack in a Pennsylvania hospital in February, resulting in the death of a police officer, has prompted the American Nurses Association (ANA) to ask Congress to pass legislation for a workplace violence prevention standard. “Workplace violence is a longstanding and unresolved issue in healthcare. It is a growing public health crisis that demands […] -
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Report: Medicaid Misspent $4.3 Billion in Duplicate Payments
Publication -U.S. taxpayers spent at least $4.3 billion over a three-year period covering the same Medicaid patients twice or more, The Wall Street Journal reported. Medicaid paid health insurance companies for hundreds of thousands of patients who signed up for the program in two or more separate states. This happened when a patient moved to a different state, […] -
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Supreme Court Considers State’s Selection of Medicaid Providers
Publication -The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on April 2 over whether federal law allows states free to select which medical providers they want to fund in their Medicaid programs. In Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, South Carolina defended its right to reject Medicaid vendors who provide abortions elsewhere in the nation, which the state […] -
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Teen Death Puts Spotlight on Abortion Dangers
Publication -A pro-life organization is investigating the death of an 18-year-old woman who died after a late-term abortion at a Colorado-based Planned Parenthood clinic. Keri Kasun, PharmD, told Colorado’s House Health and Human Services Committee the family of Alexis “Lexi” Arguello reached out to her for answers about the medical complication Arguello experienced after having her […] -
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No Better Time Than Now for Real Medicaid Reform – Interview
Publication -Republicans are taking much political heat for trying to cut $880 billion in federal spending, with Democrats saying the GOP will cut Medicaid benefits. Gary Alexander, director of the Medicaid and Health Safety Net Initiative at the Paragon Health Institute, talked to Health Care News about how Republicans can turn this challenge into a huge […] -
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Republican Medicaid Plan: Yes to Reform, No to Benefit Cuts
Publication -Partisan rhetoric over the federal budget has intensified with Democrat politicians claiming Republicans will cut Medicaid benefits. Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker, a Democrat, argued it will be impossible for Republicans to find $880 billion in spending cuts without touching Medicaid. The House budget reconciliation bill instructs the House Energy & Commerce Committee to cut […] -
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States Push to Allow Ivermectin to Be Sold Over the Counter
Publication -Ivermectin (IVM) will now be sold over the counter (OTC) in at least one state, with other states in the process of granting that status. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas signed Senate Bill 189 into law on March 25, approving ivermectin for use without a prescription. Idaho’s SB 1211, a similar bill, was passed […] -
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Food Companies May Lose Option to Affirm Ingredient Safety
Publication -Food companies across the country may lose their authorization to self-affirm food ingredients, dyes, additives, and stabilizers are safe. Department of Health and Human Secretary (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has directed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner to explore revisions to the Substances Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) pathway that gives food manufacturers […] -
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Court Affirms Parents’ Right to Sue Over Forced Vaccinations
Publication -A recent court ruling may increase accountability of school and state employees who overruled parents’ rights to make health care decisions for their children during the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2021, Tanner Smith was sent to his high school’s clinic in Guilford County, North Carolina, for COVID-19 testing. Clinic employees allegedly forced Smith to get […] -
How States Can Push Back Against the Destructive Expansion of Industrial Solar Power
Publication -Policy Studies -As more states consider expanding their solar footprint, it is vital for policymakers to examine the full consequences of this energy source. -
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Congress Looks at Fast-Tracking Drugs, Devices Approved in Other Countries
Publication -“Washington bureaucracy and regulations far too often interfere with health care decisions of patients and their doctors,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in joining forces with Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) to reintroduce the bicameral Reciprocity Ensures Streamlined Use of Lifesaving Treatments (RESULT) Act, opening the door for more drugs, devices. The legislation would allow the […] -
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New York Backs Off Ban on ‘Consent to Pay’ Patient Forms
Publication -The state of New York is revising a law that would have prohibited hospitals and health care practices from requiring patients to sign “consent to pay” forms before receiving treatment. NY Public Health Law (PHL) 18 was set to take effect in late 2024. It is in limbo after the New York State Department of […] -
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Baby Formula Will Get First Federal Review Since 1998
Publication -Government health agencies have launched an effort to ensure “quality, safety, nutritional adequacy, and resilience” of infant formula in the United States. Under Operation Stork Speed, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will review the nutrients in infant formula and increase testing for heavy-metal contamination. Companies will have to provide transparent and clear labeling on […] -
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Feds Allocate Another $1 Billion to Stop Bird Flu, Cut Egg Prices
Publication -The federal government is allocating an additional $1 billion to combat the avian flu, an outbreak of which led to the killing of millions of healthy chickens and soaring egg prices over the past 12 months. Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins unveiled a “comprehensive strategy to curb highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), protect the U.S. […] -
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Trump Administration Downsizes Federal Health Agencies
Publication -Ten thousand staffers at federal health agencies received pink slips on April 1 in a major overhaul to shrink the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) headcount from 82,000 to 62,000. “Our hearts go out to those who have lost their jobs,” posted HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy on X. “But the reality is […] -
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Trump Orders Hospitals to Disclose Prices, ‘Not Estimates’
Publication -President Donald Trump ordered the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services to develop a framework to enforce hospital price transparency, within 90 days. Trump originally established the rule during his first term in office, but compliance and enforcement under the Biden administration were weak. Trump signed the new “Making America Healthy Again […]