Publications
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Research and Commentary: North Carolina Bills Would Increase Access to Health Care
Publication -Research and Commentaries -North Carolina Senate Bill 370 and House Bill 455 would eliminate the certificate of need requirement for all health care facilities in the state. This CON reform would greatly improve access to health care in North Carolina while putting beneficial pressures on costs and quality by encouraging greater investment in new facilities and improvements of existing ones. -
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What Should Republicans Do About Medicaid? – Commentary
Publication -Republicans are in a bind. To give substance to their new budget bill, they need to cut Medicaid spending by billions of dollars. Yet the White House and many congressional Republicans insist that they do not want to cut Medicaid benefits. Here is where the Department of Government Efficiency can come to the rescue. In mainstream […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Medicaid Improper Payments Estimate: $1.1 Trillion
Publication -Medicaid issued approximately $1.1 trillion in improper payments over the past decade, double the agency’s stated amount, the Paragon Health Institute estimates. “Cracking down on improper payments is a necessary first step that could provide hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid savings for federal taxpayers,” states the March 3 policy brief based on examination […] -
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HHS Secretary Pledges to End Conflicts of Interest at Health Agencies
Publication -In his welcoming remarks at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the agency’s employees it is time for a new era of “radical transparency” in dealing with the public. Newly confirmed by a 52-48 Senate vote, Kennedy embraced the spirit of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) […] -
Research and Commentary: Tennessee Bills Would Increase Access to Health Care by Removing CON Rules
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Tennessee lawmakers are considering legislation to remove Certificate of Need (CON) requirements for health care services across the state. Tennessee SB 853 and HB 970 would eliminate the certificate of need requirement for all health care facilities except for nursing homes. The bills are currently under consideration in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee and […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
Give Patients Money is the Ideal Way to Reform Government Health Programs
Publication -Offering people money instead of social programs and market regulations can help lawmakers get health care budgets under control without a huge political fight, said panelists during a public forum on February 12. “Who is the best judge of value? People,” said David Hyman, M.D., J.D., a Cato scholar and law professor at Georgetown University […] -
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Truly Voluntary Medicare Will Bring Down Health Costs for All – Interviews
Publication -As Congress grapples with how to cut health care spending by $880 billion in the next budget, one move that could permanently bring down costs in both the public and private sectors is to decouple Medicare from Social Security, says Twila Brase, president, and co-founder of the Citizens Council for Health Freedom. Brase spoke with […] -
Research and Commentary: Indiana Medicaid Work Requirement
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Indiana lawmakers are considering legislation that would add a work requirement for enrollees in the state’s Medicaid expansion group. SB 2 would require able-bodied, mentally fit enrollees above the federal poverty level to work an average of 20 hours per week or meet other requirements to retain eligibility for Medicaid in the Healthy Indiana Program (HIP), which expanded Medicaid coverage to them under provisions in the Affordable Care Act of 2010. -
Research and Commentary: Wisconsin Direct Primary Care Reform
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Wisconsin lawmakers are considering legislation establishing that direct primary care agreements are not insurance. Combined with high-deductible, low-cost insurance against catastrophic health problems, direct primary care provides low-cost, high-quality, personalized care while the separate insurance provides protection from financial disaster. The main barrier to DPC is the complicated regulations imposed by state bureaucracies and consumer protection authorities that regulate insurance companies. -
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- Health Care
Measles Outbreak Sparks National Concern
Publication -A limited outbreak of measles in Texas has received nearly daily media attention, with 200 cases confirmed as of March 10 and one child and one adult having died with the disease. Alarm grew after a case not associated with the Texas outbreak was confirmed in Maryland. The patient had recently traveled internationally through Washington […] -
Research and Commentary: Indiana Medicaid Eligibility Reform
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Senate Bill 2 would benefit Indiana Medicaid recipients by slowing the program’s movement toward insolvency as skyrocketing Medicaid costs threaten to devour all discretionary spending in the state. Nearly two million people in Indiana were enrolled in Medicaid at the end of 2024, in a state of just under seven million people. Indiana ran a Medicaid budget shortfall of more than $1 billion in 2023 and is still struggling to recover. The cost of Medicaid in the state increased by more than $5 billion in the last four years. Medicaid is forecast to cost Indiana taxpayers $10 billion over the next two years. -
- Health Care News
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Seasonal Influenza Levels Remain Elevated, CDC Reports
Publication -The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the current winter presented unusually high flu risk. The winter was “classified as a high severity season overall and for all age groups (children, adults, older adults) and is the first high severity season since 2017-2018,” the agency of the Department of Health and Human Services […] -
Research and Commentary: Tennessee Bill Would Increase Access to Acute Care Centers
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Tennessee lawmakers are considering legislation that would remove Certificate of Need (CON) requirements for acute care centers. Enactment of this legislation would increase Tennesseans’ access to acute care hospitals and raise the quality of care. The legislation is currently under consideration in the House Health Subcommittee and the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
State AGs Take Legal Action Against Fauci in Wake of Pardon
Publication -Attorneys general from 17 states are preparing to take legal action against Dr. Anthony Fauci for his conduct during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a February 5 letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), the state AGs offered their cooperation in further investigations of the nation’s response to COVID-19 […] -
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Government Policies Have Made Americans Anti-Vaxx – Commentary
Publication -By John Droz Jr. on the history of vaccine policy. On March 2, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued a “call to action” after the death of a child with measles in Texas. Kennedy urged parents to consult with their physicians about the MMR vaccine, which covers mumps, measles, and rubella, […] -
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Big Pharma Meets with President, Questions Remain
Publication -A much-anticipated February 20 meeting between President Donald Trump and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry ended without the companies getting a firm commitment from the new administration that it will scale back provisions of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that force manufacturers to negotiate lower prices for certain widely used prescription drugs. The president […] -
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President Creates Commission to ‘Make America Healthy Again’
Publication -President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) establishing a commission to “Make America Healthy Again.” The February 13 order identifies multiple areas for reform and directs the creation of a panel of agencies to enact research and policy plans. The order directs the government to “aggressively combat the critical health challenges facing our citizens, […] -
Research and Commentary: Texas Medicaid Eligibility Reform
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Texas lawmakers are considering legislation that would prevent state Medicaid administrators from automatically renewing recipients without contacting them to make sure that they qualify for the program. Senate Bill 921 would benefit Texas Medicaid recipients by slowing the program’s movement toward insolvency. More than four million Texans are currently enrolled in Medicaid. Skyrocketing Medicaid costs threaten […] -
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CMS Signals Review of IRA Drug Price Negotiation Program
Publication -The Trump administration signaled Medicare drug price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) signed in 2022 by former President Joe Biden may undergo a reexamination to add greater transparency and possibly other reforms. A 125-word news release on January 29, 2025, stated that lowering drug prices is a “top priority” for President Trump, who […] -
Research & Commentary: Texas Direct Primary Care Expansion
Publication -Research and Commentaries -HB 3015 would allow workers’ direct primary care fees to count toward insurance deductibles in coverage under the state’s Employees Retirement System. More than 548,000 people were enrolled in these plans in 2024. -
Research & Commentary: South Carolina Direct Primary Care Reform
Publication -Research and Commentaries -South Carolina lawmakers are considering legislation establishing that direct primary care agreements are not insurance. ... Freeing direct primary care from insurance regulations is important because such agreements are not insurance. DPC practices provide routine health services, not insurance against expensive, catastrophic conditions. -
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- Health Care
Company Offers Supplemental Health Insurance for Direct Primary Care
Publication -Atlas Direct, is offering supplemental insurance for people who use direct primary care and those looking for a limited alternative coverage to pricey Obamacare plans. Atlas Direct launched on December 3 and is now available in 13 states: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. […] -
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California Nurse Practitioners Fight Practice Restrictions
Publication -The California Board of Registered Nursing is construing a five-year-old state licensing law for nurse practitioners (NPs) in a way that violates the law’s original intent, say attorneys for NPs challenging the law. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 890 in 2020 to encourage more people to become nurse practitioners, by protecting opportunities for […] -
Research and Commentary: Iowa Bill Would Allow Expanded Access to Birth Centers
Publication -Research and Commentaries -CON laws are intended to reduce costs and improve access to health care by controlling the availability of medical facilities through state-based regulation. Unfortunately, CON laws decrease health care access, raise costs, lower quality, and stifle innovation by giving competing health care providers veto power over the construction or improvement of facilities or other capital improvements such as advanced imaging devices.
