Publications
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- Health Care News
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CMS Creates Rural Health Grants to Improve Market Competition
Publication -By December 31, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will announce how it will distribute the $50 billion Congress approved this summer for the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act CMS says 50 percent of the funds will be distributed equally among the states it approves. The […] -
- Health Care News
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Euthanasia Becomes More Mainstream in Canada – United States, Next?
Publication -Canadians are expressing outrage over the increased normalization of medical-assisted suicide in the country’s single-payer system. Numerous families have reported physicians and nurse practitioners pressuring loved ones into suicide through a practice known colloquially as “medical assistance in dying” or MAID. Benjamin Turland told The Loop about the intense grief he felt when both his […] -
- Health Care News
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Ag Department Air-Drops Vaccines to Control Rabies
Publication -The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has begun airdropping rabies vaccines into fields in several states as part of an ongoing campaign to reduce the spread of the disease in wild animals. The USDA conducted operations in northeastern and mid-Atlantic states starting this summer, followed by drops in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and […] -
- Health Care News
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Organ Donor Retractions Rise in Wake of Government, Media Investigations
Publication -A series of investigative articles and government reform initiatives over the summer has resulted in a record-breaking number of organ donors exiting the system. Several articles published over the summer called nationwide attention to allegations of major inconsistencies and problems within the organ procurement industry. In July 2025, a New York Times news article described […] -
- Emerging Issues Center
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Longing for the Days of Indemnity-Style Health Insurance – Commentary
Publication -Obamacare plans have reached the edge of a cliff. The U.S. government has shut down because Democrats and Republicans disagree on how much taxpayers should subsidize premiums. Health care is a service, not an entitlement, so why should taxpayers have to support any of it, except for the neediest? Does the government help Americans pay […] -
- Health Care News
- Health Care
More Hospitals Drop Medicare Advantage
Publication -Thirty-three hospital systems are dropping their Medicare Advantage (MA) contracts, reports Becker’s Hospital Review. The publication has been monitoring participation rates for several years. In 2024, citing contracts ending in 2025, Becker’s lists 33 hospitals as becoming “out of network” for Medicare Advantage contracts. In 2023, 13 hospitals ended their contracts. In 2024, the publication […] -
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What Trump Gets Right About TrumpRX – Commentary
Publication -Donald Trump is the first American president to take an active interest in what is happening to patients when they buy drugs at a local pharmacy. Without any new legislation, private companies are responding. Cigna Scripts, the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), just announced that for many of its clients it will end its […] -
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Trump Administration Gives Mixed Signals on Marijuana Market
Publication -The Trump administration has stalled in its effort to determine whether to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug, a new filing by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in an administrative law hearing acknowledges. “This doesn’t constitute a new delay of rescheduling’s consideration, which has been stalled out for months after […] -
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FDA Approves New Generic Abortion Pills
Publication -The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a generic version of the abortion pill mifepristone in October, making chemical abortion more affordable and accessible to pregnant women who wish to terminate the lives of their unborn children. Mifepristone is used in two-thirds of American abortions, according to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute. Republicans such as Sen. […] -
The EU AI Act: What Americans Need to Know
Publication -Policy Tip Sheets -The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) is the world’s first comprehensive law governing artificial intelligence. While framed as a consumer-safety measure, the Act’s broad reach and extraterritorial design give European regulators authority over how AI is built and used worldwide, including by American companies. -
- Health Care News
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Costco to Sell Ozempic, Wegovy at Almost Half Current Price
Publication -The company that sells Ozempic and Wegovy, drugs known for promoting easy weight loss, is now selling the products at Costco. Novo Nordisk, which manufactures the injectable pen semaglutide drugs for type 2 diabetes and weight loss, said in October it is making the prescription drugs available at Costco pharmacies for $499 for a four-week […] -
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Florida Becomes First State to End Vaccine Mandates
Publication -Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, M.D., and Gov. Ron DeSantis are working with the legislature to end all vaccine mandates for schoolchildren in the state. The two leaders announced their decision at a September 3, 2025, news conference. “The Florida Dept. of Health, in partnership with the governor, is going to be working to end […] -
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Merck Leaves UK Over Fears of Drug Price Controls
Publication -Pharmaceutical giant Merck announced the cancellation of a planned $1.3 billion research center in London and the termination of all research and development activities in the United Kingdom (UK). The company said on September 10 its decision “reflects the challenges of the UK not making meaningful progress addressing the lack of investment in the life-science […] -
Research & Commentary: Michigan Bill Would Protect State Pension Funds and Michiganders’ Retirement Savings From ESG
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Legislation in the Michigan House of Representatives would combat environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores by mandating public retirement systems in Michigan, 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 […] -
Research & Commentary: Right to Try Individualized Investigational Treatments Is the Future of Health Care in the States
Publication -Research and Commentaries -As 2026 approaches, now is the time to reflect on the victories from the year and the lessons to be taken moving forward. Right to try legislation is at the front of the list when it comes to free market health care solutions. While federal right to try legislation was signed into law on May 30, […] -
Research & Commentary: Wolverine State Legislation Would Protect Michigan Farmers from Discriminatory ESG Debanking
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Legislation recently introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives would combat environmental, social and governance (ESG) scoring systems and ensure Michigan farmers are not discriminated against by banks based on environmental policy. ESG scores are essentially a risk assessment mechanism increasingly used by investment firms and financial institutions that force companies and agricultural concerns to focus […] -
- Health Care News
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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 […] -
The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act: An Extraterritorial Incursion on Americans’ Inalienable Rights
Publication -Policy Studies -The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act establishes a centralized, extraterritorial, global regulatory model for AI. It applies whenever outputs are “used in the Union,” allowing the EU to impose its standards globally through turnover-based penalties and value chain obligations. -
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
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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 […] -
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Why Obamacare Led to a Government Shutdown – Commentary
Publication -People with Obamacare insurance aren’t getting any more health care today than they did a decade ago, before the program was started. Yet the costs of the program keep soaring. Democrats want more taxpayer dollars to pay for those costs. Republicans are resisting. Both parties should do the public a favor and consider sensible reforms […] -
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 […] -
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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 […] -
Research & Commentary: Analysis Finds West Virginia’s Hope Scholarship Program Delivered $27 Million in Net Fiscal Benefits in 2024
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The Hope Scholarship Program, an education savings account (ESA) program that goes fully universal for the 2026–27 school year, was launched in 2022.