As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rightly dominates the world’s attention, it gives us a moment to step back and examine our two-year crisis with Covid-19 and signs that we are finally entering a new phase. Nearly one million lives have been lost, with the numbers continuing to rise. Secondary casualties from terrible government policies will be with us for decades. Countless lives could have … [Read more...] about Co-existing with the virus
Hope for the Future
Galen Senior Fellow Brian Blase delivered his first congressional testimony yesterday as president of the new think tank he has founded, the Paragon Health Institute, and even though he was outnumbered 3-1 on the witness stand, he owned the hearing. “Exploring Pathways to Affordable, Universal Health Coverage” was the subject of a House Education and Labor subcommittee hearing, which you can … [Read more...] about Hope for the Future
Ideas for 2023
While Democrats control both the White House and Congress, House Republicans are working to create a fresh legislative agenda on health care, the economy, Big Tech, energy, and a host of key issues in preparation for the fall elections and their hopes of taking control in 2023. President Biden taunted them in his January 19 news conference asking repeatedly, “What are Republicans … [Read more...] about Ideas for 2023
Quick Takes
We will divert a bit from our usual newsletter format focusing on a single issue to give you quick summaries and links to several important issues on our radar screen. Here goes: * Natural immunity endures: To follow up on our newsletter from last week about the strength of natural immunity, Dr. Marty Makary of Johns Hopkins and co-authors report in their new study in … [Read more...] about Quick Takes
Listen to the Doctors
Dr. Marty Makary has been a voice of clarity and sanity in the Covid pandemic response, and his latest piece in The Wall Street Journal may be his most important yet. He writes in “The High Cost of Disparaging Natural Immunity to Covid” that “Public-health officials ruined many lives by insisting that workers with natural immunity to Covid-19 be fired if they weren’t fully … [Read more...] about Listen to the Doctors
A Failing Grade
A year out, the Biden administration’s health policy agenda is on life support, both with its Covid response and overall agenda. While there are many externalities that Washington can’t control, the main failures are mis-management, politicization, and pushing ideas far outside the mainstream. Paul Mango, who has written a book about the Trump administration’s widely-praised … [Read more...] about A Failing Grade
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Good: Yes, we should celebrate the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday that OSHA does not have the power to force employers to force 84 million Americans who work for them to get Covid vaccines. But the decision is on narrow grounds, and it didn’t protect 10 million other Americans. The court’s decision involving the Biden administration’s employer vaccine mandate … [Read more...] about The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Priorities
Independent physician practices have been under attack for decades, with government using its payment and regulatory powers to exert control. Today, more and more physicians are being forced to sell their practices to hospitals or join mega-practice groups to survive. Others sadly close shop. A 2020 survey by The Physicians Foundation found that 12% of all U.S. doctors … [Read more...] about Priorities