Another lesson from COVID-19: Data and politics can be a dangerous brew. Take, for example, the political narrative that New York tamed the beast and Gov. Andrew Cuomo was a model of leadership—including praise that New York “got it right” and did a “laudable job ”in managing the spread of the virus. And then there are the facts, detailed in a new paper by Doug … [Read more...] about New York City, A COVID Calamity
Grace-Marie Turner
Say No To Importing Foreign Price Controls On Drugs
Grace-Marie Turner | Forbes | President Trump has doubled down on the Executive Order he put on hold in July that threatened to import price controls from countries with government-run health systems and use them as a basis for what Medicare pays for certain drugs. The new order proposes a “Most Favored Nation” (MFN) pricing scheme not only on more expensive specialty drugs paid under … [Read more...] about Say No To Importing Foreign Price Controls On Drugs
Health care and the elections
The health reform debate has taken a new focus during the coronavirus crisis, with a greater emphasis on innovation to produce treatments and vaccines, different options for accessing care, and the great harm done when people aren’t able to get needed surgeries, cancer care, and other non-COVID treatments. Health care, including COVID, is poised once again to be the key issue in … [Read more...] about Health care and the elections
Fear vs Facts
So…How Much Do You Know About COVID-19? A piece by Doug Badger over at The Daily Signal is getting a lot of attention as people take the quiz to see how they do in sorting fear from facts in the blizzard of “information” about COVID-19. A lot of decisions are being made based upon inaccurate, distorted, and misunderstood reports and data, making it harder to concentrate … [Read more...] about Fear vs Facts
Please don’t make it worse
Congress appears deadlocked over the vast differences between the latest $3 trillion House-passed coronavirus relief bill and the Senate’s more targeted and temporary bill that includes a reduced extension of federal unemployment insurance, another round of direct payments, liability protections for businesses and doctors, and $105 billion in school funding. As the battles on Capitol Hill … [Read more...] about Please don’t make it worse
The IPI Won’t Fly
The White House has invited members of Congress and others to a 3 p.m. ceremony today for the signing of an executive order (EO) on prescription drug pricing. We know this continues to be a hot political issue, but a key part of the EO reportedly involves importing price controls from countries with government-run health systems and using them as a basis for U.S. drug … [Read more...] about The IPI Won’t Fly
End the Calamity of Shutdowns
By Doug Badger & Grace-Marie Turner - June 11, 2020 - RealClearHealth | States like New York and New Jersey with the strictest lockdown policies are relaxing some restrictions, but they must accelerate their reopenings and focus on targeting resources to hotspots and to protecting the most vulnerable. Months of confinement have taken an enormous toll in physical and mental health … [Read more...] about End the Calamity of Shutdowns
We Must Begin Healing
Today’s good news about jobs recovery, with businesses unexpectedly adding 2.5 million jobs, is a welcome glimmer of hope in an otherwise terrible week. I pray that our country can begin healing from the death, damage, and destruction that have devastated the lives and livelihoods of so many Americans. It’s crucial that states open their economies so people can go back to … [Read more...] about We Must Begin Healing