With the first major challenge to ObamaCare now before the Supreme Court, the Galen Institute participated in an amicus brief supporting the 11th Circuit’s decision that the individual mandate is unconstitutional. We also were actively involved in explaining how the Obama administration’s anti-conscience mandate violates the First Amendment’s protection of religious liberty. And we wrote extensively about the IPAB, Medicare’s rationing board, as a violation of Article I, which grants power over spending decisions exclusively to Congress, not an unelected, unaccountable board of technocrats. ObamaCare is unconstitutional down to its DNA, and the court challenges will be endless until it is repealed. Read on for more about the many other fronts in the ObamaCare battles we were engaged in during the month of February…
Publications
The Galen Institute, together with the Pacific Research Institute, Benjamin Rush Society, and Docs 4 Patient Care, jointly filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the 11th Circuit’s decision that ObamaCare’s individual mandate is unconstitutional, arguing that it also will not solve the problem of “free riders.”
“ObamaCare will usurp control of medicine,” a commentary by Grace-Marie Turner and Dr. Nora Janjan about the Affordable Care Act’s threat to the doctor-patient relationship, was published in the Orange County Sunday Register, Cleveland Plain Dealer, and other newspapers around the country.
Grace-Marie’s biweekly column on Forbes included commentaries on “A Tsunami Of Court Challenges to ObamaCare” and “President Obama’s Dangerous New Medical Board.”
We contributed “Bureaucratic delay costs lives” to National Review Online.
Our commentary on “ObamaCare’s latest assault on freedom” was published by the Canada Free Press.
And we published two commentaries on the new Galen Institute blog: “Setting the record straight on the individual mandate,” and “CPAC — ObamaCare: Why it’s unconstitutional and what conservatives need to do.”
Galen in the News
Grace-Marie appeared on the FOX News program Journal Editorial Report with Paul Gigot for a discussion on RomneyCare.
Grace-Marie appeared in a video produced by The Heritage Foundation about the controversy over the Obama Administration’s anti-conscience mandate and the fight for religious liberty.
Grace-Marie was also a guest on The Lou Dobbs Show, The Drive Home on America’s Radio News Network, The Small Business Advocate, Up Front, Dateline Washington, The Joe Thomas Show, and many other programs in major media markets across the country. Her interviews focused on the upcoming Supreme Court arguments, the constitutional threat to religious liberty under ObamaCare, and its impact on jobs and health costs.
We also gave interviews to The Denver Post, Politico, Bloomberg, CNS News, and other publications. Our statements about the CLASS Act, religious liberty, the individual mandate, IPAB, and other health policy issues were cited in dozens of articles, including:
- Coulter Care
The American Spectator - The Tortuous History of Conservatives and the Individual Mandate
Forbes: The Apothecary - Four groups file amicus brief against ObamaCare
The Daily Caller - Roy Blunt: The new culture warrior
Politico - An Incomplete Book Review
Health Affairs
Speeches & Events
Grace-Marie participated in two panels at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference: “ObamaCare: Why It’s Unconstitutional and What Conservatives Need to Do,” hosted by Judical Watch’s Tom Fitton, and “Why ObamaCare Must Be Repealed,” hosted by The Heritage Foundation. She also participated in a book signing of Why ObamaCare Is Wrong for America.
Grace-Marie gave a presentation to physicians on “Health Reform: What it means and What’s Next?” during Sibley Memorial Hospital’s Grand Rounds.
Grace-Marie also spoke to members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, hospital executives, and Tea Party leaders about why ObamaCare is wrong for America.
Pfizer’s director of global security, Brian Donnelly, was our keynote speaker on the February State Leaders Call, jointly hosted by the Galen Institute, Institute for Policy Innovation, and State Policy Network. Brian explained the risks of the rise in prescription drug counterfeiting and the impact it could have on the safety of our drug supply.
Our February Health Policy Series briefing explored “How ObamaCare Tramples on Religious Liberty,” featuring guest speakers Kristina Arriaga, Chuck Donovan, and Jennifer Marshall. Galen teams up with the American Enterprise Institute and The Heritage Foundation to bring health policy experts to speak with congressional staffers in a series of Capitol Hill briefings on a variety of health reform topics.
Grace-Marie spoke at a legislative briefing for the Physician Hospitals of America Washington Fly-In on February 15.
Grace-Marie attended the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s 11th Annual William E. Simon Lecture on “A Surprising Cast of Characters: King Belshazzar, Pope Leo XIII, and the 2012 Election.”
And we were a guest of Bristol-Myers Squibb for the annual Health Policy Ball, a black-tie event honoring the late David Winston.
We were invited to meet with several Members of Congress and their legislative advisors to discuss reform solutions. We also attended two meetings of the Repeal Coalition, participated in events on IPAB, attended a conference on “Asymmetry in the Ability to Communicate CER Findings: Ethics and Issues for Informed Decision Making,” and met with industry leaders to discuss the next stage of the reform debate.