Galen Institute

Highlights: March & April 2015

IMPACT AND HIGHLIGHTS

Congress is intently focused on preparing a legislative response to the Supreme Court’s pending decision on the IRS rule allowing health insurance subsidies in the 37 states with federal exchanges. And the Galen Institute has been intently focused in working with Congress and the states on policy options.

You will see from this report that King v Burwell has commanded a great deal of our time since the oral arguments on March 4, dominating with our writings, media interviews, and meetings. But we have been extremely busy tracking other issues as well, including Oregon’s failed exchange, the doc-fix repeal, the faltering ObamaCare co-ops, and Medicare Part D.   Read on…

PUBLICATIONS

On March 3 The Daily Caller published Grace-Marie’s article Congress Planning Legislation after King v. Burwell Supreme Court Decision

Health Affairs Blog published Grace-Marie’s article King v. Burwell: Finding A Path Forward After An Executive Overreach on March 5

On March 27, the Galen Institute published white paper on Medicare Part D: A model for future entitlement reform

And Grace-Marie wrote a series of columns for Forbes, including:

GALEN IN THE NEWS

Galen was active on TV and radio, and Grace-Marie provided commentary with television interviews on:

NewsMax TV’s show The Daily Wrap on March 4 to discuss King v Burwell. Grace-Marie was again featured on The Daily Wrap on March 24 to discuss post King options.

One America News Network had Grace-Marie on their show, On Point with Tomi Lahren on April 28.

The Galen Institute was also active on radio interviews and podcasts around the country, including interviews with Grace-Marie, primarily discussing the upcoming King v Burwell Supreme Court decision:

March 3, The Drew Mariani show with the Relevant Radio.

Also on March 3, The Vicki McKenna Show

Jim Blasingame hosted Grace-Marie on March 5 to discuss The Supreme Court gets another shot at Obamacare constitutionality and again on April 28 How Obamacare is influencing medical treatment decisions, Will the Constitution or politics impact the Supreme Court on Obamacare?, and The impact of the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare

Greg Cromobus of Radio America interviewed Grace-Marie on the fifth anniversary of ObamaCare, 5 Years Later, ObamaCare’s Broken Promises Get Worse

Grace-Marie was also interviewed by numerous members of the media on March 4, the day that the Supreme Court heard the oral arguments for King v Burwell, including the BBC, The Daily Signal, The Daily Caller, the Associated Press, and many more.

On March 5, Grace-Marie spoke on a national media call with reporters from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, The Washington Examiner, PBS, NPR, and The Daily Caller. The topic was the oral arguments in King v Burwell and Congress’ commitment to pass legislation that would provide a safety net for those impacted by a decision in favor of King.

SPEECHES AND HOSTED EVENTS

  • The Galen Institute co-hosted our monthly conference call for state leaders, with the State Policy Network and the Institute for Policy Innovation, on March 3. Our guest was Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer of Kansas who discussed Medicaid innovation in Kansas.
  • On March 5, Grace-Marie spoke to the annual Washington conference of the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation “King v Burwell: What the Supreme Court Decision Means”
  • Grace-Marie spoke at an Americans for Tax Reform briefing on Capitol Hill on March 9 to discuss pending congressional consideration of “doc-fix” repeal legislation.
  • On March 6, Grace-Marie spoke at a briefing hosted by the Energy and Commerce Committee about the success of the Medicare Part D program.
  • On March 13, Grace-Marie traveled to Bonita Springs, Florida, to give a speech on King v Burwell at the Speaker’s Bureau of Southwest Florida.
  • Grace-Marie was invited to speak with House members’ chiefs of staff on responses to King v Burwell on March 19.
  • On March 21, Grace-Marie spoke at a Center Forward retreat in Middleburg, Virginia, on the 21st Century Cures initiative.
  • On April 9-11 Grace-Marie attended and spoke at the Conservative Reform Network’s seminar in Middleburg, VA.
  • The Galen Institute co-hosted our monthly state leaders call on April 22 with our guest, Attorney General Scott Pruitt of Oklahoma. He spoke about what to expect from the Supreme Court in the King v Burwell case.
  • Grace-Marie gave a speech entitled “Health Policy Today” at the Commonwealth Republican Women’s Club on April 23.
  • MAXIMUS invited Grace-Marie to speak on a webinar on April 24 to discuss the State Innovation Wavier Option in the Affordable Care Act.
  • Grace-Marie was invited to participate in and speak on a number of conference calls with state leaders about legislative battles over Medicaid expansion.

MEETINGS AND OTHER EVENTS     We hosted and attended numerous meetings, conference calls, and briefings in March and April with colleagues from think tanks across the country, state legislators, governors’ staffers, Members of Congress, senators, Congressional and Senate staffers, and many, many others. Here are some highlights:

  • The Galen Institute went to the Supreme Court on March 4 to hear the oral arguments of King v Burwell.
  • We attended two meetings of the Repeal Coalition in the U.S. Capitol on March 18 and April 16.
  • On March 20, Grace-Marie spoke on a conference call with colleagues from sister think tanks to talk about the Oregon Obamacare Exchange Project and our complementary writings and research.
  • Grace-Marie was invited to attend Heritage Foundation EVP Phil Truluck’s retirement party on March 31 to celebrate his 38 years of service to the conservative movement and The Heritage Foundation.
  • Grace-Marie attended “Conversations with Carly Fiorina” hosted by Gail MacKinnon on April 2.
  • Grace-Marie attended a meeting with Consensus Group members on April 14 to discuss alternatives to the individual mandate.
  • On April 15, Grace-Marie participated in a conference call with Oklahoma Deputy Attorney General Ethan Shaner.
  • Grace-Marie was invited to attend the American Medical Associations celebration of the Passage of HR 2 on April 22.
  • The Galen Institute attended a Hoover Institute roundtable event about ObamaCare’s fifth anniversary, on April 30.
  • April 30-May 1, Grace-Marie attended the National Review Institute’s Ideas Summit which featured former Gov. Jeb Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Tom Cotton, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Rep. Paul Ryan, Senator Ben Sasse, and many others.
  • Also on April 30 the Galen Institute attended The Washington Examiner’s event ObamaCare at Five with special guest Gov. Bobby Jindal.
  • The Galen Institute attended a number of meetings with colleagues and sister think tanks in March and April to discuss co-ops.
  • We attended a number of additional policy and planning meetings on and off Capitol Hill.

IN OTHER NEWS

The Galen Institute and Grace-Marie were cited and mentioned in numerous blogs and publications throughout the country in March and April. Some examples: