And now we begin a new chapter in our decades-long endeavor to fight for health freedom. We face many hurdles, but after 25 years of engaging in the health policy debate, we are ready to face these challenges and seek new opportunities to advance patient-centered reform. The Biden administration will push an agenda that further expands the role of government in … [Read more...] about Beginning Again
The Dreaded Masks
President-elect Joe Biden proposed a massive $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package in a speech last night, urging Congress to quickly approve $1,400 per-person direct payments and funding for testing and vaccine distribution. With ultra-narrow Democratic margins in both the House and Senate, whether such a huge expenditure is needed hopefully will at least be debated at a time when … [Read more...] about The Dreaded Masks
A dreadful beginning
2020 was awful, and we rang in 2021 with hopes we would put the pandemic, riots, and economic shock behind us. Who thought 2021 could be worse! Like many of you, I am in despair over this week’s calamities. We will soon turn to sorting through the policy consequences to try to chart a positive path forward, but in the meantime, I want to share with you a few … [Read more...] about A dreadful beginning
Coalition Supports State Flexibility Rules
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken steps to increase states’ ability to reform their individual and small group health insurance markets, and a coalition of health policy experts has provided comments supporting a proposed rule that would codify the agency’s more flexible guidance. Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act permits the secretaries of Health and Human … [Read more...] about Coalition Supports State Flexibility Rules
Mask Mandates: Do They Work? Are There Better Ways to Control COVID-19 Outbreaks?
President Joe Biden has signed two executive orders mandating that people wear masks. Instead of focusing on masks, which many localities already have, Biden should focus on more effective responses. “Although mask-wearing may reduce transmission rate, it has not prevented cases from spiking either here or abroad. Governments should pursue additional strategies. These include adopting better … [Read more...] about Mask Mandates: Do They Work? Are There Better Ways to Control COVID-19 Outbreaks?
Counting our Blessings
As we near a blessed close to 2020, all of us at the Galen Institute wish you and the world a better 2021. Reflecting on this unprecedented year, our first thoughts and prayers go to those who have lost loved ones to Covid and to those who have suffered and even died in tragic isolation from family and friends. I lost my mother in 2017 and often wonder how on earth she would have survived such … [Read more...] about Counting our Blessings
Rapid testing now!
Is there a magic wand—one thing that the government could do to control the Covid pandemic and help us safely return to work and school? Yesterday’s approval by an FDA-panel of Pfizer’s miraculously rapid development and production of its Covid-19 vaccine is vital. “This is a triumph,” wrote Dr. Eric Rubin, a Harvard immunologist in the New England Journal of Medicine, where he is … [Read more...] about Rapid testing now!
One In Four Medicaid $$ Spent Illegally—Blase And Dublois In NRO
Improper Medicaid Payments Have Soared since Obamacare By Brian Blase & Hayden DubloisNational Review, December 9, 2020 A recent report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reveals astronomical improper spending in Medicaid that should alarm all Americans.The rate of improper payment in Medicaid, the nation’s third largest government program, … [Read more...] about One In Four Medicaid $$ Spent Illegally—Blase And Dublois In NRO