The Hoover Institution’s Lanhee Chen, Tom Church, and Daniel Heil unveiled their new “Choices for All Project” at an event yesterday in Washington, adding creative new ideas to the abundance of pro-patient health policy proposals offered by free-market think tanks. One new feature is the “Individual Health Account” designed to expand Health Savings Accounts to tens of millions more … [Read more...] about A New Addition
Medical Futures
I accept virtually every invitation I receive to speak to students studying to enter the health field—whether in medical school or in policy or public health. Earlier this month, I spoke virtually to a group of medical students as part of a summer lecture series hosted by a major university. It would be an understatement to say they don’t accept the idea of a market-based system that would … [Read more...] about Medical Futures
Epic Errors
Bernie just doesn’t give up. His new and improved Medicare-for-All 2023 bill would be an even more aggressive government takeover of U.S. health care. Now that Sen. Sanders chairs the Senate’s powerful Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, expect an even stronger push than last session when he chaired the Budget Committee. It seems incredible that after … [Read more...] about Epic Errors
Progress On PATIENT CHOICE
The House is advancing realistic and much-needed health reform initiatives. Here is my piece in RealClearPolicy with more detail:For the first time in nearly six years, health reform legislation that’s friendly to patient choice, transparency, and market competition has passed the House of Representatives.It was nearly six years ago when late Sen. John McCain tragically gave a … [Read more...] about Progress On PATIENT CHOICE
Progress on Solid Ideas
As many of you know, Galen has facilitated for decades conversations in the market-based policy community through the Health Policy Consensus Group. We had our latest meeting last week and, I have to tell you, I was blown away by current action on health policy in the House of Representatives. The leadership is seizing the health reform agenda, and Members are engaged. One reason for this … [Read more...] about Progress on Solid Ideas
Fighting Back
With Bud Light, Target, and North Face trying to outdo each other in their “wokeness,” it is refreshing to see a company standing up for its rights and its customers—and quite forcefully. Merck filed a lawsuit this week to stop what it called the government’s “draconian and deceptive scheme” to dictate drug prices through the ironically named “Inflation Reduction Act” (IRA) … [Read more...] about Fighting Back
We’ll Take the Win
Republicans too often take an all-or-nothing approach to health reform legislation. And they too often wind up with the latter. Democrats, on the other hand, take a win whenever and wherever they can get it. And they have shown over more than half a century their success with that incremental approach by ever expanding the role of government in our health sector. So now both houses of … [Read more...] about We’ll Take the Win
Let’s Learn from Canada
So here’s a study in contrasts based upon two news reports this week: Sending B.C. cancer patients to Bellingham for treatment 'a sad state of reality,' critics say [Canadian] Health Minister Adrian Dix announced Monday that eligible breast and prostate cancer patients will be sent to one of two clinics in Bellingham, Washington, for radiation treatment, starting May 29. The … [Read more...] about Let’s Learn from Canada