Sen. Bernie Sanders’ hearing on insulin prices on Wednesday was indeed contentious, as we anticipated, but also surprisingly informative and polite. Yes, top executives of pharmaceutical companies sparred with executives of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), pointing fingers over who is responsible for high insulin prices that consumers can encounter at the … [Read more...] about Sharpening the Debate
Sanders’ Insulin Hearing — GMT for RealClearPolicy
Questions for Chairman Sanders | By Grace-Marie Turner | RealClearPolicy, May 8, 2023 | Insulin costs will move center stage this week when top executives of three leading manufacturers of the drug will testify before Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) during a hearing on lowering insulin costs. If the committee’s failed … [Read more...] about Sanders’ Insulin Hearing — GMT for RealClearPolicy
Make It A Trifecta
Following up on critiques from my last two newsletters, we have even more evidence this week that conservatives have an abundance of ideas to tackle health reform… House Republicans held three hearings on Wednesday about dozens of initiatives to restore competition, consumer choice, and sanity to our health sector. A few highlights: These activities and … [Read more...] about Make It A Trifecta
The right way to save Medicare
One claim I find especially annoying is when people say conservatives don’t have ideas for health reform. That absolutely, positively is not true! It’s lazy to cite one thumbs-down vote by a particular senator in 2017 as the final say on the matter. We and our colleagues in the Health Policy Consensus Group offer a plethora of ideas and proposals—which are … [Read more...] about The right way to save Medicare
Henry is Wrong
Henry Olsen—a friend and political and policy guru whom I greatly admire—should know better. He wrote a recent column for The Washington Post entitled “The GOP is playing catch-up on health care. It needs some fresh ideas.” Henry writes about the growing number of states that are taking Washington’s bribe to dramatically expand Medicaid, most recently North Carolina. But he makes a … [Read more...] about Henry is Wrong
Ideology over Education
The state of graduate medical education gets too little attention, but the next generation of medicine is being shaped by what is happening right now. Covid school closures were a disaster, including for medical students, but the problems have been brewing much longer as curricula increasingly prioritize a “woke” agenda over scientific education. Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, a former associate dean … [Read more...] about Ideology over Education
Freezing Innovation
The Biden administration issued its guidance last week to explain how it plans to implement price controls on pharmaceuticals, per the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act,” and it is even more outrageous than the law itself. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its first list of 27 drugs it will target for government price … [Read more...] about Freezing Innovation
New Treatments for Obesity
by Grace-Marie Turner | Published March 20, 2023 at RealClearHealth | Obesity is a serious health problem for millions of Americans and for our nation where 42% of US adults are living with obesity. The association with other chronic conditions, including heart disease, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes, is incontrovertible. Obesity also has been identified as … [Read more...] about New Treatments for Obesity