Let’s be clear. There is no fixing Obamacare. Insurance premiums have skyrocketed, deductibles are so high that an insurance plan is almost worthless to millions of Americans, people have fewer choices, and many insurers are leaving the exchanges in numerous counties across the country. Remember how President Obama promised his healthcare reform law would save […]
NPS Ban on Bottled Water – “Going Forward”
For more than a year, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has been investigating the National Park Service’s (NPS) ban on the sale of bottled water, believing it was an obtrusive inconvenience to visitors and a waste of taxpayer dollars. To date, 23 parks have decided to follow NPS Director Jonathan Jarvis’s December 14, 2011 NPS Policy Memorandum 11-03. This policy allows parks, on a case-by-case basis, and after an extensive review and approval by their respective regional directors, to ban the sale of water contained in disposable plastic bottles. The stated purpose of the ban was to reduce plastic in the parks’ waste stream and to decrease the carbon footprint as part of the NPS’s “Go Green” initiative.
Tom Price is Right
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Doctor Tom Price (R-Georgia) to be the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in his administration. This is an excellent choice. Representative Price has been a leader in fighting the misnamed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare, since it first appeared […]
President Trump Must Submit Paris Climate Agreement to the Senate
On November 14, President Obama made the following remarks in a press conference before his final foreign trip. When asked about legal constraints placed on him by Congress (specifically with respect to prisoners housed at Guantanamo Bay and his belief that the limitations were unconstitutional), he said, “One of the things you discover about being […]
CMMI is Neither Centered nor Innovative
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) sounds like it should be involved in ground-breaking, state-of-the-art healthcare projects and programs. However, the center was created in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare, which in and of itself raises red flags. CMMI is run by the Centers for Medicare […]
Obamacare Obituary
The Affordable Care Act of Washington, D.C., lovingly known as Obamacare, was born on March 23, 2010 and after a long illness, left this Earth on November 8, 2016. Beloved policy of President Barack Obama, it is also survived by Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and former-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). After a long illness and being […]
Some Good News on Drug Prices
We have read a lot about high drug prices in the news lately and how politicians, including presidential candidates former-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have called for the government to “negotiate” drug prices. But the government doesn’t negotiate drug prices. Instead, they use price controls to lower costs, which distorts the marketplace […]
Obamacare’s Sky-High 2017 Rates are Finally Announced
Reports have been popping up since the summer that the 2017 premium rates for Obamacare would be increasing – by a lot. In addition, for more than a year, insurers have been announcing they will no longer participate in many of the Obamacare exchanges. On Monday, and just 16 days prior to the election, the […]
The Cover Oregon Debacle
On September 15, 2016, and with little hubbub beyond the state’s borders, Oregon and Oracle, the prime vendor for the state’s Obamacare’s online marketplace exchange “Cover Oregon,” announced they had reached a settlement in a lawsuit. The dispute revolved around who was at fault for the website’s colossal failure. While the state had been asking more than $6 billion in damages, it will receive $100 million in goods, services, and cash.
Morning Joe Is Wrong: Medicare Does Negotiate Drug Prices
Today on the Morning Joe Show, a false narrative was perpetuated: Medicare does not negotiate drug prices. The show’s eponymous host, Joe Scarborough, called for free-marketers to call Congress and demand that the government negotiate Medicare drug prices. Joe needs to supervise his producers’ research better. The free market is very much involved in negotiating […]