For over three decades, CEI has advocated health care reforms that put more power in the hands of consumers to choose their health providers, treatment protocols, and scope of insurance coverage. We have advocated reform of the Food and Drug Administration’s drug and device approval process to allow for greater flexibility and patient choice. And in 2013, CEI organized the court challenges to Obamacare’s exchange subsidies that concluded with the Supreme Court’s King v. Burwell decision.
Healthcare Issue Areas
Featured Posts
Blog
FTC’s second interim report on PBMs: Don’t hold your breath
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will consider issuing a second interim report on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) tomorrow during its January 14 open meeting.
Blog
Congress shouldn’t rely on incomplete FTC PBM study
Lawmakers are making a last-minute push to regulate the practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) during the lame duck session. However, it would be a…
Wall Street Journal
A Thumb on the Scale for Wegovy
The Biden administration announced one more bit of executive overreach on its way out the door. On Nov. 26, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid…
Search Posts
Blog
ObamaCare Will Raise Insurance Premiums and Health Care Costs, Perhaps Bankrupt Hospitals, Federal Officials Admit
“Economic experts from President Obama’s own Health and Human Services Department have released a devastating report noting that Obamacare ‘will increase national health care…
Newsletter
Financial Regulation, Online Gambling and Chewing Tobacco
The Senate is set to vote on Senate Banking Committer Chairman Chris Dodd's bill to extend financial regulation. A new study estimates that the ban…
Blog
“Basic needs” need to be regulated, say Dems
Reason’s Ron Bailey, in an “I told you so” article today, points out that Senate Democrats are poised to support a bill that would…
Newsletter
Wall Street Reform, GM Tomatoes and Chemical Regulation
Obama is gives a speech today in New York on the need to reform Wall Street. The Wall Street Journal reports on the debate over…
Op-Eds
The FDA Should Get Real
What happens when one of the most powerful regulatory bodies in the country orders a business to violate the agency’s own rules? If they…
Study
The Department of Defense Should Assess the Security Risks of Climate Change Policies
Full Document Available in PDF The Pentagon is perhaps the most influential…
Newsletter
Tax Day, Open Skies and Toyota’s Legal Tactics
Tax Day inspires out an array of protests and demonstrations. The U.S. and EU signed an “Open Skies” agreement last month, which purportedly allows airlines…
Newsletter
Unions, New Taxes and GM Crops
Andy Stern is leaving his post as head of the Service Employees International Union. The Obama Administration may soon propose a Value Added Tax (VAT).
Newsletter
Liquor Licensing, Off-label Drugs and Fannie & Freddie
A new proposal in New York to set up a “medallion” system of liquor-licensing will serve as a compromise between wine retailers and grocery store…
Op-Eds
Short-Sighted Ban Endangers Food Supply
This week, the Senate may vote on an amendment to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act that could undermine the integrity of the U.S.
News Release
New Study Shows Benefits of “Off-Label” Promotion for Patients, Doctors
New Study Shows Benefits of “Off-Label” Promotion for Patients, Doctors Court to Weigh In on Pharmaceutical Free Speech Washington, D.C.,…
Study
Truth or Consequences
The Benefits of Off-Label Drug and Device Promotion…
Newsletter
Household Chemicals, Fuel Efficiency, and “The Story of Stuff”
The website KeepitOrganic.org, which warns people about the dangers of using plastic products containing bisphenol A (BPA), is actually owned and operated by the Glass…
Op-Eds
Over the Counter Goes Under
"They won’t be so opposed to it once they see what’s in it." That’s the rationalization House leaders had given skittish Democrats to get…
Newsletter
Comcast v. FCC, Chemical Scares and Eminent Domain
The U.S. Court of Appeals’ decision in Comcast v. FCC limits the FCC’s power to enforce net neutrality. Time magazine publishes a list of “household…
Newsletter
Fuel Efficiency, Imports, and H1N1
The Obama Administration plans to increase fuel efficiency standards. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative releases the 2010 National Trade Estimate report. The Centers…
Blog
Regulatory Problem, Regulatory Solution?
A dying patient in the UK's NHS made the news after nurses refused to bring him a glass of water, despite his repeated begging. Had…
Op-Eds
How Can Obamacare Be Truly Fixed?
President Obama may have added his signature to the health care legislation last week, but Republican leaders have decided they won’t go gently into…
Blog
Washingtonian mag: Stern is “union boss number one”
The current issue of Washingtonian magazine features a long, fairly in-depth interview with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andrew Stern, whom author Chris…
Blog
Barack Obama and Liberal “Good” vs. Freedom
There's a great op-ed by Shelby Steele in today's Wall Street Journal, called "Barack the Good". In it, Steele argues that "today's liberalism is focused…
Blog
Gene Patents Ruled Invalid
In a pretty remarkable move, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York yesterday held that genes can not be patented…
Blog
Millions of Seniors to be Dumped from Health Plans Due to New Health Care Law
Two million seniors are expected to be dumped onto Medicare from company prescription medication plans, thanks to a poorly-vetted provision of…
Op-Eds
Millions of Seniors Will Be Dumped from Health Care Due to Reform
Two million seniors are expected to be dumped onto Medicare from company prescription medication plans, thanks to a poorly-vetted provision of the new health…
Newsletter
Compact Fluorescents, Toyota, and Health Care
USA Today quotes Policy Analyst Michelle Minton saying that CEI will be celebrating the development of the compact fluorescent lightbulb. Members of Congress interrogate Toyota…
Blog
“The People Speak,” my NRO piece on Obama’s nonsense about the Obamacare vote
Shortly after the House approved the massive, historic health-care legislation and sent it to President Obama for his signature, the president declared the vote “proved…
Newsletter
Mortgage Bailout, The Medicine Cabinet Tax and Human Achievement Hour
The Obama administration is expanding the mortgage-bailout program. The new health care bill proscribes the use of Flexible Spending Accounts for over-the-counter drugs. USA Today…
Newsletter
The Last Supper, Health Care, and the Carbon Fuel Tax
According to a study from the International Study of Obesity, the portion-size of meals in Last Supper paintings has increased dramatically over the years. Virginia…
Citation
Health Care HSA Changes Result in Higher Taxes for all
Blog
Attorney Generals Challenge ObamaCare; New Health Care Law Increases State Budget Deficits, Imposes Marriage Penalties
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and a dozen other attorneys general have filed lawsuits challenging the new health care law signed…
Newsletter
Lawsuits, Markets, and Tea Partiers
13 State Attorneys General have filed lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of health care reform. A new study in Science shows that market economies enable the…
Blog
Liberty Activists get a Black Eye, Keep on Fighting
As would be expected in the face of recently passed health care legislation this sweeping and controversial, pro-liberty citizens have been stepping out to…
Blog
State Attorneys General Do Good (For Once), Hit Obamacare with Lawsuits
On the heels of the health insurance takeover staged by the House of Representatives this week, a handful of state attorneys general have filed lawsuits…
Blog
Maybe There’s Hope for Health Care Repeal
Rarely, if ever, does Congress ever undo bad legislation, which makes the future of health care look rather grim. However, there is at one positive…
Blog
Health Care- Fix middle-class “medicine cabinet tax” in reconciliation
“They won’t be so opposed to it once they see what’s in it.” That’s the rationalization House leaders have given skittish Democrats to get them…
Newsletter
Sugar, Health Care, and Libertarianism
The Washington Post attacks U.S. Sugar policy in an editorial. The House passes dramatic changes to health care policy. Edward L. Glaeser has a New…
Op-Eds
Obamacare Creates Windfall for Big Pharma
“They won’t be so opposed to it once they see what’s in it.” That’s the rationalization House leaders have given skittish Democrats to get…
Op-Eds
ObamaCare could make you think twice about saying ‘I do’
The new tax on investors in the health care bill has been increased from 2.9 percent to 3.8 percent, but only a few…
Blog
No, Pres. Obama, the health care vote was not “of the people”
I have repeatedly defended Obama against what I’ve considered unfair attacks from the right. I believe his actions for the most part have not been…
Newsletter
Health, Marriage Penalties, and Emission Standards
The House passes the Democrats’ health care bill. The health care bill penalizes married couples. A Harvard University study analyzes how the nation could meet…
Blog
Health Care Crisis About to Get a Whole Lot Worse
In just a few hours, the House of Representatives will vote on the $940 billion Senate health care bill, followed by a reconciliation package of…
Blog
Four Ways to Spend Money on Health Care
Today's bill consists almost entirely of spending other peoples' money on other people. This is no way to keep costs under control.
Blog
New Taxes on Investors in Obamacare, and Massive Marriage Penalties, Too
The new tax on investors in the health care bill has been increased from 2.9 percent to 3.8 percent, but only a few media…
Blog
Health Care Bill Would Vastly Expand IRS Power; CBO Ordered to Base Cost Estimate on False Assumptions
“House health care bill dangerously expands IRS power,” say a tax law professor and GOP leaders. The Washington Examiner says that “16,500 more…
Blog
“Preventative Care Myth,” my piece in NRO
Declaring “I love numbers,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared after getting a thumbs up from the Congressional Budget Office on Thursday just before a scheduled…
Blog
Governors Criticize Health Care Bill for Increasing Unemployment and State Budget Deficits; Tax Increases and Medicare Cuts in Bill Rise
Governors are now criticizing the health care bill backed by the Obama administration, saying it will cause health care costs and state deficits to…
Newsletter
Jobs, Health Care, and Synthetic Trees
The Senate passes an $18 billion jobs bill. The Associated Press reports that health premiums will go up under health care reform. The Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
Even Associated Press Says “Beware” of Obama’s Health Care Overhaul; Retired Judge Calls Health Care Tactic Unconstitutional
Even the Associated Press admits that President Obama is not telling the truth about his health care plan and how it would affect health…
Op-Eds
The ‘Hidden Lies’ in Obama’s Health Care Plan
Even the Associated Press admits that President Obama is not telling the truth about his health care plan and how it would affect health…
Newsletter
ObamaCare, Alcohol Taxes, and Insurance Companies
David Brooks, who supported Obama in 2008, talks about the hidden costs of health care. Maryland legislators want to raise the tax on alcohol. Supporters…
Op-Eds
ObamaCare’s Enormous Cost is Hidden by Dishonest Gimmicks, Admits pro-Obama New York Times Columnist David Brooks
New York Times columnist David Brooks, like other columnists at that staunchly liberal newspaper, supported Obama in the 2008 election. But even he can…
Blog
ObamaCare’s Enormous Cost Is Hidden by Dishonest Gimmicks, Says New York Times Columnist Who Supported Obama in 2008
New York Times columnist David Brooks, like other columnists at that staunchly liberal newspaper, supported Obama in the 2008 election. But even he can…
Op-Eds
Don’t Buy Hype on Plastic Baby Bottles
Imagine your infant tossing a glass baby bottle. It shatters and you try to clean it up before your child crawls across the floor.
Blog
$3,000,000,000,000 in Tax Increases in President Obama’s Budget
The president’s proposed budget raises taxes by three trillion dollars over the next ten years, notes Washington fiscal analyst…
Newsletter
Salt, Chanel, and Cap-and-Trade
Brooklyn Assemblyman Felix Ortiz introduces legislation to ban all salt-use in New York restaurants. Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld shows his “global warming-themed” fall-winter line for…
Blog
How Do These People Avoid Cognitive Dissonance?
Supporters of the health care bill spend a lot of time attacking health insurance companies. The health care bill would legally require people to give…
Blog
Obama Runs Up Largest Budget Deficit in American History; Monthly Deficit Alone Exceeds Entire Annual Deficit for 2007 Under Bush
“The Obama Administration has run up the largest budget deficit in American history in February of 2010, a whopping total of $220.9 Billion in just…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 125: Salt
Assemblyman Ortiz has introduced legislation that would “make it illegal for restaurants to use salt in the preparation of food. Period.” A $1,000 fine would…
Blog
The Hayekian Approach to Health Care
George Will has a good column today. President Obama plays the role of Woodrow Wilson. Very thought-provoking.
Op-Eds
Real Competition Among Health Plans
The flash point of last year’s health care debate was the public option. The proposal, which calls for a government-created health insurer to compete…
Citation
Real Competition Among Health Plans
Op-Eds
Obama Runs Up Largest Budget Deficit in U.S. History
“The Obama Administration has run up the largest budget deficit in American history in February of 2010, a whopping total of $220.9…
Newsletter
Sugar, Health Care, and the Internet
Florida’s purchase of a large section of U.S. Sugar property will benefit US Sugar far more than it benefits Florida taxpayers. As Rep. Paul Ryan…
Blog
The Hidden Costs of Health Care Reform: “Obamacare Is A Budgetary Disaster”
The health care bills backed by President Obama will cost $2.3 trillion, not the $900 billion Obama claims, and will be a “…
Blog
Obama’s Policies Will Increase National Debt by $9.7 trillion, Says Congressional Budget Office
“President Obama’s policies would add more than $9.7 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, congressional budget analysts said Friday. . .The 10-year…
Newsletter
Blood Donation, Green Jobs, and the EPA
Sixteen Democratic senators sign a letter urging the FDA to overturn a 1983 ban on gay man donating blood. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-GA) tries to…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 123: Donating Blood
If you’re gay, you can’t donate blood. It’s illegal. Rather than screening donors for sexual preference, they should be screened for blood-borne diseases. Straight people…
Newsletter
Bank Loans, NASA, and Fish Tanks
Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Sheila Bair chastises large banks for tightening their qualification standards for loans. The emails released by NASA’s Goddard…
Newsletter
SEIU, Insurance Rates, and Gun Control
President Obama appoints Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern to the deficit commission. Congressmen grill representatives of Anthem Blue Cross during a congressional hearing…
Blog
Torches, Pitchforks, and Congress
“It occurred to me that this panel would only take place, of the industrialized nations, in the United States of America. That in every other…
Newsletter
Immigration, Bake Sales and Snow Removal
The Wall Street Journal reports that E-Verify, the federal database intended to track undocumented workers, actually fails 54% of the time. The New York City…
Newsletter
Hot Dogs, Global Emissions, and Google
A leading physicians group warns that hot dogs are a choking hazard for children. Trade economist Jagdish Bhagwati comes out in support of a World…
Opposing Views
Are Hot Dogs Really at “High Risk” of Killing Kids?
Hot dogs are delicious. Especially if you don’t think too hard about what they’re made of. Kids love them. So do adults. With baseball’s spring…
Newsletter
BPA, NASA, and the Clean Air Act
This week, Oregon voted down a partial ban on Bisphenol A, or BPA. Climategate has renewed the American public’s curiosity about NASA’s role in collecting…
Opposing Views
Killing Health Care Competition With Antitrust
Comprehensive health reform now seems dead. But at a press conference last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that Democrats would pursue easier-to-pass incremental…
Blog
Social Security, Health Care, and Partisan Hackery
Megan McArdle points out a delicious piece of partisan hackery. Go read her whole post. It's great.
Opposing Views
Killing Health Care Competition with Antitrust
Comprehensive health reform now seems dead. But at a press conference last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that Democrats would pursue easier-to-pass incremental…
Blog
“Health Care Freedom” Bills Pass Virginia Senate
The Virginia State Senate passed “health care freedom” bills giving citizens the right not to be forced to buy health insurance. This sets…
Opposing Views
Rats, Humans and the Risks of BPA
Cheers to the Journal for your editorial "Baby Bottle Red Alert" (Jan. 30) on bisphenol A. On Jan. 27 the Cascade Policy…
News Release
Regulating Industry-Funded Science Could Harm Patient Safety, Report Finds
Regulating Industry-Funded Science Could Harm Patient Safety Study Finds Corporate Funding Tends to Incentivize Appropriate Behavior Washington, D.C., Feb. 4, 2010…
Study
Shackling Innovation
The Regulation of Industry-Supported Clinical Trials…
Newsletter
Child Support Disputes, NFL Claims “Who Dat?” and Anti-terrorism Police Drills
Virginia legislators vote down a bill which would have forced non-custodial parents to pay child support for their children through college.
Newsletter
The Lessons of the Meltdown, Attacking the Tea Parties and Texting Safety
Former Wall Street Journal editor George Melloan takes on the recent economic meltdown in a new book. A new online campaign aims to fight the…
News Release
Panic Over Chemical Used in Plastic Ill-Founded, Report Finds
Panic Over Chemical Used in Plastic Ill-Founded, Report Finds Knee-Jerk Reaction to BPA Leads to Nanny-State Regulation, Potential Consumer Hazards…
Newsletter
Obama’s Spending Freeze, the UN’s Lack of Peer Review and FDA’s Chemical Worries
President Obama proposes a freeze on discretionary spending. A UN scientist confirms that dramatic claims of Himalayan glaciers melting due to global warming were not…
Study
Celling Fear: The Cell Phone Scare that Refuses to Die
Soon would-be cell phone buyers in Maine might be checking out the latest models, only to find a jarring red box on each unit…
Blog
An Unintentional Legacy
Now that the health care bill no longer seems likely to pass, the late Ted Kennedy’s election reforms may have unintentionally solidified his own place…
Blog
Sorry, no RIP yet for the health care reform legislation
It’s fine to celebrate the Massachusetts victory of Scott Brown. I like how Daily Show host Jon Stewart put it: “The Kennedy legacy goes down…
News Release
Report Card for the Obama Administration
One year ago today, Barack Obama took the oath of office as President of the United States. Since then, he and his appointees have had…
Newsletter
Net Neutrality, the War on Salt and Beach House Insurance
The Federal Communications Commission receives thousands of comments on its proposed “net neutrality” regulations. New York City public health officials launch a campaign to reduce…
Blog
Health Insurance and Campaign Contributions
$40 million and change plus some antitrust troubles is a really small price to pay for a legal guarantee of vastly increased business, forever.
Blog
New York Salt-Slashing Op-Ed in NY Post
Here is my op-ed published in the New York Post on January 13th. As-salt on science On Monday, city officials rolled out an initiative…
Blog
Experts Question Enormous Cost and Constitutionality of Healthcare Legislation
The health care legislation backed by the president and congressional leaders will increase Americans’ health care costs by more than $200 billion,…
Newsletter
CIA Climate Data, Fannie and Freddie Absent and Health Insurance and Antitrust
The Central Intelligence Agency shares classified satellite data with climate researchers. Executives from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are conspicuously absent from the first hearing…
Opposing Views
As-salt on Science
On Monday, city officials rolled out an initiative to curb the salt content in manufactured and packaged foods. But the idea behind it — that…
Blog
Nobel Prize Winning Economist Says Obama Policies Delaying Economic Recovery
In the Wall Street Journal, Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker and others explain how President Obama’s policies are delaying and retarding the inevitable economic…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 98: Gastrointestinal Drugs
Did you know that the federal government has a Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee?…
Blog
“We the People” on Obamacare
Somehow I missed this during the holiday season – singer, songwriter, comedian Ray Stevens’ “We the People.” It’s a country western singing-video about…
Opposing Views
Reforms Bode Ill for Tax-Free Health Accounts
Opposing Views
Letter to the Editor: TSA Doesn’t Need Any More Obstacles
The Examiner was right to oppose unionizing the Transportation Security Administration, which would harm airline security and reduce its effectiveness. But the TSA is…
CEI Planet
CEI Planet: November – December 2009
To view this issue of the CEI Planet, please click here to download the PDF file. Below are selected articles from the November-December 2009 issue: …
