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
Trump’s State of the Union: A closer look at the claims
Last night, President Trump delivered a State of the Union address filled with optimism, applause lines, and bold claims about the country’s direction. There…
Citation
‘Just the beginning of enormous growth’: White House heralds strong jobs report
The Black Chronicle cited CEI’s expert on job growth in healthcare Senior Economist with the Competitive Enterprise Institute Ryan Young also interpreted the siloed…
Blog
FDA’s Moderna decision demonstrates how science and government are incompatible
Last week, the FDA announced that it would not be considering Moderna’s application for a new flu vaccine because the control group Moderna used…
Search Posts
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: …
Blog
Florida Attorney General Questions Constitutionality of Healthcare Bills in Congress
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is questioning whether it is constitutional to force people to buy health insurance, as the health…
Blog
MI Senate not “FAIR” and it’s a good thing
The Michigan Senate recessed last week without passing the proposed insurance reforms that would, among other things, prevent insurers from using factors such as…
Newsletter
Fewer Hurricanes, Union Lobbying and the Individual Mandate
Financial losses from natural catastrophes decline significantly from 2008. Labor unions continue to lobby for the mis-named Employee Free Choice Act. Health care legislation may…
Blog
Is ObamaCare’s “Individual Mandate” Unconstitutional?
The health care bills backed by the President require that individuals buy health insurance if it is not provided by their employer. Is that unconstitutional?…
Newsletter
China in Copenhagen, Cash for Fannie and Freddie and the Pandemic that Wasn’t There
Officials debate the role of China as a “spoiler” in recent UN climate change negotiations. The Treasury Department announces the availability of “an unlimited amount…
Blog
Entitlement creep exemplified (or why we’re going broke)
1965, Medicare health insurance authorized for all Americans over age 65 along with Medicaid that covers both seniors and the poor. Somehow for 190 years…
Newsletter
EPA in Court, Anti-Terrorism Policies and the Hidden Health Care Tax
Recent greenhouse gas regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency are sparking legal opposition. Security agencies respond to a suspected terrorist incident onboard a Detroit-bound…
Opposing Views
U.S. Government Undermining Air and Rail Security
An alleged terrorist from Nigeria has been charged with plotting to blow up an airliner. He carried explosives onto a plane and set…
Opposing Views
Christmas Comes Early for the Big Drug Companies
Blog
Removing Antitrust Exemption Won’t Increase Healthcare Competition
The senators wisely state in their piece that making health insurance more affordable will require more competition in the marketplace. Unfortunately, their proposal to revoke…
Newsletter
Wall Street Meets the White House, EPA Rules on Greenhouse Gases and Health Care Divided
President Obama hosts a White House summit with Wall Street banking leaders The Environmental Protection Agency publishes its final rule designating greenhouse gases as a…
Newsletter
Climategate in Copenhagen, Antitrust for Health Care and Swine Flu Takes a Dive
The “Climategate” science scandal looms over global warming negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) lobby to end the long-standing…
Opposing Views
Big PhRMA Payoff: Hidden Tax on Pedialyte, Prenatal Vitamins, and Pain Relievers
Newsletter
Re-importing Drugs, TARP for Small Business and Palin on ClimateGate
The Senate health care debate stalls on the question of whether to permit the re-importation of drugs from countries with price controls. President Obama announces…
Study
Congressional Misdiagnosis
Why Repealing McCarran-Ferguson Will Harm Competition in Health Insurance Markets…
News Release
Stripping Insurers’ Antitrust Exemption is a Congressional Misdiagnosis, New Report Shows
Stripping Insurers’ Antitrust Exemption is a Congressional Misdiagnosis, New Report Shows McCarran-Ferguson Repeal Won’t Help Consumers, May Hurt Competition Washington, D.C., December 8,…
Newsletter
Sarbanes-Oxley in Court, Swine Flu Peaks and Trade Deficits in Perspective
The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments challenging the legitimacy of the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate accounting law. Swine flu infections have peaked and are declining, according to…
Overlawyered
FDA Raw Oyster Ban
Newsletter
Online Gambling, Heath Care in the Senate and the Victims of Cap and Trade
Controversial online gambling regulations get delayed until mid-2010. Senators prepare for a long and possibly bitter debate over major health care legislation. The Leader of…
Blog
“Would ObamaCare Reduce Innovation?”: Health Care Bill Would Cause Preventable Deaths
“Would ObamaCare Kill Medical Innovation?” That’s the question posed by health care expert Michael Cannon. His answer is yes: “President Obama’s…
Newsletter
Climate-Gate Fallout, Black Friday Sales and Hunger at the Holidays
United Nations officials deny that the “Climate-Gate” science scandal has biased their predictions of global warming. Retail stocks drop after a disappointing performance by post-Thanksgiving…
Newsletter
Suing NASA, Swine Flu Declines and Climategate Tricks
CEI announces a plan to sue NASA over violations of the Freedom of Information Act. The Centers for Disease Control report cases of swine flu…
Newsletter
Senate Health Care, Rising Deficits and Food Safety on Thanksgiving
The Senate advances prepares for a floor debate on health care legislation after Thanksgiving. The rising federal budget deficit and national debt raise concerns about…
Blog
Moderates Criticize Health Care Bill As It Advances in Senate; Experts Gave Bill A “Failing Grade”
On Saturday, the Senate voted 60-to-39, along party lines, to press towards passage of a massive health care bill, by blocking a…
Blog
What Would Rudy Say?
A college professor once described what he called the “Rudy’s Test” to his class. The Rudy’s test involves going into Rudy’s (a bar) sitting…
Newsletter
Health Care in the Senate, Hacking Climate Research and a Union Power Grab
The Senate advances Democrat-sponsored health care legislation in a party-line vote. Hacked emails from a leading climate change research center reveal questionable practices and methods.
Blog
Healthcare Bill Advances in Senate, Despite Receiving Failing Grade from Health Experts; Democrats Block Filibuster in Party-Line Vote
The healthcare bill is on the verge of passing the Senate, despite the fact that it has received a failing grade from healthcare experts like…
Newsletter
FDA’s Tobacco Powers, Credit Card Fees and Cult-like Union Behavior
Anti-tobacco activists observe the “Great American Smokeout.” The Government Accountability Office finds that controlling credit card processing fees could hurt consumers. Union officials are accused…
Blog
Reid Health Care Bill Adds New Tax Increases, Costs Twice As Much As Promised
The health care “reform” bill drafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid adds new tax increases, and costs twice as much as its…
Newsletter
Health Care Costs, Online Privacy and Workplace Safety
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announces a cost estimate for major new health care legislation. The Members of the House Commerce Committee hold a hearing…
Blog
Harvard Medical School Dean Gives ObamaCare a “Failing Grade”
"In discussions with dozens of health-care leaders and economists, I find near unanimity of opinion that the final legislation that will emerge from Congress will…
Newsletter
VAT, Health Care and Imaginary Stimulus Jobs
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggests adopting a European-style “value added tax” or VAT. Critics question why the Senate leadership isn’t moving faster on health care…
News Release
Senate Health Care Bill Will Bust the Budget and Hurt Patients
The Senate health reform proposal released today by Majority Leader Harry Reid contains no mechanisms that are likely to reduce the annual rate of health…
Overlawyered
Health Care is Not a Right
President Obama argues that his party’s health care reform proposals are about “bending the price curve” However, the Democrats’ health care agenda is really…
Newsletter
Greenhouse Delays, World Food Summit and Swine Flu Stats
World leaders agree to delay a binding agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions. On the eve of the United Nations World Food Summit, a new…
Blog
Health-Care “Reform” Bills Increase Costs, Endanger Access for Millions, Federal Experts Say
The healthcare “reform” bill backed by Obama “would reduce senior care,” and “could jeopardize access to care for millions,” report healthcare…
Newsletter
Intel Reaches a Deal, Mandatory Purchase Health Care and Union Feuds
Chip makers Intel and AMD reach a deal over antitrust and patent disputes. Democrat-sponsored health care legislation continues to include a “mandatory purchase” requirement for…
Blog
Insurance Industry Stung By Health Care Deal
The CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters has an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal whining that a weak individual purchase mandate is…
Blog
Get more doctors — get rid of H-1B visa cap
CEI’s champion of letter-writing, Alex Nowrasteh, has a letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal today advocating removing the cap on H-1B…
Newsletter
Taxing Energy, Cell Phone Health Scare and Carbon Tariffs
The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing on cap and trade legislation. Concerns grow over an alleged link between cell phone use and brain tumors.
Blog
Unemployment Skyrockets: “U.S. now beating European unemployment rates”
Unemployment is now higher in the U.S. than in Europe, reports the Washington Post. “The official U.S. unemployment rate, reported last Friday, now stands…
Opposing Views
Should We Be Worried About Cell Phones and Cancer
CNN reports: “Last summer, Dr. Ronald Herberman, then director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, issued a warning to about 3,000 faculty and…
Newsletter
Health Care, Alcohol Regulation and Flu Stats
VIDEO: 20TH Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall The House of Representatives narrowly passes Democratic-sponsored health care legislation. Bob McDonnell wins election to…
Blog
House Passes Massive Health Care Bill
Just before midnight on Saturday, the House of Representatives passed a massive, 2000-page health care “reform” bill by a 220 to 215 vote. The bill,…
Blog
Just what IS in those enormous health care bills?
With the House version stacked bigger than Dolly Parton at about 2,000 pages, anybody who says they know for certain is lying. It’s not just…
Opposing Views
Eliminating Antitrust Exemption Will Kill Health Care Competition
If the insurance industry thought its early support for health care reform would earn it some points with Democrats, it recently got a rude…
Blog
Obama One Year Later — A Legacy of Lies and Broken Promises
It’s been a year since the president was elected, and he’s already piled up an impressive list of lies and broken promises. The broken promises…
Blog
ObamaCare Blueprint Called ‘The Worst Bill Ever’: It Drives Up Taxes, Insurance Premiums, State and Federal Deficits, and Legal Bills
The Wall Street Journal calls the House version of President Obama’s health care plan “the worst bill ever,” noting that it…
Opposing Views
1 Year Later-Obama’s Legacy of Lies and Broken Promises
It’s been a year since the president was elected, and he’s already piled up an impressive list of lies and broken promises.
Opposing Views
Wall Street Journal: House Health Care Plan “Worst Bill Ever”
The Wall Street Journal calls the House version of President Obama’s health care plan “the worst bill ever,” noting that it will lead to…
Newsletter
TV Ban, Flu Stats and Election Fever
California regulators move to ban plasma screen TVs. Media reports offer tips for avoiding exposure to the H1N1 strain of influenza. Pundits speculate on whether…
CEI Planet
CEI Planet: September – October 2009
To view this issue of the CEI Planet, please click here to download the PDF file. Below are selected articles from the September-October 2009 issue: …
