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
New FDA lab tests rule could bankrupt small labs
Yesterday the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that on May 6 it will promulgate a rule under its authority to regulate medical devices.
National Review
The Return of the Cadillac Tax?
Like the phoenix, a key piece of the Affordable Care Act has risen from the ashes, resurrected, believe it or not, by the Republican Study Committee…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Paying for organs with Pete Jaworski
In this week’s episode we cover the future of AI and employment, why we shouldn’t trust Chinese economic statistics, and how the…
Search Posts
National Review
Stop the Youth Vaping ‘Epidemic’ by Ending Youth Anti-Vaping Campaigns
Anyone who has raised teenagers knows that forbidding an activity is a sure way to pique their curiosity. Yet this is the approach American policymakers and…
City Journal
Death By Policy
Many years ago, one of my duties as a young surgical intern was to fill out death certificates for recently deceased patients. Under “cause of death,” Part…
Blog
Air Conditioning Can Help Fight COVID-19—If Federal Policy Allows It To
COVID-19 persists into the time of year when most Americans rely on air conditioning, so many are asking whether cranking up the cold air helps…
Letters
CEI Joins ATR Letter In Opposition to Buy American Mandates in FY21
View Full Document as PDF Dear Member of the House Armed Services Committee: I urge you to reject any amendment to FY 2021…
Duluth News Tribune
National View: Media Giving Free Pass to Protests After Months of Lockdown Mania
The Duluth News Tribune cites CEI Senior Fellow Joel Zinberg: “Public health,” America has learned, is more ideology than science. Many of…
Resource
What Does The Future Hold For Reusables Post-COVID?
Resource cites CEI’s Angelo Logomasini’s report on single use plastics: In the US, there have been calls that reusable bags are hindering the fight…
Inside Sources
Media Gives Pass To Protests After Months Of Lockdown Mania
Inside Sources quotes CEI senior fellow Joel Zinberg: Public health,” America has learned, is more ideology than science. Many of the officials…
News Release
#NeverNeeded Regulation Report: Trump Administration Should Stop Funding WHO Agency Pushing Faulty Findings About Cancer Risks
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is calling for the Trump Administration to defund the International Agency for Research on Cancer. A division of the World Health…
Study
End All National Institutes of Health Grants to the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer
As the Trump administration considers defunding the World Health Organization (WHO) because of its handling of the COVID-19 crisis, it should also make sure that…
Blog
Perverse Psychology: How Anti-Vaping Campaigns Backfired
We have spent years and countless billions trying to deal with the supposed epidemic of youth vaping. It has only gotten worse. A new CEI…
News Release
Dr. Nancy Beck Will Bring Thoughtful Consideration of Science to Consumer Product Safety Commission
The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will today hold a hearing to consider the nomination of Dr. Nancy Beck to be chair…
Inside Sources
Are Protests Safe From COVID-19? Politics Guide Answers.
For months, a constant refrain in discussions of the COVID-19 pandemic has been: follow the science, listen to the experts.
National Review
A Doctor’s Assessment of the COVID-19 Outbreak
Last week, my daughter, a freshman at a Midwestern university, was informed that the spring quarter would be replaced by a remotely conducted quarter. Hundreds of…
News Release
Report: Youth Vaping Rate Increased with Anti-Vaping Campaigns
Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute released a report on the connection between underage e-cigarette use and anti-vaping advocacy.
Freedom Caucus Podcast
AUDIO: Dr. Joel Zinberg Joins the Freedom Caucus Podcast
Senior Fellow Dr. Joel Zinberg joins the Freedom Caucus Podcast to discuss the COVID vaccine & reopening our economy. A doctor and lawyer, he shares about his…
Blog
#NeverNeed Regulations and the Coronavirus
What is the appropriate public policy response to COVID-19 crisis? In a new short video, Kent Lassman makes the case for lifting government barriers that…
Blog
Green Activists Make Highly Dubious Claims about CPSC Nominee Nancy Beck
Left-of-center activists are opposing toxicologist Nancy Beck's nomination to head up the Consumer Product Safety Commission. They suggest that since she once worked for the…
Blog
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: Anti-Drug Warriors’ Crocodile Tears
There is a lot to say about the heinous killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and no shortage of opinions being offered. Many have…
USA Today
Coronavirus Vaccine Not the End-All-Be-All. We Must Have a Plan for Reopening Without One
Dr. Anthony Fauci and other experts have touted vaccines as the ultimate solution to dealing with the threat of COVID-19. There are strong reasons to…
Inside Sources
Pandemic Should Spur Large Scale Deregulation to Aid Recovery
Regulations are a big obstacle in fighting the coronavirus. They are also a major obstacle to economic recovery.
Reason
Mission Creep and Wasteful Spending Left the CDC Unprepared for an Actual Public Health Crisis
Reason cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on the CDC and the nation’s response to COVID-19: “The CDC devolved into an agency incapable of…
National Review
Public Choice and the Pandemic
Shocked by the large numbers of people congregating on California beaches, Governor Gavin Newsom recently decided to shut some of them down altogether. Large numbers of people then…
National Review
How Loosening Regulations Can Fight Coronavirus and Help the Economy
If a regulation isn’t needed during a crisis, it was probably never needed at all. To his credit, President Trump signed an executive order on May…
News Release
#NeverNeeded Regulation Report: Deploy Rational Science-Based Policies for Medical Plant Sterilization
After an EPA program produced a highly flawed assessment in 2016 that vastly overstated the risk of Ethylene Oxide (EtO), a critical gas used for…
Study
Deploy Rational Science-Based Policies for Medical Plant Sterilization
Several medical supply sterilization plants have shut down during the past year because of unwarranted fearmongering about ethylene oxide (EtO), a gas used to sterilize…
National Review
Let the Doctors Work
Buried in the recent announcement by the Bureau of Economic Analysis that real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 4.8 percent in the first…
Blog
A New Approach to COVID-19 Response
The new coronavirus—SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease COVID-19—is here to stay until either a vaccine or herd immunity limits the number of people susceptible to…
News Release
#Neverneeded Regulation Report: CDC, FDA Response to COVID-19 Hindered by Mission Creep
The nation’s top federal agencies tasked with protecting public health have been increasingly distracted over recent years by dubious priorities having nothing to do with…
Study
Narrow the Focus of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may well have taken their eye off the ball by…
Youtube
VIDEO: Iain Murray Discusses #NeverNeeded Regulations and COVID-19
Vice President for Strategy and Senior Fellow Iain Murray joins Dana Loesch to discuss #neverneeded regulations and COVID-19…
The Epoch Times
Federal, State, and Local Governments Shed Over 170 Regulations to Fight Pandemic
The Epoch Times cites CEI on #neverneeded regulations: Even more regulations can be scrapped to empower American industry to help with the crisis,…
Bloomberg Law
Covid-19 Revives Debate over Economic Benefits of Deregulation
Bloomber Law cites Vice President for Strategy and Senior Fellow Iain Murray on #neverneeded regulations: Direct government aid won’t be enough to get…
CATO
Regulation after COVID-19
The CATO Institute cites CEI on #neverneeded regulations: Many of these regulations have no sound public justification whether in or outside of an…
The Federalist
South Africa’s Coronavirus Repression Signals Worse To Come
The Federalist cites CEI on #neverneeded regulations: Think tanks and researchers are working hard to shine a light on just how destructive artificial…
The Washington Examiner
Contact Tracing: Let the Private Sector Lead
As state and local restrictions begin to relax, the essential questions for many people are remarkably similar to what we asked in March. What will…
The Washington Examiner
How to Reopen the Economy with a Reality-Based Approach
Sweeping public health measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, such as banning large gatherings, travel restrictions, closing all but essential businesses, closing schools, and “social distancing”…
News Release
CEI Welcomes Senior Fellow with Health Care and Legal Expertise
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is pleased to welcome medical and legal expert Joel M. Zinberg, M.D., J.D. as a senior fellow working on health care…
CNS News
COVID-19 May Be Bad News for Environmentalist Bullies
The economic destruction wrought by the coronavirus pandemic has been severe and global. More than 10 million Americans lost their jobs and applied for unemployment benefits in…
Blog
VIDEO: Road Map to Reopening
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted a fascinating video conference this week entitled “Big Picture: Road Map to Reopening,” with the Chamber’s Suzanne Clark and…
Blog
Apple and Google Demonstrate Big Tech Done Right Can Make Big Government Obsolete
Many see the purpose of government as solving problems that otherwise wouldn’t be efficiently addressed in its absence. Yet, despite the steady growth of government,…
Blog
Medical Supply Sterilization Plant Employee Corrects Chicago Tribune’s Misleading Coverage
An April 13 letter to the editor in the Chicago Tribune addresses the paper’s misleading and alarmist narrative about the use of ethylene oxide (EtO).
Blog
How to Spot a #NeverNeeded Regulation
Not every regulation on the books is directly harming the COVID-19 response. There are a lot of other regulations that need reform, but the #NeverNeeded…
Inside Sources
Post-Virus Economics – Working Toward a Small Business Recovery
When the stay-at-home orders are lifted, we’ll be in a race to get millions of Americans back to work. Large companies will be in a…
Real Clear Markets
An Effective Pandemic Response Would Be Deregulation
During a pandemic, regulations should not get between sick people and health care, or between hungry people and food. This also applies in normal times.
Blog
How SEC Accounting Regulations Hindered National Stockpile—and Still May Be Doing So
In a new report, CEI experts outline #NeverNeeded regulations that are frustrating responses to the pandemic and its aftermath. Among those is an obscure Securities…
National Review
The Test’s the Thing
The White House is now balancing the risk to public health and the risk to economic welfare posed by the coronavirus crisis. Yet a solution could…
The Washington Examiner
List: 30 Regulations that Stymied Trump’s Virus Response
The Washington Examiner cites CEI’s latest report on #NeverNeeded regulations: “Many regulations have proven to hinder or delay appropriate policy responses. Other regulations…
News Release
Report: Repeal #NeverNeeded Regulations to Help COVID-19 Response
COVID-19 relief bills have so far focused on keeping businesses and households afloat during the pandemic closures and quarantines, but the federal government should continue…
Study
How Repeal of #NeverNeeded Regulations Can Help Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis
A number of factors are combining to stress the American economy in the spring of 2020—the global and domestic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, an…
News Release
701k Jobs Lost in March 2020: Statement by Iain Murray
In response to today's abysmal jobs report tallied by the federal government – 701,000 jobs lost in March as a result of the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Inside Sources
CDC Priorities Left Government Unprepared for COVID-19
It was always a matter of when — not if — a new viral pandemic would make it to America.
Blog
Antitrust Policy #NeverNeeded and Dangerous in a Crisis
The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission will now allow some collaboration between companies to address the corona virus health threat. They also warned a…
Blog
The Guardian Props Up Lame Greenpeace Tirade, Ignores Potential COVID-19 Risks from Reusable Grocery Bags
The Guardian recently published a story on a Greenpeace attack on CEI for pointing out that reusable grocery bags might contain dangerous pathogens, including COVID-19.
Blog
Post-Corona Politics: Opportunities and Threats
There is a lot of attention being paid to the latest emergency legislation being proposed to address the coronavirus pandemic, from $1,000 checks for every…
Blog
Getting Rid of #NeverNeeded Regulations Hindering Coronavirus Response
What can Washington do to minimize harm from the coronavirus? Some of the best policy responses are coming not from imposing new regulations, but from…
Blog
Liberty in the Time of Coronavirus Part 2
Much of the money dedicated to medical research and services comes from the federal government. While some may see this is a good way to…
The Washington Examiner
AOC Spreads Disinformation to Push Socialism Amid Coronavirus Panic
The Washington Examiner cites Research Fellow Richard Morrison on AOC’s comparison of the Fed’s response to COVID-19 and student loan debt relief: The…
Blog
Regulation, Confusion, and the Irony of Emergency COVID-19 Testing
By now, readers are aware that testing in the United States for the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has been embarrassingly slow. Less well known is that…
Blog
Coronavirus and the Limits of “Flash Policy”
The coronavirus outbreak is serious, and it deserves a serious response. If you’re healthy, help people out. If you have elderly relatives or neighbors, reach…
Blog
Trump Administration Expected to Adopt Socialized Medicine Drug Pricing Control Scheme
Regardless of the outcome of the Iowa Caucuses on Monday night, the successive presidential campaigns of Democratic Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have dragged the…
Vaping Post
E-Cigarettes and the Creation of Ignorance
Vaping Post cites CEI’s study by Senior Fellow Michelle Minton: Michelle Minton writing in, ‘fear Profiteers,’ [26] sums things up thus……
News Release
Federal Government Misled Public on E-Cigarette Health Risk: CEI Report
A new report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute calls into question government handling of e-cigarette risk to public health, especially last week after the U.S.
Study
Federal Health Agencies’ Misleading Messaging on E-Cigarettes Threatens Public Health
The scientific community is increasingly unified in the assessment that e-cigarettes are vastly safer than smoking, help smokers quit, and are a net positive for…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter on Fixed Drug Pricing
Dear Republican Members of the House and Senate, We represent fiscal conservatives and free market activists from across the country, and we are concerned about…
Inside Sources
Federal Children’s Environmental Health Grants Used to Peddle Junk Science
For more than two decades, the federal government has doled out millions of dollars to fund university-based “children’s environmental health centers.” These centers operate under…
Fox News
Pelosi, Progressive Caucus Clash over Drug Pricing Legislation
Fox News cites Research Fellow Patrick Hedger on Nancy Pelosi’s proposed “Lower Drug Costs Now Act.” But according to the right-leaning Competitive Enterprise…
Townhall
The Black Market Is the Real Problem with Vaping
Townhall cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on e-cigarettes and the black market. But, as Michelle Minton of the Competitive Enterprise Institute stated after…
News Release
House Bill Setting Price Controls on Medicines Would Endanger Patients, Harm Innovation
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer plan to bring H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, to the floor for a…
Real Clear Markets
With Drug Pricing, Bipartisanship Isn’t an Excuse to Violate the Laws of Economics
In an age of intense political polarization, some may assume anything that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Donald Trump even marginally agree on has…
The Economic Standard
Drug Reference Pricing Threatens Patient Health, Innovation
The Economic Standard cites Research Fellow Patrick Hedger and CEI’s event on drug reference pricing: Some recent proposals to lower drug prices are…
News Release
Foreign Reference Pricing Schemes Threaten Patient Health and America’s Leadership in Medical Innovation
International policy experts and patients gathered today in Washington, D.C. to discuss the potential impact of foreign reference pricing schemes, which have been proposed by the…
Blog
Proposals for and Problems with International Drug Reference Pricing
Healthcare costs remain top of mind in American politics. Polls consistently show that healthcare is one of, if not the top, priority for voters heading into the…
News Release
CEI Report Disputes Claims Tobacco 21 Laws Reduce Teen Smoking
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report questions whether laws that hike the purchase age for tobacco and e-cigarette products to 21 actually reduce smoking rates…
News Release
International Experts Voice Concerns About International Pricing Index and Foreign Reference Pricing Proposals for Prescription Drugs
To address the cost of prescription medicines, the Trump administration and congressional leaders have proposed instituting international reference pricing policies, like the International Pricing Index…
The Wall Street Journal
Why the U.K. Isn’t Having Problems with Vaping
The Wall Street Journal cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on e-cigarettes: Michelle Minton of the Competitive Enterprise Institute says: “A ban on flavors,…
News Release
Trump Administration Should Eliminate Funding for EPA-NIH Programs Pushing Agenda-Driven Science
As the federal government observes Children’s Health Month in October, a new report by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) calls on the Trump Administration and…
Study
Federally Funded Children’s Environmental Health Centers Do Little to Promote Public Health
October is Children’s Health Month, a time when official federal agencies call attention to important efforts and policies designed to advance childhood health and safety.
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Opposing Pelosi Drug Tax Plan
Dear Members of Congress: We write in opposition to the prescription drug pricing bill offered by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that would impose an excise…
News Release
House Bill Aims to Free Legalized Marijuana Businesses’ Access to Credit, Banking
Competitive Enterprise Institute Policy Analyst Matthew Adams praised today’s passage of the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (SAFE Banking Act, H.R. 1595.) The SAFE…
The Orlando Sentinel
CON: E-cigarette Flavor Ban Ineffective and Dangerous
Never let a crisis go to waste. That could be the official motto for the anti-tobacco industry, which has irresponsibly exploited this summer's sudden outbreak…
Blog
UPDATE: Big Picture in ‘Vaping-Linked’ Lung Poisonings
Over the last three months, the news has been filled with stories of people falling ill from a mystery lung ailment supposedly caused by vaping.
Blog
Gene Editing Can Improve Health Outcomes for the Poor
Gene editing, specifically somatic gene therapy, cures maladies with traceable genetic origins. This revolutionary science is rapidly advancing, but not without major setbacks. Regulations designed…
Blog
Children’s Environmental Health Programs Translate to Junk Science
For more than a decade now, the federal government has doled out millions of dollars to fund junk science and political activism under the guise…
Washington Examiner
FDA Can Save Lives by Rejecting Scott Gottlieb’s Lies
E-cigarettes have proven effective at helping people quit smoking, a massive potential public health gain, considering nearly half a million people die every year from…
Blog
Bogus E-cigarette Panic Literally Killing People
Is this a story from The Onion? It’s a question we often ask ourselves these days when we encounter stories online that seem too ridiculous…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter to Urge President Trump to Halt Regulatory Assault on Innovative Electronic Cigarette Industry
We urge you to immediately halt the Food and Drug Administration’s aggressive regulatory assault on businesses who sell and consumers who rely on less harmful…
Blog
CIRCLE of Misinformation Spread by Environmental Health Centers
This is the second in a series of posts regarding the Trump administration’s plan to cut Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants to children’s environmental health…
Marijuana Moment
Congress Clashes On Marijuana Amendments In Floor Debate
Marijuana Moment cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton’s recent work on marijuana policy. Meanwhile, the amendment enjoys support from a coalition of fiscally conservative thought…
Marijuana Moment
Federal Government Violated the Law in Marijuana Scheduling Evaluation, Group Says
Marijuana Moment cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton’s request for correction on the Department of Health and Human Services’ medical marijuana evaluation. The Competitive…
Blog
Department of Health and Human Services Needs to Correct Record on Marijuana
Regulators at the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) had an opportunity in 2016 to move marijuana into a less restrictive category of controlled substances. This…
The Tennessee Star
Trump Administration Ends Unions ‘Skimming’ $100 Million A Year From Medicaid
The Tennessee Star cites Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs on Medicaid rule change made by the Trump Administration. “Congress created Medicaid to exclusively fund…
Blog
Trump Administration Ends Homecare Providers Dues Skim
Since 2000, state governments have diverted $1.4 billion from homecare providers and handed it to labor unions, according to the Freedom Foundation. For over a…
News Release
McConnell Plan to Raise Nicotine Access to Age 21 Could Backfire
Citing health concerns about youth vaping, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) announced legislation to raise the nationwide minimum age to buy tobacco products from…
Medium
The FDA’s Runaway Trolley Problem
If you’ve ever participated in a thought experiment, you know how fun that can be. The most famous is the Trolley Problem, entertainingly portrayed by…
American Chemistry
IRIS: Bad Science, Real World Consequences
American Chemistry cited CEI’s publication by Senior Fellow Angela Logomasini on the IRIS. In February 2019 the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) provided some important…
Comment
CEI Comments to FDA on Modifications to Compliance Policy for Certain Deemed Tobacco Products
Dear Dr. Gottlieb: The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) welcomes the opportunity to offer the following comments on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed modifications…
Real Clear Policy
Federal Pot Prohibition Nears its End
America has made up its mind on marijuana. Most Americans think it should be legal, and all but two states have decriminalized or legalized the drug in…
News Release
CEI Report Calls for Elimination of EPA’s Flawed Integrated Risk Information System
A new report released today by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) shows EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) has significant problems with methodology, relies on…
Study
EPA’s Flawed IRIS Program Is Far from Gold Standard
Environmental activists claim that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) represents the gold standard for risk assessment.[i] In…
Products
Free to Prosper: Food, Drugs, and Consumer Freedom
View the full chapter on food, drugs, and consumer freedom here Few matters are as important to consumers as the foods they eat, the…
