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
FDA can’t stomach fluoride and doesn’t want you to, either
On May 13, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it would begin a process intended to exclude ingestible prescription fluoride products for…

Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Drug costs and benefits with Sally Pipes
In this week’s episode we cover reforms to the Endangered Species Act, attacks on US tech firms, nuclear power innovation,…

Blog
The MAHA Report is a missed opportunity
Less than six months into the new administration, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has produced its Make Our Children Healthy Again…
Search Posts
Blog
RealClear Radio Hour: War on Cancer
In this week’s episode of RealClear Radio Hour, we tackle the war on cancer. Disruptive innovators, Stephen Bonner and Paul Davies, confront bureaucracy and big…
Blog
Food Safety Experts Critical of GMO Labeling Bill
In an open letter released today, several food safety experts warned of the problems with a new Senate bill that would regulate the labeling of…
Blog
Nobel Prize Winners Denounce Greenpeace Opposition to GMOs
For decades, the environmental activist group Greenpeace has been among the most vocal, and oftentimes vicious, opponents of biotechnology and genetically engineered crops.
Blog
Are Anti-Science Obama Administration Policies Fostering Zika?
Former New York Lieutenant Governor Betsy McCaughey, who chairs the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths, says the Obama administration is fostering Zika’s spread through anti-science…
Blog
Proposed Soda Tax a Bad Deal for Philadelphia Residents
This Thursday, Philadelphia’s city council is set to approve a 1.5 cent per ounce tax on soda. The goal of the tax is to raise…
Blog
Obama Illegally Diverts Money Needed to Fight Zika to UN
President Obama raided $500 million needed to fight the Zika virus, and instead illegally gave it to the United Nations’ Green Climate Fund. Sen. James…
Blog
Deflate Drug Prices by Reforming the FDA
This Wednesday, the Senate Select Committee on Aging will hold a hearing on “sudden price spikes” among certain off-patent drugs. The most widely publicized of these…
Washington Examiner
Taxpayer-Funded Anti-BPA Activism is the Real Danger
Alarmist claims about the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) have reached an absurd level. According to the website Treehugger.com, a new study shows that…
Blog
More Punishment for Thrifty Seniors from Federal Medicare Laws
If two couples make almost the same amount of money, should one of them be charged $2,000 more in Medicare Part B premiums? Logically, no,…
Blog
Long Mass Transit Commutes Are Horrible for Your Health
Joseph Stromberg at Vox.com has an article up arguing that “commuting alone by car” is “associated with obesity, high blood pressure, sleeplessness, and general unhappiness” relative…
Study
No Spoof
Several states had serious doubts about the validity of tax credits for individuals purchasing insurance on Obamacare's federally facilitated exchange as early as 2011. Questions still remain,…
News Release
New Report Shows States Had Serious Questions about Obamacare Tax Credits in 2011
Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a report by finance expert Scot Vorse that shows many states knew as early as 2011 that they might not receive…
Study
Free to Prosper
With the start of the 114th Congress comes a fresh opportunity to address the challenges created by a broken government. To kick off this new…
Blog
Free to Prosper: Top Priorities for the 114th Congress
With the start of the 114th Congress comes a fresh opportunity to address the challenges created by a broken government. To kick off this new congressional…
Forbes
Obamacare Has Been A Boon For The Insurance Industry
This year could mean big changes for Obamacare, given the latest challenge accepted by the Supreme Court, King vs. Burwell. The Court is slated to…
Blog
Gruber Testifies Before Congress on Obamacare Transparency Issues
Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner and MIT economist Jonathan Gruber are testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform…
Blog
A Big Payoff for Patient Investors
There’s a fascinating story in The New York Times this week about pharmaceutical companies and the process of discovering new drugs. Fifteen years ago, the…
Blog
How the “Stupid” American Public Pays for Gruber’s Deception
The Washington Times points out that Jonathan Gruber, our nation’s most famous sufferer of foot-in-mouth-disease, has profited greatly from the “stupid” American public to whom he…
Blog
Gruber’s “Speakola” Virus and Pelosi’s Selective Memory
Obamacare supporters say that when deciding King v. Burwell and the related Halbig v. Burwell, challenges to the law that the Competitive Enterprise Institute helped fund and coordinate,…
Blog
Obamacare: Cert Granted on Friday, and Gruber III on Saturday
It was very good news, delivered in a very surprising way. Shortly after noon last Friday, the Supreme Court announced that it would review our…
News Release
The Supreme Court Should Review CEI’s Obamacare Subsidy Case
WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 — The plaintiffs in King v. Burwell filed their final brief this week at the Supreme Court level, responding to the government’s opposition…
Breitbart
Government Omits Any Mention of Jonathan Gruber in Most Recent Court Filing
Gruber and the amicus brief he signed were cited in nearly every government court filing in both the King v. Burwell case and the Halbig…
Blog
Where in the World is Jonathan Gruber?
The Obamacare insurance exchange rule is being challenged in four cases, and each one of them has been active over the last two weeks. The IRS…
Blog
Federal Obamacare Officials Once Recognized the Falsity of Their Current Argument about Tax Credits
The Obama administration has claimed that despite recurring language in the Obamacare law limiting tax credits to people who buy insurance on an “exchange established…
Legal Brief
Appellants’ Opposition to Government Petition for En Banc Reconsideration
Read Full Brief Here From the brief: "There is no doubt that this case is of great national importance. Not due…
Legal Brief
Supreme Court Review Sought in King v. Burwell
On July 31, 2014, attorneys in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal’s Obamacare case, King v. Burwell, requested Supreme Court review of the ruling handed down…
LA Times
Lawyers Challenging Health Subsidies Seek Quick Supreme Court Ruling
Lawyers challenging President Obama's healthcare law filed a quick appeal with the Supreme Court on Thursday, urging justices to take up the issue this fall…
News Release
Supreme Court Review Sought in Obamacare Exchange Case
Washington, July 31 — Today, attorneys in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit's Obamacare case, King v. Burwell, requested Supreme Court review of the…
National Review
Obamacare’s Architect Agreed That Only State Exchanges Could Offer Subsidies
Tonight, Reason’s Peter Suderman published an interesting revelation about the history of the decision reached this week by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, that Obamacare subsidies couldn’t…
Forbes
In 2012, Obamacare’s Architect Agreed With ‘Right-Wing’ Strategy To ‘Gut’ Obamacare
Earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia—the second highest court in the land—ruled that Obamacare’s subsidies for individually-purchased insurance…
Bloomberg
The Surprise Obamacare Ruling That Wasn’t
Since the Halbig v. Burwell decision came down from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit — which ruled that insurance…
Reason
Watch Obamacare Architect Jonathan Gruber Admit in 2012 That Subsidies Were Limited to State-Run Exchanges
Earlier this week, a three-judge panel in the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that, contrary to the Obama administration’s implementation and an Internal Revenue Service rule,…
Slate
Libertarians Think They’ve Found a Smoking Gun in the Halbig Case
Last night I joined the cheerful libertarians of the Competitive Enterprise Institute for a celebration of the D.C. Circuit's Halbig decision, gathering string for a piece about…
Blog
Obamacare Architect Admitted in 2012 States without Exchanges Lose Subsidies
This week, an unprecedented circuit split emerged in Halbig v. Burwell and King v. Burwell over whether health insurance premium assistance is available in states…
Blog
CEI Podcast for July 24, 2014: Victory in Halbig v. Burwell
General Counsel Sam Kazman talks about what the Halbig decision means for the Affordable Care Act, as well as broader principles such as taxation…
Blog
Fraud Rampant and Unpoliced on Obamacare Health Insurance Exchanges
Almost anyone can fraudulently obtain taxpayer subsidies to cover most of the cost of their health insurance on the Obamacare health insurance exchanges. That’s the…
USA Today
Appeals Court Panels Issue Split Decision on Obamacare
A divided federal appeals court panel dealt a potentially major blow to President Obama's health care law Tuesday, ruling that participants in health exchanges run…
Daily Mail
Obamacare In Chaos As Federal Court Strikes Down Tax Credits For Low-Income Americans Who Buy Insurance In 36 States – But Different Court Backs Policy Within Hours
The future of Obamacare was uncertain today after a federal court in Washington, D.C. struck down tax subsidies for Americans who bought insurance through federally-funded…
Reuters
Latest Obamacare Legal Knot Won’t Be Easy To Untangle
U.S. judges have their work cut out for them untangling a legal knot created on Tuesday when two federal appeals courts released conflicting rulings hours…
Legal Brief
King v. Burwell: U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit Decision
In a 3-0 ruling on July 22, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Va., ruled in King v. Burwell that the Affordable…
Daily Press
D.C. Court Ruling Deals New Blow to Affordable Care Act
President Obama's healthcare law was dealt a new blow Tuesday as a federal appeals court ruled that due…
Yahoo News
Latest Obamacare Legal Knot Won’t Be Easy To Untangle
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. judges have their work cut out for them untangling a legal knot created on Tuesday when two federal appeals…
McClatchy DC
D.C. Court Ruling Deals New Blow to Affordable Care Act
President Obama's health care law was dealt a new blow Tuesday as a federal appeals court ruled that due to a wording glitch in the…
Fox Business
Federal Court Throws Out Subsidies: What Happens Now?
Millions of Americans rely on subsidies to afford health insurance under the Affordable Care Act’s mandate, but the fate of those cost-saving tax credits is…
USA Today
A Victory for the Rule of Law: Opposing View
The D.C. Circuit's decision Tuesday morning in Halbig v. Burwell is a major victory for the rule of law. And correspondingly, the Fourth Circuit's contrary ruling…
Chicago Tribune
Latest Obamacare Legal Knot Won’t Be Easy To Untangle
U.S. judges have their work cut out for them untangling a legal knot created on Tuesday when two federal appeals courts released conflicting rulings hours…
Blog
Alito’s Excellent Defense of “Corporate Personhood” in Hobby Lobby
The groundbreaking decision today in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, in which the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Obamacare’s contraception mandate violates the religious freedom of two closely…
Blog
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Hobby Lobby; Religious Businesses Can Invoke RFRA
In Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., the Supreme Court has ruled that it violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) for the Department of…
Blog
The Doctor Will Release You Now: How Official Time Contributed to the VA Scandal
Socialized medicine and union corruption are a potent combination and, in the case of the VA, a deadly one. The VA scandal has brought the…
Blog
Failed Obamacare Exchanges and No-Work Contracts Drive up Obamacare Costs
Politico tallies the rising costs for "four failed Obamacare exchanges," reporting: Nearly half a billion dollars in federal money has been spent developing four …
Forbes
“Worst Mom in the World” Urges You to Set Your Children Free
“Go play outside. Come back when the street lights come on.” I can’t tell you how many times my Mom said that to me. And…
Blog
Insurance Premiums Rising More Due to Obamacare
There are "rate hikes for all" coming due to Obamacare, predicts The Daily Caller, citing state insurance filings: Virginians will see upped health insurance premiums…
Blog
Massachusetts Seeks Millions More from Taxpayers as Its Obamacare Exchange Fails
Massachusetts' Obamacare exchange has failed, even though Massachusetts adopted an individual health-insurance mandate in 2006, and thus had a built-in advantage over other states in handling Obamacare's requirements.
Blog
Washington, D.C., Imposes One Percent Obamacare Health Insurance Tax
The costs of Obamacare keep rising. The Council of the District of Columbia has imposed a one percent tax on all health insurance policies…
Blog
Professional Licensing: A Risk to the Free Markets and Freedom of Speech
From physicians to dentists to lawyers, the licensing requirements of many professions are well known—but for bloggers? A recent case in North Carolina demonstrates the…
Blog
How Matt Drudge (and Other Obamacare Victims) Can Escape the “Liberty Tax”
Former Competitive Enterprise Institute Research Associate Michael Mayfield provided invaluable assistance with this post. Matt Drudge's widely discussed…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Appellants Motion to Strike
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Government Notice of Supplemental Authority
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Legal Brief
King v Sebelius – Amicus Brief by Adler & Cannon
A group of four plaintiffs in Virginia filed a lawsuit on September 16, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS regulation imposed under the…
Legal Brief
King v Sebelius – Appellants’ Opening Brief
A group of four plaintiffs in Virginia filed a lawsuit on September 16, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS regulation imposed under the…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Amicus Briefs for the Government
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Legal Brief
King v Sebelius – U.S. District Court Opinion
A group of four plaintiffs in Virginia filed a lawsuit on September 16, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS regulation imposed under the…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Government’s Brief on Appeal
Full Document Avalible in PDF A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Supporting Amicus Brief of Jonathan Adler and Michael Cannon
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Supporting Amicus Brief of Galen Institute
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Supporting Amicus of Senators and Representatives
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Supporting Amicus Brief of NFIB
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Supporting Amicus Brief of Oklahoma and other States
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Legal Brief
Halbig v. Sebelius – Supporting Amicus of Kansas and Other States
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Supporting Amicus Brief of Pacific Research Institute and Cato
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Blog
Two Million Jobs Will Disappear Due to Obamacare, CBO Predicts; Deficit to Rise
“The new healthcare law will slow economic growth over the next decade, costing the nation about 2.3 million jobs and contributing to a $1 trillion…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Joint Appellate Appendix
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Appellants’ Opening Brief on Appeal
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Blog
CEI Experts on the State of the Union
ECONOMIC MOBILITY Iain Murray, Vice President for Strategy: “The fact is: Today’s America is divided between those who work…
Blog
CEI Podcast for January 23, 2014: CEI Appeals Affordable Care Act Lawsuit Verdict
General Counsel Sam Kazman explains the case's importance not just for health care, but for the rule of law.
Wall Street Journal
General Mills Has A Soggy Idea For Cheerios
This month General Mills announced that it would begin labeling its flagship product, the breakfast cereal Cheerios, as containing no ingredients from GMOs (genetically modified…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Second Motion to Expedite Appeal
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – DC Circuit Order In Re Motion to Expedite
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
News Release
Plaintiffs in Obamacare Lawsuit Move for Expedited Appeal
*1/23/14 update: The D.C. Circuit has granted our motion for an expedited appeal.Washington, DC, Jan. 17, 2014 – In the wake of a…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Motion to Expedite Appeal
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Notice of Appeal
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – District Court Order
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Blog
Obamacare Court Ruling in Halbig a Major Blow to Opt-Out States
The court’s ruling today in Halbig v. Sebelius delivers a major blow to the states that chose not to participate in the Obamacare insurance…
Legal Brief
Halbig v. Sebelius – District Court Opinion
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
News Release
Obamacare Court Ruling in Halbig a Major Blow to Opt-Out States
Washington, DC, Jan. 15, 2014 – In a blow to states that opted out of Obamacare, a District Court on Wednesday upheld an IRS regulation…
Blog
Bogus Rationale for Obamacare Still Being Peddled Even after Study Debunked It
"More bad news for Obamacare and its proponents. A new study from Oregon shows that" expanded Medicaid coverage “increased–rather than decreased–both the number of folks…
Blog
No, Legislative Fixes to Obamacare Weren’t Blocked by the GOP
As Obamacare's implementation went badly enough that it was mocked by comedians on late-night TV, a search for excuses began. The result was the now…
Forbes
Obama to Health Insurance Companies: Merry Christmas. Now, Drop Dead.
Insurance is a complicated product. Even President Obama figured that out. Hundreds of highly trained actuaries spend thousands of hours assembling risk pools to determine premium levels,…
Comment
Comments to the Department of Agriculture on the Arctic Apple
Full Document Available in PDF We are a group of legal scholars and practicing attorneys who…
Blog
CEI Podcast for December 12, 2013: The Affordable Care Act’s Marriage Penalties
The Affordable Care Act's subsides and tax credits are structured in such a way as to cause thousands of dollars worth of penalties for many…
ObamaCare faces another challenge in federal court
ObamaCare faces another challenge in federal court
“Congress figured because it was loading up the state exchanges with a lot of goodies that just about every state would make the choice to…
ObamaCare faces another challenge in federal court
A New Wave of Challenges to Health Law
More than a year after the Supreme Court upheld the central provision of President Obama’s health care overhaul, a fresh wave of legal challenges to…
USA Today
Long-shot legal challenges to health care law abound
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Government Reply in Support of Summary Judgment
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS…
Legal Brief
King v Sebelius – American Hospital Assn. Amicus in Support of Government Motion
A group of four plaintiffs in Virginia filed a lawsuit on September 16, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS regulation imposed under the…
Legal Brief
King v Sebelius – Families USA Amicus in Support of Government Motion
A group of four plaintiffs in Virginia filed a lawsuit on September 16, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS regulation imposed under the…
Legal Brief
King v. Sebelius – Government Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment
A group of four plaintiffs in Virginia filed a lawsuit on September 16, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS regulation imposed under the…
Blog
Obamacare Fallout Continues: Obamacare “Winner” Turns Out to Be a Loser Instead
"You screwed me over," says a woman cited by President Obama as an Obamacare success story. Jessica Sanford was used as a prop in the president's "…
Legal Brief
Plaintiff’s Supply in Support of the Summary Judgment
Legal Brief
Halbig v Sebelius – Amicus Brief of Adler and Cannon in Support of Plaintiffs
A group of small business owners (and individuals) in six states filed a lawsuit on May 2, 2013 against the federal government over an IRS regulation…