As Senate Finance Committee Convenes on Healthcare Costs, First Do No Harm
As the United States Senate Finance Committee convenes today for a meeting entitled "The Rising Cost of Health Care: Considering Meaningful Solutions for All Americans," the enduring adage of medical care applies: Do no harm.
Specifically, as we've detailed at CFIF, we must especially avoid potentially catastrophic ideas like drug price controls (whether through so-called "Most Favored Nation" (MFN) programs or any other) and violations of patent and intellectual property (IP) protections in which the United States leads the world. Indeed, our more free-market approach explains why America leads the world in lifesaving healthcare innovation, accounting for an astonishing two-thirds of all new drugs introduced to the world each year:
The reasons that MFN schemes would only exacerbate…[more]
So far, four Democratic presidential candidates — Eric Swalwell, John Hickenlooper, Seth Moulton and Jay Inslee — have dropped out of the 2020 race. What is amazing is that the number is only four, and that 21 Democrats are still running.
Of the 21 still in the race, 14 are polling below 2.0 percent in the RealClearPolitics average of national polls. Andrew Yang is at 1.8 percent; Tulsi Gabbard is at 1.4 percent; Julian Castro, 1.4 percent; Amy Klobuchar, 1.2 percent; Tom Steyer, 0.8 percent; Steve Bullock, 0.8 percent; Marianne Williamson, 0.8 percent; Kirsten Gillibrand…