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]
A hallmark of today’s liberals is their commitment to protest without sacrifice. The most recent series of examples come from city councils reacting to Arizona’s new illegal immigration law. From Los Angeles to Boston, local elected officials are declaring disapproval of the Grand Canyon State by promising to boycott it. But as the facts show, the liberal voices making these pronouncements are loath to pay the full price of their principles.
The first city government to make a hollow pledge was Los Angeles. Amid historic budget deficits, the…