Trump-haters are so determined to defeat the president that they're opposing emergency authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine. What a callous disregard for human life. Without a vaccine, another 100,000 fatalities are expected by year's end, according to Washington University epidemiologists. On Friday, Food and Drug Commissioner Stephen Hahn ignited…

Lauran McLinn is a mother of another inspiring boy, Jordan.  Jordan has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal muscle weakening disorder.  Jordan was at my side in Indiana when as governor, I signed a law allowing terminally ill patients to access experimental drugs not yet approved by the FDA.  In 2018, President Trump signed the landmark…

Imagine a political candidate promising, "Under my healthcare proposal, we will slash the number of new lifesaving drugs created and introduced to American consumers by 50% or more going forward."   Come again?   In all likelihood, you’d immediately wonder whether the candidate offering that proposal was intentionally…

ALEXANDRIA, VA – This week, a group of state attorneys general issued a joint letter to the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) demanding that the federal government employ so-called “march-in” rights under the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980…

Beware of three widely circulating COVID-19-related lies and the partisan motives behind them. These lies are dangerous to your children and how you cope with this virus. Lie No. 1: "The United States' response stands out as among the worst of any country." House Majority Whip James Clyburn leveled that charge, as he kicked off a hearing…

When lifesaving drugs run low, hospitals have to choose which patients get a scarce drug, while others go without. Some even die. Historically, medical ethicists have recommended giving the drug to the patient most likely to benefit or using a lottery to give every patient an equal chance.  Not any more. Pennsylvania hospitals are tilting the…

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Regrettably, the White House today announced an executive order that effectively imports drug price controls from foreign nations with socialized healthcare systems.  In response, Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) President Jeffery Mazzella issued the following statement strongly opposing the order and encouraging immediate…

If you're working in an office or eating in a restaurant and someone 30 feet away exhales tiny particles of coronavirus, those particles can drift across the room and infect you. Picture cigarette smoke wafting across a room. Same thing. The precautions agencies like the World Health Organization and the federal CDC are telling you to take against…

In a pandemic, government efficiency can make the difference between life and death. You'd expect our civil "servants" to rise to the occasion. Some are. But the Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog, is sounding the alarm that, for the most part, Washington bureaucrats are dithering. The GAO report released June 25 uncovers…

Well, that didn’t take long.  Just three months into the coronavirus lockdown, multiple vaccines are already set to enter final testing on an accelerated schedule next month, well ahead of the autumn timetable originally forecast.  Moderna Inc.’s vaccine will be tested first, followed by Johnson & Johnson’s in the…

In a letter to Congress, CFIF joined with a large coalition on a letter expressing “strong opposition to the idea several Democratic lawmakers are pushing:  To deny patents, exclusivity, and property rights to biomedical innovators, targeted specifically at those working furiously on vaccines, diagnostics, therapies, and cures for…

To better appreciate the towering leadership role that America’s pharmaceutical sector plays in the world, consider the following comparison metric.  In World War II, America earned the label “Arsenal of Democracy” by rapidly and massively mobilizing to lead the Allied victory through sheer scale of armament production and innovation…

Surprise medical billing was already a pressing policy matter in the months leading into the coronavirus pandemic.  The issue, however, has acquired significant new salience due to the increased uncertainty and financial concerns triggered by the pandemic and economic aftershocks.  As we battle the pandemic and pursue a lasting solution…

Governor Andrew Cuomo is allowing upstate construction and assembly line businesses to reopen May 15, but other businesses have to stay shut longer. How long? That depends on how "essential" they are, he said. Sorry, Governor, but any business is essential if it's how you earn your paycheck. People need to work, and new research indicates…

New York, New Jersey, Maryland and other states are requiring everyone to wear a mask or a substitute face covering to leave home. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has suddenly flipped from urging the public not to wear masks to recommending that they wear something that covers their nose and mouth. New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio…

As revelations of China’s malfeasance amid the coronavirus pandemic proliferate, its calculating regime and ruthless economic model rightfully come under increasing attack.   Remember how for months preceding the pandemic, China sustained deserved condemnation for its efforts to suffocate Hong Kong politically?  It seems almost…

President Donald Trump is extending the nation's shutdown at least until the end of April. He's largely basing his decision on predictions from the University of Washington that even if the nation sticks to the shutdown, 83,967 Americans will die of coronavirus by early August, including 15,788 in New York state. Deaths will likely soar over the next…

New facts about coronavirus are pouring in from scientists around the globe. This information needs to guide our response. People infected are most contagious before they have symptoms, and some spread the infection widely but never get sick themselves, reports the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. That's why screening for fever and telling…

The Center for Individual Freedom (“CFIF”) today joined a coalition of 24 organizations, led by the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, on a letter urging Congress "to reject any attempt to include any language that would seek to address surprise medical billing by creating a government-mandated benchmark (i.e. rate-setting) to determine…

Coronavirus is causing working-age people to worry about missing paychecks, caring for kids home from school, stockpiling groceries and canceling plans. But people in their 50s, 60s or older have bigger worries. Many are lying awake wondering if this is how they're going to die. At its most severe, coronavirus attacks the lungs, making it impossible…

Amid today’s coronavirus pandemic, there’s an astonishing – and potentially encouraging – number to consider.  The United States, with only 4% of the world’s population and 24% of the global economy, accounts for an outsized two-thirds of all new pharmaceuticals introduced worldwide.  That disproportionate…

Try this thought experiment. Envision the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, as a living, breathing enemy – which, of course, is exactly what it is. But imagine for a moment that we are in real war with a cognizant, thinking and clever enemy whose sole reason to live is to hurt, maim or kill as many of us as it can. COVID-19 may not…

There's good news and bad news about coronavirus. First, there's reason for optimism. The virus struck only four months ago, yet we already know its genetic features. It took scientists years to get that far with HIV/AIDS. Antiviral drugs are in development, and a vaccine could be available within 18 months. The pace of scientific progress is breathtaking…

The recent spread of the coronavirus is causing a global panic. Our shared terror arises not so much from the death toll of the new flu-like disease – more than 3,000 people have died worldwide – but from what we don't know about it. Experts at least agree that the virus originated in China. But Beijing's authoritarian government…

The first nine coronavirus deaths in the U.S. show the biggest risks are not traveling internationally, riding mass transit or attending a crowded event. The most dangerous place to be is in a rehab or nursing home. The second-most dangerous is a hospital. Five residents of the Life Care Center, a nursing facility in Kirkland, Washington, have died…

With outbreaks raging in Italy, Iran, South Korea and other countries, U.S. authorities now predict coronavirus will strike Americans here, causing "significant disruptions to our lives." The warning came from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official Nancy Messonnier at a Tuesday briefing. If the virus – now dubbed…

Federal health bureaucrats deserve an F grade for preparedness. Despite years of warnings about America's overdependence on China for medicines, masks and other equipment, these officials did nothing to remedy the situation. Now, these same officials tell us we're facing an "unprecedented public health threat" from coronavirus, now COVID-…

Chinese government officials and the World Health Organization are bad-mouthing the Trump administration for trying to stop the coronavirus from invading the United States. The Trump administration is barring foreigners who have been in China recently from entering the U.S. Americans returning from China are quarantined for 14 days. China accuses Trump…

Pssst…  Want to turn American healthcare into the equivalent of this week’s Iowa Democratic caucus fiasco?  Just import foreign drug price controls to the United States, and voila.  The same types of people who couldn’t manage to introduce a new app in a caucus involving a few thousand people on a single night in…

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Surprise medical billing – which occurs when patients suddenly receive unexpected bills from medical providers not covered by their insurance – remains an important issue demanding a Congressional solution.  According to numerous reports, it now appears that Congressional legislation addressing the issue will…