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Citizens' Council for Health Freedom Amicus Brief on Health Reform Law

Argument on behalf of Amicus Curiae, Citizens' Council for Health Freedom, supporting the respondents, and addressing the minimum coverage provision issue.  MORE >>

Sens. Cruz, Paul, Lee Reintroduce Retirement Freedom Act

"[T]he Retirement Freedom Act (S.1030) ... would allow senior citizens the choice to opt-out of Medicare Part A and utilize other healthcare options without being forced to lose their Social Security benefits. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives."

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Letter to Citizens' Health Care Working Group on Interim Recommendations for Improving Health Care (PDF)

3 pages. Excerpt: The American Academy of Actuaries' Committee on Federal Health Issues commends the Citizens' Health Care Working Group for its efforts to initiate and engage in the national debate about health care coverage. As the working group finalizes its recommendations to Congress, the Federal Health Committee would like to offer an actuarial perspective on the interim recommendations.  MORE >>

Individual States Given More Flexibility and Freedom Under Health Reform

The HHS proposes that individual states have the freedom and flexibility to choose an existing health plan to set the standard for the services and items, to be the necessary components of an essential health benefits package. The following health insurance plans would be chosen as a benchmark: One out of the three largest group plans that exist in the state; One out of the three largest state employee health plans that exist in the state; The biggest HMO plan available in the commercial market of that state.  MORE >>

No 'Freedom Option' in the Revised Senate Health Care Bill

"This draft imposes ObamaCare's 'single risk pool' price controls on 'freedom option' plans. Long story short, that means there is no 'freedom option' in this bill. Insurers probably would not even offer non-compliant plans. If they did, ObamaCare's 'single risk pool' price controls would make secure, guaranteed-renewable health insurance impossible by taxing such plans to death."

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A Blueprint for Health Care Freedom

Excerpt: The White House has been dropping hints that the president will make health-care reform the centerpiece of his State of the Union address. The Bush administration's health care record is, to put it delicately, inconsistent. It has supported efforts to remove government influence over the health care sector, such as health savings accounts (HSAs). On the other hand, the president signed into law the largest expansion of federal power over health care in generations the ill-fated[.]  MORE >>

Socialized Health Care Fundamentally Changes the Relationship Between Citizens and State

"For all his talk of allowing consumers to select their own health-care coverage, Mr. Obama's proposal, as he laid it out in his campaign, will provide strong financial incentives for employers and individuals to sign up with a new, Medicare-style government plan for working-age people and their families. This plan will almost certainly use a price-control system similar to the one in place for Medicare, allowing it to charge artificially low premiums by paying fees well below private rates. These low premiums will serve as a magnet for enrollment and will devastate the private companies trying to compete in the health-insurance market. The result will be the nationalization of the health-care sector, which today accounts for 16% of U.S. gross domestic product."  MORE >>

Sen. Rand Paul Introduces Bill to Expand Health Care Freedom for the Self-Employed and Small Businesses

"The Association Health Plans Act of 2025 [S 1847] amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to give small business employees, sole proprietors, and gig workers the ability to aggregate together and access health insurance through large-group Association Health Plans (AHPs).... The bill requires participating associations to have existed for at least two years and to serve a broader purpose than providing health benefits"  MORE >>

Supreme Court Snubs Citizens Whose Social Security Will Be Confiscated If They Refuse Government Health Care

"Despite having paid thousands of dollars each in Social Security and Medicare taxes during their working lives -- for which they never sought reimbursement -- the five plaintiffs were told by officials at the Social Security Administration and Department of Health and Human Services that they had to forfeit all of their Social Security benefits if they wished to withdraw from (or not enroll in) Medicare.... The plaintiffs sought a judicial ruling that would prohibit SSA and HHS from enforcing these policies, which they believed conflicted with the Social Security and Medicare statutes. A sharply divided U.S Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit eventually upheld [the policies]. By its decision not to hear the case, the Supreme Court let that controversial ruling stand."  MORE >>

Will Religious Freedom Claims Trump Public Health? Braidwood and HIV Prevention

"By declining to argue the RFRA claims before the Fifth Circuit, the government may have saved the question for another day and avoided setting a national legal precedent. However, even applying the obligatory strict scrutiny standard, mandatory PrEP coverage should withstand the plaintiffs' RFRA claims for several reasons." [Braidwood Management, Inc. v. Becerra, No. 20-0283 (N.D. Tex. Sep. 7, 2022; on appeal to 5th Cir. No. 23-10326)]

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5 Freedoms You'd Lose in Health Care Reform

Excerpt: If you read the fine print in the Congressional plans, you'll find that a lot of cherished aspects of the current system would disappear.

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Basic Patient Safety Reforms Would Save 85,000 Lives and $35 Billion a Year, Public Citizen Report Says

Excerpt: A report issued [August 6] by Public Citizen proposes 10 cost-cutting, patient safety measures that would save an estimated 85,000 lives and $35 billion a year. The report, 'Back to Basics,' analyzed the results of scientific studies of treatment protocols for chronically recurring, avoidable medical errors. In contrast to the high-tech tests and procedures that many experts blame for staggering increases in the nation's health care costs, most of the reforms in Public Citizen's report involve fundamentals as simple as practitioners consistently washing their hands, sufficiently tending to patients to prevent bed sores, and following simple safety checklists to prevent infections and complications stemming from operations. Aside from the tragedy of needless deaths and injuries, the financial toll of failing to follow accepted safety procedures is astounding.

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District Court: ACA's HIV/Prep Coverage Mandate Violates Religious Freedom Restoration Act

"In a dispute involving the [ACA's] preventive health services rules, a Texas district court held that the coverage mandate for preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drugs to prevent HIV infections violated an employer's rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA). The district court also addressed the appointment process for the entities that determine which items and services must be covered under the ACA's preventive health services rules, as implemented." [Braidwood Management, Inc. v. Becerra, No. 20-0283 (N.D. Tex. Sep. 7, 2022)]

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Pence Presents New Healthcare Offer to Freedom Caucus

"Vice President Pence ... presented an idea at the Freedom Caucus meeting to allow states to choose to apply for waivers to repeal two Obamacare regulations ... [1] Obamacare's essential health benefits, which mandate which health services insurers must cover, and [2] 'community rating,' which prevents insurers from charging sick people higher premiums. Conservatives had previously called for the bill to repeal those regulations outright, but the deal now being discussed would give states a choice by allowing them to apply for a waiver from the federal government."  MORE >>

Justices to Weigh Contraceptive Mandate Against Religious Freedom Claims

"The oral arguments regarding the law's contraception coverage mandate, slated for March 25, will be a rematch between two lawyers who squared off in the first health law challenge ... Much of the publicity about the cases focuses on a threshold issue that the justices have never faced: whether religious owners of for-profit, privately held corporations can claim any religiously-based rights on behalf of their companies, under either religious freedom act or the First Amendment. The Obama administration says no. If the two companies can overcome that hurdle, they must then clear three others to secure the exemption they seek."

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Senate HELP Committee Hearing: Freedom to Work: Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers

Video of July 17 hearing, with testimony by: [1] Mrs. Patrice Onwuka, Center for Economic Opportunity; [2] Ms. Kim Kavin, Imagine Media LLC; [3] Mr. Kev Coleman, Paragon Health Institute; [4] Mr. Timothy J. Driscoll, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers; and [5] Ms. Karen Friedman, Pension Rights Center.  MORE >>

Rand Paul Introduces Healthcare Freedom Legislation

"The Health Marketplace for All Act of 2024 [S 5298] would allow any membership organization -- which includes wholesale clubs (such as Costco), credit unions, and churches, among others -- to offer an ERISA health plan to its members 'across state lines -- regardless of an employment relationship.'... The Health Savings Account for All Act [S 5297] would give millions of Americans access to a health savings account (HSA) regardless of income or insurance coverage so that patients can take advantage of the tax-free growth and withdrawals when spending on qualifying healthcare services."  MORE >>

Home in Retirement: More Freedom, New Choices (PDF)

"The Study uncovers: ... [1] how retirement can be a gateway to unprecedented freedom when choosing where to live.... [2] why many retirees don't opt for a smaller home. [3] Today's 'Retirement HotSpots,' and where tomorrow's retirees want to live. [4] How retirees often choose not to move, but instead are making their current home the best home of their lives. [5] The home and health challenges of later retirement and how retirees are increasingly empowered to age in place independent."

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Oregon Citizens Now Can Get Help On HMO Claim Denials

Excerpt: Consumers facing a health insurer's refusal to authorize care can now appeal to an impartial expert, under a state law that took effect Monday. Health plans that submit to the reviews gain protection from lawsuits; plans that fail to follow a ruling face fines of as much as $1 million. Such laws have become widespread in the past five years. Oregon is the 42nd state to require binding outside reviews of health plan denials.

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Defend Freedom: Repeal CLASS

"CLASS was a fiscal time bomb. It's clear the program's main initial function was to pump up Obamacare's financing, since it would have collected premiums for five years before paying out a penny in benefits. As a result, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that it would reduce budget deficits by $81 billion over the next decade."  MORE >>