Articles

State regulators are preventing a New Orleans social worker from helping families with special needs children

November 18, 2021 | By NATHANIEL HAMILTON

When Ursula Newell-Davis of New Orleans sees someone with a problem, she looks for a way to help—it’s in her nature. That’s what led her to her calling as a social worker, where Ursula has worked the past two decades with special needs children and their families. But Ursula has her own problem: the Louisiana … ...

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The long history between Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Pacific Legal Foundation

October 15, 2020 | By NATHANIEL HAMILTON

During the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse criticized Pacific Legal Foundation again in a critique of public interest law. We wrote on Senator Whitehouse’s repeated misunderstandings about PLF and the role of public interest law in our Summer issue of Sword&Scales *** In politics ...

Articles

States that suspended Certificate of Need laws saved lives

August 19, 2020 | By MORIAH LAWRENCE AND ANGELA C. ERICKSON

During the global pandemic, healthcare providers have expanded their ability to care for additional patients by adding beds and ventilators and expanding facilities. But laws in some states prevent providers from taking steps needed to expand care options. Now we have a clear accounting of the costs of these laws: A new working paper by … ...

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2020 has hurt minority small business owners the most

June 19, 2020 | By NATHANIEL HAMILTON

2020 feels like it’s following Murphy’s law: if something can go wrong, it will. The COVID-19 pandemic has killed hundreds of thousands and cost millions more their jobs, businesses, and way of life. Then, when many Americans were getting ready to go back to work and small business owners were getting ready to open back … ...

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Liberty can rebuild America after COVID-19

May 07, 2020 | By NATHANIEL HAMILTON

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused incredible uncertainty in so many aspects of people’s lives. Unfortunately, but predictably, much of that uncertainty and turmoil has been caused by government policies and actions. Almost as soon as state and federal responses to COVID-19 began, PLF started fielding calls about our thoughts on the emergency o ...

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PLF calls on 14 governors to suspend laws that inhibit emergency medical response

April 28, 2020 | By ANASTASIA P. BODEN AND MOLLIE WILLIAMS

In 36 states, medical providers must prove that a new service is “needed” before opening new facilities or purchasing medical equipment. In states with Certificate of Need (CON) laws, health care providers must satisfy this requirement at an onerous hearing where existing providers are invited to show up and testify that the current ser ...

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To combat COVID-19, Florida must suspend its Certificate of Need Laws

April 16, 2020 | By ANASTASIA BODEN AND MOLLIE WILLIAMS

Today, in support of Brewster Ambulance Service, PLF called on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to suspend the state’s Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (COPCN) requirement for ambulances. That law puts the interests of incumbent providers above Florida entrepreneurs and consumers and blocks health care providers from providing vit ...

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Certificate of Need laws limited healthcare capacities in the years leading up to COVID-19

April 08, 2020 | By ANASTASIA BODEN AND ANNE PHILPOT

Temporary hospitals are popping up all over New York in anticipation of a growing number of coronavirus patients and an undersupply of hospital beds. The U.S. has just 2.8 hospital beds per 1,000 Americans⸺even fewer than Italy (3.2) and drastically lower than South Korea (12.3). But those so-called “field” hospitals, hidden beneath m ...

Articles

Ten examples of companies innovating to make our lives better during COVID-19

April 02, 2020 | By NATHANIEL HAMILTON

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused incredible turmoil and pain for millions of people around the world. This uncertainty has inspired many to call for government to step in and fight the spread of COVID-19 and ensure that hospitals and critical industries have the resources and supplies they need. While government policies have a role in … ...