“Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services denied the Texas Department of Insurance’s (TDI) request for a waiver from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s (PPACA) Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) requirements. Under the PPACA, small group and individual insurance policies are required to maintain an 80 percent MLR. This means that...
Press Release January 30, 2012AUSTIN – The Medicaid expansion provisions of the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (ACA) are a “massive frontal assault on State sovereignty” and unconstitutionally coercive of state governments, argues an amicus curiae brief submitted yesterday to the United States Supreme Court by the Texas Public Policy Foundation and 36 members of the Texas Legislature....
Press Release January 18, 2012“The Administration’s denial of the 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline to transport Canadian oil to refineries in the U.S. is a huge loss to the national economy, and especially to Texas. Many refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast have been configured to process this now-abundant oil from the tar sands of Canada. “The Administration’s claim that...
Press Release January 18, 2012AUSTIN – If the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the individual mandate in the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (ACA), as several lower courts have done, it should rule that the main health insurance provisions of the ACA in Titles I and II are inseparable from the mandate and must be struck down with...
Press Release January 9, 2012– Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, college football legend Lou Holtz confirmed for keynote addresses – Republican candidates for U.S. Senate to debate Thursday night – Economists Dr. Arthur Laffer and Jared Bernstein to debate “The Texas Model” – Nationally syndicated radio host Dr. William Bennett to open conference AUSTIN – Media registration opened today for...
Press Release January 4, 2012AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation praised last Friday’s ruling by the Washington, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which enjoined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from implementing its Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) until the D.C. Circuit has completed its review of the legal challenges against the rule. The highly controversial rule had...
Press Release January 2, 2012“ERCOT’s resource adequacy forecast shows that the Texas electricity marketplace continues to be the most competitive and successful in the nation, but it also points to some significant challenges we face. “The low projected reserve margins are not caused because of problems with the market. If the market isn’t sending the necessary price signals to...
Press Release December 1, 2011AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation released a new report today that debunks several popular misconceptions about the margin tax, Texas’ primary business tax. The report, “The Margin Tax Debunked,” is available for download on the Foundation’s website, www.TexasPolicy.com. “As we inch closer to the next legislative session, the calls to ‘fix’ the margin...
Press Release November 30, 2011Alexandria, Va. (Nov. 30, 2011) – The Health Care Compact Alliance today announced the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the nation’s largest nonpartisan individual membership association of state legislators, has adopted the Health Care Compact as model legislation. This move will make the Health Care Compact vision and language widely available to nearly 2,000 state...
Press Release November 30, 2011“While the debate over the margin tax’s constitutionality has been settled, now the Texas Legislature can focus on the important discussion of how to fix its practical defects. We welcome the Legislature looking at ways to make the tax more user-friendly, but a true fix means making it less costly to comply – not changing...
Press Release November 28, 2011AUSTIN – Public registration opened today for the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s 10th Annual Policy Orientation for the Texas Legislature. The Policy Orientation will take place on January 12-13, 2012 at the Hilton Austin Hotel. Since 2003, the Policy Orientation has been one of Texas’ top policy conferences each year, bringing together lawmakers, policy experts,...
Press Release November 17, 2011AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation announced today that it is partnering with Salem Radio Network (SRN), one of America’s largest syndicated radio networks, on “Free American Energy Now!,” an outreach campaign to increase public awareness of the ways in which federal environmental policy is impeding American economic recovery and energy independence. The announcement...
Press Release November 4, 2011