Michael F. Cannon is the Cato Institute’s director of health policy studies. His scholarship spans public health; regulation of clinicians, medical facilities, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices; employer‐sponsored and other private health insurance; Medicare; Medicaid; CHIP; the Veterans Health Administration; medical malpractice litigation; administrative law; international health systems; political philosophy; and more. Cannon is “an influential health‐care wonk” (Washington Post) and “the most famous libertarian health care scholar” (Washington Examiner). Washingtonian magazine named Cannon one of Washington, DC’s “Most Influential People” in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Cannon has appeared on ABC, Al Jazeera, BBC, CBS, CNN, CNBC, C‑SPAN, Fox News Channel, NPR, and other broadcast media. His articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal; the New York Times; USA Today; the Washington Post; the Los Angeles Times; SCOTUSBlog; Forum for Health Economics and Policy; JAMA Internal Medicine; Health Matrix: Journal of Law‐Medicine; Harvard Health Policy Review; the Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics; the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law; and Quinnipiac Health Law Journal. His latest book is Recovery: A Guide to Reforming the U.S. Health Sector.
Cannon was previously a domestic policy analyst for the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee, where he advised the Senate leadership on health, education, labor, welfare, and the Second Amendment. He is a member of the Board of Advisers of Harvard Health Policy Review and the Federalist Society Regulatory Transparency Project’s FDA & Health Working Group.
Cannon holds an MA in economics and a JM in law and economics from George Mason University and a BA in American government from the University of Virginia.
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What COVID-19 Revealed about Clinician Licensing
Washington & Lee Student Chapter
Washington and Lee School of Law, Sydney Lewis HallE Denny Circle
Lexington, VA 24450
FDA Policy and the Covid-19 Pandemic
Duke Student Chapter
Zoom Webinar -- DukeVirtual
Durham, NC 27708
Legal Challenges to the ACA
Brigham Young Student Chapter
Zoom Webinar -- BYU341 E Campus Drive
Provo, UT 84602
Missouri Medicaid Expansion Debate
St. Louis Student Chapter
Zoom Webinar -- St. Louis100 N. Tucker Boulevard
Saint Louis, MO 63101
Explainer Episode 45 - Telehealth & COVID-19
Regulatory Transparency Project's Fourth Branch Podcast
In this podcast episode, Michael Cannon, Director of Health Policy Studies at Cato Institute and...
Explainer Episode 41 - Government Obstacles to Over The Counter Medicines
Regulatory Transparency Project's Fourth Branch Podcast
The Goldwater Institute’s Christina Sandefur moderates a discussion with the Cato Institute’s director of health...
Explainer Episode 39 - Tax Exclusions for Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance
Regulatory Transparency Project's Fourth Branch Podcast
In this episode, Michael F. Cannon argues that the federal income tax exclusion of employer-sponsored...
Deep Dive Episode 209 – Who Should Decide Whether Drugs Are Available Over-The-Counter or by Prescription?
Regulatory Transparency Project's Fourth Branch Podcast
In October 2020, Michael Cannon and Jeffrey Singer proposed ending the U.S. Food and Drug...
Who Should Decide Whether Drugs Are Available Over-The-Counter or by Prescription?
In October 2020, Michael Cannon and Jeffrey Singer proposed ending the U.S. Food and Drug...