Congress passed the National Maximum Speed Limit law to lower highway speed limits to 55 miles an hour in 1974. Federal officials had predicted lowering the speed limit to a snail’s pace would generate gas savings of 2.2%. The actual savings were between 0.5% and 1%. Yet, the law would remain in place for more than 20 years after proponents argued slower speeds reduced traffic fatalities.
Author: Devon Herrick
Is Covid -19 Mostly Gone or Merely Forgotten?
My wife and I caught Covid back in… I don’t even recall which year. I think it was the winter of 2021 if I recall correctly. My wife got her first and only Covid vaccine shot not long after, whereas I had gotten shot and a booster earlier in the fall or maybe it was later in the spring. Basically, I don’t recall much about the Covid outbreak. It’s all a blur at this point and I’ve basically lost interest. Apparently, I’m not alone.
Study: Pharmacists Can Provide Cost-Effective Care for Minor Illnesses
Over the years I have often cited the figure that more than 60% of care, at least initially, is self-care when patients treat themselves with OTC drugs. As an aside, if we really want to boost access to care we need to force the FDA to move more prescription drugs to over the counter, or even behind the counter. A behind-the-counter drug is a drug that pharmacists are authorized to dispense without a prescription. Over the counter drugs, behind the counter drugs and prescription drugs are all available at pharmacies. Perhaps there should be more care available at pharmacies.
Prior Authorization in Medicare Advantage
I often write about the time my wife almost got a CT scan at a hospital outpatient clinic not realizing she had arbitrarily picked the second most expensive service location. Inside the hospital is the most expensive location. The hospital business office told her they would have to get prior authorization from her health plan before they could schedule the scan. That also gave the hospital a reason to calculate her cost-sharing and inform my wife that she was expected to pay $2,700 prior to the service. That was not even the price, just her share of the bill after her deductible was met.