A new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that auto accidents rose in states that legalized recreational marijuana. Car crashes with injuries jumped 6% while fatal auto accidents increased 4%. Comparison states that did not legalize recreational marijuana saw no increase in these types of accidents. The states that legalized recreational marijuana examined in the study were California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. The comparison states where cannabis is not legal were Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
Author: Devon Herrick
FTC to Block Hospital Consolidation
Hospital consolidation is a growing problem. Hospitals merge with rivals to gain market share and to increase bargaining power with health insurers. Market share allows hospitals to negotiate as a block of hospitals rather than individual hospitals competing with each other on price. Research has found that when hospitals merge prices in the area rises as competition is reduced. It generally starts as consolidation within a metropolitan area and then expands to other major markets within the state.
New Antibiotics Are Desperately Needed: Why Drug Makers Won’t Develop Them
Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections are a growing. Worse yet, the pipeline of new antibiotic drugs in development are few and far between. It’s been several years since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new antibiotic. The FDA recently declined to approve two new applications for drugs to treat urinary tract infections (sulopenem and tebipenem). The agency wants more data on the efficacy compared to drugs currently on the market. It’s not likely to get better anytime soon.
Diet or Exercise: It Not Either / Or, It’s Both
Do you like to dine on a meal of McDonald’s Big Macs and supersized fries? Maybe you like desserts like fried pies a little too much. Perhaps you think that jogging to McDonalds and back after eating a Big Mac will atone for your poor diet. According to experts it won’t.