- On average, nearly 25,000 regulatory restrictions are put on the books annually. The Code of Federal Regulations is now so long that it would take a dedicated reader at least three years to get through the whole thing.
- Bad news on fertility: For the very first time in the history of humanity we are below replacement rate – worldwide.
- If the Census Bureau adopts a new poverty definition, millions more Americans could automatically be made eligible for benefits—leading to at least $124 billion in additional government spending over the next decade.
- Every fall, during open-enrollment period, over 100 million families can choose a health plan. Most people make bad choices. (WSJ)
- Chicago now has a lower population today than 100 years ago even though the U.S. population has more than tripled over that time period.
- Cochrane on work requirements: there are four million able-bodied adults without dependents on food stamps, and three in four don’t work at all. Less than 3% work full-time.
Author: John C. Goodman
Friday Links
- CBO: 6.2 million people will become uninsured due to the Medicaid unwinding as about 15.5 million people transfer away from the program. In Priceless, I argued that we should have government funded premium support for private insurance instead of privately managed Medicaid.
- Both Biden and Trump favor industrial policy. Here is why economists are skeptical.
- Why giving to public health in poor countries is sometimes better than giving people cash. (Yglesias)
- One in five adults experience chronic pain. (NYT) it may not be all in your mind, but your mind is definitely involved.
- More from the CBO: federal tax subsidies for employer-provided health insurance cost $2,075 per person in FY 2023 — significantly less than the federal cost of both Medicaid expansion ($7,069) and Obamacare premium subsidies ($6,169).
- Paragon: The expected drop in Medicaid enrollment, as people migrate to employer plans, is a large net positive for the federal budget.
Thursday Links
- Sanders reintroduces single payer Medicare bill.
- Memories: CBO trashed the single payer idea.
- Monica’s story: woman nearly died because of Georgia’s Certificate-Of-Need laws.
- Of the 355,000 nurse practitioners licensed in the United States, 88% are trained and capable of providing primary care. Yet in nearly half the states, “scope-of-practice” laws prevent that from happening.
- Rational health reform: a basic bundle of services publicly financed for all, while allowing individuals to “top up” by purchasing additional coverage.
- Why we need work requirements: Medicaid covers almost one in three Americans, or around 100 million people. Able-bodied adults make up more than 40% of that total.
Tuesday Links
- Around 50% of patents linked to drugs approved by the FDA directly cite NIH-funded research.
- The case for work requirements included in the GOP’s Debt limit bill.
- Gramm and Solon: the case for the Republican Debt-Ceiling bill is strong.
- Big Brother strikes again. CMS: no more mail delivery for cancer drugs. (InsideHealthPolicy – gated)
- Is ChatGPT nicer than your doctor? Is the information better?