Much of the $280 billion in savings from its Medicare prescription drug provisions [the IRA bill] were siphoned off to fund green policies such as $7,500 electric-vehicle tax credits. Medicare will keep only about 15% of the savings for some relatively inexpensive new benefits, such as a $2,000 annual cap on pharmacy spending. That’s unfortunate considering the program’s costs are projected to spiral from about $1 trillion this year to $1.8 trillion in 2031.
Why is Medicare Money Paying for Teslas?
The New Weight Loss Drugs
It’s early, but nothing like these drugs has existed before… In fact, much about the drugs remains shrouded in mystery. Researchers discovered by accident that exposing the brain to a natural hormone at levels never seen in nature elicited weight loss. They really don’t know why, or if the drugs may have any long-term side effects.
Friday Links
Poll: one in three Americans have a tattoo.
Roughly three in 10 adults have been addicted to opioids or have a family member who has been. (NYT)
Harvard encourages students to apply for food stamps, despite $53B endowment.
AP: Yes, inflation is down. No, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) doesn’t deserve the credit.
Why the IRA’s green energy investments won’t affect global warming.
Thursday Links
JAMA study: Air pollution associated with dementia. The study is behind a paywall, but if this is a typical medical study, no one asked if the parents or grandparents had dementia.
State CON regulations are hurting patients.
Where the highest-paid doctors live: South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, and Wyoming.
Tyler Cowen has an explanation for this: Rural America has about 20 percent of the U.S. population but about 10 percent of its doctors.