- In his State of the Union address, Biden spent more time on health care than on any other issue.
- Biden on Social Security and Medicare: proposed sunsetting all federal programs (1975); proposed freezing all federal programs (1984); proposed tying the freeze to an increase in the debt limit (1984).
- Are saunas actually good for you? (NYT)
- An asteroid named Psyche has metals supposedly worth $10 quintillion.
- Do people wear masks because they think they look ugly?
Author: John C. Goodman
Socialized Medicine in Britain
Rationing by waiting:
The state-funded service is falling apart. People who suffer heart attacks or strokes wait more than 1½ hours on average for an ambulance. Hospitals are so full they are turning patients away. A record 7.1 million people in England—more than one in 10 people—are stuck on waiting lists for nonemergency hospital treatment like hip replacements.
One in five British people were waiting for a medical appointment or treatment by the NHS in December, according to the U.K. Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Tuesday Links
- Stunning new mask study: “We are uncertain whether wearing masks or N95/P2 respirators helps to slow the spread of respiratory viruses based on the studies we assessed.”
- Scott Sumner: ChatGPT is confused about supply and demand; but so are most economists.
- How dangerous is H5N1?
- More details, including the role of minks.
- How nature mummifies the dead: in bogs. Also, Steven Pinker is right: the past was more violent than the present. (NYT)
- Only 25% of hospitals are fully compliant with federal price transparency rules, Some of the largest conglomerates are among the offenders.
Monday Links
- Weight gain is not a new thing: Americans have been gaining weight for as far back as we have data.
- When Cuba sends doctors to other countries, it’s not charity; it’s business.
- The Heath Care Blog discovers the joys of patient power. Of course, 30 years is a long time after we first explained it all; but better late than never.
- Biologics account for 2% of US prescriptions for drugs, but 40% of total spending on prescription drugs. Here’s what drug companies do to discourage generic (biosimilar) competitors.
- Do health insurers provide fair access to drugs? Evidence that they don’t.