The bad news in this post comes to us via Alex Tabarrok at the Marginal Revolution blog.
Author: John C. Goodman
Thursday Links
- Studies: hugs are good for you.
- Regular mammograms identify 87% of breast cancers. AI programs can boost that detection rate by 20%, and the cost is $40 – $100 extra. Is that worth it?
- Study: There is no evidence that buying and then forgiving medical debts that are in collections improved on average beneficiaries’ finances, access to credit, or their physical or mental health. People were even less likely to pay existing medical bills after their debt was eliminated.
- PFAS are called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down for thousands of years, if at all. Turns out, they are everywhere, including our drinking water, and that could be hazardous to our health.
- The FDA has approved a test that predicts a patient’s risk of becoming addicted to opioids. Why is that controversial?
Tuesday Links
- Is there a Trump health plan?
- Can a smart phone cure your depression?
- A Hayekian approach to health care. But why was she working in the Obama administration?
- JAMA study: 41% of cancer drugs granted accelerated approval did not improve overall survival or quality of life.
Monday Links
- The politics of school closings during Covid: At the pandemic record high in December 2020—when vaccines were still not available—fewer than one-fifth of districts Trump won took the precaution of temporary closures; and until mid-March 2021, less than one-fifth of Biden districts were fully open.
- Against DEI in medical school.
- Fertility is falling below the replacement rate all over the world. But cross-sectioned by income, fertility is U-shaped. When I can find the time, I will give my own explanation for this.
- Ross Douthat: the left is unhappy. (NYT)
- My own thoughts: 20th century liberalism explained.