- Contrary to the AMA and the CDC, there is no maternal mortality crisis. The authors found that the maternal mortality rate remained essentially flat between 1999 and 2002 (10.2 per 100,000 live births) and 2018 and 2021 (10.4). This would put the U.S. on par with other developed countries.
- Biden to lower the hammer on short-terms health insurance plans any day now.
- There were 17,597 dog bite liability claims filed across the country in 2022, with payouts totaling more than $1 billion.
- Average life expectancy has declined because a lot of young people are dying early (e.g., drug overdoses); among people who make it to old age, life expectancy is longer than ever.
Is Universal Dental Coverage the Next Obamacare Expansion?
Public health advocates have long considered dental care a neglected area of medicine, with dentistry in a silo of its own. Obamacare was intended to provide universal health coverage and boost access to medical care. However, it did not expand dental coverage beyond what was included in Medicaid expansion. Dental insurance must be purchased separate from health insurance for most people.
Tuesday Links
- Why your EV is mostly made in China even if it is produced in the U.S.
- NYT finally admits that Covid school closures were harmful.
- Primary care costs less in Medicare Advantage.
- Research has linked diets high in ultra-processed foods to increased risks of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and depression.
- Roughly one in five relatively healthy people over the age of 50 has at least one organ that is aging much more quickly than the others.
Facility Fees: The New Surprise Medical Bill
The Wall Street Journal reports that facility fees are becoming increasingly prevalent in the U.S. health care system. In some cases, a facility fee for using a physician employed by a hospital nearly triples the cost of seeing a physician.