- The Government Accountability Office has calculated that over the past 20 fiscal years, the federal government has paid more than $2.8 trillion in improper payments. Over 53 percent of reported fiscal year 2024 improper payments originated from the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
- Public school finance: Where is all the money going?
- China is now the second largest producer of new pharmaceuticals.
- Alan Simpson: Politics is derived from Latin. Poli means many and tics means blood-sucking insects.
- Need surgery? Monday is a lot better than Friday.
- 97% of young adults who follow the Success Sequence escape poverty by their late 20s and early 30s.
It’s Not Just Patients, Doctors too are Frustrated with Our Health Care System
News flash: Doctors hate our health care system as much as patients! I am going to make a bold, unsubstantiated claim that doctors hate it for different reasons than patients, however. About a month ago I blogged about patients losing trust in their doctors. It is not that I do not trust my doctors. It’s that I worry they have divided loyalties considering nearly three-in-four work for a hospital or a hedge fund.
Saturday Links
- 9 states are mulling Medicaid work requirements.
- Homelessness explained.
- Family matters: odds of going to college vs. odds of going to jail.
- Has Dr. Oz undergone a remake?
- Embarrassing findings from the past release of classified documents.
- Physicians and nurses have fewer emergency department visits for their own care than the rest of us.
NY Passes Health Care Consumer Protections, then Backsteps
I have written in the past about the needed consumer protections in health care. Price transparency is chief among them. Another is banning blanket consent-to-pay forms without adequate price transparency. New York State passed such a law that was due to take effect late 2024, prohibiting health care providers from forcing patients to sign consent-to-pay forms prior to care and prior to when prices are discussed.