There are a variety of viewpoints about what causes America’s Battle of the Bulge. You can blame it on genes, sedentary lifestyles, snacking between meals, prepackaged calorie-dense foods, fast foods and cheap foods, all which arguably contribute to obesity. It’s probably all the above. One thing that is unlikely to contribute to excess weight: the Body Mass Index (BMI).
Reason: How the U.S. Subsidizes Medicine Across the World
Critics often blame the high price of drugs on government regulations that result in Americans heavily subsidizing drugs used far from our shores. Prescription drugs are the second-best deal in health care, accounting for about 9% of medical expenditures. (The best deal is over-the-counter drugs.) The problem with spending 9% of health expenditures on drugs is that it is double the proportion spent in other developed countries.
Friday Links
- Effects of the IRA bill: From 2023 to 2024, the average Part D premium rose by 21 percent — the highest increase ever. The Kaiser Family Foundation reported that the three largest Part D sponsors — Cigna, Humana, and Aetna — increased premiums for certain common plans anywhere from 33 percent to 57 percent.”
- The number of people getting married (per capita) has fallen to an all time low.
- IRA and CHIPS industrial policy: only 3% of projects are operational; and less than half are on track.
- Chris Pope: Elderly entitlement programs take from the poor and give to the rich.
- How testosterone and culture affect behavior of boys v. girls.
- Study: the federal government could save taxpayers up to $2.15 billion annually if insurers operating in the Medicare prescription drug plans purchased seven generic oncology drugs at the prices obtained by Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs.
JAMA: Nearly Half of U.S. Counties Have a Pharmacy Desert
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) I grew up in a pharmacy desert. The nearest pharmacy was also nearly 20 miles away. An article in JAMA Network reports that 46% of American counties contain at last one pharmacy desert.