- Are family leave policies keeping women’s wages down?
- Study: Medicare Advantage is substantially better than traditional Medicare for diabetes.
- GOP House to investigate federal funding of gain-of-function research.
- Asian-Americans have a life expectancy of 85.7, compared to the US average of 79.1. (“I suspect that highly educated Asian Americans have a life expectancy that is absolutely off the charts.”)
- Why was there a surge of traffic deaths in the first year of the pandemic?
- Why is the FDA hostile to personalized tests?
EPA and FAA Begin Raising a Stink Over the Health Hazards of Low Lead Aviation Fuel
Lead is a known health hazard in brain development of children. The United States began doing away with leaded auto gasoline in the 1970s. The Clean Air Act of 1970 phased out leaded gasoline but there were also efforts to rid paint, plumbing and food cans of lead. However, there is one fuel that continues to use lead. Most of the aging fleet of general aviation aircraft use avgas that is 100 octane low lead or what’s called 100LL.
Wednesday Links
- Pfizer board member pressured Twitter to suppress info on natural immunity and low Covid risk to children.
- The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated an overall decline in religious attendance. Arnold Kling extends to observation to the reluctance of employees to return to work and the disengagement of college students.
- Now we learn. WaPo: Russian trolls on Twitter had little impact on 2016 voters.
- Solution to Obamacare’s high premiums and narrow networks: Let people purchase plans from Puerto Rico and other US territories from established insurers – like Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Humana and BlueCross BlueShield — which already do business in at least one territory and have provider networks in Arizona.
A Few Ideas to Boost Physician Residency Slots
The United States is experiencing a physician shortage that is even more dire in rural areas. The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that today there is a shortage of from 44,000 doctors to perhaps as high as 67,000 physicians. By 2034 the shortage is expected to range from 37,800 physicians to as much as 124,000 physicians. The supply of physicians is a function of those entering the profession, those in the profession, minus those retiring or slowing down. Keep in mind the youngest physicians entering the field are usually 30 years old or more. Thus, there is only a 30-year window for them to establish a practice before reaching retirement age. A significant proportion of licensed physicians (45%) are over age 55. Many are part of the Baby Boomer generation who will be retiring soon and become patients themselves rather than treating patients.