HHS, the Treasury Department and the Department of Labor issued proposed rules on Friday that clamp down on short-term limited duration health plans, which offer cheap but sparse coverage that Democrats deride as “junk insurance.” The rule, which is meant to protect consumers and bolster the Obamacare exchange, would overturn a 2018 Trump-era regulation and satisfies liberal lawmakers and patient groups who have demanded the administration act since its first days in the White House.
Saturday Links
- Sirtuins, a compound in red wine, doesn’t that make you live longer. That undermines an argument in Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don’t.
- Here is a critical review of lifespan.
- One more study: IQ is positively related to life outcomes.
- Sen Cassidy outlines his prescription drug policy agenda.
- Claim: 1 in 3 children in the world are poisoned by lead.
- Oncologists are rationing inexpensive cancer drugs. (NYT)
- Of 252 new drugs approved by the US FDA from 2011 to 2021, only 3 (1.2%) would meet the UK’s cost benefit threshold ($20,000 to $30,000 per quality adjusted life year saved).
- White House targets short term health insurance plans.
How the Government will Determine the Maximum Fair Price for Drugs
CMS reaffirmed that it will not [emphasis mine] use evidence from comparative clinical effectiveness research in a manner that treats extending the life of an individual who is elderly, disabled, or terminally ill as of lower value than extending the life of an individual who is younger, nondisabled, or not terminally ill.
I feel confident that this is not how doctors make triage decisions.
Friday Links
- New Zealand adopts affirmative action for its medical waiting lists.
- Governments around the world have spent $1.34 trillion to fight climate change.
- Is virtual care the answer for Obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure in seniors?
- It’s a cocktail after cocktails: an IV drip for hangovers. (NYT)
- Hot dog eating contests: scientists have determined that the human body is capable of eating — at most — 83 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
- Drinking alcohol before or after intense exercise isn’t advised. (NYT)
- Mark Cuban Cost Pus Drugs to sell biosimilars ($569 v. $6,922 for Yusimry)