The [National Health Service’s] goal is that 92 percent of patients referred for treatment wait less than 18 weeks (about four and half months) to start treatment. Waiting 18 weeks for treatment sounds horrendous, but as of November 2022, over 40 percent of patients, or 2.9 million people, waited even longer. For over 450,000 patients, the wait exceeded a full year.
Friday Links
- Is big city noise a health hazard?
- The United States and New Zealand are the only two countries that allow drugmakers to market directly to consumers.
- Could a 5th Circuit ruling that “perpetual funding” of government agencies or programs is unconstitutional threaten Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid?
- How to treat a cold.
- The cost of obesity: $2,505 in extra medical costs every year – with the number rising with the extent of obesity.
- Hispanic health paradox: Hispanics have higher life expectancy, lower infant mortality and less mental illness.
Thursday Links
- In his State of the Union address, Biden spent more time on health care than on any other issue.
- Biden on Social Security and Medicare: proposed sunsetting all federal programs (1975); proposed freezing all federal programs (1984); proposed tying the freeze to an increase in the debt limit (1984).
- Are saunas actually good for you? (NYT)
- An asteroid named Psyche has metals supposedly worth $10 quintillion.
- Do people wear masks because they think they look ugly?
State of the Union Missed the Mark on Health Care
President Joe Biden gave his State of the Union address on Tuesday and health care was a prominent theme. Among others, he called for a fix to unaffordable health costs. Kaiser Health News reported: