In the early 1800s just about anyone could claim to be a doctor regardless of medical training.
Category: Cost of Healthcare
Lots of Fraud
A lot of ink is being (justifiably) spilled over the Minnesota welfare fraud, in which Somali communities defrauded the Medicaid system out of at least $250 million, and as much as $18 billion. But this is only the biggest and most audacious case of government fraud that has cropped up in recent years.
Source: Noah Smith
Wednesday Links
- Elephants and bats live a long time in part because they don’t get cancer.
- Motherhood drives the earning gap between men and women.
- Is the statistical value of a year of life (which is supposed to drive medical and regulatory decisions) too high?
- Almost half of the adults receiving health insurance via the (Obamacare) exchanges either own or work for small businesses.
- Since Medicare’s inception in 1966, its spending has grown about 1.5 times faster than the economy.
- Why Matt Yglegias rejects the Billionaire Derangement Syndrome.
Reefer Madness: Trump Changes Marijuana Classification Despite GOP Opposition
In mid-December President Trump issued an executive order rescheduling marijuana from Schedule 1 (illegal drugs) to Schedule III (controlled substances). That removed obstacles to greater medicinal marijuana use and makes federal law more consistent with laws in the vast majority of states. The move came after intense lobbying from both sides. Trump’s executive order both surprised and irritated some lawmakers and political operatives on the religious right, who have seen the movie, Reefer Madness, too many times.