- Dr. Marty Makary: The best way to lower drug costs in the United States are to stop taking drugs we don’t need.
- The Longshoreman’s union negotiator makes nearly $900,000 dollars a year and owned a 76-foot yacht, and the modal longshoreman makes north of $150,000 a year. HT: Maxwell Tabarrok.
- After ten years, Bob Graboyes thoughts on health care system are highly relevant today.
- Who has it easier in the USA today? While 68% of Democrats believe men have the advantage, only 32% of Republicans agree.
- What quality ratings look like in the Medicare Advantage program. There are no quality measurements for traditional Medicare.
- What happens when private equity takes over the emergency room. (a negative opinion)
- Why telemedicine needs to cross state lines.
- Stem cell research was used to cure Type One diabetes.
Category: Cost of Healthcare
One More Effect of the IRA Bill
Medicare Advantage plans are not included in the Biden Administration’s “demonstration project,” which effectively bribes insurers to not raise their out-of-pocket costs for drug coverage.
Source: Statnews
Friday Links
- In 2023, the U.S. spent $4.8 trillion on healthcare. As much as half of that massive expenditure, $2.4 trillion, paid for activities unrelated to patient care called BARRCOME – bureaucracy, administration, rules, regulations, compliance, oversight, mandates, and enforcement.
- Medicare physician payments declined substantially from 2001 to 2024 — a whopping 29%.
- Currently, physicians are the only Medicare providers who do not receive annual, inflation-based payment updates.
- Head of the International Longshoremen’s Association explains what the strike is all about, along with a video showing how dockworkers can be replaced by automation. (it’s a long way from On the Water Front.
- Cato study: Marijuana doesn’t make you crazy.
- An Elon Musk device is allowing the blind to see.
Medical Debt isn’t Treated Like Consumer Debt
A dozen years ago my wife had a minor service performed at a hospital outpatient clinic. The hospital business office told her the service was covered by her health plan. Months later a man called claiming he worked for the hospital and requested payment of more than $700. This was news to my wife, who asked for an invoice. He wouldn’t provide one. My wife refused to pay without an invoice explaining what she was paying for. Another person called again weeks later, but he too would not provide an invoice. She was willing to pay but needed a list of denied charges to contact her health plan. She never got one and the hospital also never got paid. They stopped calling.