- Socialized medicine by stealth: Medicaid rolls during the pandemic have swelled by 24 million—a 34% increase—while two million more adults have enrolled in ObamaCare exchange plans.
- Were Democrats being “racist” when they left 2.2 million (disproportionately Black) poor people without health insurance while giving subsidies to high-income (disproportionately white) people. This is consistent with the history of social insurance.
- Covid Vaccine backlash: “10 percent of those vaccinated said they wish they hadn’t done so, while 15 percent of adults said they have been diagnosed with a new condition by a medical practitioner weeks or months after the first dose.”
- Study: Mandatory paid sick leave reduces ER visits. If so, employers and employees should be able to voluntarily adopt it until the marginal benefit equals the marginal cost. Duh!
Category: Doctors & Hospitals
Monday Links
- Because of a “Covid Emergency,” 150 members of the house were able to vote remotely on the IRA bill.
- Are progressives trying to destroy San Francisco’s status as “the best food city in the country”?
- Is hearing loss justification enough to end your life? Canada arguably has the world’s most permissive euthanasia rules.
- Why is Bill Kristol attacking Herschel Walker because he sought mental health care?
- Does it matter what time of day you take your meds? Apparently.
During a Nursing Shortage Nurses Abandon Hospitals
Physicians have long dabbled in cosmetic medicine to boost their incomes. It is interesting to note that their cosmetic practices are competitive with transparent pricing, while their therapeutic areas of practice is bureaucratic with opaque prices. As a result of competition, cosmetic surgery prices have risen about equal to consumer inflation, which is one-third the rate of medical inflation.
Who Benefits from Drug Rebates? Mostly Health Plans (Not Consumers)
Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) have been in the news lately. PBMs manage drug benefits for insurers, self-insured employer health plans, Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Part D. Recently executives from the three largest PBMs were hauled before Congress to discuss their business models. One reason for scrutiny is that the three largest PBMs control about 80% of the market.