In recent years left-of-center public health advocates have tried to expand the scope of what is considered public health care.
Category: Doctors & Hospitals
Thursday Links
- Does the Constitution guarantee a right to take drugs?
- How did this become a crime? McKinsey allegedly tried to help Purdue tailor its sales efforts to doctors who already prescribed oral opioid drugs.
- Yglesias: Americans have been gaining weight for as far back as we have records.
- More from Yglesias: The human animal … evolved to overeat a modest amount whenever food is widely available in order to hedge against starvation risk in the future.
- New Alzheimer’s treatments are bogged down by Medicare’s bureaucracy. (Chicago Tribune)
Monday Links
- Which is the bigger problem: fraud or the price of drugs? In 2022, Medicaid programs made around $80 billion in improper payments, an incredible figure—almost twice Medicaid’s spending on prescription drugs ($44 billion).
- Spending on drugs is a small and declining fraction (from 13% to 11% over the next ten years) of total Medicare spending. So why is it getting all the attention?
- Economic superiority of Medicare Advantage over traditional Medicare.
- How doctors get paid – and what’s wrong with it.
The Doctor’s Office is Coming to a Home Near You (Yours)
Every year I buy comprehensive blood testing from Walk-In Lab during their 20% off, end-of-the-year sales event. I select the test, pick the lab (Lab Corp or Quest Diagnostics) and pay online. I take the lab order to Quest Diagnostics located in my local Walmart. Nothing could be easier; I can even shop while I wait for them to call me for my blood draw. Prices are transparent. Lab tests that I paid just under $130 for on sale would possibly cost $500 through the hospital owned clinic that employs my doctor.