We documented 25 instances when the CDC reported statistical or numerical errors. Twenty (80%) of these instances exaggerated the severity of the COVID-19 situation, 3 (12%) instances simultaneously exaggerated and downplayed the severity of the situation, one error was neutral, and one error exaggerated COVID-19 vaccine risks. The CDC was notified about the errors in 16 (64%) instances, and later corrected the errors, at least partially, in 13 (52%) instances.
Category: Policy & Legislation
Friday Links
- UK to speed up drug approval process. Needed: US acceptance of UK approvals in this country.
- GPT-4 passes the medical exam and then some.
- Why aren’t there any cost/benefit studies on bicycle lanes?
- Federal spending is up 40% since 2019. What are the drivers? They are not Social Security, Medicare or Defense.
- What have we learned after 13 years of Obamacare? If you make health insurance almost free, a lot of people will sign up. If you charge anywhere near the real cost, the market will spin into a death spiral.
Thursday Links
- Bill Gates: AI will revolutionize health care in the third world.
- Why do physicians “care” about their patients, any more than scientists care about a lab rat? Should they?
- HHS: surprise billing arbitrators are being swamped with claims. That’s because the law was poorly implemented.
- California’s highest concentrations of electric cars — between 10.9% and 14.2% of all vehicles — are in ZIP codes where residents are at least 75% white and Asian.
States Try to Cap Travel Nurse Wages that Skyrocketed During Covid
During Covid outbreaks nurses willing to relocate for temporary assignments could command a huge premium over their regular wages. Hospitals overwhelmed with patients had little choice but to pay whatever it took to recruit scarce nurses. As I’ve said in the past, hospitals are loath to raise nurses’ pay. They often hire temporary nursing staffing at much higher rates than raise the standard pay to recruit staff nurses. During Covid outbreaks hospitals’ unwillingness to compensate nurses for the heightened risk and heavier workloads caused many to jump ship and join traveling nurse agencies.