- On average, nearly 25,000 regulatory restrictions are put on the books annually. The Code of Federal Regulations is now so long that it would take a dedicated reader at least three years to get through the whole thing.
- Bad news on fertility: For the very first time in the history of humanity we are below replacement rate – worldwide.
- If the Census Bureau adopts a new poverty definition, millions more Americans could automatically be made eligible for benefits—leading to at least $124 billion in additional government spending over the next decade.
- Every fall, during open-enrollment period, over 100 million families can choose a health plan. Most people make bad choices. (WSJ)
- Chicago now has a lower population today than 100 years ago even though the U.S. population has more than tripled over that time period.
- Cochrane on work requirements: there are four million able-bodied adults without dependents on food stamps, and three in four don’t work at all. Less than 3% work full-time.
Category: Policy & Legislation
Are Weight-Loss Drugs Right for Medicare?
Should Medicare cover weight-loss drugs under Part D plans? Currently Medicare drug plans do not cover drugs for weight-loss.
Medicare coverage of obesity services and treatments currently includes obesity screening, behavioral counseling, and bariatric surgery, but not drugs that are prescribed for weight loss. The 2003 law that established the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit explicitly prohibits Part D plans from covering drugs used for weight loss, along with some other types of drugs, including agents used for cosmetic purposes or hair growth, fertility drugs, and drugs prescribed to treat sexual or erectile dysfunction.
Thursday Links
- Sanders reintroduces single payer Medicare bill.
- Memories: CBO trashed the single payer idea.
- Monica’s story: woman nearly died because of Georgia’s Certificate-Of-Need laws.
- Of the 355,000 nurse practitioners licensed in the United States, 88% are trained and capable of providing primary care. Yet in nearly half the states, “scope-of-practice” laws prevent that from happening.
- Rational health reform: a basic bundle of services publicly financed for all, while allowing individuals to “top up” by purchasing additional coverage.
- Why we need work requirements: Medicaid covers almost one in three Americans, or around 100 million people. Able-bodied adults make up more than 40% of that total.
AMA: Don’t Let Pharmacists Initiate Care for Covid Patients
Have you called your primary care provider lately asking for an appointment? If so it was probably farther away than you had hoped. The national average wait to see a physician is 26 days. Once you see your doctor he or she is probably cordial but somewhat hurried. The average doctor-patient encounter lasts from 10 to 15 minutes, but that figure is probably skewed by Medicare patients who require longer appointments than average. There is a significant shortage of physicians.