- The plan that is now being debated in the House has net spending reductions of roughly $1.2 trillion. Instead of spending $89.3 trillion, the “cruel” Republicans want to only spend $88.1 trillion – a measly 1.5% cut.
- “Our research finds that the growing presence of asylum seekers [illegal immigrants] residing in homeless shelters explains about 60 percent of this rise in sheltered homelessness.”
- “The Trump administration handed Medicare Advantage plans a massive gift on Monday, finalizing payment rates for 2026 significantly higher than what regulators in the Biden administration sketched out.”
- An “intelligent” hospital room allows for virtual nursing.
- Antarctica’s massive ice sheet is growing, not shrinking.
Category: Policy & Legislation
How Much Innovation is Too Much Innovation?
This is a happy story about a baby saved from death and disability caused by developmental delays. This type of technology could really transform health care, but at a huge cost. The baby was an inpatient in the hospital for nine months to control rising ammonia levels due to the genetic defect. The lead researchers collaborated with others to develop the technique that would be used to edit the precise gene that was lacking or malfunctioning. The race to develop the custom gene editing therapy was a herculean effort involving teams from numerous institutions.
Thursday Links
- $1,139,000,000,000—Minimum amount that Medicaid would continue to grow over the next ten years under the House-passed budget resolution, belying the notion that the budget would “cut” Medicaid spending.
- Medicaid provider taxes explained.
- More on the Republican plan to curb the rate of growth of Medicaid, not reduce its spending.
- Scientific societies call for a moratorium on creating genetically modified children.
- The average American is now vastly more affluent than the average European.
Wednesday Links
- Claim: it was the Obama administration that paused funding for high-risk (gain of function) studies in 2014. The ban was lifted by none other than Donald Trump in 2017.
- Yarvin’s strange argument on populism and Gain-of-Function research
- Firing squads are making a comeback.
- US patients pay almost three times more than the average price paid in OECD countries for brand drugs, but we pay a third less than other countries for generics.
- The case against Medicaid budget cuts. (unimaginative)