Category: Direct Primary Care

The Downside of Wildfires

Posted on by John C. Goodman

Matt Yglesias writes:

There’s extensive evidence that the fine particulate matter that’s floating in the air on high pollution days impairs cognitive abilities. On high-pollution days, investors make worse trading decisions, baseball umpires blow more calls, chess players make more blunders, and British MPs speak at a lower grade level. This is also true of work that’s normally thought of as less-skilled — we see lower efficiency at pear-packing factories on high-pollution days. Prolonged exposure to pollution increases the risks of Alzheimer’s and dementia.

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Low Cost Dentistry is Possible, But Not Allowed in Most States

Posted on by Devon Herrick

I went to my dentist a month or two ago. I was shocked by the price for a deep teeth cleaning. A teeth cleaning is included with an annual membership and the deep cleaning is an upcharge from the basic cleaning. I suspect my dentists requires a deep cleaning as a way to charge as much for my free service as the service usually costs retail. I’m in and out of his office in less than 30 minutes usually.

At my last visit the annual membership fee was also due, so my total bill was enough to buy an iPhone 11 on eBay. I don’t think I even spoke to the dentist during the visit; I just met with the dental hygienist. Why was the price so high?

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Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Cancelled

Posted on by John C. Goodman

What if we could detect almost all cancers in the earliest stages when less-invasive treatments mean lifesaving cures? The answer: Mortality rates — and health care costs — would plummet because most cancers could be cured or controlled using existing therapies.

The good news is this innovation exists today in the form of multi-cancer early detection (MCED) from one blood test. The bad news is we don’t have an Eisenhower administration determined to deliver a medical game-changer to as many Americans as possible.

Instead, we have a Biden administration — in the form of the Federal Trade Commission and Chair Lina Khan that Biden named to head it — standing in the way and creating an impenetrable barrier to access to millions of cancer patients.

Rep. Darrell Issa in The Hill

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WSJ: Hospitals Try to Improve their Poor Image

Posted on by Devon Herrick

It’s hard to imagine enjoying a hospital stay, however hospitals are trying to improve the patient experience. Back when I worked for a hospital the executives would bristle when someone joked that the daily room charge in a hospital cost 10 times the daily room charge in a nice hotel. The ratio is probably closer to 30 times now. Despite the massive price increase, hospitals still don’t excel at hospitality.

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