- Biden’s executive order uses the Defense Production Act (DPA) to allow the government to produce drugs that are in short supply. It also waives any requirement to notify Congress before taking action.
- In 1980, physician donations to the two parties was 50/50; by 2018, 90% of physician donations were going to Democrats.
- Where are all the U-Hauls going? Texas ranks first and California ranks last.
- Australia has gone more than 30 years without a recession. Scott Sumner explains why.
- Can therapy help make you rich? “Light-touch psychological interventions, such as videos that aim to raise aspirations, have shown some promise in … improving economic well-being.”
- Recent increases in Medicare spending have been concentrated in specialties with the greatest proliferation of new Medicare billing codes. This is spending on new procedures.
Category: Drug Prices & Regulations
Tuesday Links
- John Cochrane: The right reasons to fire Harvard president, Claudine Gay.
- Expanding primary care with foreign medical school graduates.
- Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is mostly diagnosed between the ages of 45 and 65 (Bruce Willis, for example.) It can be caused by a single genetic mutation. (NYT)
- An estimated 28 percent of prescribed antibiotics are unnecessary.
Do Drug Company Donations Buy Influence? Probably
In the Summer of 2021 I wrote about a controversial new drug for Alzheimer’s Disease. The drug, Aduhelm, did not have a lot of evidence showing it worked. It did have plenty of data showing it came with an extensive list of nasty side effects, including brain swelling and brain bleeds. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it despite the agency’s advisory panel of experts recommending against it. The decision was controversial, and several members of the advisory panel resigned in protest.
WSJ: PBMs and Drug Rebates Perpetuate the High Cost of Drugs
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) includes provisions to force down the price of medications paid for by Medicaid, Medicare and consumers. The mechanisms to force down drug prices are convoluted as one would expect, as are the strategies by drug companies, drug plan managers and health insurers to prevent losing profits.