32 million people have a Health Savings Account with more than $100 billion in balances. And they love them. They would love them even more if we could dispense with the across-the-board, high deductible requirement and let the account be perfectly flexible with respect to their health insurance.
Category: Drug Prices & Regulations
Senators Sanders and Paul Try to Sneak in Drug Reimportation Amendment
Drug reimportation is an attractive idea until you think it though. Importing drugs from abroad would seem to make sense in a global economy. Proponents point to the fact that the United States pays the highest price for drugs of any developed country. U.S. prices are far more than developing countries pay. Opponents correctly point out what you’re importing is other countries’ price controls.
Friday Links
- AMA To FDA: Allow OTC Birth Control Pill. Something we have favored for years, but don’t stop there!
- AMA rejects economics: calls for a higher minimum wage. (Pardon us for thinking that the OTC position was based on sound economic reasoning.)
- How manufacturers manipulate the rules to avert competition from generic competitors – the case of asthma inhalers.
- How Biden’s policies have undermined his previous vice presidential goal of a “moon shot” to eradicate cancer.
Medical Debt: Yet Another Way Obamacare Harms the Sick
According to a Kaiser Health News / NPR investigation, 100 million Americans are saddled with medical debt. This includes 41% of adults. KHN reports that more than half of adults have gone into debt to pay for medical bills within the past five years. One quarter of those with medical debt owe more than $5,000, while 20% never expect to pay it off. Going into debt to pay medical bills is no worse than indebtedness for a car, house, a boat or designer clothes. However, much of this debt is despite having health coverage of some type.