The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a new report on lowering the age for Medicare eligibility to age 60. The report Budgetary Effects of a Policy That Would Lower the Age of Eligibility for Medicare to 60 found Medicare rolls would rise by nearly 14 million people. It would also increase the budget deficit by $155 billion over a 5-year period.
Category: Drug Prices & Regulations
Wednesday Links
Right to try: The main obstacle is not government; it’s the drug companies.
Covid fact: For people under 25, Covid was less deadly than traffic accidents.
Additional fact: the Asian death rate was about half the white rate, one-third the black rate, and one-fourth the Hispanic rate. (Rough estimates)
Why is the Covid death rate in Australia one-tenth of the U.S. level?
Covid Forced Nurses’ Salaries Higher; Hospitals Hated It
It is common for hospitals to use nurse staffing agencies, sometimes called “rent-a-nurse” to fill shifts when needed. The downside is temp agency nurses costs more per hour than staff nurses who are hospital employees. During times when nurses are in short supply, as was the case with Covid, nurses are in such high demand they can safely work for staffing agencies knowing they will have plenty of work and higher pay.