- FTC to target patent abuses. (WSJ)
- Eylea (which costs more than $1,800 for a single dose) has been granted over 90 granted patents—including one for minor adjustments to its sterile packaging.
- Tomas Philipson: So called “patent abuses” are exaggerated.
- What the FDA gets wrong about drugs for rare diseases.
- Capretta: Americans spend more on healthcare than other countries because of “premium medicine”: procedures that offer minimal benefits at high cost.
- An argument for more regulation of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs. Although very one-sided. Our biggest problem is that the chronically ill are under-consuming drugs, not over-consuming them.
Category: Drug Prices & Regulations
Wednesday Links
- Energy costs are 40% higher under Biden.
- The down side of the job market: 52% of college grads are working in jobs that don’t require the degrees they earned, a year after graduation.
- Scott Alexander responds to Robin Hanson on: Does health care matter?
- Robin responds to the response.
- Why is Walmart shutting down all of its Texas health clinics?
- More reasons to support the Wuhan lab theory.
California to Spend $500 Million on Mental Health Apps for Teens
The state of California has committed up to $500 million over four years on mental health apps to benefit teens. Many mental health advocates worry that taxpayers will not get their money’s worth nor young Californias get the care taxpayers are funding. Early signs are not encouraging. Advocates say the rollout has been slow and utilization low. So far, only about 0.1% of eligible young people have signed up.
Tuesday Links
- A Medicare reform that is long overdue: when Medicare Advantage enrollees return to traditional Medicare, they shouldn’t be penalized in the medigap market.
- Robin Hanson responds to Scott Alexander: core medicine is effective but it appears that extra medicine (delivered in high spending areas) is not.
- San Francisco opens a $1.7 million public toilet. (NYT)
- Why it is so hard to know if there is a relationship between red meat and mortality.
- States with freer economies attract more immigrants from other states and have higher growth rates.