Category: Health Economics & Costs
What Do We Know About Socialism?
“Bolivarian socialism” … took Venezuela from being South America’s richest country to a humanitarian catastrophe. Sweden attempted a form of socialism in the 1970s and ’80s, only to reverse course after it experienced massive capital flight and a financial crisis during which interest rates hit 75 percent. France’s Socialist government imposed a 75 percent tax on earnings over one million euros in 2012; it dropped the tax two years later as the wealthy packed their bags. Britain’s National Health Service, whose advocates chronically complain is “underfunded,” is in a state of perpetual crisis even as health care, according to the BBC, gobbles up roughly one third of government spending.
Source: Bret Stephens, New York Times
Wednesday Links
- The down side of weight loss drugs.
- WaPo: provider directory for Medicare Advantage plans is defective.
- Against the Trump administration’s views on autism. (Statnews)
- Enbrel, the blockbuster arthritis drug sold by Amgen, has a 30-year old monopoly and sells for a sticker price of $106,000. (NYT)
- Over the past decade, New York and New Jersey have lost 3 million citizens, taking with them $700 billion in combined personal income.
- Food stamps: One person was receiving them in six different states.
WSJ: Blue Cities Foisted Retiree Health Costs on Federal Taxpayers
Democrats are desperately trying to hold on to the illusion that Obamacare is a success, even if it means subsidizing 80% of the premiums for solidly middle-class Americans. I took advantage of the subsidies in 2022, but discovered I no longer qualified in 2023 after the year was already up. A change in retirement planning caused the Internal Revenue Service to claw back my entire subsidy (nearly $5,000) when I filed my 2023 taxes. The goal of reformers should be to reform the Affordable Care Act (ACA), not subsidize it. Republicans should work to allow plans that Americans want to buy and are willing to pay for.