Health Economics & Costs – Page 290 – The Goodman Institute Health Blog

Study: Physician-Owed Hospitals Have Lower Prices, Boosts Competition

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Devon Herrick

The Affordable Care Act, a misnomer if there ever was one, has been the law of the land for 13 years now. One of the many ill-thought-out provisions was one that banned further development of hospitals owned by physicians.

“The Affordable Care Act (ACA) imposed severe restrictions on physician-owned hospitals, such as prohibiting the development of new physician-owned hospitals and the expansion of existing ones,” Ge Bai, a professor of accounting and health policy at Johns Hopkins University and one of the coauthors of the study, said.

+

Monday Links

Posted on June 26, 2023June 26, 2023 by John C. Goodman

+

Many Doctors Dislike Working for The Man

Posted on June 25, 2023 by Devon Herrick

The practice of medicine has changed tremendously within my lifetime. A retired physician came to my office years ago lamenting that his esteemed profession had turned into a business over the course of his career. That raises something of an ethical dilemma: doctors want to practice medicine but some feel like they’re being forced to practice in ways they find objectionable.

The New York Times explained, “The corporatization of health care has changed the practice of medicine, causing many physicians to feel alienated from their work.”

+

Saturday Links

Posted on June 24, 2023June 24, 2023 by John C. Goodman

Milliman: the average family of four with employer-sponsored health insurance will pay—directly and indirectly—$31,065 in health costs in 2023.
Alzheimer’s drugs: “the ability to slow cognitive decline by a small but significant margin may not translate into a noticeable day-to-day difference for patients … at a price of $26,500 annually.”
American Compass founder Oren Cass on living standards decline: “Whereas 40 weeks of the typical male worker’s income in 1985 could provide the middle-class essentials for a family of four, by 2022 he needed 62 weeks of income—a problem, there being only 52 weeks in a year.”
AEI response: “While Cass’ estimates imply that cost-adjusted earnings have fallen by 36 percent, when we apply conventional inflation adjustment to median weekly earnings and look at all full-time workers, we find an increase of 33 percent before taxes and 53 percent after taxes.”
Is the exercise equipment industry one big scam?
Scott Sumners: the Covid lab leak theory has not been confirmed.

+