- Why Sweden did better than any other country during the Covid pandemic.
- If Medicare patients are receiving low-value care, who is providing it?
- Do elderly entitlements take from the poor and subsidize the rich? Individuals living in non-elderly households, whether with and without children, now are more likely to be poorer than senior citizens.
- Republican presidential candidates’ plans for Medicare.
Category: Health Economics & Costs
Tuesday Links
- China had 1.87 million excess deaths that occurred among individuals 30 years and older during the first 2 months after the end of China’s zero COVID policy.
- Can people think their way to an orgasm?
- Kaiser: Health misinformation is endemic.
- Five thousand pilots lied on medical records to hide conditions that would prevent them sitting in the cockpit.
- How dangerous is pollen?
Dialysis Should be Patient Centered and More Convenient
End State Renal Disease (ESRD) is the only disease condition that is covered by Medicare regardless of patients’ age. This benefit was passed in 1972. One result of Section 299I of Public Law 92-603 is that Medicare pays for two-third of dialysis patients, down from 87% in 2004. When your kidney function falls by 85% to 90% your kidneys can no longer keep you alive. According to the National Kidney Foundation, the average life expectancy on dialysis is 5 to 10 years, but many people live much longer when their dialysis is tailored to their needs. This often does not happen due to the United States’ mostly one-size-fits-all approach to dialysis, which is not ideal.
Monday Links
- David Henderson reviews Einav and Finkelstein’s new heath care book.
- Americans who are married with children are happier and more prosperous lives, on average, than men and women who are single and childless.
- Out-party hate is now more powerful than in-party love as a predictor of voting behavior in the United States.
- AEI study: Every additional $1,000 of federal aid per resident led to over 50,000 more Covid tests per 100,000 people. But there was no effect on total vaccinations.
- A bipartisan solution to this problem: barriers to competition in the biologic drug market increase patient costs by more than $30 billion.