- CBO: Drug importation and a slew of other oft-debated drug pricing policies would have little to no effect on cutting prices.
- Henderson on Stiglitz.
- Charles Sauer: CDC’s advisory committee to recommend lowering the age for the pneumonia vaccination to 50.
- Federal funds now directly support the purchase of 79 percent of Obamacare plans, while the majority of enrollees receive plans entirely paid for by federal taxpayers.
- Virtual physical therapy, once a niche service, has gone mainstream.
Category: Health Economics & Costs
WSJ: OTC Hearing Aids Not Selling Well, Returned Too Often
…the Wall Street Journal reports that, at least so far, OTC hearing aids have been a bust. Only about 2% of people with mild hearing loss have purchased an OTC hearing aid. The problem is many of the OTC hearing aids were not much cheaper than prescription models.
Tuesday Links
- Steve Parente is launching the Health Economists and Academic Leaders (HEAL) Network, to promote rational health reform.
- Why some beneficiaries will pay more for drugs because of the IRA bill.
- Study: 25% of health care spending is wasted and 25% of that could be reduced by policy changes.
- Wealthy nations may be reaching a life expectancy limit.
Monday Links
- CBO: Medicaid spending on illegal aliens has cost Taxpayers over $16.2 Billion in the last three years.
- o1 is the first AI to outperform PhD-level scholars on the toughest Graduate-Level Google-Proof Q&A Benchmark and to excel in solving International Mathematics Olympiad problems.
- AEI: When the social Security Trust Fund becomes exhausted in 2033, most people assume the Treasury will reduce everyone’s monthly benefit check by 21%. In fact, the administration can means test the reduction – protecting the lowest income recipients at the expense of the highest – without any act of Congress.
- In OMB’s new cost benefit analysis, higher income people get lower weights than lower income people. Viscusi on why that matters and what can go wrong.