- Paragon study: In 2023, the federal government is expected to spend 6.2 percent of the economy (or more than $1.6 trillion) on mandatory health programs. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that within 30 years, the federal government will annually spend at least 9 percent of the economy on those programs. And this is a conservative estimate.
- A little-noticed provision of the omnibus spending bill could give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to ban off-label use of approved therapies, even though 1 in 5 prescriptions written are for an off-label use.
- Study: Laughter really is contagious – and that’s good. (WaPo)
- Diversity training not only doesn’t work, it may actually backfire. So why are we spending $3.4B a year on it? (NYT)
- Fourth Quarter lobbying: almost $7 million by the American Hospital Association and $6.6 million by PhRMA. As Milton Friedman said, the question is not why we get so many bad laws; the question is, why aren’t things worse?
- Amazon will sell generic drugs for as little as $5 a month. But, no Medicare or Medicaid or private insurance.
- 25 of the 37 novel drugs approved in 2022, were first approved in the US.
Category: Health Reform
Direct Primary Care and other Direct Pay Practice Models on the Rise
An article in the Denver Post claims that more of the city’s physicians are converting their practices to direct primary care (DPC).
Modern Medicine’s Messy Origins
When did the age of modern medicine begin? It’s hard to put your finger on but medical advancements did not occur all at once. Furthermore, what is meant by modern medicine? One fairly common definition that I would use is the point at which medicine stood a better chance of helping patients than harming them.
Artificial Intelligence Mental Health Counseling Chatbot Worked Well Until Patients Found Out
On January 2nd I wrote about an electronic health records (EHRs) suite designed for mental health counselors. I even joked that perhaps a future version would include a mental health counselor chatbot. The following is what I had to say on the matter: