Measure 110 never worked well from the start. Last July I wrote state officials, advocates for drug reform laws and Oregon residents are left wondering whether Measure 110 needs small reforms, is merely experiencing growing pains or should be scrapped altogether. Also, one has to wonder if the tax revenue supporting treatment centers was supposed to mitigate the increase in drug use by making drug use less risky.
Category: Health Reform
Friday Links
- Do you know what a “walkaway death” is?
- Headline I wish I hadn’t seen:
One of the Heritage Foundation’s telehealth policy recommendations for a 2025 GOP president stands at stark odds with policies advocated by telehealth stakeholders and included in GOP-backed telehealth aimed at cementing Medicare telehealth permanency.
- Heritage, of course is right. See Mandate for Leadership (2025) Pages 483 and 488.
- How California uses Medicaid to rip you off. It taxes providers, then gives the money back as Medicaid funding and draws federal matching money in the process. (WSJ)
- NYT (for the first time, I think) allows its lead editorial to advocate the buying and selling of kidneys. (NYT)
- Glasses matter: Garment workers, artisans and tailors in Bangladesh who were provided with free reading glasses experienced a 33 percent increase in income compared to those who were not given glasses.
- More on Glasses: For nearly a billion people in the developing world, reading glasses are a luxury that many cannot afford. (NYT)
Emergency Room Violence is Increasingly Common
I often warn patients to avoid the emergency room (ER) at all costs – mostly because it will cost you a fortune. I also advise patients to avoid hospitals in general unless they are too sick to go anywhere else. Hospitals are the most expensive place to have medical care done that can be done elsewhere. It turns out, the ER is not just dangerous for patients financially, but also a dangerous place to work.
Bad Deal: Hospitals Discover Concierge Medicine
I just read about a troubling trend: Hospital-owned concierge medical practices. This is where hospitals establish a concierge practice for the purpose of attracting a few hundred wealthy members (I mean patients) willing to pay $2,000 to $4,000 apiece to be able to get quick access to their physician.