Traditional Medicare has advantages and disadvantages. Traditional Medicare involves Part A (hospitalization) Part B (doctors and clinics), Part D (drugs). Parts B and D require additional premiums. Furthermore, traditional Medicare has unlimited cost sharing, that runs 20% of the total cost. Most enrollees in traditional Medicare opt to buy a separate supplemental insurance policy to cover their cost sharing.
Category: Medicare
Friday Links
- Regulations prohibiting price gouging during the Covid pandemic resulted in shortages leading to more social contact in crowded stores at the worst possible time—when social contact spreads a dangerous pathogen.
- The increase in US maternal mortality may not be real.
- Biden executive order: health insurers participating in Medicare Advantage, Medicaid or the Obamacare exchanges will need to respond to expedited prior authorization requests within 72 hours, and standard requests within seven calendar days.
- The world is getting older: In the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, total spending on long-term care is already more than 3% of GDP. In Japan and Korea more than 15% of the population is over 80.
Monday Links
- How political gridlock could kill the best global health program the US ever passed.
- The cost of Semaglutide, a medication used for treating type 2 diabetes and obesity, can range from $800 to $1,000 per month, on average. Since roughly 35% of Medicare patients are overweight or obese, Medicare spending is poised to go up by more than 17% overnight and stay at that level for a long time to come.
- The airlines lose 2 million bags a year.
- Fauci: no science behind the 6 ft distancing guideline.
- $5 trillion was spent on covid relief. The real increase in the federal debt was $5.8 trillion.
Saturday Links
- Biden touts record Obamacare enrollment. Reasons not mentioned: (1) they are giving away health insurance for free and (2) millions are being kicked out of Medicaid.
- What Malthus got wrong. And why that is still relevant today.
- Jamie Dimon is pessimistic about the economy and the world.
- Why is the VA giving out free medical care to illegal immigrants while 418,000 veterans claims are waiting in the backlog?