- Even though drugs can be a highly effective therapy, most states prohibit psychologists from prescribing medications for their mental health patients.
- Pandemic spending waste: only one quarter of the jobs supported by PPP funds would have disappeared without the program and the funds rarely reached their intended target of rank-and-file workers.
- Paragon report: Medicaid now has more than 15 million ineligible recipients.
- New medical tech claim: a complete genome mapping for$100.
- How that could change medicine.
- Progressive Caucus wants to change the name of Medicare Advantage to curtail its popularity.
Category: Medicare
Another Hit Job on MA Plans
New York Times reporters Reed Abelson and Margot Sanger-Katz have managed to set a high bar (even for the Grey Lady) for those who aspire to mislead readers on health economics. They manage (1) to assert that most major Medicare Advantage insurers have been sued for fraud; (2) to warn how bad that will be in the future as more seniors enroll in these plans; without (3) ever mentioning that there is even more fraud in regular Medicare – the alternative to MA plans.
Thursday Links
- 10 million Swedes have private health insurance, with 60% paid by employers. “The advantages are quicker consultations and avoiding long waiting lines.”
- Dual eligibles (Medicare plus Medicaid) do better in Medicare Advantage special needs plans than in traditional Medicare.
- Arnold Kling on all the Covid mistakes and who made them.
- Is the CDC causing patients needless pain?
- Study: Midlife crises are real.
Is it a Problem that only 1-in-5 Therapists Accepts Insurance?
Margie Ryerson is a licensed marriage and family therapist. Last week she wrote an article in the online magazine Slate discussing why she does not accept insurance. Ryerson said she has turned away many potential patients telling them she had no appointment openings. Often the real reason was that her practice is closed to those not…