- Socialized medicine by stealth: Medicaid rolls during the pandemic have swelled by 24 million—a 34% increase—while two million more adults have enrolled in ObamaCare exchange plans.
- Were Democrats being “racist” when they left 2.2 million (disproportionately Black) poor people without health insurance while giving subsidies to high-income (disproportionately white) people. This is consistent with the history of social insurance.
- Covid Vaccine backlash: “10 percent of those vaccinated said they wish they hadn’t done so, while 15 percent of adults said they have been diagnosed with a new condition by a medical practitioner weeks or months after the first dose.”
- Study: Mandatory paid sick leave reduces ER visits. If so, employers and employees should be able to voluntarily adopt it until the marginal benefit equals the marginal cost. Duh!
Category: Medicare
Landmark Alzheimer’s Study May be Bogus
A landmark study published in 2006 implied amyloid beta in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients could be the cause of their disease. However, a new investigation is casting doubt on data used in the 2006 study.
In a lengthy investigation published in the journal Science, a researcher has expressed concerns that a prominent 2006 Alzheimer’s disease study may have falsified images.
Tuesday Links
These are from Heritage:
- Haislmaier: Since the Obamacare subsidy extension for three more years will have no effect on premiums, or on the number of people with health insurance, it will transfer $64 billion into the pockets of the insurers at taxpayer expense.
- Moffitt: Private sector competition in the market for Medicare prescription drug coverage is working much better than anyone expected; CBO: replacing that system with price controls will result in fewer drugs, fewer cures and fewer lives saved.
- Badger: Letting the Obamacare subsidies expire not only would save money, there would be no loss of Americans with individual health insurance coverage.
- Schaefer: Using the VA system as a guide, if Medicare imposes drug price controls seniors should expect less access to critical drugs and treatments than they have today.
Medicare Unlikely to Negotiate Lower Drug Prices than PBMs
Senate Democrats are looking to lower Medicare drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices it pays for a limited number of drugs. The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 expressly forbid the government from interfering with negotiations between private payers and drug makers. However, allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug makers has long been a goal of Democrats and the idea is popular with voters.