- Penn Wharton Budget Model fiscal reform proposal: much flatter income tax, a carbon tax, mainly no exclusion for employer provided heath insurucne, higher retirement age, etc.
- Kids who pass the marshmallow test turn out to be happier later in life.
- Health care spending in the US reached $4.9 trillion and increased 7.5 percent in 2023, growing from a rate of 4.6 percent in 2022.
- Despite concerns about vaccine safety, the (child) vaccination rate today is the same as it was 40 years ago.
- Employee benefits for gig workers.
Category: Saturday Links
Saturday Links
- Has Trump’s election sparked more vasectomies?
- Why is the US growing faster than other countries, even though our students do worse on test scores?
- Walmart says it can now offer same day delivery (including pharmaceuticals) to 86% of all US households.
- Study: Substantial Medicare price reductions in the medical device industry over 20 years led to a 29% decline in new product introductions and an 80% decrease in patent filings.
- Are drug expiration dates meaningless?
- Some people on X are cheering the UnitedHealthcare CEO’s murder.
Saturday Links
Insurers (including Medicare and Medicaid) should be required to let their enrollees keep 100 percent of the savings from price shopping for care. So, for instance, if a patient opts for a surgeon charging $4,000 for a procedure, and the insurer would normally pay $5,000 for the service, the patient should get to keep the $1,000 from choosing the lower-priced option.
This is much easier to do with a a Heath Savings Account