Some states have begun a novel experiment: diverting health care funds for housing assistance.
States are plowing billions of dollars into a high-stakes health care experiment that’s exploding around the country: using scarce public health insurance money to provide housing for the poorest and sickest Americans.
At last count nearly 40% of states – 19 so far – are diverting funds from Medicaid into housing assistance. The Biden Administration is encouraging others to follow.
Physician licensure has created a cartel. There I said it and I said it out loud. The right to practice medicine has high barriers to entry, both in terms of high standards and high costs. It takes 7-to-11 years beyond college to train a new physician, but it really begins long before medical school.
There is a shortage of physicians in the United States. There is especially a shortage of primary care physicians willing to treat Medicare enrollees. People nearing the age of Medicare eligibility are often advised to begin searching for a primary care physician who accepts Medicare a year ahead of time.
Data published in 2020 by the Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that the U.S. could see a shortage of 54,100 to 139,000 physicians by 2033. That shortfall is expected to span both primary- and specialty-care fields.
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.