- Evidence that families’ decision to have children are influenced by which party wins the presidency.
- AHIP: two years of consecutive cuts to Medicare Advantage is why many seniors are now experiencing a reduction in coverage choices, higher costs and reduced benefits.
- Teen alcohol and drug use keeps declining. (Despite 24 states legalizing recreational cannabis.)
- Hispanic versus non-Hispanic White gaps were smaller in Medicare Advantage than in traditional Medicare for all outcomes: avoidable emergency department use, preventable hospitalizations, and thirty-day hospital readmissions. Results are mixed for White/Black comparisons.
Category: Single-Payer/Medicare-for-All
NBC News Investigation: Stingy Insurers Are Delaying, Denying Cancer Care
Tracy Pike was a 45-year-old father of three when he was diagnosed with Stage-4 stomach cancer. Chemotherapy reduced the size of his tumor, but his doctor recommended an aggressive treatment, combining surgery and intensive chemotherapy at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. His health insurer later denied the treatment…
Sunday Links
- Biden piles on last minute regulations.
- There is wide variation in low value care (e.g., PSA testing for men ages 75+) among the states.
- Medicare Advantage is disproportionately popular among Black, Hispanic, Asian and low-income enrollees.
- Homelessness reaches the highest level on record.
- Health insurer denial: a bionic arm for a little girl without a biological arm is medically unnecessary and is for cosmetic use only.
Are Pharmacy Closures a Tragedy of the Commons?
When I was a new student in political economy we learned about the tragedy of the commons. The example often used is communal pastureland that herdsmen use to feed their livestock. If pasture is overgrazed the grass dies, but if short grass stems are left to regrow someone else may let their sheep overgraze and the same result occurs.