- Reprint of a Uwe Reinhart classic: how Republican administrations gave us health care price controls and Keynesian economics fiscal policy.
- OxyContin and the Sacklers return to TV in a Netflix series fact checked by Slate.
- Blue Shield of California tears up the prescription drug playbook and partners with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company. (WSJ)
- Did you know the US government is stockpiling cheese ….. and raisins?
- What happens to the roughly 20 million people slated to lose Medicaid coverage? The vast majority have other insurance and apparently didn’t need to be on Medicaid in the first place. (WSJ)
- COVID experts calling for masks again — even at home!
Category: Single-Payer/Medicare-for-All
Bernie Sanders: Single-Payer is a Health System Panacea (if you don’t read the fine print)
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders wants to reform the U.S. health care system, describing it as “broken, dysfunctional, and getting worse,”
Should Medicare Pay for Cancer Screening in Healthy People? No but Seniors May Want to
A while back I wrote about Galleri, the holy grail of cancer screening tests, saying:
Cancer is usually treatable if caught early. The cancers that are the deadliest (such as pancreatic cancer) are lethal because they are difficult to catch early. Many deadly cancers have no symptoms until they’ve spread. About 90% of cancer deaths are due to metastatic cancer, that is cancer that has spread beyond the original location. In theory most cancer could be treatable if only it could be caught sooner, before it has a chance to spread.
Physicians’ Practices Vary: Some are Good, Some are Bad
I am (generally) a big fan of doctors experimenting with different forms of medical practices. Some doctors are sole proprietors and work mostly alone in their office. Years ago, I went to a doctor who did not accept insurance and would not make appointments. His office was small since he didn’t require a billing staff and was very efficient. His prices were transparent and quite low ($35 office call in 1993).
Another physician, this one from Northern Virginia, pioneered primary care consultations by telephone. Doctalker Family Medicine would do house calls, in-office visits and consultations by phone. Each service came with a different price tag. He did not accept insurance, but his office would help patients fill out an insurance claim form for a modest fee. Most of his consultations were by phone.