- Biden’s executive order uses the Defense Production Act (DPA) to allow the government to produce drugs that are in short supply. It also waives any requirement to notify Congress before taking action.
- In 1980, physician donations to the two parties was 50/50; by 2018, 90% of physician donations were going to Democrats.
- Where are all the U-Hauls going? Texas ranks first and California ranks last.
- Australia has gone more than 30 years without a recession. Scott Sumner explains why.
- Can therapy help make you rich? “Light-touch psychological interventions, such as videos that aim to raise aspirations, have shown some promise in … improving economic well-being.”
- Recent increases in Medicare spending have been concentrated in specialties with the greatest proliferation of new Medicare billing codes. This is spending on new procedures.
Category: Thursday Links
Thursday Links – 14 December 2023
- There are more living cells on Earth — a million trillion trillion, or 10^30 in math notation, a 1 followed by 30 zeros — than there are stars in the universe or grains of sand on our planet.
- Elisabeth Warren’s solution to the generic drug shortage problem: let nonprofit companies produce them.
- Employers are hiring virtual providers as weight-loss drug gatekeepers.
- What is mifepristone? It is used in more than half of all US abortions.
Thursday Links
- Breakthrough medical technology is working: Cancer drugs that function like heat-seeking missiles deliver chemicals directly to tumors.
- After years of writing and talking about health care, Jeff Goldsmith finally experiences it: the good, bad, and ugly.
- A downside of the IRA Act’s cap on out-of-pocket patient costs: “We anticipate that the use of tools like prior authorization or step therapy will increase in frequency or intensity. For providers, this will potentially increase administrative burdens and may affect the timeliness of care delivery.”
- How could a new budget commission succeed, given the failure of Simpson-Bowles? On cutting waste in Defense, Alam Simpson told me we have 1,000 bases overseas.