Rationing By Any Other Name

Tired of all those family newsletters that inundate you with overwhelming detail on all the amazing accomplishments of your friends’ children? I thought I would address that issue, in my latest edition of my own family newsletter. Hope you enjoy: Ubel/Greeno Annual Holiday Letter.

Some medical services are unnecessary. Is it your first day of uncomplicated lower back pain? You don’t need an x-ray. But many patients continue to receive such services anyway, perhaps because they demand them or, perhaps, because their providers keep recommending them. But does the likelihood of unnecessary services depend on your insurance? Specifically, do Medicaid…

Often great science depends on keen observation. Darwin built his theory of evolution on detailed observations of everything from birds to beetles. Jane Goodall revolutionized our understanding of primate behavior by staring at chimpanzees for hours and days. But not just staring at them, noticing them. She saw things most observers would not have picked…