CASES: When Bad Advice Is the Best Advice
“CASES: When Bad Advice Is the Best Advice” – The New York Times
“CASES: When Bad Advice Is the Best Advice” – The New York Times
Rebecca Plevin, from KPCC public radio in California, is quickly becoming one of my favorite health reporters. She is really digging in to the strange world of health economics. Here’s a nice piece she did, comparing how people talk about costs when meeting with financial counselors versus veterinarians versus, of course, going to see their…
Even before Obamacare became the law of the land, the U.S. health care system was undergoing a dramatic transformation. Millions of people were shifting from generous health insurance plans to consumer-directed ones that pair low monthly premiums with high out-of-pocket costs. This shift has been encouraged by employers, eager to reduce the cost of employee…
They both had shoulder pain, persistent despite weeks of physical therapy. Both received MRI examinations at reputable radiology facilities, looking for things like rotator cuff tears, labral disruptions and other anatomical abnormalities. What was different was the price they paid for the MRI, with one patient paying $1000 more than the other. Welcome to the…
When Lorie Duff was pregnant with her third child, she did what all good moms are supposed to do. She went to the ObGyn clinic for prenatal care. But she fell behind on the clinic payments. She only made about $25,000 a year managing an auto parts store while her husband stayed home with their…
If you get insurance through your employer, you don’t have to worry about whether insurance will cover maternity care. The company is required to do so by law. But that doesn’t mean the insurer will be very generous. Because in the United States, having coverage doesn’t mean you’re well-covered. Employers are increasingly corralling their employees into high…
Shutterstock How excited would you be about a medication that lowered your risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke by 1.5%? Excited enough to spend a few thousand dollars a year on the drug? I expect not. What if, instead, the drug reduced those same terrible outcomes by 20%? That’s probably enough benefit to…