The Relentless Rise of Healthcare Expenditures
Need I say more?
Similar Posts
Why It's Not Time For Health Care Rationing
ByadminIn the last few years, the U.S. health care system has seemingly been gripped by “back to the nineties” fever. Back then, we had a Democratic president working to reform the health care system. Experts from across this system were promoting the importance of controlling health care costs; the growth of health care expenditures even…
Can’t Afford Medical Care? Welcome to America!
ByadminDavid Blumenthal and colleagues recently wrote a wonderful piece in the New England Journal on the future of Medicare. In it, they present a powerful picture comparing how often people in 11 countries have difficulty accessing medical care because of costs. The good news? The USA came in first place. The bad news? First is…
HIV – The Epidemic Isn’t Over
ByadminWe have great medications to treat HIV infections today, but the best medicine is to not need medicine – to not get infected in the first place. But according to an article in JAMA, HIV transmission is rising among gay and bisexual men, compared to the rest of the population: …
How Doctors Turn Patients into Lobbyists
ByadminI recently spoke with a Washington Post reporter about a troubling practice. Physicians convince their patients to sign letters to influence public policies the patients often don’t understand. Here is the beginning of that piece. Check it out: A proposal to sharply cut a drug discount program that many hospitals rely on drew some 1,400…
LBJ and the Initial Cost of Medicare
ByadminWhen Johnson was pushing congress to establish the nation’s first real health care funding, many legislators, especially conservative southern Democrats, balked at the cost. Johnson was well aware that Medicare would be costly. But he thought health insurance was too important, in reducing poverty among elderly people, to let costs get in the way. He…
Cost of Treating Hepatitis C Is Soaring
ByadminHere is a fascinating picture from the Wall Street Journal, showing how much Medicare has been spending on hepatitis C treatments lately. You can see that the cost is rising dramatically: Keep in mind, however, that the new and expensive hepatitis C treatments currently on the market will dramatically reduce costs in the future, because…