Health Policy

Health & Well-being | Health Policy

Spending More But Not Living Longer?
Byadmin January 14, 2013

In a recent report from the IOM, the US comes in with surprisingly low life expectancy compared to other developed countries. Take, for instance, this picture from USA Today, showing life expectancy for women:

At the same time, we spend WAY MORE on health care than any of our peers. No one is even a close second. Does that mean our spending is not yielding appropriate results? Those of you who follow my writing (I’m talking to BOTH of you) know that I have serious concerns about health care spending in the US. But keep in mind, that life expectancy is a TERRIBLE measure of health care quality…(Read more here)

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Health Policy | Political Psychology

Why It Is So Difficult to Kill the Death Panel Myth
Byadmin January 9, 2013

In August of 2009, Sarah Palin claimed that the health legislation being crafted by Democrats at the time would create a “death panel,” in which government bureaucrats would decide whether disabled and elderly patients are “worthy of healthcare.” Despite being debunked by fact-checkers and mainstream media outlets, this myth has persisted, with almost half of…

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Health Policy

Obamacare Update: Which States are Going to Expand Medicaid?
Byadmin January 2, 2013

Part of Obamacare involved expanding Medicaid, the health insurance program for low income folks in the U.S. The law required states to offer Medicaid to people living at 125% of the federal poverty limit or lower. States that refused to do this would lose Federal funding for Medicaid (which splits costs about 50/50 federal vs…

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Health Policy

Evaluating the Quality of Charter Schools and Tertiary Care Hospitals
Byadmin December 5, 2012

If Americans judged the quality of hospital care the way Newsweek judges high schools, we would soon be inundated with “charter hospitals” that only treat healthy patients. As reported in The New YorkTimes , thirty-seven of Newsweek’s top 50 high schools have selective admission standards, thereby enrolling the cream of the eighth grade crop. That means…

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Health Policy

Lifesaving Lessons from the Makers of Sprite?
Byadmin November 30, 2012

It was the late 90s and HIV was spreading through South African teenagers like, well, like a sexually transmitted disease. Sleep with a South African at that time and you faced a one in six chance of having a close encounter with the virus. Frightening odds. But not frightening enough to curb teenage sexual activities….

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Health Policy

How Hospitals Get Away with Billing Medicare for Preventable Complications
Byadmin November 30, 2012

The idea seems so simple: (A) When hospitals leave catheters in people’s bladders for too long, people get urinary infections. (B) Third party payers like Medicare and insurance companies are then billed for the cost of treating these infections. (C) If Medicare refuses to pay for these treatments, and force hospitals to bear the cost…

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Health Care Cost | Health Policy

ACA Boosts Shared Decision Making
Byadmin November 29, 2012

Medicine, today, is supposed to be “patient-centered.” But sometimes the patients feel a little off balance. What can they do when everyone seems to be trying to push aggressive, expensive treatments on them? One solution — or a partial solution — is known as shared decision making, in which patients are given specific tools, such…

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Health Policy

Does Obamacare Interfere with the Doctor Patient Relationship?
Byadmin November 26, 2012

Q: Much of the debate around health care reform has centered on whether the government or the individual will control health care decisions. Is that a valid argument? Most medical decisions are between clinicians and their patients, and will continue to be that way as the federal health reform law is implemented. Medicare bureaucrats aren’t…

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Behavioral Economics and Public Policy | Health Policy

Should Little Caesars Be Forced to Tell Consumers How Many Calories Are in a Large Pizza?
Byadmin October 24, 2012

As a fan of free markets, I recognize that sometimes intelligent government regulations (not always an oxymoron!) can improve markets by requiring companies to provide consumers with information that will help them make better choices. Informed consumers, after all, are a central ingredient of a successful free market. That’s why even most libertarians support regulations…

Read More Should Little Caesars Be Forced to Tell Consumers How Many Calories Are in a Large Pizza?
Health Policy

The Moral and Financial Case for Federalizing Medicaid
Byadmin October 18, 2012

Millions of U.S. citizens are too poor to buy health insurance but not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid. And this “not poor enough” problem varies, state by state, depending on the generosity of local governments. In some states, a person’s income can sit below the poverty level, and that person still won’t qualify for…

Read More The Moral and Financial Case for Federalizing Medicaid

Health Policy

Spending More But Not Living Longer?

Why It Is So Difficult to Kill the Death Panel Myth

Obamacare Update: Which States are Going to Expand Medicaid?

Evaluating the Quality of Charter Schools and Tertiary Care Hospitals

Lifesaving Lessons from the Makers of Sprite?

How Hospitals Get Away with Billing Medicare for Preventable Complications

ACA Boosts Shared Decision Making

Does Obamacare Interfere with the Doctor Patient Relationship?

Should Little Caesars Be Forced to Tell Consumers How Many Calories Are in a Large Pizza?

The Moral and Financial Case for Federalizing Medicaid

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