When I graduated from college, I was chosen as one of the commencement speakers. In my speech, I pretended to be reading a letter I wrote to my father. My dad came to the graduation, completely unaware of my speech. When he heard me start reading the letter, he put his head in his hands…
I was raised in a family that hates taxes. Not hates taxes as in “Gosh, it’s too bad such a high percentage of my paycheck goes to the government.” More like: “How dare the government steal my hard-earned money and give it to undeserving moochers!” (Is there such a thing as a deserving moocher? Sorry,…
Some people worried that the ACA would kill employer-sponsored health insurance, by giving employers an “out” – by letting them shift insurance to the exchanges. The ACA set up financial incentives, to reduce such shifting. And so far, it looks like it’s working: Still quite early, of course. I’ll keep my eyes open for further…
The U.S. healthcare system has an unsung hero – community health centers, which provide basic medical care for under-served communities. Even dental care! Right now 1 in 6 Medicaid enrollees receives care at one of these centers, a proportion that has been growing for decades: In some states, 1 in 3 enrollees use community health…
I know why I sometimes eat too many brownies. They taste great! The same goes, of course, for a whole slew of desserts–I love me my strawberry rhubarb pie, and I never say no to a ginger snap. And while a touch of dessert is often a fine way to top off dinner, many of…
A team from the CDC recently published an implicit study cataloguing the pathogens – the evil foreign organisms – that cause Americans to find themselves in hospitals with pneumonia. And the worst offenders? Viruses! Moral of the story – get your annual flu shot, and then cross your (sanitized?) fingers that some other bug doesn’t…
As a science, economics does not always succeed at predicting how humans behave. The discipline assumes a level of rationality, and an ability to process complex information, that far exceeds human capacity. But as a standard for how people ought to behave, economics provides an excellent set of lessons. Consider the economic principle of consistency in financial…
Want to buy health insurance for your family? Last year, that would have cost you almost $18,000. In 1999, the cost would have been closer to $6,000. Here’s a table showing the steady rise in prices: Surprised at the $18,000 number? That’s because much of that cost is being picked up by your employer. You…
Last year, I joined Zeke Emanuel and some other great people in publishing an article on how to use the insights of behavioral economics to nudge physicians towards providing high-value care. Here is a link to that article. To give you a teaser, here are some of the principles we drew upon: And here are…
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…