Ronald Bailey at Reason reports on a new study that says medical innovation increases life expectancy, not spending. Some excerpts:
Columbia University economist Frank Lichtenberg published a new study that suggests advanced medical technologies are not contributing all that much toward rising U.S. health care expenditures. ...
Lichtenberg's key finding is that ...
With politicians trying to force everyone to pay for medical care through insurance, and pay for insurance through their employer, it's nice to see a development where the patient can still be the customer. A couple of weeks ago Scripps News reported:
As Americans struggle to take charge of their health ...
Reposted from John Goodman's health policy blog:
People are fond of believing that the American Medical Association (AMA) represents physicians. But if representation follows revenues, the AMA’s most important customer is probably the federal government.
In1983, an agreement between the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) and the AMA made the AMA’s copyrighted ...
The following video is based on a new novel called Universal Coverage, by Daniel Putkowski. That is, it's not real. However, medical tourism on a cruise ship is an interesting possible consequence of increased government control over our medical care and insurance. It's sort of the medical version of Seasteading, ...
Writes Paul Hsieh, MD:
In a recent editorial published by Investor’s Business Daily, associate editor (and PJTV.com regular) Terry Jones revealed stunning poll data showing that 45 percent of American physicians “would consider leaving their practice or taking an early retirement” if Congress passed the proposed ObamaCare health legislation.
As a practicing ...
If you are a patient harmed by medical malpractice by a private physician, you can recoup substantial sums for both economic damages and pain and suffering in most states.If you are a patient harmed by the same sort of medical malpractice at a government affiliated hospital or health center, you ...
Writes Arnold Kling at EconLog (emphasis added):
Both the private health insurance industry and the music industry are operating business models that to me appear to be unsustainable and anachronistic. The music industry developed in a world of vinyl records. Our health insurance industry and Medicare developed in an environment in ...
Michael Cannon speaks on how the fee-for-service method of paying for medical care provides poor incentives for medical quality. As he writes here,
Rather than allow a level playing field for all payment systems, so that competition forces them all to improve, government tips the scales toward fee-for-service. . Medicare is ...
I'm not about to defend health care the the United States, which is very much socialized as it is. Given the FDA, the tax treatment of insurance responsible for employer-based insurance, over-consumption and much of the pre-existing condition issue, not being able to buy insurance available in other states, and ...
Some welcome price competition. From the Wall Street Journal blog:
Peggy Starr, a customer services agent for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, saved thousands of dollars on her heart surgery by getting on a plane. The Nevada native didn’t need to go overseas for surgery; instead, her employer flew her to Texas. ...
