Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
“In 1988, the first year for which data are available, there were fewer than 14,000 patients waiting for a kidney transplant and about 7,000 deceased-donor kidneys. Today, the waiting list has grown more than fivefold — an increase fueled partly by higher rates of diabetes — but the number of deceased-donor kidneys has only inched…
Economic theory says that for commodities, there should be one market price. For instance, there is one worldwide price for oil, metals also have a one worldwide price. While there is significant heterogeneity between different types of medical treatments, one would expect that the price of pharmaceuticals would be the same or very similar across…
Many health economists wonder how much individuals would be willing to pay for a treatment. Since most medical care is paid by third parties (i.e. private insurance companies or the government) we can not use revealed preference econometrics which has been used in other areas of economics. Instead, many economists ask individuals directly these valuation…
According to optimal tax theory, taxes should be highest on relatively inelastic activities. For instance, most men work full-time and and the tax rate does not affect this. On the other hand, it has been should that the labor supply of women is much more sensitive to wages and income tax rates. If we follow…
The latest edition of the Cavalcade of Risk is up at the “I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…” blog.
Health economists, policy makers, physicians and public health officials all want to maximize the well-being of society. These groups evaluate different medical treatments or public health interventions and then determine if the benefit is worth the cost. In an opinion piece by Dorte Gyrd-Hansen in Pharmacoeconomics (2005), two schools of thought are examined. Those who…
Last night I saw an encore presentation of an interview with Jerome Groopman on the Newshour with Jim Lehrer. I have written posts in the past about Dr. Groopman (see 16 March 2007). Dr. Groopman notes that doctors often misdiagnose patients. Physicians are often anchored to a prior belief and have trouble changing their diagnosis…
According to the Daily Mail (…obesity epidemic…) the NHS could give “vouchers to the overweight to spend on healthy food in supermarkets” or cash prizes to those who manage to lose weight. The UK could also mandate cooking classes in school and more time for physical education classes. The UK report on obesity states: “We…
There is an interesting article at Forbes describing that the housing boom is not the only bubble that may need to burst. Scans per thousand insured people went from 85 to 234 in the U.S. between 1999 and 2007. Author David Whelan describes what happened to one radiologist in Connecticut after Medicare and HMOs cut…
Hybrid cars are supposed to save the environment, but they will also increase traffic. How can this be? Example 1 Let us suppose that Hybrid Harry has a hybrid car which gets 50 mpg. Gas-guzzler Gary has a truck which gets 20 mpg. Both Harry and Gary live in San Diego and have relatives in…