Healthcare Summit Quotations

“We are not cutting Medicare benefits. We are trying to eliminate waste.” Vice President Joe Biden, 25 February 2010. “Our country’s too big, too complicated, too decentralized for Washington, a few of us here, just to write a few rules about remaking seventeen percent of the economy all at once.” Senator Lamar Alexander, 25 February 2010.…

Irreversibility and Medical Treatment

Irreversibility occurs when treatment in the current period alters the efficacy of treatments in the future. A paper by Zivin and Neidell (2010) give the following simple example: Examine the following table.  In the first scenario, the individual has disease X in two periods.  If he takes treatment 1 (T1) then he will recover 6…

Cavalcade of Risk

David Williams of the Health Business Blog hosts the latest edition of the Cavalcade of Risk.  Some of the highlights include: Having sex can boost your immune system Is bullying health insurers the best way to restrain rate increases? How much health insurance do you want?  The government may not know unless it keeps at…

Links

Medicare’s ‘Strike Force‘ If a state lowers its drinking age, it increases traffic accidents for residents of other states? Modeling count data in SAS. McAllen, TX As Outlier? Why Not Houston? C.F.T.G.F.I.H.F.M.C-E.F.G.H.T.T.R.A.P.

Links

Health reform is only good when its your idea. San Francisco restaurant’s institute a  “Health Surcharge”. Massachusetts’ health reform makes the state less attractive to younger workers. HHS releases over $0.8 billion in grants for HIT. Do we need Federal Antitrust Law for health insurance?