Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
As an economist with libertarian leanings, last week was a great one to display the imperfection of government action. Below are some of the lowlights: Scooter Libby was convicted for leaking the identity of a CIA agent (Washington Post article). A Justice Department audit found that “the FBI broke the law to secretly pry out…
The Century Foundation has a very interesting debate on health care reform (transcript). Below I have cited some of the more interesting points. ERISA. Jacob Hacker, professor of political science at Yale, claims that states attempts at health care reform may be limited by the Employees Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974. According to…
Defining sprawl is difficult. Los Angeles is generally seen to be a leader in sprawl, but in fact Los Angeles is the most densely populated urban area in the U.S; Portland is seen as a model of reducing urban sprawl, but sprawl increased by 25,000 acres in Portland between 1980 and 1990. While population growth…
In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal (“In China…“), there is an interesting article about health care in rural China. The article gets at the heart of a number of health care issues: Physicians paid on a fee-for-service basis treat their patients more intensely compared to physicians paid on a salaried or capitation basis. In rural China,…
The Washington Post reports today (“U.S. Senators…“) that 5 Democratic and 5 Republican senators have signed a letter requesting that President Bush “fix the American health care system.” What does fixing the health care system entail for senators Kohl (D-WI), Thune (R-SD), Wyden (D-OR), DeMint (R-SC), Conrad (D-ND), Bennett (R-UT), Salazar (D-CO), Lott (R-MS), Cantwell…
Below are some quotations from Gary Becker and Richard Posner’s debate on the Bush healthcare plan. Becker: “Since under present tax law, medical expenses has to exceed 71/2 % of a family’s taxable income before this spending begins to be tax deductible, it is very hard to get any tax benefits with individual health insurance.…
The New York Times reports today (“…Guidelines…“) that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new guidelines on how to prevent or mitigate an influenza pandemic. Some of the major non-pharmaceutical interventions are: Asking ill persons to remain at home or not go to work until they are no longer contagious (seven…
An interesting article in the New York Times’ Sunday Magazine (“Unhappy Meals“) tells readers not to worry about fat levels, getting your daily protein or carb counting. Michael Pollan, the author, claims that nutritionism in American has lead to less healthy, more obese Americans; instead we should simplify our eating habits. Most nutritionist studies examine…
The Reason magazine makes an compelling argument in favor of mandatory private health insurance (“Mandatory Health Insurance Now!“). A subsidy could help all individuals to afford the insurance. Some of the funds for this subsidy could be raised by eliminating the tax-deductibility of health insurance. This program funnels more than $140 billion a year in…
The Health Wonk Review has been posted at the Health Affairs blog.