Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
According to the U.S. Census: Both the percentage and number of people without health insurance decreased in 2007. The percentage without health insurance was 15.3 percent in 2007, down from 15.8 percent in 2006, and the number of uninsured was 45.7 million, down from 47.0 million. The percentage of people covered by private health insurance…
Barack Obama and John McCain both believe that they know how to improve the American health care system. A policy brief by Michael Tanner has nice summary of the two candidates policies. I will review some of this paper today. Obama’s general health care policy Obama goal is to expand government provided health care and…
The BBC recently reported that a Durham University professor David Hunter is claiming that obesity is such a problem that its “…threat to our future health is just as significant as the current security threat.” What is Dr. Hunter’s solution? He said that bigger warning labels, changes in the taxation of “unhealthy” foods, and even…
Jin Ma, Mingshan Lu and Hude Quan have a wonderful article in Health Affairs which summarizes how China’s healthcare system has evolved over the years. Today, I will review this article. Pre-Reform Era: 1949-1978 The health care system during this time–like the rest of the Chinese economy–was centrally plan. There were no private clinics or…
According to U.S. Census projections, the number of individuals 65 and older will increase from 12.4% of the populations in 2000 to 20.7% of the population in 2050. With the expected incredible rise in the number of elderly in the U.S., one would expect a concurrent rise in the number of geriatricians. NPR’s Marketplace, however,…
In “Does Roche have Genentech’s Rx?“, NPR’s Marketplace reports on Roche’s bid to purchase all of Genentech, a firm that developed the three best-selling cancer drugs in the United States.
What happens to seized drug money? According to the Economist, in Montgomery County, Texas the sized drug money was used to fund the beer and liquor needs of the district attorney at their local county fair. The funds were also used to purchase a margarita machine. Looks like seized illegal drugs were used to fund…
The New York Times (“The evidence gap“) has a great article about the high-priced cancer drug Avastin. Avastin treats patients with advanced forms of cancer by cutting of blood supply to the cancerous tumors. The cost-effectiveness of Avastin has been cast in doubt. “Roy Vagelos, a former chief executive of Merck who is considered an…
The New York Times has an interesting report (“On Campus…“) discussing the fact that older, more liberal professors raised in the 1960s are slowly retiring. They are being replaced by younger professors who are less ideologically driven then their senior faculty members. Currently, over half of academic faculty is over 50 years old while only…
The Telegraph reports that Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) has enacted a constitution. “[The constitution] will set out the rights and responsibilities for patients and what they can expect from the NHS in the 21st century. It is being seen by ministers as a chance to reiterate the founding principles of the health service, emphasising…