Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
The the health and economic of serious mental illness (SMI) is often overlooked by the health policy and some provider communities. One key question is how how can we quantify the economic burden of SMI. Further, how can we reduce this burden. Much of my research has looked at how medications can improve health and…
Last week, a federal judge blocked Arkansas and Kentucky from requiring individuals to work in order to receive Medicaid benefits. Prior to that decision, 9 states had been approved to implement Medicaid work requirements. At first glance, a work requirement does not make a lot of sense. If you are very sick and on Medicaid,…
HHS has a policy paper titled “Reforming America’s Healthcare System Through Choice and Competition“. In the paper, HHS describes four broad areas of reform. I describe each in term, some of the key policy recommendation under each of the four headings, and my thoughts on each reform. Here goes: Health care workforce and labor markets.…
In the news, deaths from overdoses of opioids, heroin and fentanyl have been in the spotlight. Rightly so. Opioid deaths in the U.S have risen to almost 50,000 people in 2017, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. However, deaths from methamphetamines is on the rise as well. In fact, many individuals who die…
According to a February 2019 report, the Council of Economic Advisors proposes to improve health insurance markets through three key policies: Eliminate the individual mandate Permitting more small businesses to form Association Health Plans Expanding short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI) plans The report claims that these changes will generate $450 billion in social surplus over the…
As I have done in previous years, below I review and comment on all of the President’s statements related to health care that come from his state of the union address. Many of us have campaigned on the same core promises, to defend American jobs and demand fair trade for American workers, to rebuild and…
In single payer systems, the problem of adverse selection in health insurance is solved because the single payer must cover all people. Because the single payer cannot avoid covering any individual, there is no strategic gaming on coverage decisions. There may, however, be strategic decisions made on the treatment of patients. Consider the case of…
Although the high cost of pharmaceuticals is often in the news, these costs are offset by improved health benefits. However, it may not be clear the extent to which new pharmaceutical products lead to improved health at the national level. A paper by Lichtenberg (2018) aims to examine this question looking at the introduction of…
In one of his first acts as California Governor, Gavin Newson has proposed a way to reduce drug price: let California use its size to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical firms. As the N.Y. Times reports: [O]n Monday, Mr. Newsom signed an executive order proposing a plan that would allow California to directly negotiate with drug manufacturers. The…
An interesting article in the N.Y. Times “Upshot” section by Austin Frakt argues that federal efforts to nudge people towards healthier behaviors may be doomed to fail. A $100 billion dollar health care package…encourages exercise by treating gym memberships as tax-deductible medical expenses…[a]nd it would permit the use of flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts…