Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
That is the question answered in a paper by Autor et al. (2022). Some background on PPP: Congress enacted the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which provided uncollateralized, low-interest loans of up to $10 million to firms with fewer than 500 employees—loans that were forgivable on the condition that recipient firms maintained employment and wages at…
That is the topic of a new paper by Drummond et al. (2022). When medical devices receive regulatory approval, payers can make one of three coverage decisions: (1) approve, (2) reject or (3) coverage with evidence development (CED). Note that all countries approve medical devices based on safety and efficacy but only England, the Netherlands,…
The Urban Institute has an interesting report titled Obesity Across America. Being overweight (BMS>25), obese (BMI>30) or severely obese (BMI>40) is very common in the U.S. with three quarters of individuals being overweight and nearly half obese. Obesity varies by race and ethnicity as well. Black adults are more likely to live with obesity than…
In a February 10th speech, President Biden wanted to end surprise bills for patients. Specifically he said: No more surprise billing. No more. In fact, he proposed the No Surprises Act. Key questions you may have include: what is a surprise bill? are there any exceptions to this rule? Kaiser Health News has a nice…
As I do every year, below are the highlights of the state of the union address related to health care. Capping insulin prices First, cut the cost of prescription drugs. We pay more for the same drug produced by the same company in America than any other country in the world. Just look at insulin.…
The policy rationale for disability insurance is sensible. If you are disabled (either in the short-run or long-run) and unable to work, government support is highly beneficial in reducing inequality. Whereas other policies to redistribute income (e.g., welfare, unemployment insurance) may reduce inequality, they also may have the unintended consequences of reducing incentives to work.…
New Year’s Eve is a day with significant alcohol consumed. In fact, New Year’s Eve falls behind only Mardi Gras in terms of the number of drinks consumed for that holiday. According to the National Institute of Health, excess alcohol consumption has a number health consequences including impacts on the brain, heart (increased risk of…
Last month, the Government Accountability Office released a report on the cost of rare disease. The report is interesting, and especially interesting is Appendix 1 which has a detailed list of studies of the cost of rare disease for about 50 rare diseases. Below are some highlights: Currently, there are no treatments or cures for…
While generic drugs frequently replace their branded counterparts after the latter lose their market exclusivity, the uptake of biosimilar products is often slower. Further, biosimilars are relatively more expensive compared to generic small molecule drugs. A key question then is how much could payers save by switching to biosimilars after loss of exclusivity. The is…
Where does the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services see Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) heading in the future. Based on a Health Affairs commentary from Brooks-LaSure and Tsai, the three key priority areas are (1) coverage and access, (2) equity, and (3) innovation and whole-person care. I review each of these…