Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
The Consumer’s Union used Medicare.gov to show that many people could save $3,500-$5,000 by switching to generics. Why don’t more people do so? One reason is the long delays for FDA approval of generics. The FDA’s Office of Generic Drugs is understaffed and thus generic drug approvals takes much longer than it should. Brand name…
The Economist notes that counterfeit drugs are a growing problem. “Counterfeit drugs can kill. Many are shoddily made, containing the wrong dose of the active ingredient. Taking them instead of the real thing can turn a treatable disease into a fatal one. It can also foster drug resistance among germs.” Do patents cause and increase…
An energy drink called Cocaine has received a lot of press. Texas has barred the sale of the drink in the state. The FDA made the manufacturers of Cocaine change the label so it looked less like white powder. To comply with FDA directives, the cans now declare “This product is not intended to be…
If California were to enact a mandate for insurance companies to cover certain services, how much would this cost? How would it affect public health? Would utilization change? To answer these questions, the California legislature charged the California Health Benefits Review Program (CHBRP) to estimate the medical effectiveness, public health and cost implications of proposed…
Rand Paul is the the son of libertarian Senator Ron Paul and is currently running for Senate in the state of Kentucky. Although Dr. Paul (an ophthalmologist) recently won the primary in his state, he’s gotten in some hot water for some comments he made. For instance, he’s stated opposition to some parts of the…
Conventional wisdom holds that economists advocate for reducing regulation on most policy arenas. Regulation imposes costs and businesses and is often ineffective. Further, as technology and market conditions change, regulations which were originally welfare enhancing can now become archane. The public generally views the FDA’s pre-approval as a worthwhile endeavor. The goal of FDA pre-approval…
Hellinger (1995) defines any-willing-provider (AWP) and freedom-of-choice (FOC) laws. These laws have been enacted by a number of states. “AWP laws require managed care plans to accept any qualified provider who is willing to accept the terms and conditions of a managed care plan. These laws do not require managed care plans to contract with…
With healthcare reform having passed, how will the health insurance market look a few years from now? Although Mitt Romney may (or may not) deny it, Massachusetts has been a model for President Obama’s health reform bill. In 2006, Massachusetts passed its own health reform and when the share of uninsured residents was at 14%. …
In general, I am weary of patents (see my Healthcare Manifesto and Against Intellectual Property posts). Sure, they may be useful to spur innovation, but they also harm innovation since one cannot modify or improve a product while there is still a patent. Further, patents generate rent-seeking where inventors spent tons of time wrangling to…
Before a drug can come to market, it must receive FDA approval. This involves 3 phases of testing with Phase I having 20-80 volunteers and Phase III often testing more than 1,000 people. Despite the FDA approval, patients can sue drug companies if they are injured by a drug. Patients can generally sue manufacturers under…