Health Care Around the World: Italy

While France may have the highest rated health care system in the world, Italy is second according to the WHO. The Italian health care system is a decentralized version of the British NHS. Despite the high rankings by the WHO, Italians are dissatisfied with the quality of their care. Italians believe more patient choice will…

Increased Copays for high priced drugs

Consumers are starting to pay a larger share for high priced drugs.  According to the N.Y. Times (“Co-payments“), insurance companies “…are charging patients a percentage of the cost of certain high-priced drugs, usually 20 to 33 percent, which can amount to thousands of dollars a month.”  Medicare’s drug plans have introduced new fee schedules where…

Health Care Around the World: France

France is often seen by liberals as the ideal system. It has universal health care, with few waiting lists. France has the highest level of satisfaction with their health care among all European countries. How can this be? What is their secret? France provides a basic, universal health insurances through large occupation-based funds. The General…

Sick Around the World: PBS

The PBS program Frontline has focusing its show on the topic “Sick Around the World.”  The show airs on Tuesday, April 15 and may be of interest to Healthcare Economist readers.  From the Frontline publicist: “To examine the question of universal health care coverage, FRONTLINE teams up with T.R. Reid, a veteran foreign correspondent for…

94% of College Professors are above average

The average person believes that they are above average in almost all respects. This phenomenon is often called the Lake Wobegon effect after Garrison Keillor’s fictitious town in which all people are above average. A paper by Dunning, Heath and Suls (2004) gives some great examples of Lake Wobegon in action. “Motorcyclists believe they are…

Serious Economics

For all my economist peers who are sick and tired of monetary policy, financial option valuations, and esoteric econometric specifications, it may be time for a change. The American Association of Wine Economists (AAWE) is holding their second annual conference August 14-16 in Portland, Oregon. The AAWE also publishes the Journal of Wine Economics. I…

Do hosiptal CEOs make too much money?

Paul Levy, the president and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston made about $1 million dollars in 2005. Of this, $650,000 was base salary, $195,000 was made up of incentive bonus, and the balance was composed of compensation for health insurance, life insurance, and retirement. How do I know these figures? Paul…