Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
What is Medicare Part D? Medicare Part D began in 2006 and provides insurance coverage for pharmaceuticals for the elderly. The program is set up so that the government does not purchase the drugs directly, but subsidizes private prescription drug plans, which then negotiate prices with the pharmaceutical companies. There are two types of Part…
Medicare is inefficient and expensive. Medicare has been expanded through Medicare Part D, which covers prescription drugs. Can expanding an inefficient, expensive system be a good thing? Gary Becker argues yes. Since drugs have high fixed research costs but low marginal costs, having the government pay for drugs can increase innovation. In fact, a working…
Which Medicare plan should you choose? Health journalist Charles Ornstein of the L.A. Times was making just this choice for his mother in “Puzzling out plan option for Medicare.” Even for a veteran health journalist, the choice is not as easy as it seems. Below, I will give some background information which will help people…
In 2006, the federal government first began expanding Medicare coverage to include prescription drugs using the Medicare Part D program. According to one report, Part D will cost taxpayers $47 billion in 2007. Yet it is possible that Medicare Part D could actually save taxpayers money. If prescription drugs and other medical care are substitutes,…