by run 75441 “The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?” A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens “That’s Baloney” stated Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Decatur, Alabama; the immigration bill cosponsor, told the Huntsville Times. “It’s clear the study over estimates the negative and under estimates the positive to skew the result toward an agenda,” […]
Maggie Mahar has been has been showcased at Angry Bear in prior years, mainly in regards to healthcare, but has written on many topics with an economic theme. I am happy to announce she has agreed to write for Angry Bear, so please welcome her when her first post or two appears. Of course, readers, […]
by Michael Halasy Cato has truly shocked me….stupefied really. Those who have followed me at Angry Bear will recall my series on tort reform that I wrote this past year. In particular, I wrote a piece on the possible safety risks that patients would be exposed to, with a 0.02% increase in patient mortality with […]
By Michael Halasy Super Committee and GME funding SO, about that super committee. Surely you remember, the gang of 12 that was created by the showdown over the debt ceiling this summer. Well, they’re hard at work but among the proposals out there, is one that is causing some grave concerns. As a health workforce […]
Does committed funding — as in the Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes — protect programs from cuts ? It is often argued (sometimes here) that the committed funding makes it harder to cut Social Security OASDI pensions. Certainly recipients stress the (perceived) fact that they just want their money back and that it isn’t […]
Guest post by Michael Halasy AMA backs the mandate… The AMA has its annual House of Delegates meeting last week, and boy, are they concerned. Recent evidence has suggested that they have lost 12,000 members since 2009. Much of this has been due to the AMA’s support of the PPACA. Today, the HOD voted to […]
Guest post by Michael Halasy Practicing Emergency Medicine PA, Health Policy Analyst, and Health Services Researcher Massachussetts leads the way We have talked about bundled payments here, and getting rid of the antiquated and inefficient fee for service model. It looks like Massachussetts is on board suggests The Washington Post. Blue Cross is not alone. […]
by Michael Halasy Health Policy Analyst and Emergency Medicine PA Regional Disparities in Health Spending… Jason Shafrin, over at the Healthcare Economist, brings up an interesting paper examining the data from the Dartmouth Atlas. For those that are unfamiliar, the Dartmouth Atlas is a compendium of data examining Medicare spending per beneficiary, and then comparing […]
By: Daniel Becker Just a little something that came across my desk. As you read it, think about the concept: War on Drugs. “In the United States, the therapeutic use of opioids has exploded as witnessed by the increased sales of hydrocodone by 280% from 1997 to 2007, while at the same time methadone usage […]
This outstanding article about preventive care for high cost patients is outside the New Yorker paywall. It is very much worth reading. Like Ezra Klein, I found one of the drier examples very informative The firm had already raised the employees’ insurance co-payments considerably [skip] employee health costs continued to rise—climbing almost ten per cent […]