Prior authorization is a requirement that health insurers use to exercise more control over enrollees’ medical treatments. If a health plan requires prior authorization for a specific service and providers fail to obtain approval, the treatment is not reimbursed. Prior authorization is controversial because doctors and patients often see it as an unnecessary interference between the doctor and patient relationship. Doctors hate the hassle of seeking permission prior to treating their patients. They also dislike so-called bean counters second guessing their treatment choices.
Monday Links
- Ex-CDC Director “No Doubt” American Tax Dollars Funded Gain-of-Function Research at Wuhan Lab.
- Why banks fail: The best commentary on SVB: Scott Sumners, John Cochrane and Larry Kotlikoff.
- During the Covid pandemic, people cancelled doctors appointments. As a result, more people died.
- California’s cancellation of Walgreens isn’t as simple as it sounds.
- Jeffrey Singer on the Iron Law of Prohibition: “The harder the law enforcement, the harder the drug.”
- Why primary care physicians are not practicing at the top of their license.
Daylight Savings Time is Bad for Your Health
Sunday morning at 2:00am on March 12th Daylight savings time (DST) officially began for 2023. Today you are no doubt feeling the loss of an hour of sleep, but what is worse is our internal clock (also known as our circadian rhythm) does not necessarily adjust quickly. Thus, we go to bed an hour before our body feels like it’s time and can’t go to sleep for an hour. Yet our alarm clocks still rings at 6:00am, which to our bodies feels like 5:00am.