- CDC: alcohol related deaths rose 30% during the Covid pandemic.
- Global budgets aren’t just in Canada and Britain. The government is funding a pilot program for this country.
- Scott Sumner: Is the fed tightening too aggressively? No. “There’s almost no evidence that the Fed has tightened monetary policy at all.”
- Lancet publishes dishonest study on global warming heat deaths. (WSJ)
- The IRA bill is already killing potential cures. (WSJ)
New Reports Suggests Abortions Barely Fell After Roe v. Wade Struck Down
Ever since news leaked out that Roe v. Wade would be overturned sales of pills to end a pregnancy increased from mail-order pharmacies abroad. In addition, women seeking abortions in nearby states that did not ban abortions also increased, resulting in only a very small decrease in overall abortions.
Friday Links
- India makes 60% of global vaccines and 20% of global generics. But how safe are they? (NYT)
- Some brokers use deceptive practice to sell Medicare Advantage plans to seniors. (NYT)
- When pulse oximeters give false reading, people die.
- Does Google discriminate against Republicans?
- Why does fentanyl kill so many people?
- Tyler Cowen defends Elon
Are purchasing alliances the way to lower health care costs?
A few years ago, I wrote about a novel experiment in California that used reference prices to encourage CalPERS beneficiaries to choose lower-cost, high-quality facilities when seeking joint replacement. One experiment capped the price CalPERS was willing to pay for joint replacement at $30,000. Patients could seek care at any provider, but they would be responsible for all charges above the reference price. In addition, CalPERS gave beneficiaries a list of high-quality hospitals that would perform the surgery for $30,000. The result after two years was that patients shifted to the lower-cost hospitals. High-cost hospitals began matching prices for CalPERS patients.