What living man or woman has done more to make your life better than any other person? This is probably not something you have thought about. Most people would likely say their parents, although my parents are no longer living. I’ve thought about this question and I have a definitive answer: Jeff Bezos. Yes, Jeff Bezos. An Amazon truck stops at my house on a daily basis dropping off purchases, sometimes multiple items per day. In the early 1990s who would have thought that in the future you could go to a website and choose among 353 million products, most of which are priced lower than you can find locally. Furthermore, the prices elsewhere are lower than they otherwise would be because of the competition created by Amazon. In addition, these products are delivered to your doorstep, sometimes only a day or two after you ordered them.
Category: Consumer-Driven Health Care
Saturday Links
- Study: GoodRx often beats Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs on low prices.
- In the past century, human heights have skyrocketed. Globally, humans grew an average of about 3 inches. In South Korea, women grew an astounding 8 inches and men grew 6 inches on average.
- Near 100% marginal tax rates for the wealthy and a return to the 35% corporate income tax would not be enough to save Social Security and Medicare. (NYT)
- Democratic senators want the Biden administration to close down short-term insurance plans by reinstating Obama’s executive order. (gated)
- Study: Because of burnout, workload, and other stresses, 20 percent of physicians and 40 percent of nurses say they plan to leave their practice within two years.
- There are actually such things as lazy ants – but they serve a purpose.
Hospice Care is a Great Idea that is being Abused
Former President Jimmy Carter entered hospice care at his home in Plains Georgia last week. Hospice care is a form of palliative care for Medicare beneficiaries who are terminally ill with less than six months to live. People on hospice care agree to forgo all further treatments and are made as comfortable as possible until their deaths.
Why Are Hospitals Hurting Financially?
You would think with Covid driving so many people to the emergency rooms, hospitals would be in great financial shape. Yet in 2022 hospitals experienced the worst financial performance in memory. Jeff Goldsmith writes: