- Contrary to the AMA and the CDC, there is no maternal mortality crisis. The authors found that the maternal mortality rate remained essentially flat between 1999 and 2002 (10.2 per 100,000 live births) and 2018 and 2021 (10.4). This would put the U.S. on par with other developed countries.
- Biden to lower the hammer on short-terms health insurance plans any day now.
- There were 17,597 dog bite liability claims filed across the country in 2022, with payouts totaling more than $1 billion.
- Average life expectancy has declined because a lot of young people are dying early (e.g., drug overdoses); among people who make it to old age, life expectancy is longer than ever.
Category: Public Insurance
Is Universal Dental Coverage the Next Obamacare Expansion?
Public health advocates have long considered dental care a neglected area of medicine, with dentistry in a silo of its own. Obamacare was intended to provide universal health coverage and boost access to medical care. However, it did not expand dental coverage beyond what was included in Medicaid expansion. Dental insurance must be purchased separate from health insurance for most people.
Facility Fees: The New Surprise Medical Bill
The Wall Street Journal reports that facility fees are becoming increasingly prevalent in the U.S. health care system. In some cases, a facility fee for using a physician employed by a hospital nearly triples the cost of seeing a physician.
Monday Links
- More young people are getting cancer.
- FDA gives up in its battle against ivermectin.
- Adultery is a crime in New York. (And you don’t get a jury trial.)
- US life expectancy is rising again. HT: Tyler.
- Future deficit spending may be worse than what the CBO is projecting.
- For the first time since the Black death, the world’s population is set to decline.