Good news everybody — the CBO projects Obamacare Exchange subsidy costs to be lower than previously projected. National Journal: Obamacare’s most expensive provisions will cost about $9 billion less than expected, according to the latest estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. Bad news everybody — Most of the cost savings being projected are due to …
Popping prescribed pills
Earlier this week, the LA Times had a good article on a study that traced where people who overdosed on prescription drug opiods got their pills: The study, published Monday by the Journal of the American Medical Assn., echoes a 2012 Times investigation that found drugs prescribed by doctors caused or contributed to nearly half …
Another path to reducing gun accidents
Talking Points Memo yesterday passed along another Responsible Gun Owner Fail: An Orlando, Fla. man accidentally discharged a gun on Friday, first striking a 12-year-old girl in a moving car then himself immediately after, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Ventura Santos Mateo, 60, was in his garage teaching a friend how to clean his gun…. Investigators …
Choice architecture and Exchanges
Daughter: “Daddy, can me and pretend friend Lulu have a snack” Me: “Sure, do you want two choices or three choices??” Daughter: “We want three choices” Me: “Ok, your choices are carrots and hummus, strawberries with whipped cream, or apples” Daughter: “Strawberries with whipped cream on the yellow plate for me. Lulu wants the purple plate…” …
Free market healthcare and 2nd best economists
The conservative line of policy analysis as to why healthcare in America is so expensive is simple. People are too insulated from the actual cost of delivering goods and services so they massively overconsume. Making people pay for 80% or 90% of their acturial value of care with a catastrophic insurance policy to take care …
Free market healthcare and 2nd best economistsPost + Comments (37)
And behind Door #2
Wall Street Cheat Sheet has a very good summary of all Republican ‘proposals’ to replace Obamacare with something: The Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility, and Empowerment Act is strongly reliant on market competition, with notable differences from Obamacare; it would likely cover fewer uninsured Americans, increase premiums for many older adults, shrink Medicaid, decrease subsidies for …
Links on healthcare
Right now I’m stuck. I have five or six good posts either half written or at least competently outlined, and I can’t figure out how to finish any of them. So here are some good links instead: The impact of patient cost-sharing on low-income populations: Evidence from Massachusetts Overall, we find price elasticities of about …