Category Archives: Health care

Ocean Power: The Ignored Alternative

Call it the joy of engineering.

Ocean power is an engineer’s dream, where seemingly all things are possible.

The Business of Health Insurance and “Obamacare”: What Can We Expect?

By Robert Prasch, Professor of Economics at Middlebury College. Cross posted from New Economic Perspectives

Over the past couple of years there has been considerable back-and-forth over what has been accomplished by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA). While a short post cannot survey the entirety of this multifaceted law, several elementary confusions have been repeated in public discussions and should be addressed in the interest of clarification.

“The Drugs Don’t Work”: How the Medical-Industrial Complex Systematically Suppresses Negative Studies

We’ve written a lot about the scientism of mainstream economics, both here and in ECONNED, and how these trappings have let the discipline continue to have a special seat at the policy table despite ample evidence of its failure. As bad as this is, it pales in comparison to the overt corruption of science at work in the drug arena. Although this issue comes to light from time to time, often in the context of litigation, the lay public is largely ignorant of how systematic and pervasive the efforts are to undermine good research practice in order to foist more, expensive, and sometimes dangerous drugs onto patients.

New Study Finds “Severe Toxic Effects” of Pervasively Used Monsanto Herbicide Roundup and Roundup Ready GM Corn (Updated)

Although I generally refrain from posting on Big Ag and relegate the topic to Links, I have a special interest in Monsanto. Last year, I had wanted to devise a list or ranking of top predatory companies, but could not find a way to make the tally sufficiently objective to be as useful in calling them out as it ought to be. Nevertheless, no matter how many ways I looked at the issue, it was clear that any ranking would put Monsanto as number 1.

More on the Economics of Single Payer Insurance

The proposed Maryland Health Security Act has put the idea of single payer healthcare back on the table. The Maryland chapter of Physicians for a National Health Care Program has summarized its main features and provides a link to the bill. It proposes to lower health care costs by broadening the pool of the insured, lowering administrative costs, and negotiating for better prices on drugs and medical devices (anyone who has purchased pharmaceuticals outside the US will attest that this make a large difference).

Real News Network has run a series of interviews on this plan. You can view Part 1 for an overview. I thought the second and third segments, on the economics, would be of particular interest to readers.

Insider Report on Big Pharma’s Corrupt Marketing and Phony Science

Francois T pointed to a post at the blog Health Care Renewal that summarizes an important insider report at the British Medical Journal on how much so-called medical research is of dubious validity, and performed to give talking points for marketing rather than to improve the lives of patients.

The reports on the corruption is big Pharma “research” are so rife that this account hardly qualifies as news. For fun, I dug up the notes from a 2004 study in which I interviewed some experts on drug company marketing. The reason? Even then, it was seen as the most effective, and a big financial services client was keen to see what techniques they could adopt from it. Even then, it was clear “research” was seen as key to effective selling. Per one interviewee, on sales reps:

More on ACA Decision: “A Dark Cloud on a Sunny Day”

Yves here. This post amplifies Lambert’s key concern about the Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, that it would curtail Congress’ ability to pass social welfare laws, and facilitate the continuing rollback of New Deal protections.

By Big Tent Democrat. Cross posted from TalkLeft

China Goes Where Obamacare Refused to Tread: Takes on Big Pharma on High Priced Drugs

Emerging economies are increasingly flexing their muscles over stratospherically-priced life-saving drugs

Stealth Plan to Shift Costs of Certain Widely-Used Drugs to Consumers

We predicted that one outcome would be overpriced insurance that didn’t cover much (note for middle class and affluent consumers, it would probably be better to have only catastrophic coverage and self insure for the rest; the worst is pricey insurance that leaves you carrying meaningful costs, particularly for major medical procedures). We seem to be moving in that direction already.

How Overpriced is US Health Insurance?

This chart says it all. The medical-industrial complex and American policymakers should be ashamed. Hat tip Business Insider.

David Apgar: The Most Cynical Court’s Most Dangerous Decision

Yves here. I have some quibbles with Apgar’s argument, since he avoids the obvious, but unpalatable-to-Obama solution of a public health care system. That’s why defense and homeland security don’t have free rider problems: they are tax funded. But he also raises the issue that a ruling that strikes down Obamacare could do collateral damage.

Marshall Auerback and Randy Wray: America Needs Healthcare, Not Health Insurance

Ironically, the Roberts Court could actually be the instrument that leads us toward something approaching a rational, affordable healthcare provision.