Generic drugs used to be synonymous with low prices, but lately drug shortages and price increases have driven up the price of many generic drugs. There are a range of market failures in the generic...
Diane Archer
Hear better with over the counter hearing aids
New research published in JAMA finds that low-cost over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids may help more than 20 million people with mild to moderate hearing loss hear better. These hearing aids...
91-year old gymnast competes in Berlin
Some people are never too old to do handstands on the parallel bars and other knock-your-socks off gymnastics feats. Watch Johanna Quaas, a 91-year old gymnast, perform at a competition in Berlin...
Private health insurance drives up costs
Because of private health insurance, buying heath care services is unlike buying products on Amazon or through Airbnb. University of Massachusetts Amherst economist Gerald Friedman in an article for...
What to do about high drug prices?
A new Commonwealth Fund paper, Getting to the Root of High Drug Prices, offers a plan for what to do about high drug prices. Unless we can address the root causes, we are on a path to an...
NY to pay for drugs based on value
A recent New York State law, designed to rein in drug costs, pays for drugs based on their value. It allows the State to determine the price of certain drugs after assessing their therapeutic value...
Drug costs eating into greater share of income
A new paper by Dean Baker at the Center for Economic and Policy Research explains that an increasing and substantial share of our national income goes to paying for prescription drugs. And, most of...
94-year old woman runs half marathon
Last month, 94-year old Harriette Thompson ran the Rock ‘n Roll San Diego marathon, making her the oldest woman to finish a half marathon. And, she ran a 17-minute mile! Two years ago, at 92...
With health insurers and Pharma setting prices, no controlling...
Why would a health insurer pay one hospital in New York City $81,000 more for outpatient infusion treatment than another hospital one mile away–$100,000 and $19,000 respectively? And, how is...
Medicare should cover dental, vision and hearing services
A new paper in JAMA, by Amber Willink, Cathy Schoen and Karen Davis, explains why Medicare should cover dental, vision and hearing services. Right now, these three services, along with long-term...