Category Archives: Health Care Costs

What are you doing for summer vacation? Scuba diving in Mexico? Enjoying a gondola ride in Venice? Getting your hip replaced in Singapore? You read that right. An emerging trend in U.S. health care appears to be . . . … Continue reading →

Don’t let the boring title fool you: “Major Trends in the U.S. Health Economy Since 1950” is a fascinating examination of our favorite topic—the relentless rise of health care costs. The article—by Stanford University health research economics professor Dr. Vincent … Continue reading →

In the United States, we do a pretty good job on the “how many” in health care — we don’t use more health care services than they do in other countries. But we’re not doing so well when it comes to the “how much.” We end up paying much more for health care than other countries do because pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers and health care providers charge so much more here in the U.S. Can a country averse to government intervention do anything about the “how much”? Can we afford not to? Continue reading →

Cheaper insurance plans can lead to unpleasant surprises in the form of huge bills from out-of-network health care providers not covered under the plan. Continue reading →

Generic drugs help keep health costs down. But pharmaceutical company co-pay coupon schemes, which encourage people to use the expensive, brand-name version of a drug, lead to higher health care costs for everyone. Continue reading →

The American College of Physicians has put it in writing: Doctors should think about cost. Indeed, it is their ethical responsibility to use resources carefully. As with all resolutions, though, this one is easier to make than it is to keep. Continue reading →

If insurance premium transparency is a public good, shouldn’t we have provider transparency too? Continue reading →