John Goodman's Health Policy Blog

Why is the U.S. Infant Mortality Rate So High?

John Goodman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:30:15 +0000

High rates of premature birth are the main reason the United States has higher infant mortality than do many other rich countries… If the United States could match Sweden’s prematurity rate, the new [CDC] report said, “nearly 8,000 infant deaths would be averted each year, and the U.S. infant mortality rate would be one-third lower.”

[But, once born,] premature infants in the United States are more likely to survive than those elsewhere.

New York Times story here.

2009/11/6

John Goodman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:00:45 +0000

The Pelosi surtax on the rich applies to capital gains and dividends.

Buried in the Pelosi bill: Hawaii gets to opt out.

Heritage: The Pelosi bill would cost small businesses between $10,000 and $100,000 annually.

To Their Own Devices

John Goodman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:30:42 +0000

Five years later, Medicare underwrites more than half of the $4 billion the nation now spends annually on defibrillators, but the agency is no closer to knowing how many lives that big investment is saving. That is because the device companies did not finance the study beyond their initial $4 million commitment, and Medicare did not pick up the slack. As a result, researchers still cannot gather data that would identify the types of patients who would most benefit from a defibrillator.

Full article in The New York Times.

What a Real Cancer Cure Looks Like

John Goodman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:30:43 +0000

Gleevec is different from earlier chemotherapies, which basically poisoned every cell in the body in an attempt to kill the cancer. Gleevec turned off the light switch and only killed the cancer cells… during clinical trials we saw this miracle: Once the patients were up to effective doses, we got a 100 percent response rate.

Full article in The New York Times.

2009/11/6

John Goodman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:15:39 +0000

Still waiting for your H1N1 shot? The prisoners at Guantanamo are getting theirs.

So are the traders on Wall Street.

Deterred by the long waits for a flu shot? For $15 an unemployed Canadian man will wait for you.

Thousands Protest Pelosi Bill Outside Capitol Building

John Goodman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:30:10 +0000

Photo courtesy of FreedomWorks.

Video courtesy of Citizens Against Government Waste.

Who Gets the Flu?

Devon Herrick — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:30:02 +0000

In any given flu season nearly everyone comes in contact with the flu virus, but only one in five people actually contract the flu.

In the future, a simple test may be able tell who is about to come down with the flu days before any symptoms set in. In the meantime, don’t fall for any number of folk remedies that are proliferating on the Internet. For instance, one popular urban legend holds that raw onions can attract flu virus like a bug zapper traps flies. But, as The Wall Street Journal explains: “Viruses require a living host to replicate and can’t propel themselves out of a body and across a room.”

So, as we previously reported for cancer, the question is not: Why do some people get the flu? The question is: Why doesn’t everyone get the flu?

Have You Ever Wondered Why Highly Educated People Like Socialized Medicine?

John Goodman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:30:08 +0000

Source: Luigi Siciliani and Rossella Verzulli, “Waiting Times and Socioeconomic Status Among Elderly Europeans: Evidence from SHARE” [gated, but with abstract].

Eating Meat

John Goodman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:30:32 +0000

Lord Stern: Meat eating is causing global warming. This is the same guy who says the discount rate should be zero.

In defense of carnivores: Vegetables may be worse. “The seemingly innocent potato chip, for instance, turns out to be a dreadfully climate-hostile food.”

A modest proposal on meat: Let them eat Fido.

Senate Bill: Insurers Must Cover “Prayer Treatments”

John Goodman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:15:28 +0000

The measure would put Christian Science prayer treatments…on the same footing as clinical medicine. While not mentioning the church by name, it would prohibit discrimination against “religious and spiritual healthcare.”

Full report from Los Angeles Times.