Public Option
We already have a public option. It's called Medicaid. Why do we need another government program? To expand participation, simply index the income limit to the local cost of living.
persistently variable
We already have a public option. It's called Medicaid. Why do we need another government program? To expand participation, simply index the income limit to the local cost of living.
Posted by
Matt McKnight
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11:09 PM
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Failure to make the hard choices. Flat world. Ignorance.
Have to switch gears.
Posted by
Matt McKnight
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11:10 PM
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Labels: politics
More on the inheritance of education ... I think there is still room for parental difference making...but it is hard to tell from the limited data we have that doesn't control for the adoption age. In any case, Mankiw's point is pretty clear from the graph- genes matter.
Posted by
Matt McKnight
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8:04 PM
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Posted by
Matt McKnight
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10:59 PM
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Fidelity asks if it's time to change your 529-plan portfolio. A 529 plan is the most over-managed money option out there. You are literally paying fees on fees. How about this- let me invest in something other than mutual funds. Until you do that, it is clear that this is just another free benefit for ... Fidelity.
Posted by
Matt McKnight
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3:05 PM
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I just read this WSJ article that said: "Obese people spent 42% more than people of normal weight on medical costs in 2006, a difference of $1,429, the study found. Prescription drugs accounted for much of the increase." I therefore applaud and encourage everyone's efforts to keep their weight down. Maybe we need more exercise for people...
When people compare health care between countries, the costs per American always seem high. Why is that? Here are some behavioral observations, in addition to the usually cited factors and our general chubbiness.
1) Americans demand more expensive, patented, brand name medicines. Many studies have shown that placebos are equally effective, for mental disorders in particular. Generics often get the job done for a fraction of the cost- often for less than the co-pay offered by my insurance.
2) Americans go to the doctor more. We visit the doctor more frequently than people in other countries, with the exception of Japan. A lot of this is because doctors control access to medicines we want (see #1). Moving more medicine to non-prescription status (like allergy medication) and making more medicine available via a visit to a nurse practitioner would save on the number of visits.
3) Third party payers- we buy medical services with no concern for their cost, because we don't directly pay for them. People spend more time trying to save 50c in the grocery store than they do saving $200 on an MRI, which should be a commodity service. We need a market where you get some benefit by choosing a less expensive treatment. This will incentivize providers to actually compete on price, like they do for LASIK and cosmetic surgery.
Posted by
Matt McKnight
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10:15 AM
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Long time no post, but this track just was such a classlessic, it required action!!
Go Ke$ha.
Thanks...
http://www.muumuse.com/2009/07/keha-just-threw-up-in-my-closetand-im.html
Posted by
Matt McKnight
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9:39 PM
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Read an annoying Scott Adams piece this morning, where he makes a simple metaphysical linguistic error.
"Given that science can't find evidence for either God or time, it takes a leap of faith to assume either one exists. Therefore, anything in our daily life that depends on either God or time is built on a foundation of faith and not science."
The simple error is three separate applications of the word "exists". It is obvious that the normal meaning is to say whether something physically exists or not. My computer exists. My yacht does not exist. Time is obviously different from a physical thing. Time is not something that exists in the same way. "Time" is a term that describes an aspect of the way the physical things that do exist change. Therefore, no leap of faith exists in believing in time, because no one ever said time "exists" in the same way as my computer.
Adams furthers the equivocation by suggesting that belief in gods is of a similar nature. However, most people suggest that gods exist in some way that is different than describing a property of the arrangement of physical things. Neither term applies, so there must be some third meaning of exists, if it were to be true.
So what? A Wittgenstein-style diagnosis of equivocal statements, which attempt to fuzzy the use of terms is quite productive in exposing most philosophical blatherings as pure nonsense.
Posted by
Matt McKnight
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9:57 AM
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Labels: metaphysics
http://www.cnbc.com/id/30940076
"As a freelancer, Tolliver could work from wherever she and take playground breaks with her daughters. But a $1,200 monthly healthcare bill ultimately led her to take a job where insurance only costs her $200 per month."
It does not only cost her $200 per month, her employer is including the extra $1000 in her total compensation. I pay about $1200 per month for family healthcare- and I am taxed on it as income, as the owner of an S Corporation. If there was a government healthcare system that was similarly efficient, she would be paying $1200 in taxes per month for the healthcare. There is no magic fairy dust available from rearranging who pays whom. And, offering luxurious benefits to more people only makes this problem worse.
My five point plan for saving money now still stands:
1) Introduce malpractice liability limits to get malpractice insurance costs under control. (Fight ABA)
2) Increase the number of doctors by increasing the number of medical schools. (Fight AMA)
3) Negotiate Medicare/Medicaid drug prices with manufacturers. (Fight PhRMA)
4) Providing sliding scale premiums based on patient efforts at healthiness (smoking, exercise, diet), like life insurance does.
5) Limit over-treatment.
Posted by
Matt McKnight
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11:58 AM
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The education bubble is the number of people willing to borrow nearly $200,000 for a BA (or PhD) in Anthropology or whatever subject that exceeds the number of positions available that require that degree at that price. I read an article yesterday that mentioned a detective with a PhD in Anthropology. While it seems to be working for him, I just don't see it as economically efficient. If we look at the causes of this inefficiency and bubble, we see similar government incentives and payouts to those that drive up the price of houses and medical care.
Posted by
Matt McKnight
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10:58 PM
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