[[{“value”:”That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column, here is one excerpt: One of the problems with an RFK Jr. ascendancy is that his core views, which run strongly against vaccines and pharmaceuticals, make it unlikely that any of these reimbursement revisions will be done in a rational or scientific way. The best evidence indicates that pharmaceuticals are
The post The economic powers of the HHS secretary appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.”}]]
That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column, here is one excerpt:
One of the problems with an RFK Jr. ascendancy is that his core views, which run strongly against vaccines and pharmaceuticals, make it unlikely that any of these reimbursement revisions will be done in a rational or scientific way. The best evidence indicates that pharmaceuticals are a relatively cost-effective ways of saving lives, and conversely that many costly surgical procedures are not very effective. One of the main drawbacks of the US health-care system is often described as overtreatment, yet some vaccines and drugs — the Covid vaccines, GLP-1 medications and HIV-AIDS treatments, to name just a few — are yielding very high returns.
The danger is that, with RFK Jr. at HHS, the US would restrain health-care spending in exactly the wrong areas. The human costs of such a mistake are obvious, but from a more narrow fiscal perspective, a sicker America would lead to even more serious budgetary problems.
In any case, for all the recent talk and speculation about DOGE, the HHS secretary could well have more of an impact on the federal budget, for better or worse.
HHS also oversees liability protection for vaccines…
Worth a very serious ponder.
The post The economic powers of the HHS secretary appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.
Current Affairs, Economics, Medicine, Uncategorized
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