Author: Duncan S. MacLean MD

AMA Journal Blames Greed and Politics for Rising Healthcare Costs

A new study in the Journal of the AMA (JAMA) finds that 25% of the current $3.5 trillion spent by Americans on healthcare is wasted – dollars spent that don’t help achieve health or relieve disease. Fellow blogger Henry Kotula has summarized the findings, as re-posted below. Commentators on the JAMA article echo Fixing U.S. … Continue reading AMA Journal Blames Greed and Politics for Rising Healthcare Costs →

What UAW Strike against General Motors Tells Us about Healthcare

United Auto Workers walked off their jobs at 55 General Motors plants on September 16 when their 4-year contract expired. Healthcare costs are a top issue for the 46,000 striking auto workers and for the corporation alike. Fixing U.S. Healthcare blog has claimed that healthcare costs cut into take-home pay, raise consumer prices on automobiles, … Continue reading What UAW Strike against General Motors Tells Us about Healthcare →

Rethinking the Cost-Benefit of PSA Tests

Was this Fixing U.S. Healthcare blog wrong to single out PSA as not worth its cost? This was the claim in two previous posts, including the overall most popular one, The Problem of Diminishing Marginal Benefit in Healthcare. Some new information suggests that we need to rethink that original claim. Prostate Specific Antigen Since prostate … Continue reading Rethinking the Cost-Benefit of PSA Tests →

Nobel Economist: What It Will Take to Fix U.S. Healthcare

“America’s private health insurance system is far more costly with far poorer results than the public option programs in Europe.” So writes Nobel-prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz in his new book.  His solution to fix healthcare:  “people power.” His conclusion lines up with Fixing U.S. Healthcare blog. He agrees that the healthcare system needs more than the … Continue reading Nobel Economist: What It Will Take to Fix U.S. Healthcare →