Perverse Incentives and Insurance Blame

Howie and Harlan discuss health and healthcare headlines, including misaligned incentives keeping medicine from its mission, burdensome out-of-pockets costs, ultraprocessed foods, and serving the growing population of cancer survivors effectively.

Links:

Vivek Murthy's parting letter to America

"Surgeon General Urges Americans to 'Rethink How We're Living Our Lives' in Closing Letter to the Country (Exclusive)"

Discontent with the Health System in the United States

"View of U.S. Healthcare Quality Declines to 24-Year Low"

"What We Know About the UnitedHealthcare C.E.O.'s Killing and the Suspect"

"Killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO brings resentment of the health care system to the fore"

"Out‐of‐Pocket Annual Health Expenditures and Financial Toxicity From Healthcare Costs in Patients With Heart Failure in the United States"

Bird Flu

"First Bird Flu Death in U.S. Reported in Louisiana"

"First H5 Bird Flu Death Reported in United States"

"H5N1 Bird Flu"

"Eyeing Potential Bird Flu Outbreak, Biden Administration Ramps Up Preparedness"

"What is the HMPV virus in China? The human metapneumovirus and its symptoms, explained."

"Respiratory Virus Activity Levels"

Alcohol and Cancer

"Alcohol and Cancer Risk"

"The cardioprotective association of average alcohol consumption and ischaemic heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis"

"Alcohol Exposure and Disease Associations: A Mendelian Randomization and Meta-Analysis on Weekly Consumption and Problematic Drinking"

"No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health"

Cancer Survivorship

"Prevalence of cancer survivors in the United States"

Cancer Survivorship: Cancer.Gov

Ultra-Processed Foods

"Trans fat"

"Low-Grade Inflammation and Ultra-Processed Foods Consumption: A Review"

"The Power RFK Jr. Would Have Over Food"

Lawsuits: "Bad Behavior" on the Physician side

"Sixteen Cardiology Practices to Pay a Total of $17.7M to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Concerning Inflated Medicare Reimbursements"

"CVS-owned insurer Aetna sues Radiology Partners alleging multiphase 'fraud scheme'"

Jimmy Carter

"Jimmy Carter, Peacemaking President Amid Crises, Is Dead at 100"

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