A New Year's Day headline in the UK's Independent newspaper proclaimed, "Chocolate is on track to go extinct in 40 years." That's right cocoa lovers, your ability to curl up with a tub of Rocky Road or a bar of 72%...
Author - Tim Patrick
Tim Patrick
Healthcare is Not That Special
Perhaps you see things differently, but I like being healthy. When I get sick, sick enough to exhaust my own understanding of medical science, I am glad that I can consult with a doctor or other healthcare provider and...
That Time I Agreed with Bernie Sanders
Last week, I found myself in complete agreement with Senator Bernie Sanders. As a political conservative, it left me with a sense of unease and disquiet. And yet, I couldn't deny that what he said was correct and...
We are All Confused about Race
I grew up after passage of the Civil Rights Act, in an era when (we thought) the immoral behavior of the Jim Crow era had been pushed aside. Good Times and The Jeffersons were popular sitcoms on TV. I was too young to...
Why Healthcare Costs So Much – Part 6
In the previous article in this series on healthcare costs, we examined the role that medical insurance plays in increasing demand for medical services, since the ready money made available through insurance chases a...
Why Healthcare Costs So Much – Part 5
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), passed in March 2010, had three major goals: (1) make affordable health insurance available to more people; (2) expand Medicaid to cover more low-income adults; and (3) lower the cost of...
Why Healthcare Costs So Much – Part 4
Healthcare is all about economics. That is not a pleasant idea for some, especially those who strive to eliminate the influence of money from important life decisions. But while money often changes hands when a doctor...
America’s Love Affair with Corporate Welfare
If you ask Americans their opinions about corporate welfare, the responses are universally negative. Those on the right hate it because it is a blatant example of a bloated federal government wasting taxpayer dollars...
Why Healthcare Costs So Much – Part 3
Today was the day this series was going to start delving into the raw economics of healthcare costs. But a comment in response to last week's posting made me realize that there is one more common complaint we need to...
Why Healthcare Costs So Much – Part 2
Before we attempt to isolate the sources of high medical care costs, we first need to identify exactly what we mean by medical care. As it turns out, "healthcare" means different things to different people. Some focus...