Happiness doesn’t always come easily. Some people seem naturally happy, like they inherited the right gene or were born into the right circumstances. Many other people struggle to find happiness. Perhaps even more people hope to become happier than they … Continue reading →
The post 1000 People Described How They’d Find Happiness — Here’s Who Succeeded appeared first on PeterUbel.com.
The field of behavioral economics has brought attention to promising ways of motivating people to make better life choices. Many behavioral economic-inspired interventions are relatively hands off — they nudge people to make wiser decisions without in any way restricting their … Continue reading →
The post Behavioral Economic Interventions – It’s Not a Choice Between Nudges and Shoves appeared first on PeterUbel.com.
In 2010, the state of Rhode Island decided to tackle high healthcare costs. It did so by requiring insurers to meet affordability standards. The plan worked, but not for the reasons you probably suspect. Let’s start with what Rhode Island’s standards … Continue reading →
The post High Healthcare Costs — Are Insurance Premiums a Cause or an Effect? appeared first on PeterUbel.com.
I’ll get right to the dismal data: Americans are dying from poison at an alarming rate. In 2005, death by poison in the U.S. occurred in about 11 of every 100,000 people over age 15. By 2016, that number had … Continue reading →
The post Death by Poison – A New American Epidemic appeared first on PeterUbel.com.
Over half of Medicare spending is concentrated in 10% of patients. With Medicare expenditures rising at an unsustainable clip, reigning in the costs of those patients is key to controlling healthcare spending. So who are those patients and what expenses are … Continue reading →
The post The Most Expensive Medicare Patients Aren’t Who You Think appeared first on PeterUbel.com.
Steve B. wasn’t going to be fooled twice. He’d recently seen an ear, nose, and throat specialist for a “tickle in the throat” that wouldn’t go away. He’d forked over a co-pay at check-in, but then the doctor said he … Continue reading →
The post Angry Your Doctor Won’t Tell You What That Test Costs? You Should Be! appeared first on PeterUbel.com.
Recently, I got an incredibly nice email from a complete stranger. It began like this: “I am an Economics teacher in England and have just finished reading your wonderful book ‘Free Market Madness’. When you write a book that only … Continue reading →
The post Free Markets – Madness or Miraculous? appeared first on PeterUbel.com.
The first time Bill Clinton ran for president, his campaign chair was determined to keep the famously verbose candidate focused on one topic. So he coined a phrase: “It’s the economy, stupid!” That phrase comes to mind when I think … Continue reading →
The post Medicaid: It’s an Antipoverty Program, Stupid! appeared first on PeterUbel.com.
Something like one in seven people living in the US have no healthcare insurance. In fact, the number of uninsured people has grown by 7 million since Trump has become president. (Make America Uninsured Again?) These numbers are atrocious. Embarrassing. Shameful, actually, … Continue reading →
The post Uncovered: In America, Insurance Doesn’t Guarantee Access and Coverage Doesn’t Mean You’re Covered appeared first on PeterUbel.com.
US healthcare spending is maddeningly high. As in: fifty percent higher than what other wealthy countries spend, with no evidence we’re getting any bang for all those additional healthcare bucks. In 2014, the state of Maryland took direct aim at … Continue reading →
The post Angered By High Health Care Spending? Here’s What Maryland Is Doing appeared first on PeterUbel.com.