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“Wherever the Art of Medicine is Loved, there is also a love of Humanity.” -Hippocrates Typical notions of healthcare and medicine are intrinsically linked to benevolence. After all, the modern Hippocratic Oath states that, “I will prevent disease whenever I can.” It seems strange then that the total nominal spending on medicine in the U.S. exceeds $450 billion annually while the global pharmaceutical market is predicted to reach an annual value of $1.12 trillion by 2022. This paradoxical relationship between medicine and profit-maximizing firms begs some interesting economic questions, specifically how the drive to maximize profits impact the consumer’s well-being. Continue reading Intellectual Property Laws in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Facilitating Monopolies or Catalyzing Innovation→

This summer’s post-ACA repeal attempt blues seem to be going away this week with the introduction of the GOP’s latest healthcare bill, the Graham-Cassidy Healthcare Bill. Introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the bill’s purpose is to take a, “fundamentally different approach to healthcare than Obamacare. We are giving power over health care to the states, not DC” said Cassidy over twitter. In other words, the Republicans are taking one last jab at repeal-and-replace of the ACA but are thus far not seeing their efforts play out all that well. According to a poll produced by Continue reading Graham-Cassidy: Repeal and Replace but don’t Repair→

Rationality in the opioid market It is no lie to say that the drug problem facing America right now is of pandemic proportions. With an estimated 2.1 million individuals facing opioid problems, drug use in the U.S. is far higher than other OECD nations to the point that drug overdose has overtaken traffic fatalities as the leading cause of accidental death. Driving this issue is the abuse of prescription and non-prescription opioids. The origins of the issue are up for debate, with many experts citing the the high propensity of heroin available in Vietnam during the war as a catalyst Continue reading Economics of the Opioid Crisis→

This last summer saw a contentious political climate nationwide over the ever-heated issue of healthcare and insurance. In California, the state saw overwhelming support for the Healthy California Act, which would have provided single-payer insurance to all in the state, including undocumented individuals. On a federal level, the GOP unsuccessfully attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would have seen over 20 million individuals lose coverage. These heated discussions on the future of healthcare in America represent an interesting paradox. On one hand, you have the largest state in the union showing near unanimous state senatorial support for a Continue reading The Fallacy of Free-market Healthcare→