Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) are often lauded as tools that empower consumers to take control of their healthcare spending. They encourage saving, and are seen as market-driven solutions. But we should remember that HSAs and FSAs are not really triumphs of freedom; they are symbols of how convoluted and overregulated our healthcare system is.
Private equity involvement in healthcare has grown rapidly in the past twenty years, with annual investments reaching an estimated $505 billion in 2023. High-profile failures, however, have fueled criticism about PE practices. This working paper takes a critical look at the most common complaints and evaluates whether government intervention is warranted.
Reform of the graduate medical education funding model is badly needed. In the short term, expansion of residency slots could alleviate the artificial shortage of residency slots brought about by current government policy. In the long term, policymakers should more fundamentally rethink the need for federal funding in graduate medical education.
"Health equity" has become a mantra in health policy and public health circles. In mainstream journal articles and conference talks, the concept is ubiquitous and agreement with it is practically taken for granted. But what does health equity mean as a goal, and what policies and actions are supposed to be in or out of bounds in service of that goal? We examine the concept.
