Upward pressure on US consumer prices is stemming from two elements. Rents and medical services. Due to the differences in the composition of the basket of goods and services that are used, the core personal consumption deflator, which the Fed targets, typically lags behind core CPI.
Mylan is the latest pharmaceutical company to face controversy over its drug pricing. It has come under scrutiny and strong criticism from the public and government officials for raising the price of its EpiPen allergy device from about US$100 in 2008 to about US$600 currently.
The countries comprising the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives) commonly known as South Asia face serious healthcare affordability and accessibility challenges.
More competition in the delivery of human services, as recommended by the Harper Inquiry, is likely to increase the variety of services available, reduce the price of services and may encourage innovation. However, when it comes to aged care sector, competition may not necessarily result in better care, due to market failures.
One key goal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was to lower health care costs by giving consumers more choice over their insurer.
Economic theory suggests that when consumers make informed and active choices in a competitive market, companies respond by lowering prices and improving the quality of their offerings.
Reproductive health isn’t just about abortions, despite all the attention they get. It’s also about access to family planning services, contraception, sex education and much else.
Despite the exorbitant costs and cruelties of the US-style private healthcare model, the UK is moving towards a similar model. The US companies are poised to take control of the system.
Supporters of a single-payer healthcare system in the US frequently hold up the British National Health Service (NHS) as a model. However, the bitter irony is that the British are copying the most iniquitous elements of the US system, rather than the US emulating what is good about the NHS.
If you live in Asia and the Pacific, do you ever wonder how high your risk is of contracting antimicrobial-resistant bacteria or emerging infectious diseases such as a new strain of avian influenza? Unfortunately, I have to tell you that the risk here is higher than in any other region in the world.
1. South and Southeast Asia are epicenters for antimicrobial resistance
Universal health coverage (UHC) has become a key agenda of policy makers in many countries. According to the definition of the World Health Organization (2010), UHC is the goal that “all people have access to health services and do not suffer financial hardship in paying for them.” In most developing countries, the goal of UHC is not easy to reach because large, resource-poor populations have limited access to health services.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was a significant bill, enacted into law in March 2010 with the goal of providing accessible and affordable health care for all Americans. Rising health care costs and insurance premiums – along with the significant number of uninsured individuals – created the impetus for Congress to change the national health care system.
Opponents of the law argued that it – and specifically the employee mandate – would be very expensive for businesses by increasing their insurance costs and harm jobs growth.
