We need to have a talk about your future. You're going to die. We all are. And it's probably going to be expensive. This week on CC Econ, Adriene is talking about the economics of death. Some of the expense is tied to the cost of...

Why is health care so expensive? Once again, there are a lot of factors in play. Jacob and Adriene look at the many reasons that health care in the US is so expensive, and what exactly we get for all that money. Spoiler alert: countries...

At the end of 2012, the US political system was headed for the "fiscal cliff" -- a budget impasse that could only be solved with bipartisan agreement. Adam Davidson, cohost of "Planet Money," shares surprising data on how bipartisan we...

Today, Craig is going to dive into the controversy of monetary and fiscal policy. Monetary and fiscal policy are ways the government, and most notably the Federal Reserve, influences the economy - for better or for worse. So we’re going...

While the Senate and the House haven't been very effective in passing repeal of Obamacare, the ACA's provisions are still at risk. There's a lot that Donald Trump's administration can do (or not do) to undermine Obamacare's provisions...

Political talk is getting more and more serious around Medicare for All in the United States. The argument, as usual comes down to costs. One of the advantages that proponents always bring up are the very low administrative costs of...

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Health economists study the economic determinants of health. They also analyze how health care resources are utilized and allocated, and how health care policies and quality of care can be improved. In this episode, we discuss what...

After we posted our video on "How Obamacare works" tons of commenters asked how Obamacare is paid for. Often, the question was NSFW. But you ask, we answer. In this episode, we will explain how much Obamacare costs, and what spending...

Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease that affects millions of people in the US alone, so there was a lot of excitement about recent news headlines of a drug approved to treat the disease. However, the approval was met with an outcry from...

Now that we’ve set the ground rules, and the five main questions to consider, let’s look at the various plans. At the time we taped this episode (in mid February), there were ten that we could get full answers for. How they break down is...

A number of Republican health care policy proposals that seemed out of favor in the Obama era are now being given new life. One of these involves Medicare, the government health insurance program primarily for older Americans, and is...

Obamacare's marketplaces were supposed to give consumers choices of health plans from insurers that compete to keep premiums down. But fewer insurers are participating, and premiums are increasing sharply.

The Trump administration announced its intent to stop making risk adjustment payments to insurers on the ACA marketplaces.

One of the original justifications for Medicare is that older people have much higher health care needs and expenses. But there are a few common misunderstandings about health costs when people are older, including the idea that money...

The US healthcare system has a lot of issues, but one thing it's got going for it is innovation. More clinical trials originate in the United States, and more Nobel Physiology and Medicine Laureates are from here than from any other...

Three years ago, and without notice, data about patients with substance use disorders began to disappear from Medicare and Medicaid files widely used in health services research. Because researchers had been afforded access to those data...

Florida Governor Rick Scott tries to scare voters by claiming that Democrats are going to undertake socialist experiments with Medicare, which is in itself a socialized medicine program. Also, a surprising entrant into the opioid...

We really need good treatments for Alzheimer's. But Biogen's very expensive and maybe not that effective drug Aduhelm is not the treatment we're looking for. Today we look at the saga of Adulhelm's approval and it's road to acceptance...

We've been getting a lot of requests to talk about the health care systems of different countries. It's really hard to compress the complexities of each into an episode, but we're going to try. First up is the United States. Others will...

The Seven Key Milestone Ages in Retirement

Struggling seniors have had a lot to worry about in 2022. There’s some good news for 2023, though, that may make life a little easier, such as a Social Security raise.

What are Self Employment Taxes? What are Payroll Taxes?

Payroll taxes are taxes created by the federal income contributions act or FICA. Payroll taxes are an obligation shared by employers and employees to fund Social Security and Medicare programs. An employer withholds FICA taxes from an...