Why do incumbent senators win?
In November, 26 incumbent U.S. senators will be on election ballots. Chances are, most of them will win, according to a study by Washington University in St. Louis professor Gautam Gowrisankaran and two colleagues.
Does enrolling in medicare HMOs affect mortality?
People who are enrolled in Medicare Choice HMO plans with drug coverage die at about the same rate as those in traditional fee-for-service Medicare plans, but mortality rates for those in Medicare HMO plans without drug coverage are substantially higher. That’s the conclusion of a recent study done by Gautam Gowrisankaran, Ph.D., an assistant professor of economics at the Olin School of Business of Washington University in St. Louis, with University of Minnesota colleague Robert J. Town. The researchers’ estimates imply that a 10-percentage point shift in coverage from fee-for-service to HMO plans without drug coverage could result in 51,000 additional deaths per year among the elderly.