Tuesday Tidbits

The media is chock full of studies. Here are a few that caught the FEHBlog's eye today:

• The Washington Post reports tonight on a Johns Hopkins study suggesting that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S.  From a practical standpoint the FEHBlog simply does not believe that medical errors cause "nearly 700 deaths a day -- about 9.5 percent of all deaths annually in the United States."  But this eye-popping study will garner a lot of attention. 
• The Washington Post reported yesterday about a Health Affairs study finding that "Seven of the top 10 most profitable hospitals in the United States are nonprofit facilities that each netted more than $150 million from caring for patients in 2013."  For non-profit read tax-exempt.  
• The Wall Street Journal reports today that "Retiring after age 65 may help people live longer, says a study published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. The risk of dying from any cause over the study period was 11% lower among people who delayed retirement for one year—until age 66—and fell further among people who retired between the ages of 66 and 72, the study found." The FEHBlog hopes to work beyond 65 but based his life experience, he's not sure about this study either.