> I think if Robin wants to do something with these insurance study results, he should follow other economists, including the study authors, and argue about whether the marginal unit of insurance is cost-effective - not about whether medication works at all.
As far as I can recall, Robin Hanson generally talks about the marginal unit of healthcare, rather than whether medication works "at all". For example, in his long paper on medical behavior, he talked about "A near-zero marginal health-value of medical care" rather than whether medical care had any value "at all" (see https://mason.gmu.edu/~rhanson/showcare.pdf). I also recall him being clear to say that he's only talking about marginal effectiveness of medicine in his book The Elephant in the Brain.
I agree that the way he talks about this topic can be confusing. But ultimately I suspect that, if Hanson ends up replying to this post, he will say that you misunderstood his views on medicine.
> I think if Robin wants to do something with these insurance study results, he should follow other economists, including the study authors, and argue about whether the marginal unit of insurance is cost-effective - not about whether medication works at all.
As far as I can recall, Robin Hanson generally talks about the marginal unit of healthcare, rather than whether medication works "at all". For example, in his long paper on medical behavior, he talked about "A near-zero marginal health-value of medical care" rather than whether medical care had any value "at all" (see https://mason.gmu.edu/~rhanson/showcare.pdf). I also recall him being clear to say that he's only talking about marginal effectiveness of medicine in his book The Elephant in the Brain.
I agree that the way he talks about this topic can be confusing. But ultimately I suspect that, if Hanson ends up replying to this post, he will say that you misunderstood his views on medicine.