Who decides which snacks are in your office’s vending machine? How much is a suburban elm tree worth, and to whom? How did Girl Scout Cookies become a billion-dollar business? In bite-sized episodes, journalist Zachary Crockett looks at quotidian things and finds amazing stories. Join the Freakonomics Radio Plus membership program for weekly member-only episodes of Freakonomics Radio. You’ll also get every show in our network without ads. To sign up, visit our show page on Apple Podcasts or go to freakonomics.com/plus.
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episode 35: 35. Dental Insurance
Why is it separate from medical insurance? And is it really insurance at all? Zachary Crockett goes in for a cleaning.
- SOURCES:
- Brad Bolman, postdoctoral member of the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study.
- Pamela Maragliano-Muniz, prosthodontist and chief editor for Dental Economics.
- Wendell Potter, president of the Center for Health and Democracy; former executive at Cigna.
- RESOURCES:
- "Dental Medical Loss Ratios: Understanding the Landscape in Massachusetts and Beyond," by Shaza Stevenson, Megan D’Alessandro, Sandra Wilkniss, and Nicole Evans (National Academy for State Health Policy Blog, 2023).
- "Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2021," by Katherine Keisler-Starkey and Lisa N. Bunch (U.S. Census Bureau Reports, 2022).
- "Medicare and Dental Coverage: A Closer Look," by Meredith Freed, Nancy Ochieng, Nolan Sroczynski, Anthony Damico, and Krutika Amin (KFF, 2021).
- "Dentists’ Group Fights Plan to Cover Dental Benefits Under Medicare," by Julie Bykowicz (The Wall Street Journal, 2021).
- "Antisocial Dentistry," by Brad Bolman (Hypocrite Reader, 2021).
- EXTRAS:
- "'Insurance Is Sexy.' Discuss," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
- "Does Health Insurance Make You Healthier?" by Freakonomics, M.D. (2022).