Once a person becomes eligible for Medicare, no discounts or rebates are permitted. Medicare turbocharges drug price inflation while often providing only an illusion of a safety net for recipients.

Today’s politicians perennially seek pretexts to further invade citizens’ lives. And there is never a shortage of intellectuals who, like the courtiers long ago, assure their masters that God — or at least social science — blesses their aggression.

For the first time in a long time, Dr Bhattacharya is working to get politics out of the way of good science. The protocol, its implementation, the quality of the science, and the transparency of its findings all deserve scrutiny.