Do Not Resuscitate: How We Spend Trillions to Enrich Intermediaries Instead of Making Ourselves Healthier
How we enrich financial intermediaries instead of using healthcare spending for healthcare and how to see through the propaganda we’re subjected to daily to make us think this is normal via a weekly summary of news coverage in mainstream and specialty media.
Episodes
14 hours ago
14 hours ago
Although Trump did not mention health in his inaugural address, one of his Executive Orders denounced in general terms the “crushing regulatory burden” and “unnecessary administrative expenses and rent-seeking practices that increase healthcare costs.” https://bit.ly/4gbNE1I
That oddly phrased EO calls all departments and agencies to “deliver emergency price relief [on what?], consistent with applicable law” and for his economic policy team to report to him on progress toward this goal within 30 days. It’s hard to reconcile the anti-regulatory screed peppering Trump’s rhetoric with this edict to rein in “rent-seeking practices” among his golfing buddies. I’m betting on the billionaires, but we shall see.
Here are links to all the articles mentioned:
Sarah Owermohle, John Wilkerson, Rachel Cohrs Zhang & Lizzy Lawrence, “Trump’s initial orders reverse Biden on health care costs, protections from discrimination,” STAT, Jan 20, 2025 https://bit.ly/4gbRM1Z
Phil Galewitz, “Trump’s return puts Medicaid on the chopping block,” KFF Health News/CBS News, Jan 13, 2025 https://bit.ly/3PJcr2u
Andrew Demillo, “Arkansas governor wants to revive state’s Medicaid work requirements under Trump administration,” Associated Press, Jan 16, 2025 https://bit.ly/42ov17N
Rachel Cohrs Zhang, “Trump finally finds a populist health care message in Kennedy’s MAHA,” STAT, Jan 20, 2025 https://bit.ly/3WvOr6J
Lev Facher. “‘Tough love’: How RFK Jr.’s views on addiction could bring a new era of U.S. drug policy,” STAT, Dec 11, 2024 https://bit.ly/4aulL3V
Lev Facher, “An NYC nonprofit has reversed 1,700 overdoses since 2021. Under Trump, it faces an uncertain future,” STAT, Jan 17, 2025 https://bit.ly/40sNCgd
Shannon Firth, “Major PBMs inflated drug prices, pocketing $7.3 billion along the way, FTC says,” MedPage Today, Jan 14, 2025 https://bit.ly/40J1yEa and Steve Kopack & Adiel Kaplan, “Top three insurers reaped $7.3 billion through their drug middlemen’s markups, FTC says,” NBC News, Jan 14, 2025 https://bit.ly/42qfYdv
Nathaniel Weixel, “House Republicans launch investigation into CVS Caremark for potential antitrust violations,” The Hill, Dec 12, 2024 https://bit.ly/3E7ifAj
Kathleen Birrane, David Kopans & Peter Rice, “New York issues extensive new pharmacy benefit manager regulations,” DLA Piper, Nov 25, 2024 https://bit.ly/3WvLMKe
Nada Hassanein, “Independent pharmacies know their communities. But many are struggling to stay open,” Stateline, Jan 17, 2025 https://bit.ly/4juP9ej
Tom Murphy, “Nearly 30% of U.S. drugstores closed in one decade,” Associated Press, Dec 3, 2024 https://bit.ly/3CayvA6
Jared S. Hopkins & Josh Ulick, “Medicare pays wildly different prices for the same drug,” Wall Street Journal, Nov 26, 2024 https://bit.ly/3PMMXkT
Claudia Irizarry Aponte & Alyssa Katz, “Four things to know from our investigation of the Home Healthcare Workers of America, New York’s fastest-growing union,” The City, Jan 13, 2025 https://bit.ly/4g7ob9N
Emily Kopp, “WHO top scientist was ‘collaborator’ of Peter Daszak,” U.S. Right To Know, Jan 16, 2025 https://bit.ly/42ony8w
Steven Phillips, “Trump nominees for health positions should fail the ‘Fauci test.’” STAT, Jan 17, 2025 https://bit.ly/40GEUw6
Lizzy Lawrence & Sarah Todd, “FDA bans red dye No. 3 in foods, decades after additive found to cause cancer in rats,” STAT, Jan 15, 2025 https://bit.ly/3PMjdEM
Kay Tillow, Judy Albert, Claire M. Cohen, Ed Grystar & Ana Malinow, “Improved Medicare for All can heal this sick country,” Common Dreams, Jan 18, 2025 https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/medicare-for-all-2670870808
You can find the entire back archive of my digests at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news
Get my weekly digest by writing me at tfrasca@yahoo.com
Thursday Jan 16, 2025
Thursday Jan 16, 2025
On "Do Not Resuscitate" this week, there's a changed atmosphere in the debate about health insurance, but all the usual scams roll on, and the entire sector continues to merge and consolidate into giant platforms that control everything. Will the incoming Trump team take action or at least allow the antitrust initiatives of recent years proceed? We'll soon find out. Also, what did we learn/not learn from Covid?
Below are links to all the articles cited this week. If you want my written digest by email, write me at tfrasca@yahoo.com
Don Tracy, “Additional security measures taken for J.P. Morgan healthcare conference,” PharmExec.com, Jan 10, 2025 https://bit.ly/42eBDFp
Bob Herman, “Cigna, Centene, Walgreens drop out of J.P. Morgan conference,” STAT, Jan 13, 2025 https://bit.ly/3PAjGK4
Bob Herman, “Biden’s top antitrust official calls for breaking up powerful health care companies,” STAT, Jan 10, 2025 https://bit.ly/4gQaZrd
Tara Bannow, “DOJ seeks interviews with former UnitedHealth Group doctors,” STAT, Jan 12, 2025 https://bit.ly/4jexbwH
Paige Minemyer, “UnitedHealth, Amedisys ask court to dismiss DOJ's challenge to $3.3B merger deal,” Fierce Healthcare, Jan 9, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hgvf4T
Heather Landi, “Healthcare poised for ‘robust’ M&A activity in 2025,” Fierce Healthcare, Jan 6, 2025 https://bit.ly/3BZ17My
Erica Carbajal, “AWS, General Catalyst partner on healthcare AI tools,” Becker’s Health IT, Jan 13, 2025 https://bit.ly/40idlbc
Mario Aguilar, “Transcarent to acquire Accolade for $621 million creating benefits tech giant,” STAT, Jan 8, 2025 https://bit.ly/40fikt3
Heather Landi, “Digital health venture funding hit $10.1B in 2024 as investors focused on earlier-stage dealmaking,” Fierce Healthcare, Jan 13, 2025 https://bit.ly/40vgQw9
Dan Primack, “J&J strikes $14.6 billion deal for Intra-Cellular Therapies,” Axios, Jan 13, 2025 https://bit.ly/4ahJQL0
Drew Altman, “The semi-sad state of consumer protection in health care,” KFF Health News, Jan 7, 2025 https://bit.ly/3E6ggMw
Kristina Fiore, “Prospect is another casualty of private equity in healthcare,” MedPage Today, Jan 13, 2025 https://bit.ly/3CjfF9J
Sam Nunberg, “Vivek Ramaswamy is a fraud—and always has been,” Newsweek, Sep 1, 2023 https://bit.ly/4fWTi7N
Adam Feuerstein, “Cassava Sciences and its Alzheimer’s drug are done. The damage lingers,” STAT, Nov 25, 2024 https://bit.ly/4gez5Lb
Elisabeth Rosenthal, “Removing a splinter? Treating a wart? If a doctor does, it can be billed as surgery,” KFF Health News/Washington Post, Dec 13, 2024 https://bit.ly/3Pz060C
Maya Miller & Duaa Eldeib, “Her mental health treatment was helping. That’s why insurance cut off her coverage,” ProPublica, Dec 31, 2024 https://bit.ly/4hgTGzm
Owais Durrani, “I’m an emergency physician. The modern telehealth model should have all of us concerned,” MSNBC, Dec 28, 2024 https://bit.ly/40lceYj
Anastassia Gliadkovskaya, “Unionized doctors and NYC H+H affiliates reach contract deal on day of planned strike,” Fierce Healthcare, Jan 13, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hcQKUf
Helen Branswell, “What Covid tried to teach us—and why it will matter in the next pandemic,” STAT, Jan 6, 2025 https://bit.ly/4jcj9vn
Samantha Liss, “Indiana state senator moves to scrap hospital monopoly law he helped create,” KFF Health News, Jan 8, 2025 https://bit.ly/3CawlQM
Find the entire archive at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news
Friday Jan 10, 2025
Friday Jan 10, 2025
A battle is brewing between the MAGA backers of iconoclastic Trump appointees like RFK Jr and the big corporations he and MAGA are targeting, lobbyists for whom are Trump's golfing buddies. Who will win? It will be fun to watch in any case. Also, lots of tragicomic corporation corruption/criminality driving even red-state pols to take notice. I cover most of my weekly digest here, but the full version is available if you email me (see below).
Here are the links for the articles mentioned:
Cheryl Clark, “This year’s Shkreli Awards: Here’s who made the list,” MedPage Today, Jan 7, 2025 https://bit.ly/4fSZOg3
Shannon Firth, “Concerns continues over private equity’s reach into healthcare,” MedPage Today, Jan 2, 2025 https://bit.ly/4h98gbS
Paul Cuno-Booth, “State approves Catholic Medical Center sale to HCA Healthcare,” New Hampshire Public Radio, Jan 6, 2025 https://bit.ly/428FDHv
“Massachusetts lawmakers approve bill to close loopholes in health care market,” Associated Press, Dec 31, 2024 https://bit.ly/4fTiT1o
Noah Tong, “Aetna sues drugmakers for widespread price-fixing and collusion,” Fierce Healthcare, Jan 3, 2025 https://bit.ly/3DIJIIk
Duaa Eldeib & Maya Miller, “Insurers continue to rely on doctors whose judgments have been criticized by courts,” ProPublica, Dec 30, 2024 https://bit.ly/3W3cOZr
Bob Herman, “Aetna lawsuit alleges radiology group of fraudulent billing and abuse of federal arbitration,” STAT, Dec 27, 2024 https://bit.ly/425L6yM
Dr. Owais Durrani, “I’m an emergency physician. The modern telehealth model should have all of us concerned,” MSNBC, Dec 28, 2024
https://www.yahoo.com/news/opinion-m-emergency-physician-modern-170914829.html
Rebekah Ninan, “Ghost networks and mental healthcare,” Bill of Health, Nov 17, 2024 https://bit.ly/4jot4yj
Nathaniel Weixel, “House Republicans launch investigation into CVS Caremark for potential antitrust violations,” The Hill, Dec 12, 2024 https://bit.ly/3DOb8wC
Noah Tong, “CMS sunsets Medicare Advantage value-based model, citing billions in costs,” Fierce Healthcare, Dec 17, 2024 https://bit.ly/4gQEqtf
Paige Minemyer, “CVS officially rolls out CostVantage model for commercial prescriptions,” Fierce Healthcare, Jan 6, 2025 https://bit.ly/4gLFT3T
Joseph Choi, “Medicare’s new drug price cap kicks in Jan. 1,” The Hill, Dec 31, 2024 https://bit.ly/408Jba7
Michael Erman, “Drugmakers to raise US prices on over 250 medicines starting Jan. 1,” Reuters, Dec 31, 2024 https://bit.ly/4afhlhk
Matt Stoller, “Big Ag vs Make American Healthy Again,” BIG, Jan 5, 2025 https://bit.ly/421W2O7
Shalina Chatlani, “As demand for weight-loss drugs rises, states grapple with Medicaid coverage,” Stateline, Jan 6, 2025 https://bit.ly/4gLKwux
April Baumgarten, “North Dakota becomes 1st state to cover weight loss medication with federally backed health insurance,” InForum, Jan 4, 2025 https://bit.ly/426ON7q
Leah Willingham, “West Virginia patients are left in limbo over changing insurance coverage of obesity medications,” Associated Press, Jan 2, 2025 https://bit.ly/40pLRBv
Nathaniel Weixel, “RFK Jr. vs. Oz sets up clash on weight loss drug coverage,” The Hill, Dec 30, 2024 https://bit.ly/4h40XCi
Andrea Love & Katie Suleta, “Will the Trump Administration be a dangerous ally to the wellness industry?” MedPage Today, Jan 3, 2025 https://bit.ly/3PxptQo
Habib Benzian, “The U.S. health care system is broken. It’s time for real reform,” Newsweek, Dec 10, 2024 https://bit.ly/3DMfTH7
get my weekly digest by email: tfrasca@yahoo.com
see the full archive at: www.nypan.org/single-payer-links
Wednesday Dec 18, 2024
Wednesday Dec 18, 2024
This one's about how we allow chemical and food (including quasi-food) producers to make us sick while we worry about how to pay for getting well. In “Do Not Resuscitate," I review articles that outline this process and ask, Why not prevent this epidemic of disease at a fraction of the cost? We could even take advantage of the RFK Jr nomination to amplify his critique of our disastrous food supply and captured regulatory apparatus.
Here are links to all the articles mentioned:
Pamela Ferdinand, “Long-term air pollution exposure may worsen the risk of dangerous blood clots in deep veins,” U.S. Right To Know, Dec 13, 2024 https://bit.ly/4gAiIce and “Exposure to particulate air pollution, even at low levels, can reduce children’s cognitive abilities,” U.S. Right To Know, Nov 25, 2024 https://bit.ly/41CglkM
Original study: Blood Journal, American Society of Hematology https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39652776/
Sharon Lerner & Al Shaw, “Formaldehyde causes more cancer than any other toxic air pollutant. Little is being done to curb the risk,” ProPublica, Dec 3, 2024 https://bit.ly/3ByKxmo
Hannah Norman, “Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ taint rural California drinking water, far from known sources,” KFF Health News/San Francisco Chronicle, Dec 11, 2024 https://bit.ly/3ZFBjg9
Pamela Ferdinand, “Prenatal PFAS exposure may be linked to childhood obesity,” U.S. Right To Know, Oct 7, 2024 https://bit.ly/3ZFX3Zb
Tom Perkins, “WHO to scrap weak PFAS drinking water guidelines after alleged corruption,” The Guardian [U.K.], Aug 13, 2024 https://bit.ly/49XuYlb
Natalie Huet, “Research into falling sperm counts finds ‘alarming’ levels of chemicals in male urine samples,” Euronews, Oct 6, 2024 https://bit.ly/3VFGrzE
Marthe de Ferrer, “Penises are shrinking because of pollution, warns environmental scientist,” Euronews, Mar 11, 2021 https://bit.ly/3ZEwpjt
Jingna Cui et al., “Organophosphate insecticide malathion induces Alzheimer’s disease-like cognitive impairment in mice,” ACS Publications [American Chemical Society], Nov 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/4gj3hFz
Anjana Ahuja, “Rising rates of cancer in young people prompts hunt for environmental culprit,” Financial Times, Aug 6, 2024 https://bit.ly/4gDnlSL
Karen A Evans-Reeves, et al., “Intimidation against advocates and researchers in the tobacco, alcohol and ultra-processed food spaces: a review,” Health Promotion International, Dec 2024 https://bit.ly/3VH5EKf
“Poison PR,” Lighthouse Reports, Sep 27, 2024 https://bit.ly/3BmK5rt
Evy Lewis, “Syngenta spent decades attempting to quiet health concerns about its profitable herbicide,” Investigate Midwest, Oct 23, 2024 https://bit.ly/4gB2pMi
Sharon Lerner, “EPA scientists say they were pressured to downplay health harms from chemicals,” ProPublica, Sep 18, 2024 https://bit.ly/4glGg54
Nils Adler, “‘Death sentence’: Asbestos released by Israel’s bombs will kill for decades,” Al Jazeera, Oct 8, 2024 https://bit.ly/49FpJ9m
Mansoor Malik, Ravi Chandra & Gary S. Belkin, “The willful and dangerous silence of the U.S. medical establishment on Gaza,” Mondoweiss, Dec 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/4gCBP5A
Nicola Guess, “Why ultraprocessed foods aren’t always bad,” New York Times, Dec. 16, 2024 https://bit.ly/49KUdGX
You can get my written digest straight to your inbox by writing me at tfrasca@yahoo.com
The entire back archive is housed at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news
Friday Dec 13, 2024
Friday Dec 13, 2024
Let’s face it: a lot of people cheered the assassination of a health insurance executive. But people love their commercial health insurance, right? That’s why Medicare for All could never get anywhere in America—or so we were constantly told.
Maybe the paradox has an explanation: people are generally healthy and don’t use their coverage most of the time. But then something serious happens, and that’s when the corporate suits come down on them like, well, like Luigi with a silencer. Mystery solved—health insurance works really well as long as you don’t cost them big money. When you’re in a coma, the punishment begins.
P.S. Brian Thompson was NOT a “healthcare professional.” He was an accountant who installed financial management maneuvers that “increased shareholder value.”
Here are links to all the articles mentioned this week:
Glenn Greenwald’s horror story of how UH canceled his comatose husband’s coverage after one month of a nine-month hospitalization. https://bit.ly/3OQHWXR
Branko Marcetic, “Americans hate their private health insurance,” Jacobin, Dec 7, 2024 https://bit.ly/3OTYu1s
Bruce Gil, “A leaked video of UnitedHealth CEO defending denial practices sparks more online backlash,” Quartz, Dec 9, 2024 https://bit.ly/4f9mHLK
“Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield reverses decision to put a time limit on anesthesia,” Associated Press, Dec 6, 2024 https://bit.ly/49FjzGs
David Millward, “Inside the shady world of health insurers—and the 1.2 seconds it takes them to deny claims,” The Telegraph, Dec 6, 2024 https://bit.ly/3ORF65e
Jeffrey St. Clair, “Delay and deny, deny, deny,” CounterPunch, Dec 6, 2024 https://bit.ly/4gaUhlY
Rob Urie, “Politics by other means, insurance industry edition: Ready, aim, deny,” Journal of Belligerent Provocation, Dec 9, 2024 https://roburie.substack.com/p/politics-by-other-means-insurance
Lauren Irwin, “Majority of Americans say health care is government responsibility: Gallup,” The Hill, Dec 9, 2024 https://bit.ly/3VXbZ4r
Usha Lee McFarling, “Spending less, living longer: What the U.S. can learn from Portugal’s innovative health system,” STAT, Dec 10, 2024 https://bit.ly/4gb4n68
Todd Shryock, “Business group sounds the alarm on historic surge in health care costs for 2025,” Medical Economics, Dec 3, 2024 https://bit.ly/4ixzScg
Natalie Dunlap, Ben Kieffer & Danielle Gehr, “Iowa’s troubling physician shortage is expected to get worse. Doctors are advocating for solutions,” Iowa Public Radio, Dec 5, 2024 https://bit.ly/4iz2i5U
Madeline Ashley, “Feds seize phones of former Steward CEO, top exec,” Becker’s Hospital Review, Nov 25, 2024 https://bit.ly/3BqmwOe
Brett Kelman, “Six years into an Appalachia hospital monopoly, patients are fearful and furious,” KFF Health News/States Newsroom, Dec 6, 2024 https://bit.ly/49xd2NO
Kelsey Denham, “My son has a brain malformation. We shouldn’t need to be insurance experts for his care,” USA Today, Nov 17, 2024 https://bit.ly/3DeZtqs
Elliott S. Fisher, “Insurance companies like United Healthcare are not the only ones to blame for a broken system,” STAT, Dec 5, 2024 https://bit.ly/3BeXlhL
Matt Stoller, “Trump lays out his antitrust agenda,” BIG, Dec 8, 2024 https://bit.ly/49AaRco
Joyce Frieden, “FDA panned at Senate hearing for failure to address diabetes, obesity epidemics,” MedPage Today, Dec 5, 2024 https://bit.ly/4fb2Pb3
Karen Kaplan, “How the FDA allows companies to add secret ingredients to our food,” Los Angeles Times, Dec 4, 2024 https://bit.ly/3ZxLTFP
Pamela Ferdinand, “Carrageenan may damage gut lining, promote inflammation and type 2 diabetes risk,” U.S. Right To Know, Dec 9, 2024 https://bit.ly/3ZosaIM
Katelyn Fossett, “Michael Pollan is not endorsing RFK Jr.,” Politico, Nov 21, 2024 https://bit.ly/4flJXq8
Ed Silverman, “U.S. Patent Office pulls controversial rule to curb pharma patent abuse,” STAT, Dec. 4, 2024 https://bit.ly/3OROzt9
“Study reveals lasting effects of common herbicide on brain health,” Eureka Alert/Arizona State University, Dec 4, 2024 https://bit.ly/3ZPfBHK
To get my full written digest direct to your inbox, write me at tfrasca@yahoo.com
The archive of all back issues is housed at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news
Friday Dec 06, 2024
Friday Dec 06, 2024
Is Trump about to destroy public health? Or are his nominees crusaders against corporate corruption and greed? On “Do Not Resuscitate” color us skeptical but open-minded. We spend trillions of dollars making intermediaries rich, and those guys play golf with Trump. OTOH, his base is up in arms. Sounds like showtime! I started the week with a nasty bout of Covid, so this week’s podcast is hoarsely voiced, but I couldn’t resist.
As always, here are the links to each article mentioned:
Stephanie Armour, “Make America Health Again: An unconventional movement that may have found its moment,” KFF Health News, Nov 26, 2024 https://bit.ly/4f44Vtn
Vishal Khetpal, “RFK Jr. and MAHA should champion a Marshall Plan for obesity,” STAT, Nov 25, 2024 https://bit.ly/3D3nbpu
Eric Boodman & Isabella Cueto, “In the MAHA-verse, ex-Bernie die-hards and conservative moms find a political home,” STAT, Nov 26, 2024 https://bit.ly/4fYwVjr
Yves Smith, “RFK, Jr plans attack on AMA’s big meal ticket, licensing fees for medical billing codes,” Naked Capitalism, Nov 21, 2024 https://bit.ly/3DchTYA
Heather Landi, “How Republican ‘red wave’ in Washington could shake up healthcare, pharma policy,” Fierce Healthcare, Dec 3, 2024 https://bit.ly/3OFkGMu
Lee Fang, “Inside the junk food lobby’s plans to derail RFK’s agenda,” Real Clear Investigations, Nov 20, 2024 https://bit.ly/4is7hVV
Heather Lanthorn, Kenneth H. Rabin & Scott C. Ratzan, “What ‘Make America Great Again’ gets right about communication,” MedPage Today, Nov 26, 2024 https://bit.ly/4g5s5kw
Rebecca Falconer, “Kraft Heinz pulls Lunchables from school meals program,” Axios, Nov 13, 2024 https://bit.ly/3CZoWnz
Emily Anthes & Emily Baumgaertner, “Trump’s choices for health agencies suggest a shake-up is coming,” New York Times, Nov 23, 2024 https://bit.ly/3BiAaDe
Joanne Haner, “Biden COVID response coordinator: Trump picks for FDA, NIH ‘pretty reasonable,’” The Hill, Nov 25, 2024 https://bit.ly/3BdtG8A
Lauren Gardner & David Lim, “Trump to nominate Marty Makary to lead FDA,” Politico, Nov 22, 2024 https://bit.ly/3ZnSPpd
Kristina Fiore, “Trump’s FDA pick is MedPage Today’s former top editor,” MedPage Today, Nov 22, 2024 https://bit.ly/4ijlrs9
Rachel Cohrs Zhang, “Seven criticisms of FDA Covid policies offer hints about Makary’s priorities,” STAT, Nov 24, 2024 https://bit.ly/3ZmxVqf
Megan Messerly, “Trump picks former Florida Rep. Weldon to lead CDC,” Politico, Nov 22, 2024 https://bit.ly/3DcjSfu
Kierra Frazier and Daniel Payne, “Trump chooses Fox News contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for surgeon general,” Politico, Nov 22, 2024 https://bit.ly/3B66sBl
Andrea Park, “A possible ban on DTC pharma ads poses ‘biggest threat’ of RFK Jr.’s HHS appointment,” Fierce Healthcare, Nov 25, 2024 https://bit.ly/49mGmGE
Daniel Gilbert, “Vivek Ramaswamy’s push for FDA changes could boost his wealth,” Washington Post, Nov 25, 2024 https://bit.ly/4g1DUb4
If you would like to get my full weekly digest, completely free, simply write me at tfrasca@yahoo.com
The complete set of my commentaries going back 7 years is archived at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news
Friday Nov 22, 2024
Friday Nov 22, 2024
On "Do Not Resuscitate" this week, I review the brouhaha over Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the prospects for his appointment as HHS Secretary, which is putting a twist in many knickers. Justified or hysterical? Let's review: the guy has been lackadaisical with facts, full of bluster, and allergic to acknowledging error. That said, he claims that there are crises of unhealthy corporate food, over-medicalization of children, Pharma domination of our lives and airwaves, and regulatory capture by industry. Is he wrong? In a way, Kennedy is a replica of Trump: erratic, brash, shooting from the hip, fond of threats, promising the magic wand radical makeover. They both also have powerful winds behind them, so we’d better deal with it. We can look beyond individuals to examine systems and policies as they evolve. I ditch the “dangerous crackpot” liturgy in favor of looking closely at actions taken and their consequences, which I will review weekly right here.
You can get my full written digest by writing to my email below. Here are the links to all the articles mentioned in this podcast and another link to the back archive going back 6 years.
Arthur Allen, “Scientists fear what’s next for public health if RFK Jr. is allowed to ‘go wild,’” KFF Health News/Scientific American, Nov 14, 2024 https://bit.ly/40YzaP8
Daniel Payne, Chelsea Cirruzzo, Marcia Brown, Brittany Gibson & Annie Snider, “How RFK Jr. could cause an earthquake for American public health,” Politico, Nov 14, 2024 https://bit.ly/4eErHrq
Katherine Fung, “Is RFK Jr. anti-vaccine? Everything the HHS secretary nominee has said,” Newsweek, Nov 14, 2024 https://bit.ly/4fZWkc5
Nina Agrawal, “Three-quarters of U.S. adults are now overweight or obese,” New York Times, Nov 14, 2024 https://nyti.ms/4i1zUZR
Kevin D. Hall, “From dearth to excess: the rise of obesity in an ultra-processed food system,” Philosophical Transactions, May 23, 2023 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2022.0214
Joyce Frieden, “Physician groups quiet on RFK Jr. nomination for HHS secretary,” MedPage Today, Nov 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/4fUncKv
Robert M. Califf, Haider J. Warraich & Jim Jones, “FDA commissioner: We need action and higher-quality research on ultra-processed foods,” STAT, Nov 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/3CD1qfY
Patrick Maguire, “Dr. Deborah Birx says she is ‘excited’ for data-driven discussions in RFK Jr.'s confirmation hearings,” CBS News, Nov 17, 2024 https://bit.ly/4eGGO3R
Elizabeth Williams & Jennifer Kates, “Childhood vaccination rates continue to decline as Trump heads for a second term,” KFF Health News, Nov 18, 2024 https://bit.ly/3OmI9li
Meg Tirrell, “Doctors say RFK Jr.’s anti-Ozempic stance perpetuates stigma and misrepresents evidence,” CNN, Nov 17, 2024 https://bit.ly/3CAXxYS
Céline Gounder, “What to know about RFK Jr.’s stances on key health issues and what he could do at HHS,” KFF Health News/CBS News, Nov 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/3AUidul
Berkeley Lovelace Jr., “FDA employees consider how to handle RFK Jr., including leaving,” NBC News, Nov 14, 2024 https://bit.ly/3CEGWU7
Frank Thorp V, Kate Santaliz & Megan Lebowitz, “From ‘brilliant’ to ‘dangerous’: Mixed reactions roll in after Trump picks RFK Jr. for top health post,” NBC News, Nov 14, 2024 https://bit.ly/4fZahai
Zeynep Tufekci, “How Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could destroy one of civilization’s best achievements,” New York Times, Nov 16, 2024 https://bit.ly/4fz3Fj2
Emma Beavins, “‘All in’ on value-based care,” Fierce Healthcare, Nov 14, 2024 https://bit.ly/3ZdRwu1
Pete Dolack, “The cost of corporate profit in U.S. health care reaches $2 trillion,” Counterpunch, Nov 10, 2024 https://bit.ly/3Oinwqv
For the archive go to www.nypan.org/single-payer-news
For my written digest, write to tfrasca@yahoo.com
Wednesday Nov 13, 2024
Wednesday Nov 13, 2024
On “Do Not Resuscitate” I look at the mainstream and specialty healthcare news media about how we spend trillions of dollars making intermediaries rich instead of making ourselves healthier. This week, I review some of the early and somewhat contradictory speculation about where Trump II will take us in the health realm, including the buzz about RFK’s supposed role.
Below are all the links to the articles mentioned, and I also include a link to the back archive of these digests and an email if you would to receive the full written digest to your inbox.
Noah Tong, “Insurers prep for Trump admin friendly to Medicare Advantage and mergers, hostile to Medicaid and ACA,” Fierce Healthcare, Nov 6, 2024 https://bit.ly/40LB6tY
David Wainer, “Trump will create new winners and losers in healthcare,” Wall Street Journal, Nov 6, 2024 https://on.wsj.com/3UIkHm7
Stephanie Armour, “Trump’s White House return poised to tangle health care safety net,” KFF Health News, Nov 6, 2024 https://bit.ly/3CBEVYw
Shannon Firth, “What happens to Medicare price negotiations under Trump?” MedPage Today, Nov 7, 2024 https://bit.ly/3O531NX
Mary Kekatos, “What a 2nd Trump term may look like for health care issues including ACA, abortion,” ABC News, Nov 6, 2024 https://bit.ly/3O2EWHL
Jeremy Faust, “Election redux: Public health just got a lot more difficult,” Inside Medicine, Nov 6, 2024 https://insidemedicine.substack.com/p/public-health-just-got-a-lot-more
Owais Durrani, “RFK Jr. threatens the very fabric of healthcare,” MedPage Today, Nov 4, 2024 https://bit.ly/48KUI3u
Robin Abcarian, “Trump would allow RFK Jr. to infect the body politic with crackpot theories,” Los Angeles Times, Nov 5, 2024 https://lat.ms/4hNjwvA
Daniel Payne, “The Trump agenda: Here’s what to expect from his second term,” Politico, Nov 6, 2024 https://politi.co/4fJaxtB
Juliann Ventura, “RFK Jr. says ‘entire departments’ at FDA ‘have to go,’” The Hill, Nov 6, 2024 https://bit.ly/3YLMIe3
Jake Johnson, “Trump’s chief of staff pick worked as a tobacco lobbyist while running 2024 campaign,” Common Dreams, Nov 08, 2024 https://bit.ly/3O5mDBz
Donald Shaw, “Trump selects corporate lobbyist Susie Wiles as chief of staff,” Sludge, Nov 7, 2024 https://bit.ly/3OcFQBf
Marcia Brown, Grace Yarrow & Brittany Gibson, “A world without seed oils and pesticides? The food industry braces for RFK Jr. era,” Politico, Oct 31, 2024 https://politi.co/3Z3L2he
Sharon Lerner, “EPA scientists said they were pressured to downplay harms from chemicals. A watchdog found they were retaliated against, ProPublica, Sep 18, 2024 https://bit.ly/48Kcu71
See the full archive at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news-archive
Contact me to get the written digest direct to your inbox at tfrasca@yahoo.com
Thursday Nov 07, 2024
Thursday Nov 07, 2024
On “Do Not Resuscitate” I look at news of all the ways we spend trillions of healthcare enriching intermediaries. This week, I return to the Medicare Advantage trainwreck now hitting the wall of hospital and provider revenues. This is shaping up to be a new episode of Godzilla versus King Kong. And there are several new rent-extracting scams in the health insurance world. The full written digest is available from me (email below) and the archive is housed at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news-archive
Here are links to all the articles mentioned in this episode:
“Medicare Advantage: Questionable use of health risk assessments continues to drive up payment to plans by billions,” HHS Office of the Inspector General, Oct 2024 https://bit.ly/3NV9LxZKristina Fiore, “UVA health surgeons sound alarm on upcoding,” MedPage Today, Oct 24, 2024 https://bit.ly/4fAMuxbAdriel Bettelheim, “Hospitals’ Medicare Advantage peril grows,” Axios, Aug 20, 2024 https://bit.ly/3YBl4AiNoah Tong, “How the feds should handle rampant insurer upcoding,” Fierce Healthcare, Jul 30, 2024 https://bit.ly/3YDuJ9rT. Christian Miller, Patrick Rucker & David Armstrong, “Inside the company helping America’s biggest health insurers deny coverage for treatments,” ProPublica/Capitol Forum, Oct 23, 2024 https://bit.ly/4hCB7XlJoyce Frieden, “Stop the Medicare payment cut and pass a permanent fix, House members urge leaders,” MedPage Today, Oct 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/3Av9te1Sachin H. Jain, “Trick or treat: The fuss over Medicare Advantage Star Ratings,” Forbes, Oct 24, 2024 https://bit.ly/4fxBHUeHeather Landi, “Community Health Systems logs $391M loss in Q3, dragged down by payer denials, higher expenses,” Fierce Healthcare, Oct 25, 2024 https://bit.ly/4fg4DjNDave Muoio, “Medicare Advantage’s growth a bad omen for hospitals, S&P Global warns,” Fierce Healthcare, Aug 20, 2024 https://bit.ly/3YRbQ4eTara Bannow, Bob Herman, Casey Ross & Lizzy Lawrence, “Inside UnitedHealth’s strategy to pressure physicians: $10,000 bonuses and a doctor leaderboard,” STAT, Oct 16, 2024 https://bit.ly/3AvZ3LaCassandra Stephenson, “Federal court: TennCare illegally terminated health coverage for thousands,” Tennessee Lookout, Aug 26, 2024 https://bit.ly/3UGFhmWArek, Sarkissian, “Florida Medicaid spending on undocumented immigrants plummets after new law,” Politico, Jun 23, 2024 https://politi.co/48FfbH1Phil Galewitz, “Amid Medicaid ‘unwinding,’ many states wind up expanding,” KFF Health News/NPR, Aug 16, 2024 https://bit.ly/3YFGewWMeredith Bruckner, “Ann Arbor teachers sound alarm over new health care rate hikes,” CBS News, Oct 29, 2024 https://cbsn.ws/4ejiBA4Aria Bendix, “They’re middle class and insured. Childbirth still left them with crippling debt,” NBC News, Oct 30, 2024 https://nbcnews.to/48HGJeS
Contact me: tfrasca@yahoo.com
Friday Oct 25, 2024
Friday Oct 25, 2024
Long-standing skeptics about a single-payer system like Medicare for All are having second thoughts, according to a landmark essay that I lead with in my weekly review of our Rube Goldberg health financing non-system. Even though Bernie's 2016 and 2020 campaigns to put M4A on the national agenda, our presidential debates barely touch upon the money worries we all face with unpayable deductibles, ever-poorer deals from our jobs, high copays, the Medicare Advantage scam, and the permanent fear of medical bankruptcy.
Here are links to all the articles discussed in this week's "Do Not Resuscitate":
Adam Gaffney, David U. Himmelstein & Steffie Woolhandler, “The only way to fix US health care,” New York Review of Books, Nov 7, 2024 https://bit.ly/4hjW9JQ
Luke Chafer, “How go private for that vital operation and get the NHS to pay for it: Everything you need to know about a little-known scheme,” Daily Mail [U.K.], 19 Oct 2024 https://bit.ly/3AbF8kq
Anna Claire Vollers, “1 million+ patients lose coverage as insurers, hospitals drop Medicare Advantage,” Stateline, Oct 21, 2024 https://bit.ly/3BTUWZI
Joyce Frieden, “Use of prior authorization up in MA plans, Senate report finds,” MedPage Today, Oct 17, 2024 https://bit.ly/3YgIzhU
Noam N. Levey, “Voters fret high medical bills are being ignored by presidential rivals,” KFF Health News/CBS News, Oct 24, 2024 https://bit.ly/3BVN0XU
Heather Landi, “Walgreens focused on growing specialty pharmacy, data analytics within healthcare business,” Fierce Healthcare, Oct 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/3A8y0Wa
Nathaniel Meyersohn, “Why your drug store is closing,” CNN Business, Oct 16, 2024 https://cnn.it/4hl7AB6
Annika Kim Constantino & Jacob Pramuk, “CVS replaces CEO as profits, share price suffer,” CNBC, Oct 18, 2024 https://cnb.cx/3YgXmt2
Tristan Manalac, “Unions, public interest groups call on FTC to challenge Novo Holdings-Catalent acquisition,” Biospace, Oct 18, 2024 https://bit.ly/4eMT3wt
Jed Graham, “Cigna restarts talks to buy fallen star Humana,” Investor’s Business Daily, Oct 21, 2024 https://bit.ly/4hg8gI1
Noah Tong, “Humana joins chorus of lawsuits over sinking star ratings,” Fierce Healthcare, Oct 21, 2024 https://bit.ly/48i0GZs
MedAxiom, “2024 cardiovascular provider compensation and production survey report launches,” Oct 16, 2024 https://bit.ly/4fdaztB
Kate Gibson, “Walmart plans to deliver prescriptions nationwide in as little as 30 minutes,” CBS News, Oct 22, 2024 https://cbsn.ws/4eZ1GUM
Kathryn Kranhold, “Former FDA lawyers join tobacco industry in ‘epic’ fight against the agency,” The Examination/STAT, Oct 21, 2024 https://bit.ly/3YnoPZQ
You can get my written digest by emailing. me at tfrasca@yahoo.com
The entire archive is housed at www.nypan.org/single-payer-links-archive