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.
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Episodes
5 days ago
5 days ago
In this episode of Do Not Resuscitate (Single Payer Links), we review the various ways Trump is wrecking government-funded healthcare: direct cuts, privatization, bureaucratic obstacles, and dumping the burdens onto states. Meanwhile, the commercial entities making bank on our health are untouched.
Here are the links to the articles mentioned:
Frank Thorp V, Sahil Kapur & Ryan Nobles, “Chuck Schumer postpones book events due to ‘security concerns’ amid Democratic backlash over shutdown fight,” NBC News, Mar 17, 2025 https://bit.ly/4bXN2wa
Jeff Stein, “Funding bill grants Trump, Musk more control over federal spending,” Washington Post, Mar 14, 2025 https://bit.ly/41XbHfS
“Trump’s War on Healthcare: Public Health Watch,” Protect Our Care, Mar 17, 2025 https://www.protectourcare.org/trumps-war-on-health-care-public-health-watch-2/
Sarah Wetter & Lawrence O. Gostin, “Are President Trump’s executive orders on health legal?” MedPage Today, Mar 6, 2025 https://bit.ly/4kyjqtl
Rose Broderick, “‘Deliberate trauma’: SAMHSA employees detail a federal agency in shambles,”STAT, Mar 12, 2025https://bit.ly/4im2FA3
Vittoria Elliott, “‘It’s a heist’: Real federal auditors are horrified by DOGE,” Wired, Mar 18, 2025 https://bit.ly/4kycY5L
Jeffrey Okoro, “I’m head of an NGO in Kenya. The shutoff of USAID support has been devastating,” STAT, Mar 15, 2025 https://bit.ly/3DMRAZU
Arthur Caplan & Lisa Kearns, “Who will volunteer for clinical trials now?” MedPage Today, Mar 12, 2025 https://bit.ly/3DSvOE3
Arielle Kane, “My firing represents the death of public service,” MedPage Today, Mar 7, 2025 https://bit.ly/41X1HU7
Sharon Lerner, “Industry-backed bills would bar use of science behind many environmental protections,” MedPage Today, Mar 9, 2025 https://bit.ly/42dtT69
Jonel Aleccia, “RFK Jr. and influencers bash seed oils, baffling nutrition scientists,” Associated Press, Mar 8, 2025 https://bit.ly/43WhLaZ
“RFK Jr. says federal vaccine advisers are beholden to industry. The evidence does not support him,” Science, Mar 7, 2025 https://bit.ly/4iohFgP
John Wilkerson, “CDC’s reported study on vaccines and autism could test RFK Jr.’s pledges to a key senator,” STAT, Mar 12, 2025 https://bit.ly/4iBcVUR
Pooja Salhotra, “With crumbling public health infrastructure, rural Texas scrambles to respond to measles,” Texas Tribune, Mar 10, 2025 https://bit.ly/3E3BStg
Pamela Ferdinand, “Glyphosate poses widespread risks to female fertility and reproductive health, researchers say,” U.S. Right To Know, Mar 15, 2025 https://bit.ly/3FDm9BH
Michael Waterbury, “Health plans need to take accountability for a broken system,” STAT, March 4, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hH7m6j
Ruth Rosenthal & Casey Chiappetta, “Medical debt reforms fall short without addressing consumer debt litigation,” Pew Charitable Trust, Feb 27, 2025 https://bit.ly/4iEMEVN
Lisa Bohman Egbert, “Why I closed my OB-GYN practice in Ohio after 27 years,” STAT, Mar 11, 2025 https://bit.ly/4ifTa5x
Noam N. Levey, “Republicans once wanted government out of healthcare. Trump voters are different,” KFF Health News, Mar 2, 2025 https://bit.ly/4ifYplL
Yuki Noguchi, “She got her dream job at CDC back. But she's already moving on,” NPR, Mar 7, 2025 https://bit.ly/3RhMLuA
Matt Parr, “Stephen Feinberg’s Cerberus owned military contractor that paid millions to settle government fraud suits,” Private Equity Stakeholder Project, Dec 4, 2024 https://bit.ly/4ihN3h0
Maureen Tkacik & Teri Buhl, “A hospital empire is closing its doors—but the stock is on a tear,” American Prospect, Mar 18, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hnIG2J
Get my Do Not Resuscitate weekly news digest on how ongoing national campaign to enrich intermediaries and waste trillions at www.timfrasca.substack.com
Friday Mar 21, 2025
Friday Mar 21, 2025
This gory details are impossible to cover adequately, so I’m looking at broader trends as Musk's teenagers wreak havoc in the nation's institutions. It's not clear if anyone can slow them down. Democrat leadership is supine, and while federal judges are demanding some attention to legality due process, Trump is creeping ever closer to open defiance.
Here are links to all the articles mentioned:
Frank Thorp V, Sahil Kapur & Ryan Nobles, “Chuck Schumer postpones book events due to ‘security concerns’ amid Democratic backlash over shutdown fight,” NBC News, Mar 17, 2025 https://bit.ly/4bXN2wa
Jeff Stein, “Funding bill grants Trump, Musk more control over federal spending,” Washington Post, Mar 14, 2025 https://bit.ly/41XbHfS
“Trump’s War on Healthcare: Public Health Watch,” Protect Our Care, Mar 17, 2025 https://www.protectourcare.org/trumps-war-on-health-care-public-health-watch-2/
Sarah Wetter & Lawrence O. Gostin, “Are President Trump’s executive orders on health legal?” MedPage Today, Mar 6, 2025 https://bit.ly/4kyjqtl
O. Rose Broderick, “‘Deliberate trauma’: SAMHSA employees detail a federal agency in shambles,” STAT, Mar 12, 2025 https://bit.ly/4im2FA3
Vittoria Elliott, “‘It’s a heist’: Real federal auditors are horrified by DOGE,” Wired, Mar 18, 2025 https://bit.ly/4kycY5L
Jeffrey Okoro, “I’m head of an NGO in Kenya. The shutoff of USAID support has been devastating,” STAT, Mar 15, 2025 https://bit.ly/3DMRAZU
Arthur Caplan & Lisa Kearns, “Who will volunteer for clinical trials now?” MedPage Today, Mar 12, 2025 https://bit.ly/3DSvOE3
Arielle Kane, “My firing represents the death of public service,” MedPage Today, Mar 7, 2025 https://bit.ly/41X1HU7
Sharon Lerner, “Industry-backed bills would bar use of science behind many environmental protections,” MedPage Today, Mar 9, 2025 https://bit.ly/42dtT69
Jonel Aleccia, “RFK Jr. and influencers bash seed oils, baffling nutrition scientists,” Associated Press, Mar 8, 2025 https://bit.ly/43WhLaZ
“RFK Jr. says federal vaccine advisers are beholden to industry. The evidence does not support him,” Science, Mar 7, 2025 https://bit.ly/4iohFgP
John Wilkerson, “CDC’s reported study on vaccines and autism could test RFK Jr.’s pledges to a key senator,” STAT, Mar 12, 2025 https://bit.ly/4iBcVUR
Pooja Salhotra, “With crumbling public health infrastructure, rural Texas scrambles to respond to measles,” Texas Tribune, Mar 10, 2025 https://bit.ly/3E3BStg
Pamela Ferdinand, “Glyphosate poses widespread risks to female fertility and reproductive health, researchers say,” U.S. Right To Know, Mar 15, 2025 https://bit.ly/3FDm9BH
Michael Waterbury, “Health plans need to take accountability for a broken system,” STAT, March 4, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hH7m6j
Ruth Rosenthal & Casey Chiappetta, “Medical debt reforms fall short without addressing consumer debt litigation,” Pew Charitable Trust, Feb 27, 2025 https://bit.ly/4iEMEVN
Lisa Bohman Egbert, “Why I closed my OB-GYN practice in Ohio after 27 years,” STAT, Mar 11, 2025 https://bit.ly/4ifTa5x
Noam N. Levey, “Republicans once wanted government out of healthcare. Trump voters are different,” KFF Health News, Mar 2, 2025 https://bit.ly/4ifYplL
Yuki Noguchi, “She got her dream job at CDC back. But she's already moving on,” NPR, Mar 7, 2025 https://bit.ly/3RhMLuA
Matt Parr, “Stephen Feinberg’s Cerberus owned military contractor that paid millions to settle government fraud suits,” Private Equity Stakeholder Project, Dec 4, 2024 https://bit.ly/4ihN3h0
Maureen Tkacik & Teri Buhl, “A hospital empire is closing its doors—but the stock is on a tear,” American Prospect, Mar 18, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hnIG2J
You can also access the full archive of my weekly digests at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news
Saturday Mar 15, 2025
Saturday Mar 15, 2025
This week's urgent topic is the chainsaw Trump/Musk are taking to Medicaid while saying they're only trimming the fat. They're the bad cops. Democrats played the good cop routine standing by and letting it all happen while promising to "fight for" us someday in the distant future. Here are all the articles mentioned:
Nathaniel Weixel, “Republicans need to cut Medicaid to hit budget savings target, CBO finds,” The Hill, Mar 5, 2025 https://bit.ly/41Odt2Q
The CBO letter: https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-03/61235-Boyle-Pallone.pdf
Andrew Solender, “House Dems go into ‘complete meltdown’ as Schumer folds,” Axios, Mar 13, 2025 https://bit.ly/3R9adKr
Josh Marshall, “Biggest federal employee union says shutdown is preferable to Elon/Trump CR,” Talking Points Memo, Mar 12, 2025 https://bit.ly/4bx34x0
“The Republican House Budget Resolution’s potential $880 billion in Medicaid cuts by congressional district,” Center for American Progress, Feb 24, 2025 https://bit.ly/3DTpgF3
Shannon Schumacher et al., “The public’s views on potential changes to Medicaid,” KFF Health News, Mar 7, 2025 https://bit.ly/4253Y0t
N. Adam Brown, “We’re getting the Medicaid message wrong—and it’s costing us,” MedPage Today, Mar 8, 2025 https://bit.ly/3DCOCHj
Jessie Hellmann & Sandhya Raman, “Medicaid work rules have increased coverage loss, not employment,” Roll Call, Feb 27, 2025 https://bit.ly/3FFYQXP
Bernard J. Wolfson, “To patients, parents, and caregivers, proposed Medicaid cuts are a personal afront,” KFF Health News/Orange County Register, Mar 6, 2025 https://bit.ly/3FFYEb3
Rachel Bluth, “Medicaid shortfall forces California to borrow $3.44B,” Politico, Mar 12, 2025 https://bit.ly/3FxoU7A
Hannah Schoenbaum, “Montana Legislature green lights Medicaid expansion as Congress considers program cuts,” Associated Press, Feb 27, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hCPcCG
Kate Giammarise & Tom Riese, “New weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy spike Pennsylvania’s Medicaid costs,” WESA-FM, Mar 7, 2025 https://bit.ly/41PDGOv
Phil Galewitz, “Medicaid advocates say critics use loaded terms to gain edge in congressional debate,” KFF Health News, Mar 7, 2025 https://bit.ly/4ht7NkR
Gov JB Pritzker, “Up to a million Illinoisans will lose health care coverage with slashing of Medicaid,” Chicago Tribune, Mar 3, 2025 https://bit.ly/4i9zPCU
Noah Tong, “CMS rescinds Medicaid’s health-related social needs guidance,” Fierce Healthcare, Mar 5, 2025 https://bit.ly/4ivScls
Maya Goldman, “Medicaid cuts put adult dental care on the chopping block,” Axios, Mar 5, 2025 https://bit.ly/4it1xup
Jaymie Baxley, “NC Medicaid expansion faces uncertain future as GOP eyes federal cuts,” North Carolina Health News, Mar 5, 2025 https://bit.ly/4ky2JOP
If you want my full written digest, contact me at tfrasca@yahoo.com or read it at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news
Thursday Mar 06, 2025
Thursday Mar 06, 2025
How are the intermediaries making their trillions this week? Measles is making a comeback, and the official response is. . . Um, is there one? The Muskrats are busy with their rolling takeover of the country's finances, and if there's stuff in our food that's killing us, well, that's also too bad because we're decapitating the EPA. Meanwhile, the endless search continues for the magic tweak to our healthcare system, a.k.a. pounding out dents on a car that has no wheels.
Get my full written weekly digest now at timfrasca.substack.com and search the entire archive at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news
Here are the links to all the articles mentioned this week:
Mary Kekatos, “Measles cases reported in New Jersey, Kentucky amid ongoing outbreak in Texas,” ABC News, Feb 27, 2025 https://bit.ly/4h6FcBz
Neha Mukherjee, “RFK Jr. said measles outbreaks are ‘not unusual’ in the US. Doctors say he’s wrong,” CNN, Feb 27, 2025 https://bit.ly/41BQDN4
Andrew Joseph, “On measles outbreak, the Trump administration’s messaging strikes some as off-key,” STAT, Feb 27, 2025 https://bit.ly/41pchml
Eleanor Klibanoff, “Texas leaders quiet amid the biggest measles outbreak in decades,” Texas Tribune, Feb 28, 2025 https://bit.ly/3DiSdtV
Adrienne Matei, “Formerly anti-vax parents on how they changed their minds: ‘I really made a mistake,’” The Guardian, Feb 27, 2025 https://bit.ly/4inuebE
Clare Ansberry, “We don’t trust doctors like we used to,” Wall Street Journal, Feb 23, 2025 https://bit.ly/4h5XvH1
Zeynep Tufekci, “The Texas measles outbreak is even scarier than it looks,” New York Times, Feb 28, 2025 https://bit.ly/4klfXhH
Jason Gale, “As measles cases surge in Texas, WHO’s global control program risks collapse,” Bloomberg, Feb 26, 2025 https://bit.ly/4bourt8
Rebecca Falconer, “HPV vaccine has huge impact on cervical cancer prevention, CDC study suggests,” Axios, Feb 28, 2025 https://bit.ly/41gi5hO
Pamela Ferdinand, “Agricultural pesticide exposure linked to childhood cancers, study says,” U.S. Right To Know, Feb 16, 2025 https://bit.ly/4bmEJKj
Natasha Gilbert, “As EPA considers cancer links to nitrates in drinking water, industry downplays the risks,” U.S. Right To Know/Sierra, Jan 30, 2025 https://bit.ly/4incPjp
Yuki Noguchi, “Iowa has high cancer rates. Trump’s cuts to CDC and NIH are already hitting the state,” NPR, Feb 28, 2025 https://bit.ly/4h7eIQp
Sarah Ladd, “Kentucky legislature moves to implement Make America Healthy Again,” Kentucky Lantern, Feb 25, 2025 https://bit.ly/3DhnjC2
Richard K. Leuchter, “An open letter to RFK Jr: Stop the spread of private equity in healthcare,” MedPage Today, Feb 19, 2025 https://bit.ly/4kqvlsY
Joyce Frieden, “Health prices are getting more transparent, but it’s still not enough,” MedPage Today, Nov 20, 2025 https://bit.ly/41EPTqk
Julia Shapero, “Arizona advances bill to keep AI from rejecting medical claims,” The Hill, Feb 21, 2025 https://bit.ly/4h9sHFj
Brian Witte & Rodrique Ngowi, “Fired cybersecurity chief for Veterans Affairs site warns that health and financial data is at risk,” Associated Press, Feb 25, 2025 https://bit.ly/3XpikGp
Juan Cole, “Palestinian life expectancy in Gaza cut from 75.5 to 40.6 years by Israeli total war,” Informed Comment, Feb 22, 2025 https://www.juancole.com/2025/02/palestinian-expectancy-israeli.html
Friday Feb 28, 2025
Friday Feb 28, 2025
For the week ending Feb 28, 2025, we look at how the Trump/Musk tag team is dismantling federal agencies while Democrats prepare to surrender, starting with the massive cut to Medicaid. There is also news of how the new weight-loss drugs are burdening state budgets and the Pharma-Government-Pharma revolving door wind tunnel.
If you would like to receive my written digest (lots more not included in the podcast), contact me at tfrasca@yahoo.com or check out the full archive of posts at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news
Here are links to all the articles mentioned this week:
Stephen Semler, “How Biden set the stage for GOP budget cuts,” Polygraph, Feb 15, 2025 https://bit.ly/3XjaaPH
Sahil Kapur, “Trump and Musk's slash-and-burn tactics are a sticking point in talks to prevent a shutdown, NBC News, Feb 26, 2025 https://bit.ly/41aWffC
Eli Hager, “Anxiety mounts among Social Security recipients as DOGE troops settle in,” ProPublica, Feb 22, 2025 https://bit.ly/3QwqHw2
Melanie Zanona, Sahil Kapur & Ben Kamisar, “House Republicans representing large shares of Medicaid, SNAP beneficiaries face tough budget test,” NBC News, Feb 21, 2025 https://bit.ly/3D7plER
Blake Jones, “Valadao treads lightly on Medicaid as Obamacare vote haunts him,” Politico, Feb 20, 2025 https://bit.ly/4bi7nvS
Allan Smith, Melanie Zanona & Laura Strickler, “USDA says it accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is now trying to rehire them,” NBC News, Feb 18, 2025 https://bit.ly/3QAqzvB
Lizzy Lawrence, “Trump administration rehires some FDA employees it fired,” STAT, Feb 23, 2025 https://bit.ly/41yb90S
Megan Messerly & Adam Cancryn, “Trump officials defend HHS cuts as more methodical than the slashing at other agencies,” Politico, Feb 15, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hTpwTp
Usha Lee McFarling, Angus Chen & Sarah Owermohle, “Growing number of federal health agencies are combing grants for taboo words, unnerving researchers,” STAT, Feb 13, 2025 https://bit.ly/41lL6Jj
Alexander Tin, “Mental health agency loses 1 in 10 staffers to DOGE cuts, 988 hotline team impacted,” CBS News, Feb 21, 2025 https://bit.ly/4h3vBey
Annie Waldman & Duaa Eldeib, “They worked to prevent death. The Trump Administration fired them,” ProPublica, Feb 22, 2025 https://bit.ly/4klRGb9
Filip Timotija, “White House restores 9/11 health program funding after uproar,” The Hill, Feb 21, 2025 https://bit.ly/3DbahWI
David Lipschutz, “Threats to Medicare, Medicaid, and other health programs increasing, Center for Medicare Advocacy, Feb 20, 2025 https://bit.ly/3EUlD1X
Megan Molteni, Usha Lee McFarling & Angus Chen, “Graduate student admissions paused and cut back as universities react to Trump orders on research,” STAT, Feb 19, 2025 https://bit.ly/4bfIlxq
Sarah Todd & Lizzy Lawrence, “The ‘GRAS’ loophole lets untested additives into Americans’ food. Can RFK Jr. close it?” STAT, Feb 19, 2025 https://bit.ly/4bppkJ5
Anne Hultgren, “How one foundation changed its approach to diversify grant recipient institutions,” STAT, Jan 8, 2025 https://bit.ly/3EVeNJH
Kelly Hooper, “Diet drug boom weighs heavily on state budgets,” Politico, Feb 12, 2025 https://bit.ly/4i6Ellg
Matt Stoller, Monopoly Roundup, BIG, Feb 12, 2025 https://bit.ly/439CJmy
Adam Feuerstein, “Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla inflicts injury on his company—and all of pharma,” STAT, Feb 24, 2025 https://bit.ly/3DaCb5c
Friday Feb 21, 2025
Friday Feb 21, 2025
The DOGEbags have declared war on the civil service and the country's scientific research infrastructure. Permanent damage to ensue. Medicaid is next--can Medicare and Social Security be far behind?
Links to the articles discussed in this episode:
Dave Muoio, “Department of Veterans Affairs lays off over 1,000 probationary employees, promises reinvestment in care,” Fierce Healthcare, Feb 14, 2025 https://bit.ly/419cCJI
Lizzy Lawrence, “FDA’s head of device safety among employees terminated in ‘challenging’ weekend,” STAT, Feb 18, 2025 https://bit.ly/42ZBF4r
Helen Branswell, “Drug inspectors, AI experts, maternal health workers: Trump’s health agency cuts are far-reaching,” STAT, Feb 17, 2025 https://bit.ly/416XooB
Matthew Herper, “FDA’s former top food official says Trump firings are ‘dismantling’ the division,” STAT, Feb 18, 2025 https://bit.ly/41lRUYj
Adam Feuerstein, “As outcry builds over Trump cuts to NIH payments, drugmakers are MIA,” STAT, Feb 11, 2025 https://bit.ly/3X7abX8
Christopher Morten et al., Gilead’s short-term win threatens the future of pharmaceutical public-private partnerships,” STAT, Feb 12, 2025 https://bit.ly/418Hiel
Robin Fields, “What a $2 million per dose gene therapy reveals about drug pricing,” ProPublica, Feb 12, 2025 https://bit.ly/3CNSBjY
Suzanne B. Robotti, “FDA clinical trial inclusivity guidelines will be back,” STAT, Feb 6, 2025 https://bit.ly/433uTdX
Stephanie Nolen, “Abandoned in the middle of clinical trials because of a Trump order,” New York Times, Feb 6, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hAm7IZ
Angus Chen & Jonathan Wosen, “Trump policies spark fears of brain drain, threatening to undermine U.S. dominance in biomedicine,” STAT, Feb 12, 2025 https://bit.ly/42XvcHp
Rachael Robertson, “Meet the world’s healthcare billionaires,” MedPage Today, Feb 13, 2025 https://bit.ly/418Q4J0
Maureen Tkacik, “The DOGE czar’s plan to loot Medicare,” American Prospect, Feb 14, 2025 https://bit.ly/4b8J6Z7
Chad Van Alstin, “Private equity tied to 21% of healthcare bankruptcies for second consecutive year,” Health Exec, Feb 12, 2025 https://bit.ly/3EFV14K
Ken Klippenstein, “Government monitoring those with ‘negative’ views of health insurance companies,” kenklippenstein.com, Jan 18, 2025 https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/government-monitoring-those-with
Jim Reed, “Rise of vaccine distrust—why more of us are questioning jabs,” BBC, Jan 15, 2025 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1jgrlxx37do
“States absorb increases for sicker Medicaid enrollees after the pandemic,” Associated Press, Feb 10, 2025 https://bit.ly/4b92OEn
Anna Claire Vollers, “State lawmakers embrace RFK Jr.’s health policies,” Stateline, Feb 12, 2025 https://bit.ly/43lQXkv
Victor Roy, Victor Amana, Joseph S. Ross & Cary P. Gross, “Shareholder payouts among large publicly traded health care companies,” JAMA Internal Medicine, Feb 10, 2025 https://bit.ly/3QtOvRg
Eric Reinhart, “Health workers face a stark choice: become collaborators or resisters,” STAT, Feb 11, 2025 https://bit.ly/4gJrRyU
J. Emory Parker, “STAT is backing up and monitoring CDC data in real time,” STAT, Feb 14, 2025 https://bit.ly/3QoHm4p
Gregg Gonsalves, “When ‘just asking questions’ about science turns into 300,000 dead,” New York Times, Feb 13, 2025 Opinion | When ‘Just Asking Questions’ About Science Turns Into 300,000 Dead
Full back archive going back to 2018: www.nypan.org/single-payer-news
To get my single payer weekly digest by email, write me at tfrasca@yahoo.com
Thursday Feb 13, 2025
Thursday Feb 13, 2025
On “Do Not Resuscitate I keep you current on the trainwreck of our national healthcare payment system, which Musk and his Hardy Boys are accelerating. This week’s topics are the DOGE invasion; Medicaid on the chopping block; the wrecking ball slamming into biomedical research; and the multiple forms of chaos reining in Washington. I am trying to focus on trends rather than chasing after specific events that change the next day, but I had to leave out a lot.
You can get my full written digest by writing me at tfrasca@yahoo.com and the full back archive going back to 2018 is housed at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news
Here are links to all the articles mentioned in the podcast:
Matt Stoller, “Monopoly round-up: On ending the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” BIG, Feb 9, 2025 https://bit.ly/411t66S
Dan Diamond, Lauren Kaori Gurley, Lena H. Sun, Hannah Knowles & Emily Davies, “DOGE broadens sweep of federal agencies, gains access to health payment systems,” Washington Post, Feb 5, 2025 https://bit.ly/4gFSWCW
Eloise Goldsmith, “Medicaid work requirements could boot 36 million people off their health coverage,” Common Dreams, Feb 7, 2025 https://www.commondreams.org/news/republicans-work-requirements-36-million
Hugh Cameron, “Florida removes 1.3m people from health care plan,” Newsweek, Feb 9, 2025 https://bit.ly/41eO4k0
Anna Claire Vollers, “Health insurance for millions could vanish as states put Medicaid expansion on chopping block,” Stateline, Feb 10, 2025 https://bit.ly/3CATPir
Hafiz Rashid, “House GOP reveals plan to devastate Medicaid and food stamp programs,” Yahoo News, Feb 12, 2025 https://www.yahoo.com/news/republicans-reveal-budget-plan-wrecking-221353922.html
Adam Cancryn, “DOGE working with two Trump health appointees to examine Medicare and Medicaid books, Politico, Feb 7, 2025 https://bit.ly/41bilQu
Stephanie Armour, Sam Whitehead & Julie Rovner, “Washington power has shifted. Here’s how the ACA may shift, too,” KFF Health News, Nov 22, 2024 https://bit.ly/3QfpkBz
Kiera Butler, “I’m appalled at the silence from the American Medical Association,” Mother Jones, Feb 4, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hNk1pr Ukrainian hospitals https://bit.ly/3WWLcW5
Noah Tong, “‘Biggest data breach in history’: Labor unions sue Trump admin over Treasury takeover, with healthcare privacy impacts far-ranging, Fierce Healthcare, Feb 5, 2025 https://bit.ly/3QcHmo3
Jonathan Wosen, Megan Molteni, Jason Mast & Usha Lee McFarling, “NIH plans to slash support for indirect research costs, sending shockwaves through science,” STAT, Feb 7, 2025 https://bit.ly/42WO8Gl
Carrie Wolinetz, “Indirect research costs are complicated, wonky—and crucial to science,” STAT, Feb 8, 2025 https://bit.ly/41bGvKz
Scott Turner, “Katie Britt vows to work with RFK Jr. after NIH funding cuts cause concern in Alabama,” AL.com, Feb 8, 2025 https://bit.ly/40Rpa8B
Marcia Brown, “USDA pauses 2 organic programs, leaving farmers on the hook for millions,” E&E News by Politico, Feb 6, 2025 https://bit.ly/4jNBejX
Apoorva Mandavilli, “Foreign aid freeze leaves millions with HIV treatment,” New York Times, Feb 5, 2025 https://bit.ly/3EBs6i4
Alex Guillén & Annie Snider, “EPA puts 168 staffers on administrative leave,” Politico, Feb 6, 2025 https://bit.ly/3WVdnEQ
Jessie Hellmann and Sandhya Raman, “Community health centers caught up in funding freeze,” Roll Call, Feb 6, 2025 https://bit.ly/42TjJIK and Shannon Pettypiece & Bracey Harris, “Health clinics face cuts, closures as Trump's funding fight ripples outside of Washington,” NBC News, Feb 6, 2025 https://bit.ly/3EzmDsa
Anil Oza, “Researchers ‘stunned’ after HHMI abruptly cancels program to make science more inclusive,” STAT, Feb 6, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hu0x8U
Joseph Choi, “The US relies on China for key medicines. They won’t be spared from tariffs,” The Hill, Feb 8, 2025 https://bit.ly/41avitK
Dave Muoio, “Hospitals ask Trump to exempt medical, pharma products from tariffs,” Fierce Healthcare, Feb 5, 2025 https://bit.ly/41ceJhh
Amy Maxmen, “Measles outbreak mounts among children in one of Texas’ least vaccinated counties,” KFF Health News, Feb 7, 2025 https://bit.ly/3EAXI7u
Robert P. Charrow, “A bold experiment: Let’s bribe West Virginia to reduce its obesity rate,” STAT, Feb. 3, 2025 https://bit.ly/3WZrzNo
Jerome Adams, “America needs a better discourse on DEI,” STAT, Feb 4, 2025 Former surgeon general: America needs a better discourse on DEI
Thursday Feb 06, 2025
Thursday Feb 06, 2025
On “Do Not Resuscitate" this week, there’s more on RFK Jr's lame performance, the immigration raids and their impact on healthcare, and the usual litany of system collapse indicators. I’m encouraged by how much the dysfunction is becoming clearer to anyone paying attention.
Here are links to all the articles mentioned:
Rachel Cohrs Zhang, Sarah Owermohle & Isabella Cueto, “The 7 big topics RFK Jr. addressed during a fiery confirmation hearing,” STAT, Jan 29, 2025
Isabella Cueto, “Analysis: In confirmation hearing, RFK Jr. diagnoses a nation’s health ills but fails to prescribe remedies,” STAT, Jan 29, 2025 https://bit.ly/3EqbTfE
Jessie Hellmann, “Trump’s immigration plans could imperil long-term care workforce,” Roll Call, Jan 9, 2025 https://bit.ly/4gpAuhZ
Anushka Bhaskar, Aaron S. Kesselheim & Daniel Carpenter, “How to protect HHS, FDA, NIH, and other health agencies from political interference,” STAT, Jan 31, 2025 https://bit.ly/3EAg7kI
Sara Gorman, Heather Lanthorn, Kenneth H. Rabin & Scott C. Ratzan, “‘Safe and effective’ is FDA-speak. It’s time to put it to bed,” MedPage Today, Jan 28, 2025 https://bit.ly/3Q3dkTO
Jeanne Lenzer & Shannon Brownlee, “Big Pharma is pushing potentially deadly Alzheimer’s drugs,” Jacobin, Feb 1, 2025 https://bit.ly/40Zurw2
Katie Dangerfield, “From hearing aids to pacemakers, tariffs may drive up medical device costs,” Global News, Jan 31, 2025 https://bit.ly/4aKo4Qk
Daniel Zingale, “What I learned about health insurance rage as the nation’s first ‘HMO czar,’” STAT, Jan 30, 2025 https://bit.ly/4aKYiLO
Jakob Emerson, “‘We’re going to have to fix this ourselves’: 5 CFOs on navigating Medicare Advantage,” Becker’s Hospital Review, Nov 13, 2024 https://bit.ly/3EAbvLn
Samantha Liss, “Indiana governor appoints business leader to shake up health care,” KFF Health News/Governing, Feb 4, 2025 https://bit.ly/3Q6qAHh
Paige Minemyer, “Moody’s downgrades insurers’ credit outlook to negative amid ongoing cost pressures,” Fierce Healthcare, Feb 3, 2025 https://bit.ly/4114NXO
Christopher McGowan, “I no longer think GLP-1s are the answer,” MedPage Today, Jan 30, 2025 https://bit.ly/3CBsZXd
Kristen Monaco, “Most ditch GLP-1 drugs for weight loss within a year,” MedPage Today, Jan 31, 2025 https://bit.ly/3WKUYKW
Andrea Mazzarino, “American the unwell: The corporate greed threatening our stability,” Informed Comment, Aug 21, 2024 https://bit.ly/3EnryMx
Lauren Sausser, “Across the South, rural health care has become ‘trendy.’ Medicaid expansion has not,” KFF Health News/Daily Yonder, Feb 3, 2025 https://bit.ly/412wmQA
Paige Minemyer, “Express Scripts takes new steps to improve transparency, address affordability,” Fierce Healthcare, Jan 30, 2025 https://bit.ly/4gwjnLt
Bruce Japsen, “Amazon’s One Medical partners with New York’s Montefiore health system,” Forbes, Jan 29, 2025 https://bit.ly/3WNC9qH
Robert Kuttner, “Mass General’s growth comes at expense of affordable health care,” Boston Globe, Jan 11, 2025 https://bit.ly/4jJQdeC
Jonah Valdez, “She exposed a prestigious medical journal’s silence on the holocaust. Now she’s asking about Gaza,” The Intercept, Oct 17, 2024 https://bit.ly/4hnqKpv
IM Doc, [comment to its Water Cooler column], Naked Capitalism, Feb 5, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hOkhDR
My entire archive going back 7 years resides at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news
You can get my full written digest weekly by writing me at tfrasca@yahoo.com
Friday Jan 31, 2025
Friday Jan 31, 2025
This week on "Do Not Resuscitate" we have to talk about the early slash-and-burn governance of Trump II, which looks likely to backfire though who knows these days? I review some of the voluminous material on the impact on scientific research, the opposition to RFK Jr, the ongoing insanity of private equity taking over healthcare, insurance scams galore, and finally the creepy silence of the medical establishment on the slaughter of doctors in Gaza.
Links to all the articles mentioned are here:
Angus Chen, Usha Lee McFarling & Jonathan Wosen, “Researchers reel as Trump administration moves quickly to cut funding and end DEI health programs,” STAT, Jan 27, 2025 https://bit.ly/3EeNbih
Amy Maxmen, “The growing inequality of life expectancy among Americans,” KFF Health News/ABC News, Jan 22, 2025 https://bit.ly/4gg8LQO
Stephanie Armour & David Hilzenrath, “Junk food turns public villain as power shifts in Washington,” KFF Health News, Jan 20, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hyi5An
KLG/Yves Smith, “Make America Healthy Again: Is MAHA a trope or a movement?” Naked Capitalism, Jan 15, 2025 https://bit.ly/40PsfqI
Berkeley Lovelace Jr., “RFK Jr’s No. 1 hurdle to take on unhealthy food: Money,” NBC News, Nov 18, 2024 https://bit.ly/3X0i80f
Judy George, “HHS inspector general raises concerns over FDA’s accelerated approvals,” MedPage Today, Jan 16, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hc8uzw
Sharon Lerner, “Donald Trump’s No. 2 pick for the EPA represented companies accused of pollution harm,” ProPublica, Jan 22, 2025 https://bit.ly/4h8zBeI
Hiroko Tabuchi, “Two industry executives join EPA to help oversee chemical rules,” New York Times, Jan 22, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hyeLVV
Matt Taibbi, “What’s the right way to cover the Trump presidency?” Racket News, Jan 22, 2025 https://bit.ly/4gkiaXB
Bob Herman, “Warren wants close FTC scrutiny of drug distributors buying cancer medical groups,” STAT, Oct 29, 2024 https://bit.ly/40PVEkN
Jennifer Henderson, “FTC settles with private equity firm over anesthesia investments,” MedPage Today, Jan 22, 2025 https://bit.ly/4gfOWJ9
Nina Matthews, “Small businesses want low health care costs, but Big Pharma proposals do opposite,” The Tennessean, Oct 13, 2024 https://bit.ly/4axISdN
Ellen Gabler, “How a company makes millions off a hospital program meant to help the poor,” New York Times, Jan 15, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hz8ERf
Fight over Allen Pavilion in New York City <https://bit.ly/4jxYGBk>
ProPublica nonprofit database https://bit.ly/4aC8rKG >
Miranda Yaver, “‘Rationing by inconvenience’: Health insurers count on customers not appealing denials,” STAT, Jan 23, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hdNBUx
Casey Ross, “AI versus AI: The emerging arms race over health insurance denials,” STAT, Dec 12, 2024 https://bit.ly/3Eo7Wb3
Bob Mercer, “House wants voters to vote on Medicaid a third time,” Capitol News Bureau/KELO, Jan 22, 2025 https://bit.ly/42wuH6H
Kyle Pfannenstiel, “Idaho House committee introduces Medicaid expansion repeal bill,” Idaho Capitol Sun, Jan 24, 2025 https://bit.ly/40PIWlR
Shoshana Walter, “Hospitals gave women medications during childbirth, then reported them for using illicit drugs,” Reveal/The Marshall Project, Dec 11, 2024 https://bit.ly/42w77Y0
David Klepper, “The CIA believes COVID most likely originated from a lab but has low confidence in its own finding,” Associated Press, Jan 26, 2025 https://bit.ly/4hbK4Gs
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/4az29LQ
Check out the back archive of all my digests at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news
Or get my full written digest by email by sending me a note tfrasca@yahoo.com
Thursday Jan 23, 2025
Thursday Jan 23, 2025
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