Do Not Resuscitate (This System) #336 Fe 23 2024

This week, I review articles about hospital mergers & acquisitions, some blocked, some successful; private equity’s ongoing hospital-destroying rent extraction doings; corrupt behavior in The Swamp including Biden family dealings; how officialdom demands respect for The Science while ignoring it; good news on Medicaid expansion in North Carolina, and bad news on Medicaid expulsions in Texas. Write me for the full written digest at tfrasca [at] gmail.com and explore the full 6-year archive at nypan.org/single-payer/news. Here are all the links mentioned in this week's run-down. 

Susanna Vogel, “SCAN Group, CareOregon abandon merger plans,” Healthcare Dive, Feb 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/49lsJqE

Rebecca Pifer, “Blue Cross of Louisiana halts sale to Elevance,” Healthcare Dive, Feb 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/3T8bzH2

Susanna Vogel, “Primary care providers Marathon Health and Everside Health merge,” Healthcare Dive, Feb 9, 2024 https://bit.ly/3UHyGcW

Paige Minemyer, “Private equity deals in MA are declining, but experts say regulators should keep an eye on this space,” Fierce Healthcare, Feb 13, 2024 https://bit.ly/3SLmup2

Susanna Vogel, “What’s going on at Steward Health Care?” Healthcare Dive, Feb 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/42JGOf3

Phil Galewitz & Colleen DeGuzman, “In fight over Medicare payments, the hospital lobby shows its strength,” KFF Health News/NPR, Feb 13, 2024 https://bit.ly/49yRrDK

John Ingold & Chris Vanderveen, “UCHealth sues thousands of patients every year. But you won’t find its name on the lawsuits,” Colorado Sun, Feb 19, 2024 https://bit.ly/49lGxBu

Nicholas Florko, “Juul’s internal playbook opens a rare window into influence in Washington,” STAT, Feb 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/4bOErvl

Ben Schreckinger, “Biden’s brother used his name to promote a hospital chain. Then it collapsed,” Politico, Feb 18, 2024 https://politi.co/48vFugN

Ruth Reader, “Artificial intelligence is making critical health care decisions. The sheriff is MIA,” Politico, Feb 18, 2024 https://politi.co/3ORjW7I

Nick Corbishley, “France’s Macron government is trying to criminalise criticism of officially recommended or mandated medical treatments,” Naked Capitalism, Feb 16, 2024 https://bit.ly/48rul0w

Julia Doubleday, “New CDC guidelines: Work ‘til you drop,” The Gauntlet, Feb 15, 2024 https://www.thegauntlet.news/p/one-little-covid-infection-is-no

Joshua Goodman & Jim Mustian, “DEA reverses decision stripping drug distributor of licenses for fueling opioid crisis,” Associated Press, Feb 7, 2024 https://bit.ly/49Lpw3t

Maya Goldman, “More than 2 million people dropped from Medicaid in Texas,” Axios, Feb 13, 2024 https://bit.ly/3SLNnsM

Jaymie Baxley, “NC Medicaid rolls grow by 1,000 people a day as smooth expansion rollout continues its third month,” North Carolina Health News, Feb 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/49oXACu