Do Not Resuscitate (This System) #340 Mar 22 2024

On “Do Not Resuscitate" I review the week's healthcare news about how we spend a ton of money making intermediaries rich instead of ourselves healthier.  This week, I look at the updated CDC guidelines advising us not to worry about Covid; people with long Covid who advise us that we might want to worry a little; then there's the mega-Hack of our health payment information and the ensuing chaos; some stuff on how drug prices make Massachusetts so expensive for healthcare; and an unusual tale of a hospital-social housing alliance that bears watching. If you want my full digest, write to <tfrasca@yahoo.com> or check out all my archives at nypan.org/single-payer-news

Here are the links to all the articles mentioned: 

Amy Maxmen, “Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission,” KFF Health News/NBC News, Mar 19, 2024 https://bit.ly/3x4REAv

Sara Moniuszko & Michael George, “Up to 5.8 million kids have long COVID, study says. One mother discusses the ‘heartbreaking’ search for answers,” CBS News, Mar 15, 2024 https://cbsn.ws/494HblZ

Melody Schreiber, “‘Alarming’ rise in Americans with long Covid symptoms,” The Guardian, Mar 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/3Vq4xzh

Rachel Beale, “Long Covid, with no treatment in sight, took my life as I knew it,” USA Today, Mar 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/3PtAXEW

Jeffrey D. Sachs, “What might the U.S. owe the world for Covid-19?” Common Dreams, Mar 16, 2024 https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/covid-19-gain-of-function-us-research

Jocelyn Kaiser, “‘Lab-leak’ proponents at Rutgers accused of defaming and intimidating COVID-19 origin researchers,” Science, Mar 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/3wZxxDQ

Pat Garofalo, “Oh so close to tackling the corporatization of medical care,” Boondoggle, Mar 12, 2024 https://bit.ly/3PtBlmV

Susanna Vogel, “For-profit hospital operators bet on outpatient services, expense reductions in 2023,” Healthcare Dive, Mar 12, 2024 https://bit.ly/3x072Ou

Harris Meyer, “Concerns grow over quality of care as investor groups buy not-for-profit nursing homes,” KFF Health News/Fortune, Mar 13, 2024 https://bit.ly/3Vpn12Q

Tina Reed, “Health care providers losing up to $1B a day from cyberattack,” Axios, Mar 11, 2024 https://bit.ly/4ahcLOg

Emily Olsen, “CMS releases Medicaid payment flexibilities during Change cyberattack,” Healthcare Dive, Mar 18, 2024 https://bit.ly/3THZTeA

John Tozzi, Ike Swetlitz & Riley Griffin, “Cancer clinics face cash crunch after hack rocks U.S. health care,” Bloomberg, Mar 13, 2024 https://bloom.bg/3ILHtU6

Jackie Llano, “Florida set to spend $1.5 billion in variety of health care programs; Here’s where the funds would go,” Florida Phoenix, Mar 14, 2024 https://bit.ly/4cqkjzZ

Emily Wagster Pettus, “Mississippi has the nation’s worst infant mortality. It will allow earlier Medicaid to help babies,” Associated Press, Mar 13, 2024 https://bit.ly/3IGfu8e

Julia Johnson, “Sen. Braun demands full audit of Medicare after massive fraud discovery,” Fox News, March 13, 2024 https://fxn.ws/3wZydZV

John Parkinson, “Measles cases are being reported: Are we losing our herd immunity?” Infection Control Today, Mar 4, 2024 https://bit.ly/3IJzG96

Paul Law, “No parent who has seen the children I’ve treated for measles would refuse a vaccine,” STAT, Mar 12, 2024 https://bit.ly/3x3fAUT

Noah Tong, “Breaking down Biden's $7.3T proposed budget for 2025: Here are his top health priorities,” Fierce Healthcare, Mar 11, 2024 https://bit.ly/3x40dvq

Lynn Parramore, “Negotiating Big Pharma’s prices won’t stifle innovation—they don’t use the money to innovate!” Institute for New Economic Thinking, Mar 14, 2024 https://bit.ly/3x1QdTi

April Dembosky, “A new postpartum depression drug is here. How will insurers handle it?” KQED/KFF Health News, Mar 12, 2024 https://bit.ly/4cgBDHP

Nada Hassanein, “New way for states to cover pricey gene therapies will start with sickle cell disease,” Stateline, Mar 14, 2024 https://bit.ly/3VqElEt

Dave Muoio, “Health spending spikes in Massachusetts amid high drug expenses, unprecedented patient cost sharing, regulator warns,” Fierce Healthcare, Mar 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/43qzV2s

Patrick Sisson, “In hospitals, affordable housing gets the long-term investor it needs,” New York Times, Mar 12, 2024 In Hospitals, Affordable Housing Gets the Long-Term Investor It Needs