Author Jim Kahn Frequently asked questions. 85 items Posts pagination Newer 1 … 7 8 9 Insane Drug Prices & Gaming = Huge Profits for Pharma & PBMs May 13, 2023 Two news items this week lay bare US drug cost problems. The underlying cause is prices several-fold higher than elsewhere. Exacerbating that is convoluted gaming – moving money around to boost and retain profits. Who wins? Pharma and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (partnered with insurers). And loses? The rest of us. Single Payer Would Radically Transform Health Policy Research May 6, 2023 The May 2023 issue of Health Affairs, the leading health policy journal, has 20 articles. In our assessment, 9 of them would be unnecessary and another 7 simplified if the US had truly universal and standard health insurance. These health policy resources could be redirected to critical non-insurance issues in access, equity and disparities, and outcomes. Suing for Inflated Bariatric Surgery Fees April 29, 2023 Aggressive collection tactics by a large bariatric surgery practice exemplify widespread problems with our health insurance: complex payment arrangements, confusing and misleading financial contracts, widely variable prices, medical debt, expensive litigation, and rising private equity. Rescuing Primary Care, Part 2 April 21, 2023 In Part 1, we discussed how primary care is being acquired and distorted by huge corporations pursuing massive profits. Today, we present a competing vision: a broad social movement to reclaim primary care as a “common good” focused on public benefit. Rescuing Primary Care, Part 1 April 15, 2023 In the first of two posts, we discuss a blog on how primary care is being acquired and distorted by huge corporations seeking massive profits by exploiting CMS value-based care, specifically capitation. The excerpt, a bit more than usual, is worth a read. Next time we’ll examine a proposal for making primary care a publicly-financed common good. Posts pagination Newer 1 … 7 8 9