Posts All of our commentary in one spot. You can also browse by topics or search. 414 posts in this category Posts pagination Newer 1 … 30 31 32 33 34 … 42 Older Quantifying Patient Burden Due to Insurance Complexity December 3, 2021 Summary: We know that US health insurance causes huge administrative overhead at providers and private insurers. Now, two studies document the burden for patients. One estimates that administrative hurdles cause delayed or foregone care for 1 in 4 insured individuals. The other reports on worker insurance hassles, quantifying lost time, added stress, and foregone productivity […] High Profit COVID Vaccines December 1, 2021 Summary: A new article in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine describes how the price charged by US-based COVID-19 manufacturers exceeds production costs by 10-fold or more. That’s a stunning profit margin, for technology developed with huge government support and a guaranteed market. Comprehensive pharmaceutical price regulation is essential in any comprehensive health […] Achieving Racial and Ethnic Equity in US Health Care November 29, 2021 Summary: The Commonwealth Fund just released an important national and state-by-state review of inequities in health care. The findings are unsurprising and distressing – higher rates of access barriers and mortality from treatable conditions among people of color, and marked variation by state. If only there were a way to pay for health care to […] Thanks Giving November 25, 2021 Summary: In recognition of this week’s US holiday, today’s post offers heartfelt thanks. First, for a terrific documentary film. Second, to all the groups contributing to the pursuit of single payer health care justice. All best wishes for the day. Sex, Drugs, & Bicycles2020Directed by Jonathan Blank Award-winning documentary about the Netherlands that exposes the […] Charity Doesn’t Fill the Health Care Void November 22, 2021 Summary: St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis TN promises not to bill families for medical care. And they don’t. But parents travel long distances to get this free care, incurring new living expenses and losing job income. Even as St. Jude amasses huge reserves from highly effective charitable fund-raising. With single payer, everyone could get […] Working Families and Businesses Need Medicare for All Now November 19, 2021 Summary: Job-based health insurance premiums increased twice as fast as inflation over the past year, despite 2020 being a year of very low medical payouts and very high profits for insurers. Both employees and employers continue to struggle with the current work-based system. It’s time to separate insurance from the workplace. 2021 Employer Health Benefits […] Aducanumab As a Lens on US Healthcare November 17, 2021 Summary: The June 2021 FDA approval of Aducanumab for Alzheimer’s, despite absent evidence of clinical benefit, and now a sharp increase in Medicare Part B premiums, reflects much of what’s wrong with our healthcare system: huge profits enabled by flawed medical care policies and extortionate prices, racism in clinical trial design, and financing burdens transferred […] We Cringe When Hospital “CMO” Means “Chief Marketing Officer” November 15, 2021 Summary: Big academic hospitals like Harvard’s Mass General Brigham now mount huge marketing efforts, similar to those of consumer products corporations. The message is clear: big academic hospitals are big business. Many health care providers wince. Mark Bohen, Chief Marketing OfficerHired September 2020Mass General BrighamWebsite accessed Nov 15, 2021 Mark Bohen, MBA is the Chief […] Veterans Health Administration Under Attack November 12, 2021 Summary: Veterans Day weekend is the perfect moment to contemplate actions from Washington that threaten the Veterans Health Administration, one of the finest elements of the US healthcare system. The VHA is government single payer, providing very high access to and quality of care. Or was until recent aggressive privatization started to undermine it. The […] ACA Private Plans Financial Barriers Rising November 10, 2021 Summary: The Affordable Care Act uses private plan Marketplaces and tax subsidies to try to make insurance affordable for middle class families. New research shows that from 2015-2019, low cost Bronze plans increased in net cost, with combined premiums and deductibles reaching 26.6% of median income. ACA financial protections, already weak, are eroding. ACA Marketplaces […] Posts pagination Newer 1 … 30 31 32 33 34 … 42 Older
