Posts All of our commentary in one spot. You can also browse by topics or search. 410 posts in this category Posts pagination Newer 1 … 30 31 32 33 34 … 41 Older 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 […] US Ranks 36th Out of 37 Nations on COVID-19 Mortality November 8, 2021 Summary: A new study quantifies the loss in life expectancy due to COVID-19 in nations around the world. The US is in the worst tier, with a drop of nearly two years. Blame lays at the feet of mishandling by Trump, but also long-term degradation of public health and primary care access. Both must be […] When will we transform our deadly insurance system? November 4, 2021 Summary: New research with vital statistics data finds that since 1990 overall US mortality has increasingly worsened compared with other OECD countries, in poorer and richer geographic areas alike. The differences attenuate after age 65, when Medicare eligibility begins. The toll for Black Americans is worse, despite gains. These findings suggest that insurance shortfalls lead […] Insurers Avoid Loss Ratio Limits by Shifting Profits to Provider Subsidiaries November 2, 2021 Summary: Insurers don’t appreciate limits on their profits. So, to circumvent federal “medical loss ratio” rules, they buy up medical providers and send the excess revenues there. Voila, huge profits retained. Profits swell when insurers are also your doctors.AxiosJuly 16, 2021By Bob Herman. The big picture: Federal law caps health insurance profits to 15-20% of […] Setting our sights for real health care reform November 1, 2021 Summary: Build Back Better is falling short even on modest health reforms. Let’s focus on building the popular movement needed for truly progressive transformation of our health care system. Locked Out of the Sausage Factory: Will Medicare Expansion Survive the Budget Reconciliation Debates?Common DreamsOctober 27, 2021By Michael Lighty & Mark Dudzic The Build Back Better […] Posts pagination Newer 1 … 30 31 32 33 34 … 41 Older
