The New York Times reports that one in five older adults still are not vaccinated against the novel coronavirus. All are eligible for free vaccines. Now that states have opened up vaccines to...
Diane Archer
IRS finds Bristol Myers skirts its tax obligations
It’s not enough that Bristol Myers Squibb profits handsomely from the U.S. failure to rein in drug prices. Jesse Drucker reports for the New York Times that, with help from its lawyers at White...
Members of Congress sign on to letter supporting Medicare...
Every year for the last several years, the Medicare Advantage plans ask members of Congress to sign onto a letter addressed to the head of the US Department of Health and Human Services that paints...
How should Medicare innovate to improve quality and reduce...
Donald Berwick, MD, former head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Richard Gilfillan, MD, former head of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) write in JAMA...
Will Biden expand Medicare benefits or strengthen the ACA?
Jeff Stein reports for the Washington Post on health care reform proposals the Biden administration could include in the American Families Plan. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is urging President Biden...
Drugs in the US should be priced on a par with other wealthy...
The pharmaceutical industry is lining up its allies to help in whatever ways they can to keep Congress from reining in drug prices. Specifically, they want to do their best to mislead the public...
Will the DOJ let UnitedHealth control more of the US health care...
Why would the biggest health insurer in the nation buy a health care data analytics company? More knowledge, more power, more ability to drive profits its way. So, unsurprisingly, UnitedHealth...
Insurers use prior authorization to keep people from getting care
Private insurers are increasingly using prior authorization as a tool to keep people from getting needed care. Allison Bell reports for Think Advisor on what physicians are saying about the hoops...
How to lower health care costs 1 percent at a time
The goal of the 1% Steps for Health Care Reform Project is to come up with discrete areas where the data show the US could lower health care costs in small meaningful ways. Reform is hard, in part...
Coronavirus: More federal support to wealthy hospitals than...
Jordan Rau and Christine Spolar report for Kaiser Health News that the COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be a boon for some hospitals with the help of federal relief funds. Now, it’s time for...