As scientists look to evidence of what might help treat people with COVID-19 or, at the very least, bolster their immune systems, quacks are proposing all sorts of things we should eat and do to...
Diane Archer
Small non-profit helps lower price of some ineffective drugs
Caroline Humer reports for Reuters on the value of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) in holding drug prices down. ICER is a small not-for-profit research organization that...
Government pays Medicare Advantage plans billions extra for...
The HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released yet another scathing report on Medicare Advantage plans, the private health plans that contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid...
President Trump’s executive order won’t lower drug...
President Trump finally issued his fourth prescription drug executive order, related to pricing drugs at the average of what other wealthy countries pay. Much like his first three executive orders...
Coronavirus: Why are older adults most at risk?
You might be wondering why it is that older adults are most likely to be at risk if they get COVID-19. It’s largely about our immune systems. Veronique Greenwood reports for The New York Times...
The wrong choice of Medicare Advantage plan could kill you
Older adults and people with disabilities have the choice of private health plans that offer Medicare benefits, sometimes called Medicare Advantage plans. Through an analysis of mortality rates at...
Hospital care: Three major inequities
A post in Medicine and Social Justice by Josh Freeman, MD, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and the University of Kansas Medical Center, highlights three major inequities in the US health...
Drug prices: It’s time for the federal government to step...
Fran Quigley writes for Common Dreams about the need to end pharmaceutical company monopolies if drug prices are going to come down. The federal government right now could exercise its “march...
Telehealth is likely here to stay
It seems as if telehealth is working quite well for a large segment of the US population during the novel coronavirus pandemic, including older adults and people with disabilities. The Centers for...
Can public health insurance lower health care costs?
With millions of Americans staying away from the doctor and hospital during this pandemic, the private health insurance industry has delivered big profits to its shareholders. At the same time, it is...