Summary: 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
The McCanne Health Justice Monitor is produced by a team of health policy experts and single-payer champions. For more information, and a complete archive of entries, visit the HJM website. For an archive of Quote of the Day entries from Dr. Don McCanne, click here.
Primary Care Corporate Takeover a Challenge for Single Payer
Summary: The large-scale corporate appropriation of primary care reflects and enables the profiteering that now dominates US health care. The doctor-patient relationship suffers. Single payer financing
Single Payer Would Radically Transform Health Policy Research
Summary: 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
Call for a National Health System
Summary: PNHP founders Woolhandler and Himmelstein propose that progressive health reform needs updating to respond to the widespread takeover of providers by for-profit corporations. The original
Suing for Inflated Bariatric Surgery Fees
Summary: 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
Oracle Health Data Profit Fantasies
Summary: Oracle Health, acquired by Cerner, is pursuing a global cloud-based health records repository. Except that they can’t even succeed in five Veteran’s Administration hospitals. And
Rescuing Primary Care, Part 2
Summary: 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
Today thru Sunday! Medicare for All Strategy Conference 2023
Summary: Check out this terrific online conference.
The theme is “Everybody In: Racial Equity & Medicare for All.”
Lots of great speakers—knowledgeable activists.
Register here: https://medicareforall23.sched.com
Rescuing Primary Care, Part 1
Summary: 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
2024 Payment Increase & Other Problems with Medicare Advantage
Summary: CMS just finalized the 2024 payment rule for Medicare Advantage, weakening the draft rule. There remain massive overpayments and widespread barriers to care. These fundamental
Excess Deaths in US in 2021: COVID + 400,000
Summary: New research finds that in 2021 the US had nearly 900,000 excess deaths compared with wealthy European countries. About half were due to COVID and
An Immodest Proposal (for Excellent Financing of Our Health Care System)
Summary: A striking vision for how to pay for health care in our country.
An Immodest Proposal
(for Excellent Financing of Our Health Care System)
From: A humble health