Serious Medical Errors Rose After Private Equity Firms Bought Hospitals, The New York Times, December 26, 2023, by Reed Abelson and Margot Sanger-Katz The rate of serious medical complications increased…
HJM AI-Assisted 2023 Review
2023 was another year of deteriorating US health insurance performance, especially as post-COVID protections lapsed, and continued modest gains toward single payer. For the annual summary, we set up a ChatGPT-based artificial intelligence bot on the HJM website to allow natural language interaction with HJM content – called HJM Ai-Chat. Below are sample queries and responses.
…government waste. Market Competition and Freedom of Choice: Contrary to common misconceptions, a single payer system can actually enhance market competition by leveling the playing field for healthcare providers. It…
Medicare Advantage keeps growing. Tiny, rural hospitals say that’s a huge problem.
…as “out here in the middle of nowhere.” When several representatives from private health insurance companies called on him a few years ago to offer Medicare Advantage plan contracts so…
Why Doctors and Pharmacists Are in Revolt
Once accustomed to a status outside the usual management-labor hierarchy, many health professionals now feel as put upon as any clock-punching worker.
By Noam Scheiber The New York Times, December 3, 2023 Dr. John Wust does not come off as a labor agitator. A longtime obstetrician-gynecologist from Louisiana with a penchant for…
Prevalence and Correlates of Patient Rationing of Insulin in the United States: A National Survey
…diabetes, but high prices and inadequate insurance coverage may impede access to it. A single-center study (1) and web-based surveys (2) suggest that cost-related insulin nonadherence may be common, although…
Missing Americans: Early Death in the United States, 1933-2021
…deaths – including 1 in 2 deaths under age 65 years – would have been averted if the U.S. had the mortality rates of other wealthy nations. full text: https://www.medrxiv.org……
Time, Supply, and Single Payer
Expanding the supply of health care to increase competition will not control costs or cure our health system woes. Health care is unlike other economic markets. The solution is need-based expansion and efficient use of capacity to meet medical needs. Single payer and public ownership offer the tools.
…and disinvestment have left many communities—particularly those with low-income and minority populations—deprived of needed healthcare facilities and resources. The problem is that the new “supply-side” gambit won’t succeed in securing…
Our Payments, Their Profits
Quantifying Overpayments in the Medicare Advantage Program
…per year, and potentially by up to 35% or $140 billion. By comparison, Part B premiums in 2022 totaled approximately $131 billion, and overall federal spending on Part D drug…
PNHP National Office Staff
…6026 Dixon Galvez-Searle – Communications Specialist Contact for: email communications; social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter); website updates; branding and design. Phone extension: 6022 Anika Thota – Policy and…
Critiquing Project 2025
Project 2025 proposes a deeply worrisome policy transformation. We will scrutinize these policies in coming weeks.
…would compromise pandemic response and end protections for abortion and reproductive health, as well as for LGBTQ rights. Project 2025 would also fundamentally change how government and voting work, gutting…