“Specialty Generic Drugs: A Growing Profit Center for Vertically Integrated Pharmacy Benefit Managers,” Federal Trade Commission A brief post or commentary on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). For the Big 3 PBMs and their affiliated pharmacies during our study period from 2017 through part of 2022 specialty generic drugs represented a growing profit center. FTC analyses […]
The reality, America has a love affair with bullet spewing weapons. The fallback is to the wild west when men were packing a six shooter to shoot snakes or fend off others. I am not sure all of this exists as shown on the theater screen. It does sell movie tickets and people flock to […]
An acquaintance or a friend who I have known for years on and off when our paths have crossed from time to time. Now at least I know why he stopped posting on his site. Thought maybe he moved on . . . wish it had been such. He tells a story of being cancer […]
For much of the world, simply getting enough calories to sustain life is a daily challenge. Among the relatively affluent citizens in the west, wave after wave of dietary fashions encourage us to medicalize food. A recent example is the demonization of “processed” and “ultraprocessed” foods. This has been validated by the Trump nominee for […]
My track record in prophecy is certainly mixed, but based on what I’ve seen so far, RFK Jr will be the next HHS secretary. He’s certainly no more unqualified than Pete Hegseth is to be secretary of defense, and it looks like Hegseth is headed for approval. “Amid reports that the adults in Donald Trump’s […]
Briefly: I did not have much of a chance to dive into to this last night. Just briefly reviewing it. The case is covering preventative care as determined by the US Preventive Services Task Force (PSTF). The PSTF currently requires insurers to cover “more than 50 preventive services.” This includes “screenings to detect lung, cervical, and colorectal […]
Steve Early and Suzanne Gordon have been advocating for veterans, the VA, and VA healthcare well beyond my introduction to them years ago. Steve had helped me early on and gave me a contact to use if needed. If Suzanne and Steve are writing about it, it is an issue. I know the Washington pols […]
There is evidence that a higher minimum wage causes a lower suicide rate. I would not have guessed this: “Suicide is often connected to financial stress, so it makes sense that increasing income might reduce the risk of suicide. A recent study funded by NIMHD found that every $1 increase in the minimum wage of […]
It is a thought of the cost of healthcare and people skipping it due to cost. I suspect the number in this report for 2022 – 2024 are lower. Lower only because of President Biden’s healthcare adjustments to the ACA plans making it less costly for families. People were out of work and would have […]
r.j. sigmund:Toxic PFAs impacting Americans’ drinking water via treated wastewater: Study — Nearly 7 percent of Americans may be exposed to hazardous levels of “forever chemicals” through treated municipal wastewater, a new study has found. These approximately 23 million people may be consuming these toxic compounds, also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), in their […]