The COVID pandemic in the US began five years ago. It wasn’t declared a pandemic then, but in retrospect, that’s when it began. My university has an NIH-designated vaccine testing and evaluation unit. In late January 2020, I attended a lecture by the clinical director about the recently named SARS-CoV-2. That was the first time […]
The way to make money in America’s private health insurance industry is to deny coverage. There’s no question about that. The question is whether the denials are valid. According to one long-time doc, industry is valorizing speed over accuracy. “In late 2020, Dr. Debby Day said her bosses at Cigna gave her a stark warning. […]
“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 […]