Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Private Equity Taking Over Healthcare and Doctors losing Control . . .

Articles from my Inbox as usual. There is a common thread here of private equity getting more involved. It is bad enough with ACOs buying up medical facilities. We are losing control of healthcare. “Insurers are taking decisions out of the hands of physicians, says ortho surgeon,” beckersasc.com Dr. Grant Shifflett: I don’t want to paint […]

Phone Service in a Prison Environment

The High Cost of Phone Calls in Prisons Generates $1.4 Billion a Year, Disproportionately Driving Women and People of Color Into Debt (businessinsider.com) It has been a while since I have tackled issues with the prison system in the US. Besides it being heavily skewed towards the color of a prisoner and the funding they […]

A slow grind in new and continued claims as Covid’s effects gradually transition from pandemic to endemic

A slow grind in new and continued claims as Covid’s effects gradually transition from pandemic to endemic Jobless claims declined 38,000 this week to 326,000, still 14,000 above the September 4 pandemic low of 312,000. The 4 week average rose 3,500 to 344,000, 8,250 above their September 18 pandemic low of 335,750: Continuing claims declined […]

Pharmaceutical Revenue U.S versus the Rest of the World

UNITED WE SPEND For 20 Top-Selling Drugs Worldwide, Big Pharma Revenue from U.S. Sales Combined Exceeded Revenue from the Rest of the World, Public Citizen, Rick Claypool and Zain Rizvi, I have written on the high prices of pharmaceuticals in the past on Angry Bear, pointing to a WHO report which showed the costs laid […]

The Case of The Creeping Crud

In her 2020 book ‘Waste’, Catherine Flowers speaks to the practice in Alabama – throughout the South – of keeping the poor and ignorant poor and ignorant so that there would always be a cheap source of labor on hand. In a September 2021 House Budget Committee hearing, a member from neighboring Georgia patiently explained […]

IMCA sets New Medicare Age at 60

Improving Medicare Coverage Act – H.R. 5165 Medicare – Improving  Medicare Coverage Act; H,R, 5165, September 3, 2021 130+ House Democrats are co-sponsoring a bill by Pramila Jayapal, the Improving Medicare Coverage Act. The impact of which would drop the Medicare eligibility age to 60 years of age. All well and good, it is about time […]

Do COVID vaccines offer a lengthy and durable protection?

Prof. Joel Eissenberg has a new post up considering people’s immunity to Covid and what it consists of after vaccination. COVID vaccine immunity is waning — how much does that matter? (nature.com), September 17, 2021, Elie Dolgin, We can say circulating antibodies do matter for protection from COVID-19. With the innate immune response, they represent […]

Moderna booster on the way?

“Preliminary Analysis of Safety and Immunogenicity of a SARS-CoV-2 Variant Vaccine Booster,” medRxiv preprint Authors: Kai Wu1*, Angela Choi1*, Matthew Koch1*, LingZhi Ma1 , Anna Hill1 , Naveen Nunna1 , Wenmei Huang1 , Judy Oestreicher1 , Tonya Colpitts1 , Hamilton Bennett1 , Holly Legault1 , Yamuna Paila1 , Biliana Nestorova1 , Baoyu Ding 1 , […]

Healthcare News from My Inbox

Various articles which may interest Angry Bear readers. Supply chain disruptions may last into 2023 & more (beckersasc.com) Seven Supply Chain by Beckers ASC Review. For example: “Many companies that pivoted their business plans early in the pandemic to respond to shortages of medical supplies are now facing severe financial consequences.” I Got Moderna. Can I Boost […]