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

On the road again

And heading South out of Denver into the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico. Get to “Dan” for issues and problems. More on healthcare when I settle in tonight, Doing some deeper dives into Biden’s ACA modifications, Medicare, and Jayapal’s Bill. Have to split them apart otherwise it would be as long as the opioid’s […]

U.S. Seeks to Block Bankruptcy Plan That Would Free Sacklers From Opioid Claims

“The Justice Department moved on Thursday to block a bankruptcy plan that grants broad legal immunity to the pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma, whose drug OxyContin has been at the heart of the nation’s opioid epidemic. William K. Harrington, the U.S. trustee for the Justice Department, filed a motion in federal court to halt confirmation of […]

Who Is Replacing Justice Ruth Ginsburg?

DAILY KOS’s Joan Mc Carter gives an excellent rundown on trump’s two dumpster candidates (Amy Coney Barrett and  Barbara Lagoa) for SCOTUS to replace Justice Ruth Ginsburg. Putting their names in the same  sentence as Justice Ruth Ginsburg’s should not diminish her but it does not preclude how low Repubs will stoop to achieve their […]

Healthcare News PBM Profits, Expensive Drug(s), Food Protein, and the Opioid Scam

“Cigna gets major boost from Express Scripts in Q2,” Robert King, FierceHealthcare, August 1, 2019 And some claim PBMs do not matter in the cost of healthcare? Cigna healthcare insurance generated ~ $38 billion in revenue the second quarter 2019 and a major increase due mostly to a merger with pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) Express […]

Purdue Offers Up $10 – 12 Billion to Settle All Lawsuits – MedPage Update

Just revealed: The opioid/OxyContin maker Purdue and members of the billionaire Sackler family owning the company have offered to settle thousands of lawsuits against the company for $10 to $12 billion. according to people briefed on the offer. More than 2,000 states, cities, and counties across America are pursuing the OxyContin maker over the large […]

J & J and It’s Subsidiary Janssen’s Actions “Created a Public Nuisance”

“The court found that Johnson & Johnson’s actions had created a “public nuisance,” which Oklahoma law defines to mean an act (or failure to act) that ‘annoys, injures or endangers’ the health and safety of an ‘entire community.’ In a 42-page opinion, Oklahoma State Judge Thad Balkman details how Johnson & Johnson’s sales and marketing […]

Doctor, Who Was Paid by Purdue to Push Opioids, Will Testify Against Drugmaker

Just this morning I read this article by The Guardian; Doctor Who Was Paid by Purdue to Push Opioids to Testify Against Drugmaker “In a newly released statement to an Ohio court hearing a combined lawsuit of more than 1,600 cases, Doctor Portenoy accuses drugmakers of underplaying the dangers of opioids and of pushing them […]

Opioid Use since 1968 and Why It’s Abuse Increased

In writing about the increase in Opioid abuse since 1980 and looking around for additional information for Robert Waldmann, I ran across this information as developed by the US Senate Joint Economic Committee. The committee is majority led by Republicans with Democrats being a part. The committee had added additional yearly data pre-1980, when the […]

The AMA is Calling for a Relaxing of CMC Opioid Prescription Restrictions

A little history: In 1980, the Porter and Jick letter to the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine by the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program stated: “the risk of addiction was low when opioids such as oxycodone were prescribed for chronic pain.” It was a brief statement by the doctors conducting the study, […]

Fighting Opioid and Painkiller Addiction

Some History In 1980, a letter to the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine by the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program stated “the risk of addiction was low when opioids such as oxycodone were prescribed for chronic pain.” It was a brief statement by the doctors conducting the study which was cited many […]