@tarbellorg

#journalism to educate & change #America. Founded by @wendellpotter. 100% reader-funded. Donate today. https://xitter.cf/t.co/l4If0WKWDP. Email: [email protected]

 Greenville, SC
tarbell.org
Joined December 2016
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128Media
Americans (with insurance) can’t afford their medical care. They’re turning to GoFundMe. tarbell.org/2022/04/gofundme
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mailchi.mp/tarbell/thankyou?…
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Here are some key take-aways: - JUST 3 insurers' PBMs (@Cigna, @CVSHealth, @UHC) control 80% of the pharmacy benefit market. - The Big 7 control 69% of the Medicare Advantage market. - 53% of all Medicaid beneficiaries are now enrolled in health plans managed by the Big 7.
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GET THIS: Dr. Oz wants to force Pennsylvania seniors into Wall Street-run health insurance plans that studies show cost taxpayers FAR MORE than original Medicare + makes it harder for doctors to prescribe the medications and treatments their patients need. wendellpotter.substack.com/p…
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THE BAD NEWS: Big insurers have been announcing record profits. Thanks, in part, to Americans paying sky-high out-of-pockets. THE GOOD NEWS: Politicians and the media are FINALLY realizing that high OOP costs are breaking the budgets of American families. wendellpotter.substack.com/p…
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What @bobjherman said but also this: tens of millions of Americans are functionally uninsured because deductibles are ridiculous. Insurers and their shareholders are rolling in the dough. The 100 million Americans with medical debt? Not so much
Bob Herman@bobjherman2 Aug 2022
Worth keeping in mind that a "record low" uninsured rate still = 26.4 million people with no health insurance. That's equivalent to the population of Florida and Louisiana combined, fending for themselves for their entire medical bills. xitter.cf/CitizenCohn/status/155…
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The price of insulin has been steadily increasing over the last decade. In fact, 14.1% of Americans face "catastrophic" spending levels from insulin alone, with Medicare beneficiaries especially vulnerable to coverage inequities. healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10…

Catastrophic Spending On Insulin In The United States, 2017–18 | Health Affairs Journal

Insulin is considered an essential medicine for people with diabetes, but its price has doubled during the past decade, posing substantial financial barriers to patients in the US. In this article we...

healthaffairs.org
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#FollowTheMoney
Robert Reich
@RBReich31 Jul 2022
So let me get this straight: Exxon's net income amounted to $2,245.62 every second of every day during Q2, but government spending is to blame for rising gas prices?
Exxon Mobil recorded an unprecedented $17.85 billion profit for the second quarter and Chevron made a record $11.62 billion. The monopolization of America is driving record profits for corporations and economic hardship for everyone else.
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#FollowTheMoney
David Sirota
@davidsirota1 Aug 2022
something doesn’t compute here
Medicare's final hospital rule is likely coming out this week. Hospitals like Emory have been yelling about inflation and high labor costs for months. AHA just met with CMS last week. We're about to see if this lobbying and arm-twisting worked. statnews.com/2022/08/01/wall…

Wall Street's love affair with insurers, hospitals pressure Medicare, and swimming in a risk pool

You’re reading the web edition of Health Care Inc., STAT’s weekly newsletter following the flow of money through the health care system. 

statnews.com
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Wall Street gave Elevance (formerly Anthem) a proper flogging last week for reporting that it spent more money on patients’ claims in Q2 than investors wanted. See below for more about Elevance's Q2 report and what it means for patient's out-of-pockets: wendellpotter.substack.com/p…
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pbs.org/newshour/show/how-a-…

How a potential Senate deal could lower health care costs for millions of Americans

For the first time, the U.S. government could have the power to negotiate prices for some of the costliest drugs covered under Medicare. The proposed legislation would also help Medicare recipients...

pbs.org
NEW from @NoamLevey at @KHNews: Former Kaiser CEO George Halvorson cited the growth of high-deductible health insurance as a key driver of the debt crisis. “People are getting bankrupted when they get care,” he said, “even if they have insurance.” khn.org/news/article/diagnos…
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Important
Jan Schakowsky
@janschakowsky12 Jun 2022
Medicare Advantage plans continue to rake in profits while denying patient care. In April, I asked @CMSGov to reconsider increased payments to these plans. Now, recent reporting shows Advantage plans are falsifying patient records to increase profits. washingtonpost.com/business/…

Beat cancer? Your Medicare Advantage plan might still be billing for it.

Medicare Advantage plans will soon cover the majority of Medicare beneficiaries in the United States, but investigators and critics say companies improperly game the system for profit.

washingtonpost.com
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The Potter Report: Why Your Inhaler Costs So Much Big Insurance, PBMs, the FDA, Congress and AstraZeneca are deciding your costs. ow.ly/sEat50Jnpkf
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The American Way: Thoughts from the Publisher ow.ly/65qK50JjSnC
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Never heard of dental therapists? Check them out. They are making dental care much more accessible and affordable for people in a growing number of states.
National Partnership for Dental Therapy@GoDentalTherapy26 May 2022
Did you know that dental therapists are regulated by the same systems as dentists and dental hygienists? This ensures a high standard of care for patients and a cost-effective, competent provider for communities. Join us in working for oral health for all: DentalTherapy.org

National Partnership for Dental Therapy

The National Partnership for Dental Therapy advances policies and solutions that expand access to quality oral health care nationwide.

dentaltherapy.org
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Have you ever heard the one about the ex-health insurance executive who walked up to the pharmacy counter? Spoiler alert: It ends with a long grumpy line of people and a $141 bill for an inhaler. wendellpotter.substack.com/p…
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From Medicare Part D's insulin issue to the "out-of-pocket cost Ponzi Scheme" – here's what you need to know in health care this week: wendellpotter.substack.com/p…
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Greed. Greed. Greed. While Americans are struggling at the pump, in the first three months of this year, 21 oil and gas companies made over $41 billion in profits, more than double their profits from last year. The problem is not inflation. The problem is corporate greed.
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