Big Pharma has given baby boomers, members of under-represented communities, and American taxpayers rare and promising good news about a product price cut: A drug used in a highly effective multi-course treatment for hepatitis C will see its sky-high price continue to plunge. Gilead Sciences Inc., facing steep competition from other makers and innovations from….
Continue ReadingUncategorized
FDA tries to prod Big Pharma on prices with a new ‘naming and shaming’ list
After critics called President Trump’s long-awaited plan to rein in Big Pharma’s rapacious prices disappointing, his administration launched a much-tried tactic against the industry: “naming and shaming.” The federal Food and Drug Administration issued a list of drug makers and the complaints against them about their expensive “shenanigans,” their efforts to undercut potentially cost-cutting competition….
Continue ReadingSecret settlements in medical malpractice are bad for patient safety
An ugly truth about malpractice lawsuits is that some of the most indefensible violations of patient safety are covered up by hospitals, clinics and doctors with the complicity of the lawyers representing the injured patients. This happens when settlements are entered into that require the patient to keep confidential everything that happened, and sometimes to….
Continue ReadingHalloween treats? Don’t forget to trick-and-treat yourself into health insurance, too
You and the kids may decide to splurge a little, devouring some Halloween candy. (Know that just a few of these morsels pack a load of unhealthy excess calories and sugar — see the great infographic from Consumer Reports.) So here’s the penitent-tradeoff: While muching on a choice few bites of candy, please also take….
Continue ReadingHowlers can’t distract voters from GOP’s awful ACA repeal/replace plans
Republican leaders just can’t seem to help themselves. As they flounder in their assault on the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, they have moved from the inaccurate and counter-factual, beyond partisan buzzwords and talking points, and into a territory where they keep uncorking one howler after another about American health care and the ACA. President….
Continue ReadingSeven questions for Congress on Obamacare
Two health care experts just put out a list of seven questions that Congress needs to answer about its replacement for the Affordable Care Act. The list is simple and useful for all of us in any contacts we have with lawmakers. Here it is: 1. How many millions of Americans will lose coverage? 2. Will….
Continue ReadingWomen need better care, research on head trauma, advocates say
It may sound macabre. But advocates say a critical step to address important gender disparities in the care and research on concussions’ harms may rest in convincing more women to donate their brains to science. This has already helped to prove the debilitating and deadly effects of head trauma among men in pro sports. In….
Continue ReadingCalifornia puts curbs on surprise medical bills
Surprise! California lawmakers waited until the very end of their legislative session before joining an increasing number of states in protecting patients from unexpected out-of-network medical charges. As many as 70 percent of patients staggered by these often hefty bills say they didn’t know they were receiving out-of-network care when it was given. Gov. Jerry….
Continue ReadingUncle Sam’s new ratings give poor marks to big D.C. hospitals
More than 3,600 hospitals across the United States have taken a star turn. Many aren’t happy about it, and the same may be true for some members of Congress. Whether patients benefit is still murky. But federal officials, who have been planning a new and expanded hospital rating system for a long time now, have….
Continue ReadingNFL tries to pull a fast one on funding for head-trauma research
What’s $30 million among friends? When the National Football League offered in 2012 to provide that sum to support concussion research by the National Institutes of Health, the conventional wisdom held that the sports powerhouse was finally coming around. The league basked in public praise for taking a more progressive approach to its challenges with….
Continue Reading