‘Shkreli Awards’ Shame Healthcare Profiteers

Abstract: Greedy corporations, uncaring hospitals, individual miscreants, and a task force led by Jared Kushner were dinged Tuesday in the Lown Institute's annual Shkreli awards, a list of the top 10 worst offenders for 2020. In third place: four California hospital systems that refused to take COVID-19 patients or delayed transfers from hospitals that were out of beds. "In the midst of such a pandemic, to continue that sort of behavior is mind boggling," said Saini. "This is more than the proverbial wallet biopsy." Connecticut internist Steven Murphy, MD, ran COVID-19 testing sites for several towns, but conducted allegedly unnecessary add-ons such as screening for 20 other respiratory pathogens. "As far as I know, having an MD is not a license to steal, and this guy seemed to think that it was," said Brownlee.