Minnesota Attorney General says, “Hold on, Mayo!”
A recent investigation of the Mayo Clinic by the state AG found that the hospital put up barriers to financial assistance. More
3 Reasons To Attend the Lown Medical Debt Conference
On May 15, 2025, the Lown Institute will be hosting a one-day, in person conference in Washington, D.C. to discuss the scope, key drivers, and emerging solutions to medical debt in the U.S. Here's why you won't want to miss this event. More
Pay starts flowing when nonprofit CEOs leave the job
“If we’re really going to grapple with the problems of health care, which are so expensive, unaffordable, driving medical debt — all the things that everybody knows about and are problematic — I think this is a moment to rethink some of that and ask: can we have more transparency?" Saini said. “Can we really try to understand what the hell is going on, how the money is flowing?”
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Healthcare corporations spent trillions of dollars on payouts to shareholders, study finds.
It’s well known that America spends more and gets less for its health care dollar than peer countries, and has for a while. Where does all the money go? A recent research letter in JAMA Internal Medicine shows how much of healthcare industry profits are directed to corporate shareholders. More
5 Things Every Patient Should Know About Hospital Financial Assistance
While many hospitals offer financial aid, millions of eligible patients never apply - often because they don't realize help is available. Here are five things every patient should know about hospital financial assistance programs. More
Another year, another round of Shkreli awards
The Lown institute keeps an eye on fraud, waste, and dysfunction in American healthcare, and every year they present the Shkreli awards, named for infamous pharmabro Martin Shkreli. Here we summarize the top 10 terrible operators of 2024. More
Health companies return $2.6 trillion to shareholders over time amid rising medical costs
"The whole idea that that there's a functioning market is a fantasy," Saini said "Given that fact, the way money flows is not at all rational, and that's why we get what we get in terms of the prices of everything." More
Republicans are proposing radical healthcare cuts. How could hospitals be affected?
A wish list of program cuts being circulated by House Republicans includes proposals that target the healthcare system. Here are some of the proposed cuts and the potential repercussions for hospitals. More
Private equity hospitals in the news
Early 2025 updates on private equity and hospitals, including new state legislation and another system bankruptcy. More
Meet the Shkreli Award “Winners”
From selling deceased patients' body parts to denying cancer treatment over upfront payments, the Lown Institute's annual Shkreli Awards spotlight the most egregious examples of profiteering and dysfunction in American healthcare. Dr. Vikas Saini, President of the Lown Institute, walks us through 2024's "winners" and what they reveal about the state of our healthcare system. More
Hospital financial assistance policies have changed, but not always for the better
Amid increased scrutiny on hospital billing and collections practices, one might expect hospitals to make their financial assistance policies more generous. However, these changes are not always for the better, a new study finds. More
How to find free or discounted health care at Minnesota hospitals
The Lown Institute, a Boston-based group that evaluates hospitals on their community investments, said patients can learn about charity care programs simply by calling up an online search engine, entering the name of a medical center and typing the phrase “financial assistance policy.” That’s usually faster than clicking through the hospital’s website, said Judith Garber, a senior policy analyst with Lown. “It will indicate the thresholds for accessing free and discounted care, usually based on family size and income,” Garber said via email.
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Podcast: The ‘Shkreli Awards’ — for dysfunction and profiteering in health care
We’re bringing you highlights from this year’s ceremony – featuring things like human bones for sale without the consent of the deceased or their families, phantom urinary catheters, and so much more – and some reflections from the Lown Institute’s president, Dr. Vikas Saini. “Showing all these stories together paints a picture of a health care system in desperate need of transformation,” Saini said at the ceremony. “Not just because the stories are shocking, but because often what they're depicting, like Martin Shkreli's infamous price hike, is perfectly legal.” More
2024 Shkreli Awards: Dishonorable Mentions
We recently revealed the winners of the 8th Annual Shkreli Awards, our top ten list of the most egregious examples of healthcare profiteering and dysfunction each year. But there are many, many more examples of the ways our healthcare system is broken. Presenting the Shkreli Awards Dishonorable Mentions! These nominees fell just shy of making […] More
“Shkreli awards” recognise most egregious profiteering in US healthcare
his is the eighth year in which the awards have been given. Winners are chosen by a panel including doctors, public health experts, journalists, and patient advocates. The awards are named after Martin Shkreli, the “pharma bro” who became infamous when he bought the maker of the anti-parasitic drug Daraprim and increased the price 50-fold. Speaking at the ceremony, Lown Institute president Vikas Saini said, “All these stories paint a picture of a healthcare industry in desperate need of transformation. Doing these awards every year shows us that this is nothing new.”
This Year’s Shkreli Awards: Here’s Who Made the List
"Every year we are dumbfounded by the amount of profiteering" that candidates for these awards engaged in, Vikas Saini, MD, president of the Lown Institute, told MedPage Today. "It's always a mixture of out-and-out fraud as well as just general venality and grasping." More
This Year’s Shkreli Awards: Here’s Who Made the List
This set of Shkreli Award winners is the institute's eighth installment, but the level of outrageousness in the actions of this year's candidates is the most disturbing, Saini said. There are "regulators and people in positions of authority whose jobs they are supposed to do, but instead they turn and look the other way. A lot of this stuff that happens is because there's no cops on the beat." More
Annual ‘winners’ for most egregious US healthcare profiteering announced
“All these stories paint a picture of a healthcare industry in desperate need of transformation. In 2024, healthcare practices were put in the spotlight,” Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute, said during the ceremony. “But doing these awards every year shows us that this is nothing new. We’re hoping that these stories illuminate what changes are needed.” More
10 healthcare names get Shkreli Awards for bad behavior
Ten individuals, groups, practices and organizations are recognized in the name of a "pharma bro" with the release of Lown Institute's Shkreli Awards. The 8th Annual list contains the "most egregious examples of profiteering and dysfunction in healthcare," decided by a panel of 20 judges who are patient activists, clinicians, health policy experts and journalists. The awards are organized by Lown Institute, a nonpartisan think tank that measures hospitals' and health systems' social responsibility. More
2024 Shkreli Awards
A top ten list of the worst examples of profiteering and dysfunction in health care, named for the infamous "pharma bro" Martin Shkreli. More