Pharma companies have inked a series of federal settlements over payments to charity organizations, which the federal government argues are a “conduit” to boosting drug sales. Now, after an opioid investigation, two Senators want all those charity payments disclosed publicly. More
New York City-based Northwell Health will rescind thousands of lawsuits filed against patients for unpaid medical bills amid the pandemic, the system told Becker's Hospital Review. More
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. More
A local health care watchdog group has bestowed its annual dubious distinction on vaccine maker Moderna Inc. and the president of Brigham and Women’s Hospital for what it calls "greed and profiteering" during the pandemic. More
If you missed the live Shkreli Awards countdown on January 5th, don't fret! You can watch the full recording below. More
Award judges cited Moderna’s pricing of its COVID-19 vaccine, which was developed with $1 billion in federal funding. Still, despite the tax-payer backing, Moderna set the estimated prices for its vaccine significantly higher than other vaccine developers. The Lown Institute’s judges wrote that, “given the upfront investment by the US government, we are essentially paying for the vaccine twice.” More
The Shkreli Awards for profiteering and dysfunction in healthcare, an annual tribute to the worst actors of the US health system, have unsurprisingly focused this year on misconduct during the covid-19 pandemic, with the place of dishonour taken by the Trump administration’s federal personal protective equipment (PPE) task force. “What was even worse,” said award judge Patricia Gabow, “was that Moderna ‘selected’ Brigham and Women’s Hospital for the vaccine trial and Dr. Nabel sold Moderna stock, after it quadrupled in price with the vaccine development.” More
The Biden administration could fix our patent system, making it easier for generics to reach the market. More
Hospitals face the new year with new requirements to post price information they have long sought to obscure: the actual prices negotiated with insurers and the discounts they offer their cash-paying customers. More
The crisis of Covid-19 created new opportunities for exploitation by this year’s greedy and misguided “winners.” More
The current COVID-19 pandemic shares many of the same causes as the Panic of 1907: lack of a coordinated federal response, lax state-level regulations, and absence of clear strategies to respond and recover from the initial outbreak. Therefore, we propose a new entity paralleling the Federal Reserve —the Federal Health Authority (FHA)—to anticipate health shocks, coordinate future responses, and address longer-term problems in the nation’s health and health care. More
Pharmaceutical interaction in US residencies is common. This study explores the extent and type of learner interactions in US family medicine residencies with the pharmaceutical industry and compares interactions from 2008, 2013, and 2019. More
A top ten list of the worst examples of profiteering and dysfunction in health care, named for Martin Shkreli, the price-hiking "pharma bro" that everyone loves to hate. More
In a partnership with the Lown Institute, Washington Monthly created a ranking system that factored not only the clinical prestige of a hospital, but also its cost-effectiveness and service to the surrounding community. JPS was given high marks for caring for people living near the hospital, regardless of their ability to pay, and for taking on a leadership role in the community. More
What types of spending count as community benefits, and which types of hospitals spend the most? Shannon and Vikas tackle these questions and more on this week's Lown Hospitals Q&A. More
How do nonprofit and for-profit hospitals differ when it comes to community engagement and community health investment? More
New research confirms what drug companies have long known: Industry cash and gifts influence how doctors prescribe drugs for their patients. More
A Trump administration maneuver allows executives who are leading the federal effort to keep investments in drug companies that would benefit from the pandemic response. More
Purdue Pharma, which invented OxyContin, agreed to pay fines of $8 billion, will be effectively dissolved and converted into a benefit company. More
In the world of prescription drugs, "price" is a murky term. Using the list price across the supply chain would simplify things. More