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.
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
GLOBE OP-ED: Lown president reacts to killing of United Health CEO
The killing of United Health CEO Brian Thompson triggered an uproar from the many Americans frustrated with the failures of our health care system. In a recent op-ed in the Boston Globe, Lown president Dr. Vikas Saini shares his take on this important moment and the changes we need to build a radically better health […] More
REGISTER: The 2024 Shkreli Awards
Register now for the 2024 Shkreli Awards, hosted on January 7, 2025 at 1pm More
AMA votes for stronger financial assistance standards
Physicians and medical students of the AMA recently voted in favor of stronger financial assistance standards. Why are stronger standards needed, and how could this help relieve medical debt for patients? More
When the hospitals we need the most are the least likely to succeed
Safety net hospitals across the country are facing downgraded services and closures. Meanwhile, more profitable hospitals within the same systems are expanding and growing bigger than ever. Where is this pattern showing up, and how does it impact patients? More
REGISTER: Webinar on Unnecessary Back Surgery
Register now for the webinar "Unnecessary Back Surgery: Older Americans put at risk while Billions in Medicare funds wasted" on November 14, 2024. More
Hospital community benefit: Five takeaways from our DC summit
Our key takeaways from the recent conference on hospital tax exemptions and community benefit spending, cohosted by the Lown Institute and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. More
Medical debt: North Carolina’s novel approach
A new medical debt relief effort in North Carolina focuses on the impact of changes to financial assistance rather than solely forgiving old medical debt. Here's how they did it.. More
What do the highest-paid nonprofit hospital CEOs have in common?
Nonprofit hospitals are under scrutiny for paying executives millions while cutting jobs and reducing community investment. We examined the top ten highest-paid CEOs from 2021, according to the Lown Hospitals Index, to find out more. More
IRS audits spotlight hospital community benefit spending
Following interest from policymakers on hospital community benefit spending, the IRS announced it will audit 35 hospitals with a focus on community benefit compliance. Here's what you need to know More
Hospitals behaving badly: UPMC, Texas Children’s spending draws scrutiny
Hospitals in the U.S. are continuing to land in hot water for excessive spending on CEO pay and other extravagances at the same time as they face financial challenges and lay off hundreds. More
Can AI help reduce medical debt? It depends on how hospitals use it…
Could AI and other machine learning help ameliorate our nation’s medical debt crisis—or will it make the problem worse? It all depends on how hospitals use these tools, write Kelsey Chalmers, PhD, our own Director of Research, Data Science at the Lown Institute, and Christopher W. Goodman, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, in a recent JAMA Internal Medicine viewpoint. More