News & ViewsGet the latest on our broken healthcare system and how to fix it!

Making bank off your pain: Step Therapy

Why people “love” their health insurance continues to baffle us. Because anyone who has actually had to use it for anything other than the most straightforward issue has certainly faced hassles. And we’re not talking about random “someone lost my paperwork” kinds of hassles…

“Pig” Pharma & Prop 61, The Drug Price Relief Act

  Panic over drug prices The panic over skyrocketing drug prices is growing exponentially. When it was mainly patients with rare diseases facing obscene price hikes for medicine, many Americans gritted their teeth and looked away, grateful it wasn’t their problem. But now “trickle down” […]

Commentary on Aetna, Mylan and market fundamentalism

The HEAL Team extends a warm welcome to guest blogger Ben Palmquist, Campaign Manager for National Economics and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI). Ben supports grassroots Healthcare Is a Human Right campaigns for statewide universal, publicly financed healthcare. He holds a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning […]

Surprise medical bills, AB 72: The Doctors v The Politicians

Have you ever accidentally wound up seeing an out-of-network doc only to learn you’re on the hook for the bill? You’re not alone! A 2015 Consumer Reports survey indicated nearly 33% of patients got medical bills they did not expect. According to an August 2016 article […]

Fix It Already!

One of the biggest challenges faced by American businesses today is the cost of healthcare. You might be wondering why. After all, didn’t the Affordable Care Act fix health care? That’s a fair question and the only honest answer is, “No, it addressed health care but […]

More Small, Midsized Employers Pay Workers’ Medical Costs Directly

According to an article today in Kaiser Health News, more small and midsized employers are choosing to pay their workers’ medical costs directly rather than buy health insurance for them. By self-insuring, the employers aren’t required to comply with many of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) rules for […]

You know it’s bad when the rich start bitching . . .

“The tapeworm of the American economy.” Health care has gotten SO bad that even the “healthcare privileged” are pissed off! Yes, those would be the folks who work at Fortune 500 companies. They have the best health insurance in the country. Of course, it’s no secret […]

Happy Birthday, Medicare – 51 Years Strong!

Join the celebration! Ok, there’s no real celebrating going on this year, but there should be! Because on July 30, 2016, Medicare turns 51 and she’s still going strong! Here’s some background. Medicare is a national public insurance program administered by the federal government. It provides […]