Weekly News Roundup for Oct 17, 2022

 

 

Action Alerts

 

— Zoom Webinar —

“How to build business support for single payer

and how you can help” featuring Wendell Potter

Sponsors:  PNHP California & Healthy California Now Coalition

 

October 18, 2022, 7 pm to 8:15 pm

To join, click here on 10/18/22 at 7 pm

 

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— Zoom/Teleconference — 

“How much could Improved Medicare for All save you?”

Sponsors: CARA & Healthy California Now Coalition

 

October 21, 2022 at Noon

Click here (or call 877-223-6107) to register. 

Share the Event Flyer!

 

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Breaking News in Healthcare Reform

 

Snippets of news & commentary with a special focus on
health policy, Medicare for All & California

 

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Like Weekly News Roundup? Then you’ll love our popular podcast Code WACK! where we shine a light on the outrageous hassles patients and health professionals face when dealing with America’s callous healthcare system. Find us on Apple podcasts & more!

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“Over the past two decades, the DOJ has charged nearly every major pharmaceutical manufacturer doing business in the US with defrauding Medicare and Medicaid under the False Claims Act. But the DOJ nearly always targeted the corporations, rather than the individuals who ran them.”

Pharma Execs Rarely Charged When Their Companies Break the Law

Mad in America | Peter Simons | October 17, 2022



“‘Medicare Advantage’ is just private insurance that profits by denying coverage, and the name is being used to trick seniors into enrolling.”

New Bill Would Ban Private Insurance Plans From Using ‘Medicare’ Name

Common Dreams | Jake Johnson | October 14, 2022



“Health Affairs did a very credible review of administrative excess in US health care, and a review of “targeted” reforms within the current system. Most optimistically, they would save a few billion dollars of the hundreds of billions in waste that single payer would eliminate.”

False Fixes for Administrative Bloat in US Health Care

Health Justice Monitor | Don McCanne, MD | October 13, 2022



“A new analysis from former health insurance executive Wendell Potter shows that six of the seven largest health insurers … now receive the majority of their health plan revenues from the federal government … fueled in large part by the growth of Medicare Advantage plans….”

Health Insurers Are Posting Record Profits Thanks to Public Cash

Jacobin | David Sirota | October 12, 2022



“…Medicare Advantage will be recognized in years to come as the ‘biggest transfer of wealth’ from taxpayers to corporate shareholders…”

Health Insurance Whistleblower: Medicare Advantage Is “Heist” by Private Firms to Defraud the Public

Democracy Now! | Wendell Potter | October 12, 2022 



“…the wage, revenue and supply chain pressures that hammered the margins of hospitals and clinics during the pandemic are about to send health coverage and out-of-pocket medical bills through the roof.”

Health Care Inflation is Coming for Biden

Politico | Sam Sutton | October 12, 2022



“An analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that 5.1 million people are affected by this glitch, with most of them being women and children.”

Biden Administration Finalizes Rule to Get Rid of ACA’s ‘Family Glitch’

Fierce Healthcare | Robert King | October 11, 2022



“Opponents … take issue with the role Kaiser Permanente will play, charging that KP has gotten preferential treatment from the state’s health department, DHCS, that allows it to cherry-pick healthier Medi-Cal enrollees….”

Blue Shield of California Sues State over Medi-Cal Changes That Benefit Kaiser Permanente

Fierce Healthcare | Frank Diamond | October 10, 2022

 

 

“…physicians and patient advocates say the health care investments of private-equity firms and their drive to reap relatively short-term profits are inconsistent with putting patients first.”

This Won’t Hurt a Bit: The Anesthesiologist Who is Putting You Under May Work for a Private-Equity Firm

NBC News | Gretchen Morgenson | October 10, 2022



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