How slick consulting firms get us on drugs
By Martha Rosenberg for Intrepid Report Ninety-one people a day die from opioids and 1,000 visit ERs in the US, according to the CDC. How did opioid makers get such a deathly grip on the US population? Recently, the New York Times reported that the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company had a big hand […]
‘Our System Kills People’: 27-Year-Old Diabetic Man Latest to Die in US Amid Skyrocketing Cost of Insulin
“This is policy murder: Josh Wilkerson is dead because pharmaceutical companies sought to profit from his illness and federal regulators did nothing.” By Julia Conley for Common Dreams The latest reports of a young diabetic American’s death due to a lack of affordable insulin were met with outrage on Wednesday from Medicare for All advocates, […]
Support for Medicare for All Jumps When Right-Wing Talking Points Are Countered With Strong Progressive Response: Poll
“We can win this battle and guarantee health care as a human right, but we need a nominee who is going to fight hard for Medicare for All.” By Jake Johnson for Common Dreams A survey released Wednesday found that right-wing talking points against Medicare for All lose their effectiveness when met with a clear […]
The transformative potential of single-payer
An excerpt from Timothy Faust’s ‘Health Justice Now: Single Payer and What Comes Next.’ By Timothy Faust for The Outline Our highways are crumbling. Our trains, where they exist, are failing. Our sewer systems are disintegrating. So, too, is the health infrastructure of America. Under decades of for-profit domination, it has healed only some of […]
As Democrats Debate Single Payer, Humana’s Medicare Advantage Enrollment Soars
H.O.P.E. NOTE: As we advocate for National Improved Medicare for All, we must be aware that private health insurers are increasing their presence in Medicare through the so-called Medicare Advantage plans. We must be clear that we are advocating for a public system that excludes private insurance plans from covering what the system covers. No […]
Pramila Jayapal Frustrated by Democrats Using Medicare for All Label to Push Plans ‘That Are Not Medicare for All’
“Any policy that uses the M4ALL name must embody these principles, not undermine them.” By Jake Johnson for Common Dreams Rep. Pramila Jayapal on Tuesday voiced her frustration with fellow Democrats who are attaching the Medicare for All label to proposals that fall well short of the core principles and goals of single-payer healthcare. “I […]
Private Equity: The Perps Behind Destructive Hospital Surprise Billing
By Yves Smith for Naked Capitalism I have to confess to having missed how private equity is a central bad actor in the “surprise billing” scam that is being targeted by Federal and state legislation. This abuse takes place when hospital patients, even when using a hospital that is in their insurer’s network, are hit […]
‘Bad policy and bad politics’: Kamala Harris accused of hijacking Medicare for All label to push more industry-friendly plan
“Harris calls her plan ‘Medicare for All,’ but it’s not even close.” By Jake Johnson for Nation of Change Single-payer advocates on Monday accused Sen. Kamala Harris of hijacking the Medicare for All label to push an alternative that would fail to fundamentally overhaul America’s for-profit healthcare system. Harris, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, outlined what she […]
The 5 Biggest Lies Joe Biden Is Telling About Medicare for All
Joe Biden keeps lying about Medicare for All and won’t stop anytime soon — he has to, to sell his own Bidencare plan. But Medicare for All will always win on the merits. By Tim Higginbotham for Jacobin Ever since Joe Biden kicked off his 2020 presidential campaign by attending a big-dollar fundraiser with a […]
How Value Based Programs Are Undermining Medicare and Single Payer
By Russell Mokhiber, Morgan County USA There is a growing sentiment, bubbling from the ground up, that before we get to Medicare for All, we need to first fix Medicare. Richard Bazarian, an eye surgeon in Portland, Maine, is supportive of the idea. “The senators who tout Medicare for All could prove their commitment by […]