Do Not Resuscitate (This System) #337 Mar 1 2024

I’m Tim Frasca, and every week I tell you about what’s in the mainstream and specialty healthcare news media about how we spend trillions of dollars making intermediaries rich instead of making ourselves healthier. This week, I’ll look at some good news about excessive concentration in the healthcare sector; why people with long Covid and getting the short shrift; what’s happening to fight the runaway prices of prescription drugs; some interesting debates on where public health went wrong; and a look at why some hospitals are rich and others go broke. Here are all the links to the articles I mention: 

Paige Minemyer, “WSJ: Department of Justice conducting antitrust probe of UnitedHealth Group,” Fierce Healthcare, Feb 27, 2024 https://bit.ly/42YfHN7

Rebecca Pifer, “Pharmacies and providers nationwide are struggling to process prescriptions following the attack,” Healthcare Dive, Feb 23, 2024 https://bit.ly/3wvjjKH

Dave Muoio, “PE-backed anesthesiology group ends contracts with 5 Colorado hospitals, phases out non-competes to resolve monopoly inquiry,” Fierce Healthcare, Feb 27, 2024 https://bit.ly/49viDmR

Marcus Neubauer, “Cancer patients in the crosshairs of hospital consolidation,” MedPage Today, Feb 16, 2024 https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/108780

Sara Fischer, “FTC chair Khan: Stop monopolies before they happen,” Axios, Feb 13, 2024 https://bit.ly/42YjoCH

John Snow Project, “Long Covid is one of the world’s biggest challenges,” Feb 22, 2024 https://bit.ly/49OPqDk

Erica Sweeney, “How repeat Covid infections can harm your health,” Men’s Health, Feb 21, 2024 https://bit.ly/49lIoGl

Jason Gale, “A spike in heart disease deaths since Covid is puzzling scientists,” Bloomberg, Feb 26, 2024 https://archive.ph/lRG9N#selection-1181.0-1181.66

Rachel Cohrs & Betsy Ladyzhets, “The NIH has poured $1 billion into long Covid research—with little to show for it,” STAT/MuckRock, Apr 20, 2023 https://bit.ly/3IiQvru

Eduardo Cuevas & Karen Weintraub, “Millions of Americans suffer from long COVID. Why do treatments remain out of reach?” USA Today, Feb 26, 2024 https://bit.ly/48verCA

Mike Tanglis, “Mapping the PhRMA Grant Universe,” Public Citizen, Dec 14, 2023 https://bit.ly/3UYeJ1v

Full report: https://www.citizen.org/article/mapping-the-phrma-grant-universe/

Luke Lukert, “Sky high prescription drug prices have Md. legislators looking for consumer relief,” WTOP, Feb 12, 2024 https://bit.ly/48xl72T and Stephanie Hudson, “Virginia doctors support board to lower prescription drug costs,” WAVY.com, Feb 12, 2024 https://bit.ly/42WZO9H

Arthur Allen, “Patients see first savings from Biden’s drug price push as Pharma lines up its lawyers,” KFF Health News/ABC News, Feb 16, 2024 https://bit.ly/3wAdagh

Sheila Poole, “Researchers find association between air pollution and Alzheimer’s,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb 23, 2024 https://bit.ly/42QQPXT

Jonathan Mattise & Geoff Mulvihill, “14 GOP-led states have turned down federal money to feed low-income kids in the summer. Here’s why,” Associated Press, Feb 16, 2024 https://bit.ly/42WLo9V

Eric Reinhart, “Want to fix public health? Stop thinking like a doctor,” The Nation, Mar 6, 2024 https://bit.ly/3Idxw1o

Greg Gonsalves, “We’re letting a public health disaster unfold in slow motion,” The Nation, Feb 22, 2024 https://www.thenation.com/article/society/undermining-public-health/

Amy Maxmen, “Florida defies CDC in measles outbreak, telling parents it’s fine to send unvaccinated kids to school,” KFF Health News/CBS News, Feb 23, 2024 https://bit.ly/3UVMJLT

Natalie Krebs, “Report finds more than half of rural Iowa hospitals no longer deliver babies,” Iowa Public Radio, Feb 23, 2024 https://bit.ly/48BA7wC

Elizabeth Cohen, “As midwife-assisted home births rise, so too do high-risk births outside hospitals,” STAT, Feb. 23, 2024 https://bit.ly/3ST7JAj

Rachel Bowman, “Feds launch massive investigation into organ donation firms accusing them of only taking money making tissues and leaving badly needed organs behind,” Daily Mail (U.K.), Feb 26, 2024 https://bit.ly/49OhqqE

Todd Bookman, “NH officials blast Anthem over handling of $69M contract for state retirees,” New Hampshire Public Radio, Feb 22, 2024 https://bit.ly/42Xt6p2