Terry Wilcox

New Watchdog Data shows that it’s not just insurance companies skyrocking prices for medications, its hospitals too Hospital markup on some prescription drugs are 2300% Prices for drugs vary massively depending on state - In Arizona, UnitedHealth pays $12,000 for Keytruda, but in Massachusetts they pay $43,000 - In Tennessee, Cigna pays $6,000 for Tysabri, but in New Jersey they pay $26,000 “This is a disaster”

The largest 212 nonprofit hospitals are a danger to the United States of America. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid assign them higher reimbursements for the same procedures and treatments performed in a non-hospital setting. You might say, well they have to take everyone. I’d agree. And then I’d teach you a lesson on how they receive 80% of the $275 billion in taxpayer-funded, government-assigned subsidies. And then I might talk about executive compensation that makes Wall Street blush, jets, trips, and more extravagance, all paid for by taxpayers. Of these 212 hospital systems, only 2 contribute more in community benefit than they receive in tax benefits. These same nonprofits pay no property tax, no state income tax, and no federal taxes. They use those advantages to acquire risk-taking, tax-paying, for-profit businesses and convert them into nonprofits too. The deal was simple: take care of the community and receive tax abatements. Instead, they broke the deal. And lawmakers, along with a large army of lobbyists, started gaslighting the public. The nonprofits use the higher reimbursements not to help their communities, but to acquire more independent practices. And every time that happens, Medicare pays more for the same. You won’t hear anything from the 7,000 employees or administrators, so don’t expect it.

The FDA just responded to a Freedom of Information Act request I filed 5.5 years ago - apologizing for the delay, and asking if I’m still interested in my request seeking communications re: California’s $1 billion COVID mask contract awarded to Chinese company BYD. (Yes, I am.)

It’s 7:05am EST. Healthcare still not fixed. Solutions already exist. Your health insurance premium went up again this year. Your doctor can’t get OR time because one system controls every surgical suite in town. Your employer was quoted $28,000 per employee for family coverage. This is the story of the 60-year-old law that made all of it inevitable. It’s the law responsible for more unnecessary death than any other I have studied.

This place gets millions of dollars in subsidies that aren’t available to independent doctors. Facility fees, 340B, GME, tax free bonds alone give them enough financial leverage to crush any independent doctors who try to compete.

340b creates an artificial marketplace that benefit the few stifling competition for the many and ultimately leading to market consolidation. How? Well 340b pharmacies don’t give a RATS A$$ about the terms of the PBM contracts because they get paid a fixed amount almost regardless of the PBM. So PBMs continue to make contracts under acquisition cost under the guise of “ that’s the market” forcing non 340b pharmacies into these contracts of adhesion whereby every single brand medicine is reimbursed $10s to $100s of dollars under acquisition cost.