By ARIEL FRISTOE As the artistic director of Out of Hand Theater, an arts organization that promotes anti-racism, social activism and health equity, I believe the recent appointment of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (RFK) as Secretary to the Department of Health and Human Services is beyond concerning. RFK is not a doctor, nor is he…
This is the title of a recent paper by Jiao et al. (2025). Previous studies (e.g., Goldman et al. 2013, Goldman et al. 2023) have argued for a 3-part pricing model. Under a 3-part pricing model, drugs would come to market quickly under accelerated approval with a relatively lower price. As clinical trials and other…
The Trump administration’s sudden firing of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees gutted training programs across the nation whose participants bolstered the workforce of state and local public health departments that for decades have been starved of resources. The programs are designed to cultivate a new generation of public health leaders, many of whom…
More than three years ago, health insurance giant Centene Corp. settled allegations that it overcharged Medicaid programs in Ohio and Mississippi related to prescription drug billing. Now at least 20 states have settled with Centene over its pharmacy benefit manager operation that coordinated the medications for Medicaid patients. Arizona was among the most recent to…
Stuart Blitz is COO and founder of Hone Health. He comes from a long career in health tech, notably at diabetes device pioneer Agamatrix. Stuart’s been working on his aggressive social media career, but in the background he launched Hone Health in the male health online telehealth/pharmacy space in March 2020 (great timing!). It’s now…
The Justice Department’s years-long court battle to force UnitedHealth Group to return billions of dollars in alleged Medicare Advantage overpayments hit a major setback Monday when a special master ruled the government had failed to prove its case. In finding for UnitedHealth, Special Master Suzanne Segal found that the DOJ had not presented evidence to…
As President Donald Trump wrapped up his first term in 2020, he signed legislation to protect Americans from surprise medical bills. “This must end,” Trump said. “We’re going to hold insurance companies and hospitals totally accountable.” But the president’s wide-ranging push to slash government spending, led by billionaire Elon Musk, is weakening the federal office…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is pressuring Oakland to expand its police department’s ability to chase suspects, referencing the public’s desire for a crackdown on crime. He said that voters had recently taken more tough-on-crime positions and “expressed in pretty clear terms they want change.” Weeks later, a police pursuit across the bay…
Last month, I noted that the decrease in vaccination rates has likely resulted in increased rates of measles in Texas and around the US. With measles cases on the rise, RFK Jr. now is has made a “call to action” to increase uptake of the MMR vaccine. Here is a quote from his editorial: As…
Natalie Schneider is CEO of Fort Health, a relatively new entrant into the children’s mental health market. Fort Health’s modus operandi is to partner with (i.e. market via) pediatricians to recruit patients. They are delivering integrated care and something called collaborative care…a newer model that has more frequent and shorter interventions and is more affordable….