Tarbell

Here are some key take-aways:

- JUST 3 insurers' PBMs (@Cigna, @CVSHealth, @UHC) control 80% of the pharmacy benefit market.
- The Big 7 control 69% of the Medicare Advantage market.
- 53% of all Medicaid beneficiaries are now enrolled in health plans managed by the Big 7.

GET THIS: Dr. Oz wants to force Pennsylvania seniors into Wall Street-run health insurance plans that studies show cost taxpayers FAR MORE than original Medicare + makes it harder for doctors to prescribe the medications and treatments their patients need.
https://wendellpotter.substack.com/p/dr-oz-wants-to-force-pennsylvania

THE BAD NEWS: Big insurers have been announcing record profits. Thanks, in part, to Americans paying sky-high out-of-pockets.

THE GOOD NEWS: Politicians and the media are FINALLY realizing that high OOP costs are breaking the budgets of American families.
https://wendellpotter.substack.com/p/as-big-insurance-announces-record

What @bobjherman said but also this: tens of millions of Americans are functionally uninsured because deductibles are ridiculous. Insurers and their shareholders are rolling in the dough. The 100 million Americans with medical debt? Not so much https://twitter.com/bobjherman/status/1554508070637735937

The price of insulin has been steadily increasing over the last decade.

In fact, 14.1% of Americans face "catastrophic" spending levels from insulin alone, with Medicare beneficiaries especially vulnerable to coverage inequities.

https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01788