Health insurance industry executives knew from the beginning that their strategy of moving as many Americans as possible into high-deductible health plans would lead to financial ruin and even early death for millions. But they didn’t care. They cared more about implementing a strategy that gave them greater assurance...
There’s been a lot of talk this week about big corporations such as Amazon, Verizon and Comcast deciding to stop giving money to House and Senate Republicans who voted to overturn last year’s election. Guess which giants aren't on that list? America's big for-profit health insurers.
Seventy-five percent of Democrats support “Medicare for all.” But the American health care industry appears to have pushed Democratic leaders away from backing House candidates who would support universal public health insurance. This backhanded approach occurs as key lobbies for the industry have united in opposition to single-payer with...
The $140 billion the New York Times says Americans owe in medical debt is just the tip of the iceberg. The number doesn’t even include the billions we are putting on our credit cards to pay for health care because of insurance deductibles we can’t...
The pharmaceutical industry has reinforced its clout on Capitol Hill with campaign contributions that heavily support incumbents in both parties. That figure came to a total of $62.7 million during the 2016 election cycle, according to the OpenSecrets database. The largest drug companies lean, in particular, toward the members of...
This article appeared originally in Salon magazine. During the four years of the Trump administration, resistance and even revolutionary talk were in the air as organizations with names like The Resistance and Our Revolution brought together liberals, Democrats of all stripes and Sandernistas, all...
As millions of Americans celebrated President Biden’s inauguration, some of my former colleagues in the health insurance industry were quietly celebrating some news of their own: their most profitable year ever. That’s right: insurance companies made a fortune during a pandemic.
Still unvaccinated? There's an increasingly pressing reason – beyond the threat to the health of you and your loved ones – to get the shot against COVID-19: many health insurance companies are no longer waiving out-of-pocket costs for COVID treatment. A new study has found 5% of privately insured COVID-19...
Just days after a Commonwealth Fund report showed that American families are sending health insurance companies more and more of their income every year even as their deductibles skyrocket, the country’s biggest insurer reported massive 2021 profits and told investors to expect even higher profits in 2022. UnitedHealth on Wednesday...
The Chamber of Commerce brand is synonymous with small town pride and locally-owned businesses, but a new report reveals that these business organizations are really working for the corporate health insurance industry. The report from the Campaign for New York Health and the New...
Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward speaks with Susan Dentzer of the Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy at the America's Health Insurance Plans' annual institute and expo in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 20. As another presidential election cycle shifts into high gear, the nation's largest special interest organizations will...
As a former health insurance exec who quit the business, let me tell you: No one will be more excited about the new COVID-19 package than my old friends in the corporate insurance industry. It would funnel $48 billion of taxpayer money to them,...
As of January 1 of this year, under the UN Charter, nuclear weapons have been declared illegal — both their possession and their use, putting them in the same status as chemical and biological weapons, but because none of the 86 signatory nations have nukes, and because...
I’d like to introduce you to a couple of former colleagues of mine who played key roles in making sure you pay a lot out of your own pocket before your coverage kicks in. Meet David Cordani, CEO of Cigna, and Karen Lynch, CEO of CVS Health, which now owns...
The Darkest Money In Washington: Business Groups Spend More On Advocacy And Consulting Than Lobbying
The coveted treat was quietly delivered by lawmakers who had long sought oil extraction in wildlife refuge.
Lack of disclosure and outrageous claims are usually giveaways that a scientific study has corporate fingerprints.
Democrats and Republicans just made it easier for America's financial institutions to repeat risky mistakes that led to the last economic meltdown. Many in Congress who voted in favor of the plan also happened to get money from those who benefit: the banks.
Tarbell is highlighting the government fines and penalties businesses pay when they engage in fraudulent or criminal behavior. Often, these fines are just a small part of the firms’ annual revenue and don’t actually serve as a deterrent. To these companies, it’s just the cost of doing business. For Facebook,...
“Carried interest” provision puts billions into the pockets of Wall Street’s wealthiest players.