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Greed. Greed. Greed. While Americans are struggling at the pump, in the first three months of this year, 21 oil and gas companies made over $41 billion in profits, more than double their profits from last year. The problem is not inflation. The problem is corporate greed.

Have you ever heard the one about the ex-health insurance executive who walked up to the pharmacy counter? Spoiler alert: It ends with a long grumpy line of people and a $141 bill for an inhaler. wendellpotter.substack.com/p/inhaleandalo…

From Medicare Part D's insulin issue to the "out-of-pocket cost Ponzi Scheme" – here's what you need to know in health care this week: wendellpotter.substack.com/p/here-is-what…

Never heard of dental therapists? Check them out. They are making dental care much more accessible and affordable for people in a growing number of states.

The American Way: Thoughts from the Publisher ow.ly/65qK50JjSnC

The Potter Report: Why Your Inhaler Costs So Much Big Insurance, PBMs, the FDA, Congress and AstraZeneca are deciding your costs. ow.ly/sEat50Jnpkf

Important

NEW from Noam Levey at Kaiser Health News: Former Kaiser CEO George Halvorson cited the growth of high-deductible health insurance as a key driver of the debt crisis. “People are getting bankrupted when they get care,” he said, “even if they have insurance.” khn.org/news/article/d…

Wall Street gave Elevance (formerly Anthem) a proper flogging last week for reporting that it spent more money on patients’ claims in Q2 than investors wanted. See below for more about Elevance's Q2 report and what it means for patient's out-of-pockets: wendellpotter.substack.com/p/wall-street-…

Exxon Mobil recorded an unprecedented $17.85 billion profit for the second quarter and Chevron made a record $11.62 billion. The monopolization of America is driving record profits for corporations and economic hardship for everyone else.

Medicare's final hospital rule is likely coming out this week. Hospitals like Emory have been yelling about inflation and high labor costs for months. AHA just met with CMS last week. We're about to see if this lobbying and arm-twisting worked. statnews.com/2022/08/01/wal…

pbs.org/newshour/show/…

#FollowTheMoney

#FollowTheMoney

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. wendellpotter.substack.com/p/as-big-insur…

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. healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.137…

What Bob Herman 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

Here are some key take-aways: - JUST 3 insurers' PBMs (Cigna Healthcare, CVS Health, UnitedHealthcare) 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. wendellpotter.substack.com/p/dr-oz-wants-…

mailchi.mp/tarbell/thanky…