Category: Policy & Legislation

FDA: Americans are Fat Because They Can’t Read Nutrition Facts Labels

Posted on by Devon Herrick

See the guy in the stock photo above? He has a weight problem because he doesn’t know how to read the Nutrition Facts labels on foods. Seriously, it’s not his fault. It’s those sneaky food companies who falsely claim a supersized burger and fries are healthy foods.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposes to do something about deceptive food product labels. The FDA just announced a proposed rule (and labels) that outline the criteria that meets nutritional guidelines allowing companies to claim their products are healthy.

+

Tuesday Links

Posted on by John C. Goodman
+

Non-Profit Hospitals Earn Big Profits, Many Don’t Provide Much Charity Care

Posted on by Devon Herrick

More than half of the nation’s 5,000 hospitals operate as not-for-profit entities. In theory non-profit hospitals get an exemption from income tax, property tax, sales tax and get preferential financing because they provide a public service to the communities in which they operate. I worked for a large non-profit hospital system years ago and a financial analyst did the math and estimated our tax exclusion was worth something like $100 million a year. In return for the huge tax advantage all the hospital had to do was provide between 4% and 5% of net revenue in charity care for low-income patients.

+

340B Explained

Posted on by John C. Goodman

This is priceless:

Thanks to 340B, Richmond Community Hospital can buy a vial of Keytruda, a cancer drug, at the discounted price of $3,444… But the hospital charges the private insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield more than seven times that price — $25,425, according to a price list that hospitals are required to publish. That is nearly $22,000 profit on a single vial.

+