People in government programs (Medicare and Medicaid) are not allowed to use drug copay cards precisely for the reason drugmakers offer them: drug copay cards are a financial inducement to spend the government’s money.
Category: Single-Payer/Medicare-for-All
Wednesday Links – 25 February 2026
- CMS to publish network lists for Medicare Advantage plans.
- Peru’s new President taps Hernando de Soto to be prime minister.
- American foods banned in many European countries: Ritz Crackers, Twinkies, Coffee-Mate, Froot Loops, and Gatorade.
- CMS has removed nearly 1.5 million ineligible individuals from (ACA) marketplace subsidies, saving approximately $10 billion annually through its fraud crackdown efforts.
- GAO: In FY 2024, 16 federal agencies reported a total estimate of about $162 billion in improper payments across 68 programs.
Friday Links – 20 February 2026
- “By 2036, interest costs, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are projected to consume 100 percent of federal revenues.” (All of these are on autopilot.)
- Last year, the US may have recorded the lowest murder rate in its 250-year history.
- Global spending on climate change now equals $16 trillion.
- Cassidy on the FDA: Companies report that they face a “reviewer lottery,” where critical questions hinge on the approach of a small number of individuals at FDA…. This uncertainty dampens investment and increases the time it takes for patients to receive new therapies.
- Nearly half of all adults have high blood pressure.
Wednesday Links – 18 February 2026
- Geriatric loneliness: are robots the answer?
- “The hundreds of fine hairs that cover an elephant’s trunk are some of the most sophisticated and sensitive whiskers in the animal kingdom.”
- Miracle drug for prostate cancer has a problem: It might have prevented an American athlete from making the Olympic team. (NYT)
- All of the job gains last year were in health care. The rest of the economy lost jobs.
- Someone with average lifetime earnings of $50,000 can expect to receive about four dollars in Medicare benefits for every dollar of Medicare payroll taxes paid.