Wendell Potter, Posted: January 31, 2023

Dear LOOP NOW Coalition members,

The toll of unaffordable, out-of-pocket health care costs is generating significant news coverage and federal and state lawmaker interest, especially in relation to medical debt, PBM practices and Medicare Advantage plans. 

Earlier this month, the New York City Council stepped back from Mayor Eric Adams proposal to push 250,000 municipal retirees out of Medicare and into Medicare Advantage plans. I was one of the many people to testify that Medicare Advantage plans can and do keep enrollees from getting medically necessary care. 

California filed suit against three drug manufacturers and three PBMs for jacking up the price of insulin. A Roll Call article stated that PBM practices and issues affecting patients’ ability to access care will be a major focus in the 118th Congress. Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter, R-Ga, announced that he and other lawmakers will soon launch a bipartisan Patient Access Caucus. And numerous states are searching for ways to ease the burden of medical debt.

Our mission is to make certain that the LOOP Now Coalition uses its collective power to raise the alarm about unchecked out-of-pocket health care costs and offer viable policy solutions to protect patients rather than corporate profits.

HEALTH CARE un-covered

This week, the Center for Health & Democracy began publishing HEALTH CARE un-covered, an expanded Substack newsletter to replace Wendell Potter Now. HEALTH CARE un-covered will offer different perspectives and a platform for LOOP Now Coalition members to weigh in on the burden of out-of-pockets and demand action. 

I started the newsletter a little over a year ago to call attention to out-of-control profiteering in U.S. health care and what that means to average folks. And, importantly, to identify potential solutions. 

Our mission: 

• to uncover the facts and figures big insurers and health-care providers try to hide from us and then connect the dots, 
• to tell the stories of people who are going broke and dying prematurely, even if they have health insurance;
• to provide information to lawmakers, employers, and reporters – and you – that we never get from industry lobbyists and flacks like I used to be; and
• to identify and advocate for fixes.

The newsletter already has thousands of subscribers, including Members of Congress and their staffs, state lawmakers, employers, reform advocates, philanthropists, and some of the country’s most prominent health-care journalists. I expect the subscriber list to grow significantly in its revised format and increased frequency. 

I invite all of you to consider submitting guest articles or offer ideas to elevate. LOOP Now staff can work with you to craft a salient piece. We would also like to feature stories of those whose lives have been severely impacted by unaffordable health costs.

Coalition Updates

• LOOP NOW continues to add more organizations. Please share recommendations for organizations you think should be invited to join the Coalition. New members include:
  • Metro New York Health Care for All
  • PNHP – NY Metro
  • Midtown South Community Council

• We have added two new members to the LOOP NOW Steering Committee:
  • Miriam Goldstein, Hemophilia Federation of America
  • Terry Wilcox, Patients Rising

Links of Interest

• NYC mayor’s misguided and dangerous plan to move city retirees into a private Medicare replacement plan dealt another blow
• A closer look: what you need to know about insurance companies’ and PBMs’ “copay accumulator” scheme
• LOOP NOW: “Medicare Advantage” is neither Medicare nor an advantage (VIDEO)
• Drug company middlemen likely to be a focus in 118th Congress

All the best,

The LOOP NOW Team

— 

Wendell Potter

President,  Center for Health & Democracy 

President,  Business Leaders for Health Care Transformation

Author of  Deadly Spin  and  Nation on the Take