DACA recipients to lose ACA health coverage in August 2025.

The change is nationwide. As of mid-July, about 538,000 people in the DACA program across the U.S. are ineligible to enroll in any state-based insurance marketplace and are unable to access premium subsidies or cost-sharing assistance. (Public News Service 07/29/25)

For more click here.

Corporate malfeasance and the moral compass

David Markham's email expresses concern over corporate irresponsibility and the prioritization of profit over human well-being. He argues that corporations, shielded by legal protections, operate with impunity, causing harm without consequence. Markham connects this to a decline in public morality and a failure of the political system to represent the people's interests, questioning the values driving societal choices. He advocates for a renewed moral compass emphasizing human dignity and justice.

 

Hi Martha

1. Thank you for posting this. It's spot on. It's one of the stimuli that makes a person either laugh or cry or probably both.
2. There is a new term floating around, "corporate killers." 
3. While the Supreme Court has ruled that corporations are persons with free speech rights in Citizens United, corporations have gotten the privileges of "free speech" but none of the responsibilities. 
4. Corporative operatives are  above the law because they get to operate behind the corporate shield, and they are never held accountable for their decisions even when they cause great harm up to and including death. 
5. Is it any wonder then when aggrieved victims take the law into their own hands? Will we see more of this now that our legal system has failed us?
6. So while the cartoon is funny it also makes people more aware of how they are being victimized by corporate malfeasance and that malfeasance is perpetrated by actors usually with a profit motive.
7. Is healthcare a human right or a mercenary commodity to be profited from?
8. What happens when capitalism is antithetical to human welfare?
9. Regulatory controls have gotten a bad wrap since Regan who said that government is the problem. 
10. It is a problem for the profiteers who would exploit the people that government was created to protect.
11. The next presidential administration, congress, and judiciary has been taken over by an ideology which protects and promotes the oligarchs interests above those of the people who elected them to represent them.
12. What makes voters so stupid? What makes them identify with and support the grifters and unethical operatives in the government to represent them?
13. When did profit become more important than human dignity, worth, and well being?
14. There is something seriously wrong with the moral compass that is guiding our society's choices.
15. What is called for is a new moral compass that affirms and promotes the inherent worth and dignity of every human being. Is that too much to hope for and require of our fellow citizens and people we elect to represent us in our democratic form of government?

Hoping for a better world where dignity, equity, justice, and compassion prevails,

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Corporate Influence in Healthcare: A Decline in Quality and Ethics

Corporate influence in healthcare has led to a decline in the quality of care and a shift in focus from patient well-being to profit generation.

Private equity firms, in particular, have been criticized for their extractive practices.

One example is the case of Steward Health Care, where a private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management, bought six Catholic hospitals, only to later sell the land and force the hospitals to pay rent.

This financial strain led to understaffing, outdated equipment, and a decline in basic services, ultimately resulting in poorer patient outcomes and even increased mortality rates.

Despite these issues, the firm still profited significantly from their investment.

This focus on profit over patients is not limited to private equity firms.

Health insurers, for example, have been accused of "gamifying" the system to maximize profits.

UnitedHealth, the largest private insurer in the US, has been found to incentivize doctors to diagnose more conditions in patients, even offering bonuses for those who complete the most appointments with seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage.

This practice leads to overpayments from the government to insurers, diverting taxpayer money away from those who need it.

Even nonprofit health care organizations have been found to engage in practices that prioritize revenue over patient care.

There are examples of nonprofits, like Providence and Allina Health, using debt collectors against low-income patients who were entitled to free care and denying care to patients with unpaid bills.

This shift in focus from patient care to profit has eroded the traditional ethical foundations of medicine.

The professional ethic of placing patients' interests above commercial ones is being replaced by a view of medicine as just another business.

This change is reflected in the language used to describe healthcare, with patients becoming "consumers," doctors "providers," and health care a "commodity."

However, the sources also highlight some positive developments, suggesting that the tide may be turning.

Lawmakers are expressing concern about the practices of Medicare Advantage insurers and are seeking ways to curb excessive patient diagnoses.

There are also legislative efforts to increase scrutiny of private equity in healthcare and to penalize firms engaging in harmful practices.

Additionally, doctors across the country are unionizing at unprecedented rates to advocate for better patient care and resist corporate dominance in healthcare.

For more click here.

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The financialization of American health care

Summary The provided text examines the detrimental effects of corporate influence on healthcare in the United States. It details how private equity firms, like Cerberus Capital Management with Steward Health Care, prioritize profit over patient care, leading to declines in quality and accessibility. The article further illustrates how large insurance companies, such as UnitedHealth, incentivize excessive diagnoses and treatments to maximize Medicare reimbursements. This corporate model is contrasted with the traditional medical ethos of prioritizing patient well-being, revealing a system where financial motivations undermine the core values of healthcare. Ultimately, the piece argues that this "Gilded Age of medicine" necessitates systemic reform to protect patients and preserve the integrity of the medical profession.

For The New Yorker Article click here.

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Cigna rejects health insurance claims without looking at them

For more click here.