News & Blogs

Jon Decker: OptumRx and UnitedHealth Group Drown in Overbilling Lawsuits, AARP Remains Silent

When it comes to adhering to the rules, Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs)—the middlemen of the healthcare industry—are known to play fast and loose. OptumRx, a subsidiary of the nation’s largest health insurance company UnitedHealth Group (UHG), is certainly no exception. Time and again, these corporate middlemen have found themselves in legal hot water, taking advantage of the U.S. healthcare system by overcharging patients and taxpayers. But in the case of OptumRx, what makes their recent…

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Guest Opinion: AARP and the triumph of image over skeezy reality

President Biden has decided to enforce an executive order issued by former President Trump that requires hospitals to post their prices publicly — to be “transparent.” Not only is the administration insisting on compliance, but it’s doubling down by increasing the penalties for the 80% of large hospitals that have dragged their feet so far. The administration should be congratulated not only for the policy, but for not suggesting to the media that the previous administration had nothing to do with…

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Commitment to Seniors Releases New Television Ad Criticizing Government Spending Plans at the Expense of Seniors

  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Commitment to Seniors, a project of American Commitment dedicated to protecting seniors’ healthcare interests, releases a new television advertisement condemning big government spending plans, which will come at the expense of seniors’ access to lifesaving medications. The ad criticizes Democrat politicians, including Bernie Sanders and Nancy Pelosi, for harming Medicare beneficiaries and filling the pockets of big health insurers. “Washington politicians are at it again, saying they want to reform Medicare…

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Biden’s EO to Boost ‘Competitiveness’ Puts America at Disadvantage

President Biden recently unveiled a new executive order on “Promoting Competition” in the U.S. economy. Though the executive order is purported to ‘up our game’ – its health care recommendations plainly drop the ball. If Biden’s agenda is enacted as articulated, it would put American medical innovation at enormous competitive disadvantage – and carry especially devastating consequences for our most vulnerable populations, including seniors. Biden’s EO states, “It is also the policy of my Administration…

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Commitment to Seniors Releases New Digital Ad Condemning H.R. 3 in 18 Targeted Congressional Districts

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Commitment to Seniors, a project of American Commitment dedicated to protecting seniors’ healthcare interests, releases a new advertisement slamming H.R. 3. The digital video ad condemns H.R. 3, a bill that would impose restrictions on seniors’ access to cutting-edge medicines while also supplying health insurers with a substantial financial windfall. Currently airing in eighteen key Democratic districts, the ad excoriates Democrat politicians for supporting H.R. 3, potentially diverting billions from Medicare despite…

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Why doesn’t the AARP seem to care about volatile insulin prices?

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) recently made waves claiming that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are to blame for the volatility of insulin prices.  It’s a bold statement, to be sure.  But here’s the thing: the senator is absolutely right — and PolitiFact has confirmed as much. On January 31, 2021, PolitiFact partnered with The Daily Iowan to release a fact-check on Grassley’s statement, ultimately providing the senator with its highest rating of “True” on the organization’s Truth-O-Meter™.  “With their complicated discount negotiations,” PolitiFact concludes, PBMs play a role in driving upward the cost…

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Take From Retirees, Give To Big Insurance: Has AARP Sold Out Its Members Like Robinhood Did?

Robinhood was once a symbol of the Everyman’s triumph over brokerage fees, capital requirements, and other barriers that had locked potential retail investors out of the stock market. The company’s innovative investing platform represented a victory for democratizing finance. But through the firm’s ongoing GameStop scandal, that perception has changed. The controversy has shaken many individuals’ faith in their company. Now, people are understandably asking: Are organizations that purport to represent everyday people actually beholden…

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AARP’s Unholy Alliance With Big Insurance

A lawsuit currently being pursued by Ohio Attorney General David Yost against OptumRx, a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), alleges that the company bilked Ohio state coffers of more than $1.3 million on generic medications. If true, taxpayers and patients should be outraged. But this is far from the only reason to distrust PBMs. PBMs are the corporate middlemen that drive the costs of drugs up for patients in pursuit of their own profits. Seniors, in particular, who…

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