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Analysis: U.S. Supreme Court justices take gifts — then raise the bar for bribery prosecutions
Justice Clarence Thomas might be the most egregious when it comes to taking gifts and not disclosing them, but he’s not alone. His colleagues on the U.S. Supreme Court also haven’t been shy about taking fancy freebies from rich people — many of whom have an interest in the actions of the court. The justices […]
Arrest confirms Indiana abortion for Ohio 10-year-old
Columbus police have arrested a 27-year-old on charges of raping a 10-year-old who traveled to Indiana late last month for an abortion, The Columbus Dispatch reported Wednesday. Ohio Republican leaders, who passed and implemented a law making rape victims ineligible for abortions after six weeks, have been trying to raise doubts about the girl’s existence. […]
CVS sometimes forces people to use its pharmacies. Now the Supreme Court will weigh in
It’s a practice long complained of. CVS Health and other massive corporations often use their pharmacy middleman subsidiaries to force people to get the most expensive class of drugs from the businesses’ own mail-order pharmacies. Some call the practice “patient steering.” CVS and companies such as UnitedHealth and ExpressScripts/Cigna say the arrangements save patients money. […]
Biden administration plan to cut high drug prices mostly quiet on middlemen
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last week issued a plan to address high drug prices as part of President Joe Biden’s push to take on anticompetitive practices across the economy. Although it addressed in detail abusive practices by drugmakers, the plan was more superficial about the practices of some of the country’s […]
With antitrust emerging as key concern on Capitol Hill, drug pricing comes to the fore
Congress is beginning to take notice as corporations become increasingly dominant in one or more marketplaces. It’s investigating whether Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook are engaging in anticompetitive practices. And Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., just published a book about the need to revive the government’s antitrust powers. But if this is to be a new […]
Reports: Drug manufacturers and middlemen both responsible for rising prices
The world of prescription drug pricing can be bewildering — intentionally so, some critics of the industry claim. Whether that’s true or not, several reports this year show that the supply chain’s alchemy of list prices, rebates and net prices hurts consumers. And a U.S. Senate report says drugmakers and middlemen share the blame. The […]
Federal probe of drug middlemen urged
After years of accusations in Minnesota and elsewhere, a bipartisan group in the U.S. Senate wants federal regulators to investigate whether drug middlemen and their parent companies are rigging the system to raise prices and pad their pockets. Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., last month filed legislation that would require the Federal Trade Commission […]
Big fight over drug pricing with implications for Minnesota heads to the Supreme Court
A years-long fight over whether states have the authority to regulate important aspects of drug pricing will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday morning. At issue is whether prescription middlemen, known as “pharmacy benefit managers,” will have to bow to state authority over a huge swath of their business or if federal law […]
‘14,000 attempts.’ Balky technology, expiring benefits worry workers, state leaders
Congress is continuing to squabble over whether to extend a federal supplement to unemployment insurance and if they do, by how much. But as they argue over whether to continue the supplement at $600 a week or some fraction of that, out-of-work Americans are left to worry whether they can survive on state benefits that […]