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Long-time DeWine friend lobbied for corporation accused of fraud
DeWine friend lobbied for corporation accused of fraud. Company's massive business with Ohio was restarted despite the allegations.
Pharmacy middlemen sue to stop rebate transparency
An industry group representing powerful drug middlemen has gone to court to stop a federal rule intended to bring transparency to rebates middlemen get from manufacturers. The middlemen are arguing that the rule, initiated by the Trump administration, will increase drug costs. But the group’s critics say that secretive rebates are a primary driver of […]
Environmental groups tried to warn DeWine not to appoint regulator accused embroiled in scandal
Environmental groups tried to warn DeWine not to appoint regulator accused embroiled in scandal. Hostility to renewables was part of the reason.
More than a year later, no discipline for cop who pepper-sprayed journalists
More than a year later, no discipline for cop who pepper-sprayed journalists. Columbus police union said to be blocking investigation.
Big PBM decision undergoes its first test
The stakes appear to be pretty high. After a unanimous ruling in a related case in December, the U.S. Supreme Court has reopened a case regarding sweeping regulations of powerful middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers — and 30 state attorneys general and many others are joining the fray. Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, are […]
VP Harris says DNC will pour $25M into voting rights protection
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris announced Thursday that the Democratic National Committee will spend $25 million to protect voting rights, in response to a wave of laws pushed by Republican lawmakers in state legislatures that would restrict voting access. The move comes after Democrats have been stymied in their attempts to enact a national […]
U.S. Supreme Court to hear HIV case with implications for Ohio, elsewhere
It’s a practice that’s already been called anti-competitive. Now the U.S. Supreme Court could rule on whether it discriminates against the disabled. The court last week agreed to review a case focused on whether actions of insurers and pharmacy middlemen discriminate against people with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The case is on appeal […]
Lavishly paid and unapologetic. Company at center of Medicaid scandal focuses on profits.
Coordinating government health care for poor people has been very, very good to Michael F. Neidorff. By one measure, he’s the country’s top-paid health care executive, making $25 million a year. That means the Centene chief makes as much in a year as 1,409 of the best paid of the 25 million Americans for whom his company […]
Analysis: Billion-dollar whitewash?
In the wake of a blockbuster settlement of fraud claims, the top executive at the nation’s biggest Medicaid contractor was eager Wednesday to put the matter behind the company, which derives most of its revenue from taxpayers. But even though executives repeatedly used some form of the word “transparency,” they seem to be trying to […]
Budget measure would undermine affordable housing for hundreds of thousands in Ohio, critics say
Scores of Ohio business and social service organizations are voicing opposition to a move by Senate President Matt Huffman to raise taxes on housing for the state’s poor. A spokesman for Huffman didn’t respond to a request for comment. But a measure that Huffman placed in the state budget would require county auditors to value […]
Ohio suits against drug middlemen headed for the long haul
Ohio has been one of the most active states litigating against drug middlemen, whom Attorney General Dave Yost accuses of bilking state agencies out of tens of millions of dollars. Other states also have been active in court against the healthcare giants. Notably, Arkansas last year squared off at the U.S. Supreme Court against the […]
Federal regulator’s oversight of the drug supply chain blasted — by one of the regulators
One of two federal agencies tasked with policing anticompetitive behavior among corporations last week said it has a lot more work to do when it comes to the prescription-drug supply chain. One of the members of the Federal Trade Commission went even further. He suggested the agency has abdicated its responsibility as drug prices have […]