(1/2) Health Care Antitrust Weekly: UnitedHealth Group Section 2 Investigation Update; CVS Extracted More Than $500 Million in DIR Fees From Rite Aid, Bankruptcy Trustee Alleges in New Suit;

UnitedHealth: State-Level Noncompete Bans Threaten Health Care Giant's Acquisition, Retention Strategy $UNH library.thecapitolforum.com/docs/8tgvdqa... h/t @dorajfacundo.bsky.social & @colecahill.bsky.social

FDA Plans to Further Decrease Barriers to Entry for Generic Drugmakers in Inhaler Market in Coming Months $ABBV $AMGN $AZN $GSK $INSP $NVS $NYXH $REGN $SNY $TEVA library.thecapitolforum.com/docs/8ryuqnp... h/t @dorajfacundo.bsky.social

Wherein I get lost in BlackRock financial disclosures and Samir saves the narrative from getting lost in the minutiae.

UnitedHealth gobbled up nearly 2,700 companies. Now it’s so complex that even its own managers can’t keep up. Is this “weaponized complexity”? From @dorajfacundo.bsky.social & Patrick Rucker: https://trib.al/nSZxXw8

Great investigation here into UnitedHealth. Turns out it has 2,694 subsidiaries! And about 20% of its gross revenue comes from companies it also owns. Co-pub with @dorajfacundo.bsky.social and Patrick Rucker at @capitolforum.bsky.social: prospect.org/health/2025-...

We know private equity is destructive to sectors like child care. Yet, they continue to capture care markets because they often are the only available buyers to retiring small business owners. This is a timely review of ways for communities to increase child care supply without relying on PE.

Agricultural History has the best covers

I don’t know how to describe UnitedHealth Group as anything other than an industrial-scale death panel for seniors with a regulatory arbitrage firm on the side. Oh, and it has its lowest paid workers on the cutting room floor while executives rake in millions.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Democrats are going to full-on cave on this crypto bill and then lie to you about it. More on this shortly....

NEW — UnitedHealth Group still under DOJ monopolization investigation, but resource constraints are delaying the timing of a potential monopolization suit until the second half of 2025.

Roper Technologies' Strata's Information Sharing Practices, Tools for Health Care Providers, Could Bring Antitrust Scrutiny $ROP library.thecapitolforum.com/docs/8j8w5bq... h/t @dorajfacundo.bsky.social

This 2023 piece he wrote is essential for understanding where this faction is coming from. firstthings.com/what-is-the-...

I took a closer look at the USTR's annual report on IP protection and enforcement. The document sends a warning to developing countries attempting to manufacture inexpensive lifesaving drugs, claiming that concerns from US branded drugmakers haven't been heard enough.

I took a closer look at the USTR's annual report on IP protection and enforcement. The document sends a warning to developing countries attempting to manufacture inexpensive lifesaving drugs, claiming that concerns from US branded drugmakers haven't been heard enough.

NY health care workers won a union election vote 2-1. The employer, Crystal Run Healthcare, which was acquired by UnitedHealth Group in 2023, filed an objection with the NLRB, arguing that the NLRB lacks quorum & was denied its right to hold captive audience meetings

Breitbart is reporting that there’s a labor task force in the works at the FTC. I have sources telling me this task force is also interested in issues pertaining to multi-level marketing business schemes, franchising, wage fixing, and no-poach/no-hire agreements.

Breitbart is reporting that there’s a labor task force in the works at the FTC. I have sources telling me this task force is also interested in issues pertaining to multi-level marketing business schemes, franchising, wage fixing, and no-poach/no-hire agreements.

It took me Seven Months but I did build the free- and searchable!!- database of these Federal Reserve Board Minutes from 1967-1973 I got through FOIA. Turns out these are going to come in handy for my piece on Automated Clearing Houses (ACH) on Friday www.crisesnotes.com/here-are-the...

(1/2) Health Care Antitrust Weekly: DOGE Sets Crosshairs on CMS; TX Cardiology Monopolization Suit Fails; Medicare Fraud Allegations Against Amedisys Move Forward; Teva-Corcept Moving to Private Mediation $AMED $AMRX $CI $CORT $CVS $GSK $HIMS $HUM $LLY $MPLN $SNY $TEVA $UNH $VTRS

Almost Half of UnitedHealth Group's Revenue Faces Legislative and Regulatory Risk, According to Capitol Forum Analysis $CI $CVS $UNH library.thecapitolforum.com/docs/8bv9vjk... h/t @dorajfacundo.bsky.social

We were one Joe Manchin vote away from "the advance child tax credit overheated the economy"

“For all the emphasis he placed on American workers, Biden was the first Democratic president in a century who did not permanently expand the social safety net.” If Biden delivered on this, I promise you, Jason Furman still would’ve found a way to twist himself into opposition.

New from me: 45 percent—approximately $252 billion—of UnitedHealth Group’s revenue faces legislative and regulatory risk

New from me: 45 percent—approximately $252 billion—of UnitedHealth Group’s revenue faces legislative and regulatory risk

With immigrants and labor under attack, I created this starter pack of labor & immigration reporters. Give them all a follow go.bsky.app/4JJcYdi

On X today, a Republican Congressman from North Carolina called for breaking up UnitedHealth Group, specifically citing the conflicts of interest inherent to a vertically integrated health care company.

(1/2) Health Care Antitrust Weekly: Biden HHS Warns of PE Ownership in Healthcare Markets; Biden FTC Settles with Welsh Carson; Eli Lilly Faces Six RICO Suits; More Drugs Subject to Part D Price Negotiations $AMRX $CI $CORT $CVS $GSK $HIMS $HUM $LLY $MPLN $SNY $TEVA $UNH $VTRS

I have a newsletter! In free monthly posts, I’ll be sharing what I’ve been working on, behind-the-scenes details on the reporting, and riffing on the latest food and agriculture news. My first post is up! Read below: open.substack.com/pub/marciagb...

If this is the case, it notably means that Dems still dont have a real vision for immigration policy, ergo punting the issue once again

Now that I have a real pic of myself and bio, maybe I’ll start posting more here

Lmao

Democrats lining up to condemn Biden for being the first Democrat in 40+ years to actually pump the brakes on multinational capital screwing union workers. Seems like there might be something revealing there, can't quite put my finger on it.

It's the beginning of the month -- and the year! Which means it's time to see how EV sales in the US held up for 2024. I'd expect to see them rolling in today, starting with Tesla. I'm particularly curious about GM, Honda and Hyundai. Stay tuned. I'll add them to this thread. 🔌⚡️🚗 #EnergySky

Not only is this wildly irresponsible, what does it mean for a “conflict” to “spill into the United States” if the US itself is unconditionally funding it?

What they want to do is eliminate the universal service obligation that gives the Post Office a financial disadvantage over private carriers. That would cut mail service off to the most rural parts of the country, who almost certainly aren't Democrats. Go ahead and try that.

The House just passed a bill that gives the executive branch sweeping authority to effectively shut down non-profit universities and newsrooms. And a House Committee report quietly reveals a blueprint for just how those powers might be used. Read more @levernews.com www.levernews.com/gop-takes-fi...

I must’ve been put on a list of sorts bc I’m getting way more interesting followers on here than I should be. I don’t have any markers in my bio or nothing!

Wrote about this from Pennsylvania in the weeks before the election. Food inflation is down this year, especially compared to 2022. But food prices are up 20% over the last four years, and that's what people noticed. www.politico.com/news/2024/11...

I can bring the haterade so sorely missing on here

i can’t do this place

In the final piece of his @theprospect.bsky.social fellowship, @dorajfacundo.bsky.social looks at how the video game industry has consolidated into vertically integrated conglomerates running on a subscription model, and what the implications of that could be:

Good piece from @dorajfacundo.bsky.social (his last with us; sigh): the National Transportation Safety Board is recommending intelligent speed assistance (ISA) systems to limit reckless driving. But what about the cybersecurity risk of remote takeover of vehicles?

A new executive order makes strides to regulate large-scale AI models by requiring companies to send results for risk assessment and safety tests to the federal government. @dorajfacundo.bsky.social and @ddayen.bsky.social report:

NEW - The White House’s executive order on AI uses the Defense Production Act to require any company building large-scale AI models (that’s like all of them) to share risk assessment and safety test results with the federal government From @ddayen.bsky.social and I t.co/UwFm5MgjLA

The White House exec order on AI is mostly nonbinding. But there's 1 creative bit: using the Defense Production Act(!) to demand companies hand over safety tests for AI models. This could end AI's move fast & break things era. From me and @dorajfacundo.bsky.social:

@adamsessler.bsky.social hey Adam, I’m a reporter for @theprospect.bsky.social. I’m working on a story about where the console wars are heading. Can you shoot me an email? (jfacundo at prospect dot org. I’d love to hear about the Xbox/Playstation wars in the 2000s

The reasoning is supposedly to combat bots. But half of me feels that the bots got worse once Musk took over, so it’s a solution in search of a problem one created

Here's @dorajfacundo.bsky.social's report from yesterday's rally at the White House by American Jewish groups, calling for a cease-fire in Gaza: