Kleptocapitalism

January 30, 2023 -- In today's JAMA, Salve Lucrum: The Existential Threat of Greed in US Health Care, the venerable, conservative AMA complains of the cruel economics (they actually call it a kleptocracy) of America's health care system.

The author is Don Berwick, former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under Obama. He knows of what he writes.

...Let's start here: regulate what I term NoPINOs -- non-profits in name only (you saw it here first!) -- such as Kaiser and -- especially called-out in this article -- Oak Street Health -- which have special tax advantages in return for obligation to provide services to broader populations. Today, instead, they create "kleptocapitalist" grotesque wealth for those at the top of their hierarchies, paying CEOs and others millions and even tens of millions of dollars.

Call those non-profits? As the humorist said, there ought to be a law! But it's not funny.

...read more.

Go Dr. Berwick, go enlightened legislators, go principled clinicians!

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