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It’s not just CVS. Other big pharmacy chains cut hours, close stores
Walmart is cutting hours at its busy pharmacies, while Rite Aid — which is already selling off stores — is expected to file for bankruptcy protection, news organizations have reported over the past week. The news comes after inspectors have found that CVS’s understaffed stores in Ohio have in some instances lacked controls to protect […]
Report: CEOs who pay poorly do fabulously
Ticketmaster isn’t just crappy to its customers and to the musicians whose shows it manages ticket sales for. As a dominant event middleman, it tacks on hefty fees and has the effrontery to call them “convenience charges.” And bands complain that by the time parent company Live Nation Entertainment deducts its many cuts for their […]
Cancer drug shortages decried in congressional hearing
There’s an acute shortage of injectable cancer drugs because manufacturers can’t make money off of them, two experts told a U.S. House subcommittee Tuesday. But it’s unclear whether chaos in the GOP Caucus that’s supposed to be running the chamber will allow for action. The testimony came before the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy […]
Dollar stores, giant grocery chains push healthy food out of reach for many, activists say
“Efficiency” is a frequent justification for allowing corporations to consolidate vast swathes of the marketplace. But when it comes to food, huge grocery chains and ubiquitous dollar stores are limiting some rural and urban communities’ access to healthy food at the same time they bankrupt the farmers who produce it, members of a virtual panel […]
Ohio abortion foes are banking on a low-turnout August election.
Supporters of the push to make it a lot harder for voters to amend the Ohio Constitution have given many, sometimes-inconsistent reasons for wanting to do it. But clearly a major one is to try to block an abortion-rights amendment that is currently in the works. To pull off the maneuver, abortion opponents are trying […]
U.S. Supreme Court justices take lavish 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 […]
Analysis: Theory vs. reality. The Dobbs ruling and women’s health
When the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned abortion protections in Roe v Wade, the majority wrote that it’s up to the states to decide whether to allow abortions, restrict them or to ban them altogether. In other words, the six justices were saying that the U.S. Constitution gives no more protections to people who can get pregnant than it does to a zygote, the cell that’s formed when a human sperm fuses with a human egg.
Study: More Republicans than Democrats likely died of COVID
It’s already known that hundreds of thousands of Americans would still be alive if every eligible person had gotten vaccinated against COVID-19. Now new research strongly suggests that many more of those “excess deaths” in Ohio and Florida were among people with Republican voter registrations. It’s perhaps unsurprising that Republicans were more reluctant to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, which has so far killed more than 1 million in the United States and more than 6.5 million worldwide.
Experts: Dems’ drug measures are good for seniors. But there are downsides
The sweeping Inflation Reduction Act passed by Democrats in Congress this past week takes on an issue that Americans have been screaming about for years: the high cost of prescription drugs. But while it will bring immediate relief to millions of seniors, several experts have said it may dampen development of new drugs and new […]
Arrest confirms Indiana abortion for Ohio 10-year-old
Columbus, Ohio police have arrested a 27-year-old on charges of raping 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. […]
Federal regulators launch investigation into drug rebates said to drive up prescription costs
The Federal Trade Commission last week announced what some observers believe could be a game-changer when it comes to the rising cost of prescription drugs. The agency — which is meant to protect fair competition — said it would look into the murky practice by which drugmakers grant rebates and other fees to insurer-owned pharmacy […]
CVS sometimes forces people to use its pharmacies. Now the Supreme Court will weigh in
[Editor’s note: In September, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed Senate Bill 257 into law — a measure that will increase state regulation of “pharmacy benefit managers” in hopes of better protecting consumers. As the following story by reporter Marty Schladen of the Ohio Capital-Journal makes clear, however, many PBM practices remain controversial and will […]