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Helen Santoro is a journalist based in Colorado.
A historic congestion pricing plan for New York City was slated to go into effect this month. NY governor Kathy Hochul suddenly blocked it this week — and has taken tens of thousand of dollars in campaign funding from auto groups opposed to the plan.
Teaming up with Big Pharma and Wall Street, universities are profiting by fighting government efforts to curtail soaring drug prices. A case in point: UCLA has reaped more than a billion dollars from its development of Xtandi, a lifesaving cancer drug.
The generic drug industry is pushing back against a government effort to lower the cost of lifesaving medications, even though the plan is built around letting them make more generic drugs.
Big Oil and shipping interests have lobbied for years to keep a law on the books that caps their liability following deadly disasters. The company linked to the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse aims to use it to avoid paying damages and compensation.
As Maryland governor, current GOP senate candidate Larry Hogan flouted safety warnings and sought to attract massive cargo vessels to Baltimore’s port — vessels just like the one that crashed into the Key Bridge last week.
The company responsible for the Baltimore bridge collapse blocked its employees from reporting safety concerns to the US Coast Guard. It is now being sanctioned by federal regulators for violating a whistleblower protection law.
For the first time ever, Medicare is negotiating with pharmaceutical companies to reduce the cost of lifesaving medicines. Big Pharma’s favorite Democrats are working to curtail the negotiations and protect the industry’s tax loopholes.
Pharmacy benefit managers push expensive medications and slash drug reimbursement rates, pocketing the profits for themselves. Congress looked set to regulate these shadowy middlemen — but $50 million in industry lobbying later, the effort has stalled.
Saddled with legal burdens, Elon Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, is relocating to Texas to seek refuge in the state’s new business court system — which is controlled by his longtime ally, Republican governor Greg Abbott.
Ultrarich private universities are fighting hard against government efforts to tax their multibillion-dollar endowments. That revenue could be used to help provide low-cost public higher education for all.
A new report reveals that Americans funded the development of all ten drugs up for price negotiations with Medicare, but Big Pharma still wants to keep prices for those publicly funded drugs sky high.
A New York anti–money laundering bill meant to crack down on anonymous real estate shell companies was seriously weakened through changes by Governor Kathy Hochul after she received millions of dollars in campaign financing from real estate interests.
After pouring money into a lobbying campaign, Wall Street firms have won exemption from a law designed to curb money laundering.
Earlier this month, a gaping hole opened in the side of a Boeing airplane with hundreds of passengers on board. If Boeing had prioritized safety upgrades over lavish executive salaries and stock buybacks, this disaster might not have happened.
Many health insurers’ online provider directories are inaccurate or out of date. With no recourse for the negligence of insurance companies, providers and patients alike are suffering the consequences.
The number of medications eliminated from many insurance plans has skyrocketed over the last decade, jumping by some 1,600%. Part of the problem lies with pharmacy benefit managers — powerful companies that determine drug benefits for health insurers.
Mental health activists in Michigan are fighting for legislative change to help families pay for desperately needed care. Insurance firm Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is shelling out exorbitant amounts of money on lobbyists to stop them.