Why “Medicare for All” Is a Pipe Dream

By Alieta Eck, MD

Dr. Alieta Eck

As I listened to the Town Hall where Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders proclaimed his dream of Medicare for All, I realized that he was speaking in vague generalities that were void of realism. Medical care would be “free at the point of service with no co-pays.” Would there be any brakes on the over-utilization of services? He had no answer. He thus needs to understand that the demand for medical services is limitless when other people are paying the bill.

A pipe dream is an allusion to the dreams experienced by smokers of opium pipes. The suggestion that “Medicare for all” would save money is surely an example of a pipe dream promoted by politicians seeking votes.

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Where’s Pallone when we need him? 

Proposed Rebate Rule Hands a Hefty Payday to Big Pharma Paid for by Patients AND Taxpayers

By Rich Pezzullo

Rich Pezzullo

There is full -fledged crisis that is not on the border – it’s in our families and can no longer be ignored.  One in four Americans cannot afford their medication.

There is a controversial initiative being pushed in Washington called the Rebate Rule, which affects the ability of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) such as Express Scripts, CVS Caremark and OptumRx to negotiate rebates with drug makers for Medicare recipients. We need leaders from both political parties- including Congressman Frank Pallone, to come out and take a more vocal, stronger stand against this.

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Cancer Talk at Jersey Shore Medical on Tuesday, May 22

The Memorial Sloan Kettering – Hackensack Meridian Health Partnership will host their third community talk in their Cancer Science Today series on Tuesday, May 22 and the Hackensack Meridan Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune Township.

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Knowing Your Family’s Cancer Risk—A Community Talk

The Memorial Sloan Kettering – Hackensack Meridian Health Partnership will host a community education talk on Wednesday, April 25 at 6:30pm at Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth. The evening’s topic is “Knowing Your Family’s Cancer Risk.” Read the rest of this entry »

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OPINION: SENATE VOTE NEXT LOGICAL STEP IN OBAMACARE REPEAL

By Laurie Ehlbeck

Obamacare has been, to put it mildly, burdensome for small businesses in New Jersey. Soon, the Senate will have a chance to do something about it.

Year after year, when the National Federation of Independent Business surveys its members, they say their number one priority is healthcare, but the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, has made things more difficult for them. Its onerous taxes and mandates have increased costs and reduced choices.

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Op-Ed: The Opioid-Addiction Industrial Complex – America’s Dirty Secret

Scott Rudder Turn on any radio or television channel and you will hear a report or an advertisement about the opioid addiction crisis in New Jersey and across the United States. If you continue to stay tuned to that channel, you will hear an advertisement promoting a prescription drug to help you with your pain issues.… Read the rest of this entry »

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Angry Christie wants more control of Horizon’s board, profits

Governor Chris Christie  (Governor’s Office/ Mykwain Gainey)

JERSEY CITY — Gov. Chris Christie is done asking Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey to pay big bucks to expand drug treatment in New Jersey. Now, he’s telling. Christie on Thursday announced he was proposing legislation giving future governors the ability to appoint four new directors to Horizon’s 15 member board, require greater… Read the rest of this entry »

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Meet the lawyer trying to pry drug pricing secrets out of Big Pharma

He has a private jet, a pedigree of winning billion-dollar settlements, and the (sometimes grudging) respect of his adversaries. Now, he wants to become pharma’s latest headache. Class-action attorney Steve Berman is coming after a drug industry he says is “gouging” the American consumer. And his suits have the potential to crack the lid on the… Read the rest of this entry »

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Memorial Sloan Kettering partnership with Hackensack Meridian gives N.J. cancer patients more experimental treatment options

NUTLEY — One of the nation’s oldest and most respected cancer care centers is partnering with one of New Jersey’s largest hospital systems in what was called a “momentous” deal that could give the state’s cancer patients access to more experimental treatments and specialists, company officials said. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York signed… Read the rest of this entry »

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New cancer center brings Sloan Kettering care closer to home for N.J. patients

MIDDLETOWN – The rebirth of a long-vacant building into a state-of-the-art outpatient cancer treatment center was celebrated Monday with a ceremony in Middletown. Manhattan-based cancer center Memorial Sloan Kettering purchased the vacant former Lucent Technologies building on Red Hill Road in 2013 and is now just weeks away from opening the new outpatient facility featuring about… Read the rest of this entry »

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