Jarod Facundo

(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

BlackRock: A Case Study in Finance Capital (Part 1) [This post may appear clipped in your inbox.

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

UnitedHealth Has 2,694 Subsidiaries and Affiliates. Is It Too Big to Manage? This behemoth conglomerate might just be too monstrous for its own good.

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

UnitedHealth Has 2,694 Subsidiaries and Affiliates. Is It Too Big to Manage? This behemoth conglomerate might just be too monstrous for its own good.

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

This anecdote shows how UnitedHealth makes more money letting seniors die rather than receive end-of-life care.

You have former nurse practitioners saying they were pressured to persuade seniors on Medicare Advantage to put “do not resuscitate” orders on their file.

UnitedHealth paid bonuses to nursing homes that cut spending on care and threatened claw backs against those that didn’t.

In any other industry, this is practically a kickback, which is bankrolled by taxpayer dollars in Medicare Advantage.

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.

Link to the USTR report: ustr.gov/sites/default/…

These are similar to the types of reforms that big pharma has heavily lobbied against from happening in the United States.

It's the same playbook, but with that pressure being exerted on countries as a whole through USTR.

The report also says that US drug makers & medical device manufacturers have issues w/ those countries setting prices caps to lower drug prices and embarking on patent reforms to encourage generic drug manufacturing.

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.

The Albany Times Union reported that Rep. Pat Ryan had received reports from community members about the declining quality of care from the customer service aspects to medical treatments and billing since UHG took over Crystal Run.

UnitedHealth's move effectively delays certification for potentially months.

According to 1199SEIU, workers at Crystal Run organized because of low pay, poor benefits, excessive hours, and burnout.

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’s reporting suggests this task force is interested in noncompetes. Time will tell, but it hasn’t been totally dismissed as of yet.

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