Husband to one, father to two, physician and friend to many. Proud 🇺🇸 Vet. Tweets are my own. /Me/Myself/I/ Race neutral. 🌊
🍎PHILA BURBS FLA
Joined May 2018
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R.Block,MD retweeted
Who knows who contributes to the Competitive Enterprise Institute who defend PBM as 'free Market'?
As you can see on their tax forms, they have contributors who give $2.8 million, $1.6 million, and 9 other contributors in the six figures (there are 2 pages of unidentified contributors) cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2… 4/5 🧵
R.Block,MD retweeted
I know about PCMA, the lobby group for PBM, but I did not know about The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), who are also defending PBM as 'free market' so I did some looking. They are a non profit who has lobbied with $2million over the last several years and collects $10 million in revenue each year, from what I could find 100% is from contributors.
Who contributes? 3/5🧵.....
cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2…
R.Block,MD retweeted
It's tough for me to see PCMA, CEI and Sen Toomey calling PBM 'market based', when they help themselves to medicaid money, through something called the 'spread', collect kickbacks (also non transparent) which creates a monospony ... a series of monopoies among pharmaceutical products, and cause the shutdown of independent pharmacies.
Last time I checked in the Bible of free market capitalism, monopolies, kickbacks and anticompetitive behavior were not Included 2/5 🧵
Here is article in #BucksCounty Courier Times where pic is from phillyburbs.com/story/opinio…
R.Block,MD retweeted
This👇
They ( the government) hire the insurance companies, give them subsidies, pay the hospital more than the indie physician for the same service and let wealthy middlemen collect kickbacks.
To the government: stop doing and start undoing.
They talk about addressing the cost of healthcare, but what do they do first? They don't go the insurance companies and reduce subsidies, they don't go to the hospitals and reduce their Medicare fees, they go to the doctors and reduce physicians' payments" ktrh.iheart.com/featured/hou…
R.Block,MD retweeted
It surely does smell, but I would not call this the biggest way medicine is corrupt.
Why?
-you can go to physician sunshine database and see exactly how much $ each physician is conflicted by.
-Physician advocacy organizations create foundations, have conferences and get corporate sponsors. We need ☀️ light on this money too, as these organizations often speak for physicians when they do this, it looks like unanimity if not consensus to the public.
-Our specialty boards extract physician money through a process called MOC. The heads of these specialty boards, then make 10 times the working physician salary. They funneled our 💵 to offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands. Likely juicy retirement accounts.
For sure, you are describing corruption with physicians, taking pharmaceutical money, but at least the public can see it easily. The other examples I gave above, not so much. @AaronGoodman33 @InfoNbpas @PPA_USA @doctorwes @chadinabhan @MartyMakary @anish_koka @Surgeon_General @VivekGRamaswamy
Refreshingly honest
The biggest way medicine is corrupt is doctors prescribe drugs in off-label indications, while they take tons of cash from the drug maker. It smells like corruption. Oncology is especially bad.
drvinayprasad.com/p/when-onc…
R.Block,MD retweeted
Relative Monopolies in many sectors of health care…. Hospital, payer, PBM, pharmacy, pharmaceutical manufacturer, GPO, even medical boards that control physicians… those monopolies also drive prices higher.
R.Block,MD retweeted
I cannot believe Italy is going back to Mussolini times. America is at risk of going down the same road if we don't show up at the polls. We have to take this seriously. When Jews tell us that the U.S. resembles Germany in the 10 yrs before the Holocaust, I believe them.
My first reaction was, this is beyond belief. But I took the time to look through the replies (using translate) and they are equally as terrifying.
Fascism is a growing worldwide problem.
This is Rome Italy, not Nazi Germany.
Sharing because we are in danger of this movement spreading out of control if we ignore and do not shine light on it.
1/2
R.Block,MD retweeted
VETERAN’S DAY 2023
Thoughts taken from Vietnam Uncensored
@KarensStories
@grgpetro
@fett1111
@SZettlerAuthor
@BooksToReadBTR
R.Block,MD retweeted
For the viewing pleasure of my Derm and Plastics colleagues...Two FNPs in Yakima, WA with a Dermatology clinic. Mind you, there are no accredited Derm programs for NPs in the U.S. and no specific requirements. FNPs have no business performing surgeries, even in an unsupervised
ALT Removal of skin CA.
R.Block,MD retweeted
@PhysiciansFound @drbreenheroes Sept 17 is National Physician Suicide Awareness Day
Today I read an anonymous post from a colleague who is an alcoholic seeking help. Yet many state laws required MDs to report their mental health issues are take the doc’s license away. Recipe for disaster our high suicide rates. We can do better!
#takebackmed
R.Block,MD retweeted
When your colleague breaks the law to mislead patients, you should side with the patients.
m.youtube.com/shorts/Y3N7ls-…
R.Block,MD retweeted
Happy and excited to share my new article in @BioMedCentral @BMCMedicalInformaticsandDecisionMaking, about the paradoxical impact of telemedicine on health disparities 🎖🙏🌷
doi.org/10.1186/s12911-023-0…
@isfteh
R.Block,MD retweeted
Knowledge is a patient’s greatest tool for protection against corporate exploitation.
R.Block,MD retweeted
There is nothing quite like a med school commencement. So much energy and excitement. Pure joy from graduates and family. You also get to dress up like a wizard which is nice. Every time I go to one, I get a tiny little twinge of jealousy that I don’t work in an academic setting.
R.Block,MD retweeted
I was a Board Member @pppforpatients I was terminated from committees and groups without even a conversation when I missed some meeting. I had surgery and have a disabled wife. Physicians leaders don’t exist.
R.Block,MD retweeted
You can watch the @SenateHELP hearings on affordable Insulin here: help.senate.gov/hearings/the…
I'm asking my own @SenBobCasey to hold #PBMs accountable for manipulating #insulin prices.
Ask the hard questions of @PhRMA too!
The big Insulin makers and the big PBM will be In the HOT seats!
What fun! Bring 🍿
a 🧵 In prep 4 today's 1pm @SenateHELP hearing on making #insulin affordable.
On graph: list price is roughly = net price (what pharma collects) + "rebates"/fees collected by Pharmacy Benefit Managers (#PBM) .
According 2 a 2021 @SenFinance "rebates" alone accounted for 80% of the cost of a box of insulin.
Translation: #PBM are the cash cows
