Isabel Ostrer

Internal Medicine PGY-2 @UCSF | Single payer advocate | Formerly @ucsfmedicine @harvard @HMRLab

[Cary Gross @cpgYALE]

@iostrer @DGlaucomflecken @YaleMed @YaleIMed @JAMA_current @NicoleKuderer @mleapman @simon_p_kim @KevinTyan1 @Mirandalamm @ysingh_hopkins @janemzhu @healthecon_dan What to do? We need to stop incentivizing buy-outs with tax loopholes, FFS billing schema; increase federal scrutiny of mergers, acquisitions; enhance our understanding of the impact of PE ownership (greater transparency, urgent research)
https://t.co/7Bst6rP7gQ

[Cary Gross @cpgYALE]

*NEW Tyan et al study: >10% of oncologists now work in Private Equity owned clinics. This is not an anomaly! PE-backed health care is now truly cradle to grave in the US. In our commentary, @iostrer, FJ Crosson & I discuss: https://t.co/7Bst6rP7gQ #medtwitter *THREAD: (1/n)

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

“There is no shortage of innovative ideas to tie cancer drug price to value.”

[Cary Gross @cpgYALE]

"Getting what we are (Prohibited from) bargaining for" Efficacy of new #cancer drugs is disconnected from their efficacy. Excited to work with @iostrer on piece accompanying excellent new @JAMAInternalMed study @milijko @VPrasadMDMPH
https://t.co/Lx7L9573eZ

[Larry Levitt @larry_levitt]

59% of those in the Medicaid "coverage gap" are people of color.

They are uninsured with incomes below poverty, and have no affordable coverage options because they live in states that have not expanded Medicaid under the ACA.

https://t.co/HxqiMdYrgu

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

Abortions performed by trained providers are safer than child birth.

When the U.S. legalized abortion in 1973, the number of abortion-related deaths dropped drastically.

Texas' new law prohibiting most abortions is a threat to health.

[Health Justice Monitor (HJM) @HJMSinglePayer]

Texas’ near-total ban on abortion is a huge hit to Roe v. Wade & to health care justice.

"We must ensure access to health care for all — including the full-spectrum of reproductive care, which encompasses abortion care." -@iostrer & Jim Kahn

Read more: https://t.co/B3kB6Ql79Z

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

“The sick individualism at the heart of American healthcare insists that we ensure as many people as possible are responsible for their own healthcare costs; that’s how we end up with cancer patients going bankrupt and people skipping expensive prescriptions.”

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

“…Delta’s new premium surcharge has the potential to backfire. It is likely to price some employees out of coverage entirely, cutting off their access to family physicians and other primary care providers who can be trusted sources of information about the vaccine’s benefits.”

[Sabrina Corlette @SabrinaCorlette]

Delta Airlines' premium surcharge for unvaxxed workers may be legal, but it's not good policy. https://t.co/7acGzh6lfS

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

Medicare Advantage (aka privatized Medicare) is booming. What's the problem?

As @bobjherman writes, spending is soaring.
https://t.co/aXCNs3HSEO

But beyond spending, access to care is severely limited thru narrow networks.

More on @HealthJustMon: https://t.co/o5rwN9uDJG

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

The U.S. is an outlier among high-income countries when it comes to health care:

1) we spend more
2) our outcomes are worse

We're also the only high-income country that doesn't provide universal coverage.

More on HJM: https://t.co/Tpqrse7OWw

[Health Justice Monitor (HJM) @HJMSinglePayer]

In @commonwealthfnd's new report comparing health care system performance in 11 countries, the U.S. ranks last with:

☑️ Worse access
☑️ Poorer outcomes
☑️ Higher costs

What do the other countries have in common?
#UniversalCoverage

More from @iostrer: https://t.co/CRQCKQeqGb

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

Too many Medicare beneficiaries lack dental coverage.

As @DrSriram recently said, "Your teeth are not luxury items."

It's time to fight for a Medicare program that recognizes oral health is part of overall health. #MedicareForAll

More on HJM: https://t.co/I5vAfrUdV6

[Health Justice Monitor (HJM) @HJMSinglePayer]

According to a recent @KFF report by @KrutikaAmin et al:

◽️ 24 million Medicare beneficiaries lack dental coverage.
◽️ 68% of Black Medicare beneficiaries & 73% of those w/low incomes didn't visit a dentist in the past year.

Why is this a problem? (1/2)

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

After a month on the hospital wards, two lessons stick out most:
1) Life-saving meds should be affordable to patients.
2) Insurance barriers shouldn't dictate who has access to long-term services.

[Health Justice Monitor (HJM) @HJMSinglePayer]

"An insurance system that focuses on patient well-being over profit is one that meaningfully negotiates drug prices."

Today on HJM, @iostrer recounts two patient stories to exemplify how insurance constrains access to necessary care.

Read more: https://t.co/LGjVLDBwyY

#M4All

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

“Ultra-expensive” drugs = drugs w/avg annual per beneficiary spending in excess of the annual US per capita GDP ($62,996 in 2018).

Not only is the # of these drugs is skyrocketing, but their therapeutic benefit isn't always well demonstrated. The US needs #DrugPriceReform now.

[Health Justice Monitor (HJM) @HJMSinglePayer]

Some quick facts about Medicare Part D spending for ultra-expensive brand-name drugs in 2018:

• 122 - Total number of drugs
• 278,000 - Total number of beneficiaries
• $24,550,000,000 - Total spending
• $175,513 - Average spending per beneficiary per drug

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

"We know that insurance coverage both improves survival & reduces racial disparities in outcomes, not only for cancer but also for other medical conditions – chronic & acute. It’s time to assure that all Americans have high-quality insurance." My latest post up on @HealthJustMon.

[Health Justice Monitor (HJM) @HJMSinglePayer]

A recent @Health_Affairs study finds that being uninsured is deadly. This time it’s adults just years shy of Medicare eligibility… dying of cancer. If only they'd waited to age 65.

Spread the word: #SinglePayer will save lives.

Read more from @iostrer: https://t.co/sNezhzmD3w

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

Take a listen to the first episode of @thenocturnists Stories from a Pandemic: Part II that I helped produce with @papazog, @ESilvermanMD, & Molly Rose-Williams.

I learned so much about the power of storytelling from this unbelievable group. Excited for our upcoming season 🎉🎧

[The Nocturnists @thenocturnists]

Episode 1 of Stories from a Pandemic: Part II is out today! How are #healthcare workers holding up mid #pandemic? How has the #hero trope helped or harmed us? What can we learn from Star Wars and The Force?
👂: https://t.co/2ajLpllUQU
🎺: @DrMcInnisDIT
🎨: nazila jamalifard

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

Check out my first post for @HealthJustMon about why the recent pandemic-era bumps in ACA insurance enrollment show just how sorely #MedicareForAll is needed in the U.S.

[Health Justice Monitor (HJM) @HJMSinglePayer]

COVID-era boosts in unemployment payments nudged many Americans to income levels which qualify them for subsidized ACA plans, bumping enrollment per @xpostfactoid. But millions remain ineligible for health insurance.

What's the real fix? Read more https://t.co/KjuxP1GYEm #M4A

[Pramila Jayapal @PramilaJayapal]

Millions of the workers losing their jobs are losing their health care, too.

We need #MedicareForAll now.

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

We must rise to the moment COVID demands. In our new op-ed @ChristopherLCai and I make the case for bold legislation by @RepJayapal and @SenSanders to insure all Americans.

https://t.co/EvCYjxXGSX

@kevinmd @PNHP

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

#SecKerry restore PEPFAR from deadly cuts, demand big increase in #budget from #WhiteHouse to #endAIDS http://t.co/bQE7x3WoPl

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

@HUDgov #SecDonovan good speech @ Harvard but no mention of the fight ahead, re: increase in homeless children (see http://t.co/vRkAkComhX)

[Isabel Ostrer @iostrer]

@Merck: Rise above the bottom line. Millions can't afford your life-saving AIDS drug. #MerckTheJerk