Bob Herman

Bob Herman

@bobjherman.bsky.social

Health care business reporter for @statnews.com and author of the Health Care Inc. newsletter. Contact: bob.herman@statnews.com or bobjherman.09 on Signal. Sign up: https://www.statnews.com/signup/health-care-inc/

5.2K followers636 following202 posts

Bob Herman reposted

Dr. Tom Frieden
@drtomfrieden.bsky.social

I had no idea that Helen Branswell was ill. I'm deeply saddened to hear of her passing. When I became CDC director, a very astute member of the CDC press office told me that I wasn't ready for a briefing unless I was ready for questions from Helen Branswell.

statnews.comHelen Branswell, whose reporting on infectious diseases and public health drew acclaim, dies at 69Helen Branswell, STAT's infectious disease reporter who earned the respect of experts and public health officials with her accessible, prescient dispatches, has died at age 69.

Bob Herman reposted

Torie Bosch
@thekibosch.bsky.social

I truly can’t comprehend STAT without Helen. She was fierce, kind, smart, and so generous with her time and knowledge. This is a devastating loss for STAT, for her family, for science journalism, for the public

STAT@statnews.com

We are going to miss you very much, Helen. https://www.statnews.com/2026/10/13/helen-branswell-stat-reporter-obituary/

statnews.comHelen Branswell, whose reporting on infectious diseases and public health drew acclaim, dies at 69Helen Branswell, STAT's infectious disease reporter who earned the respect of experts and public health officials with her accessible, prescient dispatches, has died at age 69.

Bob Herman reposted

anil oza
@aniloza.bsky.social

Pulse oximeters rose to prominence bc they OVERestimated oxygen in patients with darker skin tones during the pandemic Now they seem to be UNDERestimating oxygen levels... What's happening? We still don't know but it could point to deeper issues w/ the devices www.statnews.com/2026/10/06/p...

statnews.comIn this hospital, pulse oximeters went from overestimating to underestimating blood oxygen. Why?Researchers found pulse oximeters went from overestimating blood oxygen levels to underestimating them; inaccuracies were worse in patients of color.

Bob Herman reposted

Sarah Todd
@sarah-todd.bsky.social

Nonprofit hospitals like Northwestern Medicine and Weill Cornell are opening up longevity clinics, with patients paying thousands of dollars for in-depth assessments like DEXA scans and biological age tests. I wrote about the new trend (and experiencing it myself): www.statnews.com/2026/10/06/h...

statnews.comCan you live longer for $5,500? Longevity clinics are the buzzy new trend at nonprofit hospitalsLongevity clinics promise personalized health advice and cutting-edge tests. Now major hospitals are entering the business, at costs reaching $45,000 a year.
Bob Herman
@bobjherman.bsky.social

Health insurance premiums are hammering workers and their employers. It all comes back to the high, inscrutable prices that hospitals, pharma companies, and other entities charge — and that health insurers willingly pay. www.statnews.com/2026/10/05/h...

statnews.comHospital and pharmaceutical prices are smothering America’s businessesWorkers and employers are drowning in their health insurance premiums. The reason for that deluge: the health care industry’s high and inscrutable prices.
Bob Herman
@bobjherman.bsky.social

CMS Administrator Dr. Oz is in Texas talking about small employer health coverage. He mentions how "most-favored nation" deals (which are secret) pushed down drug prices "more than they have been reduced in 60 years." That is, in a word, baloney. www.statnews.com/2026/08/18/w...

statnews.comThe White House declares ‘promises made, promises kept’ on lowering drug prices. Nice tryIn its effort to lower drug prices, the White House has declared "promises made, promises kept." That's a narrative that doesn't reflect the full story.
Bob Herman
@bobjherman.bsky.social

Health insurers and employers are dialing back coverage of GLP-1s for weight loss due to the drugs' high prices and usage. Now, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are marketing the drugs more to "customers" than to payers. Great read from @elaineywchen.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2026/09/28/g...

statnews.comOnce described as obesity medicines for 'patients,' GLP-1s are increasingly lifestyle drugs for 'customers'Blockbuster GLP-1 drugs have transformed the lives of millions of people. Lately, they’re undergoing a makeover of their own.

Bob Herman reposted

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
@lastweektonight.com

With Luigi Mangione’s upcoming sentencing, this week’s main story is about not just UnitedHealthcare’s now infamous denials of coverage, but also how their parent company – UnitedHealth Group – touches almost every aspect of our healthcare system. Link to full segment in bio.

Bob Herman
@bobjherman.bsky.social

MedPAC has consistently reported overpayments in Medicare Advantage. Health insurance companies want to kneecap how MedPAC reports these overpayments. Now, insurers have allies in Congress: Republicans, John Wilkerson reports. www.statnews.com/2026/09/16/m...

statnews.comGOP aims to change Medicare adviser’s math so it's more favorable to health insurersThe GOP bill directs MedPAC to study the topic of overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans in a manner that’s more favorable to insurers.
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Bob Herman
@bobjherman.bsky.social

Paul Ginsburg, a health economist at USC and a former MedPAC commissioner, said the bill “is the most extreme example that I am aware of in which a stakeholder has worked to undermine MedPAC’s independence.”

Bob Herman
@bobjherman.bsky.social

This is very wonky and technical, but the end result is important. If this became law, it would force MedPAC to produce a report that makes Medicare Advantage look *way* better. It would nuke independent research and make it more likely for insurers to keep their MA gravy train.

Bob Herman
@bobjherman.bsky.social

MedPAC has consistently reported overpayments in Medicare Advantage. Health insurance companies want to kneecap how MedPAC reports these overpayments. Now, insurers have allies in Congress: Republicans, John Wilkerson reports. www.statnews.com/2026/09/16/m...

statnews.comGOP aims to change Medicare adviser’s math so it's more favorable to health insurersThe GOP bill directs MedPAC to study the topic of overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans in a manner that’s more favorable to insurers.
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Bob Herman
@bobjherman.bsky.social

MedPAC has consistently reported overpayments in Medicare Advantage. Health insurance companies want to kneecap how MedPAC reports these overpayments. Now, insurers have allies in Congress: Republicans, John Wilkerson reports. www.statnews.com/2026/09/16/m...

statnews.comGOP aims to change Medicare adviser’s math so it's more favorable to health insurersThe GOP bill directs MedPAC to study the topic of overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans in a manner that’s more favorable to insurers.

Bob Herman reposted

The Washington Post
@washingtonpost.com

Drug companies are building sales of their revolutionary weight-loss drugs by targeting the prescribers who act as the gatekeepers to the American health care system, according to interviews and an analysis of public federal government data by The Post.

washingtonpost.comThe largely hidden force helping drive America’s craze for weight-loss drugsFirms are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to convince doctors to prescribe GLP-1 drugs.
Bob Herman
@bobjherman.bsky.social

UnitedHealth Group's top executives and board members showered Rep. Katherine Clark with cash ahead of her primary. Clark is the No. 2 House Democrat who no longer supports Medicare for All. Does UHG sense a change of power in DC? www.statnews.com/2026/09/08/u...

statnews.comUnitedHealth executives shower high-ranking Democrat with donations ahead of midtermsKatherine Clark, a top House Democrat, received more than $100,000 in campaign donations from people linked to UnitedHealth Group.
Bob Herman
@bobjherman.bsky.social

Drug prices and health insurance are so broken that GoodRx is offering...a $200 annual subscription for a family to get some generics for free and others for less than $10. Telehealth is an add-on cost. This is a solution! investors.goodrx.com/news-release...

investors.goodrx.comFrom Kids to Canines: GoodRx Launches Companion Family Plan to Bring Healthcare Savings to the Whole Household - GoodRxNew $24.99 monthly plan includes a primary member and up to four dependents, including children, adults, and pets, with more than 250 generic medications available for free and savings on dental, vision, lab and imaging services Brief Summary: GoodRx launched the Companion Family Plan for $24.99
Bob Herman
@bobjherman.bsky.social

Everyone — including taxpayers — is shouldering a burden created by a health care system that is bleeding employers dry. Public-sector employers and workers are caught in an especially tight economic vise. Their generous health benefits are eroding. www.statnews.com/2026/08/18/p...

statnews.comHow health care costs are undermining America’s public-sector employersPoliticians are contemplating raising taxes and cutting benefits as the cost of health care for government workers surges.

Bob Herman reposted

Lizzy Lawrence
@lizzylawrence.bsky.social

NEW: After Eli Lilly granted one man special access to the obesity drug retatrutide, doctors are struggling to get answers on whether they can get access for their patients (tho one doc did hear back after STAT asked Lilly for comment). W/@elaineywchen.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2026/08/03/e...

statnews.comAfter Eli Lilly granted one man special access to obesity drug, doctors struggle to get answersDoctors are asking how to get retatrutide for their patients, after Eli Lilly gave one man early access.

Bob Herman reposted

J. Emory Parker 🏳️‍🌈
@jaspar.bsky.social

Worked with @bobjherman.bsky.social on the data for this piece. Here’s the chart I think is the showstopper: Over the last 40 years, the amount of money spent on employer-sponsored insurance premiums skyrocketed by nearly 1000%, well above baseline inflation.

STAT@statnews.com

America's employer-based health insurance system is crumbling. STAT investigates why, in our new series, “Out of Pocket, Out of Reach.” www.statnews.com/2026/07/07/s...

statnews.comAmerica’s small businesses are giving up on health insuranceAmerica's employer-based health insurance system is crumbling. STAT investigates why, in our new series, “Out of Pocket, Out of Reach.”
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Bob Herman
@bobjherman.bsky.social

Thank you to everyone who has spoken with me so far and will in the future, and to all the readers out there. This is a big, messy topic, but it’s so important for workers and families everywhere. You can follow the entire series here: www.statnews.com/health-insur...

statnews.comSoaring health care costs explored in 'Out of Pocket, Out of Reach'America’s employer-based health insurance system is crumbling in slow motion. See how, and why, in STAT's 8-part series 'Out of Pocket, Out of Reach.'
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Bob Herman
@bobjherman.bsky.social

But there are people fighting back. One of them is Chris Deacon. She has become one of the most influential critics of the ways the health care industry exploits employer-based insurance. What happened to her in New Jersey is jaw-dropping. www.statnews.com/2026/07/07/e...

statnews.comThis whistleblower took on a health insurance giant and a political machine. She’s not stopping thereAmerica’s employers must stop acting helpless in the face of health care industry profiteering, Chris Deacon says.
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Bob Herman reposted

Isabella Cueto
@isabellacueto.bsky.social

Today we take you inside the alcohol industry's influence. These are just some ways the beer, wine & liquor trades (and their stables of lobbyists) try to shape politics, policy, philanthropy, science. In the face of enormous business troubles, tactics are key: www.statnews.com/2026/07/01/a...

statnews.comBooze schmooze: The alcohol industry, frazzled by headwinds, wields its power behind the scenesDemand for alcohol is declining. The industry is fighting harder and more creatively than ever against limits — and winning.

Bob Herman reposted

Sarah Todd
@sarah-todd.bsky.social

Imagine showing up to an ER thinking you're having a heart attack — only to be turned away because you don't have insurance. @tarabannow.bsky.social reports on how hospitals like Nurex Health, which don't contract with Medicare, can boot patients from their ERs: www.statnews.com/2026/06/29/n...

statnews.comThe ERs that can turn patients away — and are reaping millionsThe hospital operator Nutex enriched itself by exploiting loopholes in laws meant to protect patients, STAT found.

Bob Herman reposted

Lizzy Lawrence
@lizzylawrence.bsky.social

EXCLUSIVE: Eli Lilly gave compassionate use access to retatrutide, their unapproved powerful obesity drug, to a 79-year-old man in April. The application was arranged by a top doctor at NIH, and cleared by the FDA. www.statnews.com/2026/06/23/e...

statnews.comEli Lilly gave extraordinary obesity drug access to a 79-year-old patient. Who was it?Exclusive: STAT has learned that Eli Lilly and the FDA allowed a 79-year-old to gain extraordinary access to an experimental obesity drug through the agency’s “compassionate use” program.
Bob Herman
@bobjherman.bsky.social

Congenital syphilis is a “never event.” But it’s happening more. Pfizer, the only company that sells a treatment for it, is at the center. “Where purchasers are paying the full price, we’ve seen Pfizer doing a lot of handholding.” Read @ericboodman.bsky.social. www.statnews.com/2026/06/15/p...

statnews.comAmid confusion over Pfizer's emergency penicillin program, newborn is diagnosed with preventable syphilisCongenital syphilis should be preventable. An Arizona case shows how drug shortages and procedural hurdles are fueling a growing public health crisis.

Bob Herman reposted

Daniel Payne
@danielpayne.bsky.social

RFK Jr. claimed his calendar, including meeting details, is public. But those records have not been released — despite more than a year of FOIA requests from @statnews.com reporters. More on the state of transparency at HHS, w/ @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/06/11/r...

statnews.comRFK Jr. claims his calendar is publicly available. We've been trying to get it for a yearNone of STAT's requests for Kennedy's schedule have been completed, and some haven't even been acknowledged.
Bob Herman
@bobjherman.bsky.social

Biggest Medicare Advantage insurers denied rehabilitative care for older and disabled Americans at higher rates than industry peers, then frequently overturned those denials when patients appealed, OIG finds. Confirms reporting from @caseyross.bsky.social and me: www.statnews.com/2026/06/11/m...

statnews.comPrivate Medicare plans erect barriers to rehab care in pursuit of profit, federal investigators findFederal investigation finds Medicare Advantage insurers block rehab care for older adults, only to reverse denials on appeal.