Hospitals Pay U.S. News to Promote Their Rankings

 Amid pushback regarding several of the U.S. News & World Report rankings, including those for medical schools

opens in a new tab or window and hospitalsopens in a new tab or window, the question of payment for use of the company's logo has resurfaced.

A recent reportopens in a new tab or window from the New York Times entitled "U.S. News Makes Money From Some of Its Biggest Critics: Colleges," detailed how the company sells "badges" to colleges, "so they can promote their rankings."

Exactly how many hospitals continue to use the U.S. News logo on their websites and other marketing materials -- and how much they pay to do so -- remains largely unclear.

Of more than 20 hospitals contacted by MedPage Today -- including those comprising this year's U.S. News Honor Roll -- few provided any information regarding whether they currently pay to use the the company's logo. None of the hospitals provided any information regarding the price to do so; neither did U.S. News.

"We do purchase the badge from U.S. News because we've learned from consumers that it is effective in advertising," a spokesperson for Houston Methodist told MedPage Today in an email. "[I]n a competitive city like Houston, it helps validate our credentials as being at the top in quality and patient care."

A spokesperson for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles also confirmed in an email that it purchased a license to use the U.S. News badge this year.

Christine Clay, senior director of system marketing for Scripps Health in San Diego, told MedPage Today in an email, "There was a time when we did purchase the license to use the badge for U.S. News & World Report; however, we no longer do that."

Clay further noted that Scripps does not purchase the license for badges from other ranking entities either. "For most of the rankings, we can promote them; however, are not able to use the badge internally or externally without the license," she said.

"Over time, we've found that we can successfully convey the messages about our rankings without adding in the visual identity/badge," Clay added.

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, also does not purchase or use the U.S. News badge, a spokesperson confirmed in an email.

And a spokesperson for Cleveland Clinic emailed the following response: "Many rating and ranking organizations require payment to use a rating/ranking badge, but purchase is not required to be included in the listing. We make that decision on a case-by-case basis determined by several factors."

The issue has made it onto the radar of public officials in at least one place.

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, JD, said in June that he had sent a letter to U.S. News seeking information on the rankingsopens in a new tab or window. The letter urged the outlet to "publicly disclose the payments it receives from the hospitals it endorses, as required by federal regulations," Chiu said in a statement.

"U.S. News receives revenues from hospitals through licensing fees to use its 'best hospitals' badge, subscriptions to access the granular data underpinning the rankings, and advertising on U.S. News's website and in the Best Hospitals Guidebook," Chiu added in part. "This funding is significant, with one hospital in Kansas acknowledging that it paid U.S. News $42,000 to use the 'best hospitals' badge for one year."

Some 10 years ago, FOX 4 in Kansas City, Missouri, had reported that Children's Mercy paid $42,000 for 1 year's use of the U.S. News logoopens in a new tab or window, citing a hospital spokesperson.

In response to Chiu's letter, a spokesperson for U.S. News told MedPage Today in an emailed statement that it "categorically disagrees with the assumptions and conclusions in the City Attorney's letter."

Regarding MedPage Today's current inquiry on hospital payment for use of the company's logo, a spokesperson for U.S. News declined to comment on how many hospitals currently pay to use the logo, whether any hospitals that no longer submit data to or participate in the rankings continue to pay to use the logo, and how much it costs to use the logo.

U.S. News has also faced criticism from hospitals over its ranking methods.

St. Luke's University Health Network announced in May 2023 that its system of hospitals in Pennsylvania and New Jersey would no longer respond to requests for data from U.S. Newsopens in a new tab or window.

Then in June, the University of Pennsylvania Health System, part of Penn Medicine, announced that it would no longer actively participate in the rankings.

"While Penn Medicine has always ranked well, and this year's numbers are better than ever, we remain concerned that the [underlying] methodology used to determine the yearly rankings does not account for the full and diverse settings where healthcare is delivered," Kevin Mahoney, MBA, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, said in a statement at the time.

"The methodology excludes most care provided in outpatient settings, care at home, or by telemedicine, for example, and it does not place value on innovation, life-saving research, or educating and training our nation's future healthcare professionals, which are foundational to Penn Medicine's mission," Mahoney added.

In response to such concerns, U.S. News publicly announced significant changes to its hospital rankings themselves.

"Specifically, there will be no ordinal ranking for hospitals selected for this year's Honor Roll when that list is ultimately published," the company stated in Julyopens in a new tab or window, ahead of releasing its latest list. "U.S. News will continue to publish ordinal rankings for 15 specialties and in each region where we have previously published rankings."

Other modifications include the introduction of outpatient outcomes in certain specialty and surgical ratings, the expanded inclusion of other outpatient data, an increased weight on objective quality measures, and a reduced weight on expert opinion.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/features/108313

'Budget Ozempic'

 With novel weight-loss drugs such as semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Zepbound) in short supply and selling for high prices, an age-old method for trying to shed pounds has taken on a new moniker: "budget Ozempicopens in a new tab or window

."

The term refers to laxatives, which were reportedly in short supply last fallopens in a new tab or window -- though there appear to be many contributing factors to the shortages.

The phrase "budget Ozempic" appears to have originated with a Wall Street Journal articleopens in a new tab or window in September. The article focused on how surging demand for laxatives was driving a shortage of polyethylene glycol 3350, the main ingredient in popular laxative Miralax.

Among the contributors to the shortage were the fact that most Americans don't eat enough fiber, which can cause constipation, and that a new "surge in travel and hybrid work schedules are disrupting routines and mealtimes, likely leading to irregularity," the Journal reported.

Also, "some people are treating laxatives like a budget Ozempic to feel skinnier," the article stated.

Evidence for the surge in laxative popularity included a tripling in Amazon searches for laxatives, and double-digit sales growth for makers of fiber supplements such as Metamucil and Benefiber, according to the Journal.

While Miralax maker Bayer declined to comment for that story, Dulcolax maker Sanofi told NBC News a few daysopens in a new tab or window later that its blockbuster laxative was facing supply issues amid a wave of "unprecedented demand for Dulcolax products."

Since the Journal story, other media have started to use the phrase, including to describe a recent meta-analysis published in JAMA Network Openopens in a new tab or window that found that almost one in 10 adolescents have used non-prescription products for weight loss, including laxatives, diuretics, and diet pills.

A headline in STAT Newsopens in a new tab or window read, "Nearly 1 in 10 teens globally have used 'budget Ozempic' laxatives and other risky weight loss products, per study." And a Today headlineopens in a new tab or window read, "'Budget Ozempic': Doctors warn about health risks of using laxatives for weight loss."

Physicians interviewed for the Today story warned that laxatives aren't a proper weight-loss medication.

William Chey, MD, chief of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, told Today that laxatives can cause people to lose a little bit of weight in the short-term by forcing them to pass stool that's in their gut, but this ultimately just sheds water weight, "which is not real weight loss."

Taking excessive amounts of laxatives can lead to loss of fluids and dehydration, Chey added.

Roshini Raj, MD, a gastroenterologist at NYU Langone Health in New York City, told Today that with laxatives, "the only thing you're losing is water and electrolytes, and those are both very important things."

"Abusing laxatives in this way is potentially quite harmful," she added, "and doesn't give you any benefit of true weight loss."

While weight loss has always been a popular topic, the arrival of GLP-1 receptor agonists semaglutide and tirzepatide for shedding pounds has renewed the focus on slimming down. Because of their popularity, the drugs have faced supply issues that have even made them difficult to obtainopens in a new tab or window for their original indication of type 2 diabetes.

Even if patients can find them at a pharmacy, they carry a high price tag -- upwards of $1,000 per month -- and often are not covered by insurance, leaving patients to pay the full cost out-of-pocket.

Since semaglutide and tirzepatide are officially in shortage, compounding pharmaciesopens in a new tab or window are legally allowed to make copies of these drugs to sell to patients, though experts have warned about varying quality with these products.

In addition, counterfeit products abound. In December, the FDA warned consumersopens in a new tab or window not to use counterfeit semaglutide that was discovered in the drug supply chain.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/features/108307

Who is Trump’s real opponent? Not Biden

 The post-Iowa consensus appears to be coalescing around the idea that Trump ought to ignore his GOP challengers and turn his focus entirely on Joe Biden.  Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, of the Clay and Buck Show, suggested this would result in the “longest general election campaign in modern history.”

While I accept the premise, I wholeheartedly disagree with the target.  Yes, Trump’s energies ought no longer be directed toward swatting flies on his rear, but pivoting toward Biden entirely is a strategic error.

Biden is a symptom, not a cause of America’s illness.  The cause lies in the embrace by the Democrat party of a Marxist/fascist hybrid collectivism, to be elevated by any means necessary.

Biden will almost certainly be replaced before the general election, and not with Kamala Harris.  This will likely be timed to happen very deep into the election cycle to ensure that Republicans have as little time as possible to expose the new nominee as the Marxist puppet he surely will be.

Given the puppeteer role Barack Obama has played in the present administration, the theory that Biden will be supplanted by Michelle Obama at the eleventh hour is emerging as the most credible.

The Democrat party will forcefully focus voters on the celebrity of their nominee to forestall meaningful scrutiny of her lackluster qualifications and the disturbing anti-white American animus evidenced throughout her life.

Of course, the left will have no shortage of media figures from Hollywood and entertainment television to spend dramatic amounts of time and treasure casting Trump as a vindictive, dangerous despot determined to drag any American politically left of center into gulags.

Simply promising to hold the miscreant architects of American social and legal decay accountable for their lawlessness will be reflexively cast as political prosecutions in yet another breathtaking example of projection by Democrats.

To be victorious, Trump needs to sidestep the Biden sideshow and target the Dems where they are the most vulnerable: their hideous, authoritarian, and corrupt beliefs.

Remember, the Democrat party isn’t trying to run from its dismal track record as much as it’s trying to conceal the fact that it’s all intentional.  This is our task: to show the American public that the struggles and travails they have experienced for the last three years were not an accident.  They were the point.

Our enemies are within the gates; indeed, they have taken control of the gates and are opening them wide to nearly every external threat they can find.  They’re fully aware of the catastrophic consequences to our nation of their treachery and accepting of it as simply the cost of “fundamental transformation.”  Breaking eggs to make an omelet, and all that.

This race isn’t Trump vs. Biden.  It isn’t even Republican vs. Democrat.  It’s the People vs. Tyrannical Rule.  It’s a deadly serious contest to determine where the power of choice will reside for the foreseeable future — with the people, as intended, or with the ruling elites, who consider us all mere units of production.

Whenever political conversations veer toward the brazen corruption of Biden, supporters of Trump must be sure to refocus the argument on those who tolerated Biden’s criminality, enabled it, profited from it, and exploited it to achieve the only thing that side of the aisle truly values: absolute power, exercised without restriction or negative consequence.

Trump’s opponent isn’t Biden.  It’s the corrupt, anti-constitutional, anti-freedom cabal propping Biden up.  No matter the eventual nominee, he will be the fruit of that poisonous tree.

Republicans have long been disappointed by our consultants.  Perpetually timid and unceasingly wrong, they have led us to defeat after defeat, even when the election turns in our favor.

Once a candidate is elected under their guidance, that individual is co-opted into a hamster wheel existence, where true leadership is not merely discouraged, but punished by the monied interests who keep the consultants employed.

There are countless examples of candidates who have followed the advice of our feckless leadership — advice that brought us a foppish “Boehner-like” hellscape, where every battle is put off “until the next time.”

Trump is the disruptor of all this.  He’s the only true threat to the existence and further hegemony of the “uniparty.”  However, unless we aim him toward the true enemy — the Democrat party as a whole — we will waste our ammunition on shadows and smoke while the bulk of their forces march unmolested through our lines.

This is common knowledge among engaged conservatives, who need only the occasional reminder, but it is an essential lesson for those who are contemplating or intend to vote for a Democrat, forever stamping their souls with the stain of complicity.

Teach them, and in doing so, save ourselves.

Joe Herring writes from Omaha, NE and welcomes visitors to his website at www.dailyherring.com.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/01/who_is_trumps_real_opponent_not_biden.html

Korea Battery Makers Eye Chile Lithium Investments to Supply US

 

• Companies consider exporting cathode to the US: InvestChile
• Lithium processed by Korean companies may get US incentives

Lithium heavyweight Chile is drawing interest from South Korean battery makers keen to develop processing plants there, the head of a government agency said.

InvestChile, the South American nation’s foreign investment promotion body, has held meetings with representatives from multiple Korean companies, said the group’s executive director, Karla Flores. The companies are interested in helping Chile turn its vast reserves of semi-processed lithium into materials such as iron phosphate for rechargeable batteries, in part to supply the US market, she said.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-18/korea-battery-makers-eye-chile-lithium-investments-to-supply-us

TIA Warns Congress Of Rampant Fraud In Trucking

 By John Gallagher of OilPrice.com

Rampant fraud in trucking has become an $800 million problem and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is not addressing the problem, according to the lobby representing 3PLs and brokerage firms.

“There’s a surge of malicious actors engaging in illegal activity, registering with FMCSA as carriers and perpetrating fraud, theft and holding freight hostage in situations without any legal consequences,” said Jeffrey Tucker, testifying on behalf of the Transportation Intermediaries Association at a hearing before the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday.

“While this is obviously an economic problem, hurting consumers and businesses alike, it also raises safety and security concerns. Unfortunately, FMCSA is failing to enforce the law or investigate the tens of thousands of fraud complaints lodged with it.”

Asked during the hearing the types of fraud he sees being committed, Tucker, who is also CEO of Tucker Company Worldwide, a New Jersey-based freight brokerage, said the problem is criminals masquerading as brokers as well as trucking companies.

“It shouldn’t be seen as either carrier fraud or broker fraud. These are just criminals,” Tucker said.

Tucker testifying on Wednesday. Credit: House T&I Committee

He pointed to similar cases of fraud involving dispatch services that are often based in another country but are not required by FMCSA to obtain a license or registration, as is the case with U.S.-based services.

“FMCSA must stop dabbling in non-safety commercial considerations like what dollar amount a performance bond should be or what commercial terms are included inside a private contract between two parties. Until there are effective measures to address and enforce solutions for this issue, the continued dysfunctionality of the supply chain and its adverse impact on the broader economy will persist.”

Driver shortage?

In addition to freight fraud, Tucker addressed the contention made by sectors within the trucking industry as well as within the Biden administration that there is a driver shortage.

“There is no driver shortage nor has there been one,” Tucker testified. “That is a false narrative that may lead to unintended consolidation in the industry and to weakening America’s supply chain. A more than doubling of American carriers and an increase of 1 million drivers has occurred over the last 10 years. We must have a more nuanced conversation about this.”

U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., a former trucking company owner, challenged Tucker.

“If you’re out there dealing with it every day, there is” a driver shortage, Bost said, adding that the increasing legalization of marijuana among individual states is exacerbating the problem.

“You may have a lot of people who may be good drivers, but they prefer to smoke dope on the weekend and they can’t get clean by Monday. It’s not like having a beer on Sunday during a football game.”

Red Sea supply chain costs

Lawmakers were also concerned about the recent attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels and the ripple effect on the global supply chain.

“The initial impact is the delay of vessels arriving both in Asia and coming back to the United States,” testified Stephen Edwards, CEO of the Virginia Port Authority.

“So ocean carriers are rescheduling all of those ships and detouring around Africa” instead of going through the Suez Canal, he said, which will settle into a pattern of ships bound for the U.S. East Coast taking an extra seven days in transit.

“You can take the view … that the extra seven days could be offset by the loss of the Suez Canal fees. But that is not true for [vessels moving from] Asia to the Mediterranean or Asia to North Europe.”

Tucker added that another concern is special fees related to the disruption and delays that the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission is allowing ocean carriers to charge their customers.

“There is concern that maybe those fees are not applicable to the situation, and shippers would like to see more oversight on it,” Tucker said. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/tia-warns-congress-rampant-fraud-trucking

Dem Rep. Doesn't Understand 'Legal' Vs. 'Illegal' Immigration - Wants To Remove Statue Of Liberty

 They aren't sending their best...

On Wednesday, while the House Oversight and Accountability Committee discussed H.R.2, the House GOP's Secure the Border Act, Freshman Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) revealed himself to be a complete moron.

While several Democrats attacked the bill, Frost decided to perform a dramatic diatribe which included a mock bill to remove the Statue of Liberty.

"My colleagues from the other side of the aisle, let’s be honest with immigrants who deserve better than what you’re offering them. Don’t welcome immigrants if you plan to reject them. If you keep pushing your bigoted H.R. 2 bill, then also pass this bill. I’ve taken the liberty of drafting it for you," Frost said, holding up the draft.

"It removes the Statue of Liberty, our largest symbol that tells people to come here," he continued - apparently unaware that there is a legal immigration process currently being subverted by the those H.R. 2 is aimed at stopping.

"This is who you are, removing the fabric of America. So, I want to know which Republican, who supports and voted for H.R.2, will introduce this bill," Maxwell continued. "If you’re gonna support H.R.2 and these bigoted measures, the least you can do is not be a damn liar," Fox News reports.

The replies were priceless:

Meanwhile...

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/dem-rep-doesnt-understand-legal-vs-illegal-immigration-wants-remove-statue-liberty

Hunter's Defense Hammered By Discovery Of Cocaine On Gun Pouch

 by Jonathan Turley,

Attorney Abbe Lowell has faced a series of legal blows in his defense of Hunter Biden, but not quite as literal or lethal as what came this week in his client’s gun prosecution.

After Lowell sought to dismiss the federal indictment as a trumped-up political prosecution, the Justice Department lowered the boom and revealed that Hunter’s gun was found in a pouch covered in cocaine.

The disclosure is devastating for a defense that Lowell just rolled out late last year.

In October, Lowell argued that Hunter had not lied on ATF Form 4473 when he indicated he was not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, narcotics.

“At the time that he purchased this gun, I don’t think there’s evidence that that’s when he was suffering,” he said.

It was a curious shift, since Hunter, President Biden and the media have repeatedly used his addiction to forgive everything from corruption to influence-peddling.

Hunter released a book that had laid the foundation of that defense, and “Beautiful Things” was heralded by many in the press.

Reviews gushed about “an astonishingly candid and brave book about loss, human frailty, wayward souls, and hard-fought redemption.”

The image of a clean, redemptive soul is strikingly out of sync with a gun pouch that was reportedly covered in coke.

What is clear is that the sobriety defense now seems as risky as it is implausible.

In the special counsel’s filing, the court was informed that “an FBI chemist subsequently analyzed the residue and determined that it was cocaine. To be clear, investigators literally found drugs on the pouch where the defendant had kept his gun.”

Hunter bought and possessed the Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver for 11 days between Oct. 12 and Oct. 23, 2018.

That possession ended when his sister-in-law Hallie Biden tossed the firearm into a dumpster in Wilmington, Delaware.

Hallie, the widow of Hunter’s deceased brother, had begun a sexual relationship with him and she apparently became concerned about what he might do with the gun.

According to Hunter’s own memoir, that would make the window of sobriety a mere blink in time for a defense.

The defense will likely challenge the admissibility of police testing due to the gun being tossed into the dumpster.

Of course, Lowell can now argue that Wilmington dumpsters are so saturated with cocaine that any item would come out covered in coke.

It is more likely that they will cite the break in the chain of custody as making the test unreliable and prejudicial.

What is clear is that the sobriety defense now may be as risky as it is implausible.

The government could argue that it should be able to use the testing as circumstantial evidence to rebut the claim or even impeach Hunter if he takes the stand (which seems unlikely).

Hunter wrote about being a crack addict and alcoholic throughout this period, writing in his book that at some points he was “drinking a quart of vodka a day by yourself in a room is absolutely, completely debilitating” as was “smoking crack around the clock.”

The most pressing problem is not the government portraying Hunter as Tony Montana from “Scarface,” it’s Hunter himself.

He’ll have a tough time changing that story now.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/legal-blow-hunters-defense-hammered-discovery-cocaine-gun-pouch