This image provided by Eisai in January 2023 shows vials and packaging for their medication, Leqembi.
Illustration: Alex Hogan/STAT; Photo: Eisai via AP

Bob Herman covers health insurance, government programs, hospitals, physicians, and other providers — reporting on how money influences those businesses and shapes what we all pay for care. He is also the author of the Health Care Inc. newsletter. You can reach Bob on Signal at bobjherman.09.

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Did you know the U.S. Mint requires gold coins to be made with American-made gold, but instead it gets illegally mined gold that can be traced back to a Colombian drug cartel? Truly mind-blowing stuff from this New York Times investigation. Let me know what the health care angle is on that one: [email protected].

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It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future

Two years ago, my old pal Rachel Cohrs Zhang and I reported how Medicare’s actuaries predicted the new Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi would cost the program $3.5 billion in 2025. It turns out that prediction was way off.

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