iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

Lown Senior Policy Analyst Judith Garber recently testified at the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Democrats roundtable. Check out the video at bit.ly/LownVetsHealth. Great job, Judith!

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

These hospitals alone make up nearly 20% of the nation’s fair share deficit, meaning they give back less than they receive. Imagine what they could accomplish by investing more in their communities. Read the full report: lownhospitalsindex.org/report-makin...

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Nonprofit hospitals have the potential to transform their communities—if they invest back as much as they gain from tax breaks. Read the full report: lownhospitalsindex.org/report-makin...

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

If nonprofit hospitals put as much into their communities as they benefit from tax exemptions, they could drive meaningful and lasting change. Read the full report: lownhospitalsindex.org/report-makin...

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

If every nonprofit hospital invested in their communities the same amount they receive in tax breaks, the impact could be truly transformative. Read the full report: lownhospitalsindex.org/report-makin...

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Medical debt is a big problem in America. Better financial assistance from hospitals can be part of the solution. Read the full report: lownhospitalsindex.org/report-makin...

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

We looked at more than 1,800 hospitals across 20 states to find out if hospitals are giving back as much as they take. Read the full report: lownhospitalsindex.org/report-makin...

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

#1 - Wreck-it Ralph: CEO follows private equity playbook to bankrupt community hospitals while pocketing plenty lowninstitute.org/projects/202...

A chair reserved for Ralph de la Torre at a September 2024 U.S. Senate HELP Committee hearing on the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care. SOURCE: Wikimedia Commons

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

#2 - Corporate healthcare behemoth exercises crushing power lowninstitute.org/projects/202...

An AI generated image depicting physicians in meat grinder with change coming out the other end and dollar bills in the background.

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

#3 - Drug company pursues high dose of profits despite risks to patients lowninstitute.org/projects/202...

A stock image of the Amgen name on the side of a building.

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

#4 - Oncologist leaves unconscionable trail of alleged misdeeds, some of them deadly lowninstitute.org/projects/202...

An edited image of St. Peter’s Health campus from Google Maps.

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

#5 - No cash, no credit, no chemo: Private equity hospital’s passion for profits sends cancer patients packing lowninstitute.org/projects/202...

A stock image of a person holding a cardboard sign with the writing “NEED MONEY FOR CHEMO PLEASE HELP!”

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

#6 - Rivers of cash flow from apparent Medicare catheter con lowninstitute.org/projects/202...

An AI generated image of a man holding a large number of urinary catheters, some with price tags.

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

#7 Emergency flight ends with $100K surprise for infant’s family lowninstitute.org/projects/202...

A stock image of a patient being wheeled away from a helicopter on a stretcher.

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

#8 - Pain patients shocked by device maker’s billing practices lowninstitute.org/projects/202...

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

#9 - Out of the mouths of babes; a taste for tongue-tie cutting intensifies lowninstitute.org/projects/202...

A stock image of an infant having its mouth held open for a frenectomy procedure.

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

#10 - Texas medical school allegedly neglects to notify next of kin before selling body parts of deceased lowninstitute.org/projects/202...

A stock image of the body of a deceased person with a “for sale” tag attached to the big toe.

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

“We trust that our doctors make decisions based on the best available evidence but that’s not always the case,” said Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute. “This type of waste in Medicare is costly, both in terms of spending, and in risk to patients.”

"We trust our doctors to make decisions based on the best available evidence, but that's not always the case." - Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

We also looked at payments from industry made to surgeons responsible for the overuse. With help from Conflixis, we found that they received $64 million for consulting, speaking fees, meals, and travel.

$64 million - how much doctors with back surgery overuse received from industry for consulting, speaking fees, meals, and travel over three years

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Hospitals in AR, KS, OK, NV, and NE had the highest average rates of overuse for vertebroplasty.

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Hospitals in NH, IA, MA, PA, and AL had the highest average rates of overuse for spinal fusion/laminectomy.

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Rates of overuse vary widely from hospital to hospital….from less than 1% to more than 50% (basically a coin flip on whether it was needed).

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Takeway #3: These unnecessary surgeries are costing Medicare (and taxpayers) a TON of money.

$2 billion - the cost to Medicare for unnecessary back surgeries over three years

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Takeaway #2: These unnecessary surgeries are happening frequently. Again, this is a limited study just looking at Medicare recipients and a few types of unnecessary back surgeries.

Every 8 minutes - how often an unnecessary back surgery is performed in the United States

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The Lown Institute @lowninstitute.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Takeaway #1: A lot of unnecessary back surgeries are taking place. We identified over 200,000 that met criteria for overuse over a three year period, and that’s just in the Medicare population.

200,000 - the number of back surgeries meeting criteria for overuse over three years

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