Engines of Solidarity

Engines of Solidarity Fighting a Highly Dysfunctional Healthcare System Needs Every One of Us.

Billionaires are the authors of all our pain.
07/17/2026

Billionaires are the authors of all our pain.

If a doctor withheld crucial care, such as cancer treatment, they would face investigation and risk losing their medical...
06/26/2026

If a doctor withheld crucial care, such as cancer treatment, they would face investigation and risk losing their medical license or even imprisonment.

Health insurance companies are causing countless deaths by doing precisely this, despite lacking a medical license and even a basic understanding of medicine.

According to a June 2025 report from CancerCare, 85% of cancer patients face unnecessary insurance red tape; they are required to obtain prior authorization before receiving a doctor-prescribed cancer treatment. That’s unconscionable.

Of course this administration suggests taking out loans from insurance providers to cover medical costs. Why would they ...
06/24/2026

Of course this administration suggests taking out loans from insurance providers to cover medical costs. Why would they do anything meaningful on the healthcare front?

Trump administration officials say this brilliant idea is a way to “help people who chose a plan with a low monthly premium and high out-of-pocket costs, but unexpectedly encounter a devastating medical bill.”

Under this approach, people who develop a costly disease or need unexpected emergency care would turn to their health insurer for loans to cover the bill.

The debt, though, would have to be repaid, presumably with interest.

Looking at you, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna Healthcare and Molina Healthcare. Medical debt is primarily a phenomenon specifi...
06/04/2026

Looking at you, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna Healthcare and Molina Healthcare.

Medical debt is primarily a phenomenon specific to the United States, with over 100 million individuals facing healthcare-related debt in the last five years, totaling more than $220 billion nationwide.

While eliminating medical debt provides welcomed instant relief, it fails to tackle the root systemic issues such as exploitative billing practices and the exorbitant costs of insurance.

Solidarity with our friends from the Minnesota Nurses Association! Nearly 600 nurses at North Memorial Health Maple Grov...
05/13/2026

Solidarity with our friends from the Minnesota Nurses Association!

Nearly 600 nurses at North Memorial Health Maple Grove Hospital have voted to authorize an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike following a year of contract negotiations.

What do nurses want? Better staffing, retention, and workplace protection. In other words: what they deserve.

What’s next: A strike authorization does not mean a strike will happen. However, if nurses move forward with a strike, they will provide the legally required 10-day notice to allow North Memorial to arrange the necessary coverage.

Norway frequently ranks as one of the happiest countries in the world based on a combination of factors, including high-...
05/13/2026

Norway frequently ranks as one of the happiest countries in the world based on a combination of factors, including high-quality universal healthcare, long life expectancy, social freedom, robust social support, generosity, and low levels of corruption. No big deal.



A healthcare disaster on top of a healthcare disaster…
05/12/2026

A healthcare disaster on top of a healthcare disaster…

Health Secretary Robert F. “worm brain” Kennedy Jr. is reportedly gearing up to take action against the use of “dangerou...
05/10/2026

Health Secretary Robert F. “worm brain” Kennedy Jr. is reportedly gearing up to take action against the use of “dangerous” antidepressants among Americans, specifically targeting the class known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, commonly referred to as SSRIs.

SSRIs encompass well-known medications such as Zoloft, Prozac, and Lexapro, which have been utilized for decades by individuals dealing with depression, significantly reducing su***de risk and improving quality of life for many.

Kennedy’s Health and Human Services Department officially denied any move to prohibit antidepressants. The department “has not had any discussions about ​banning SSRIs, and any claims suggesting otherwise are false,” spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement to Reuters.

Yet Kennedy announced initiatives at the Overmedicalization Summit to reduce the number of antidepressants used by Americans, including “reimbursement” incentives to doctors to stop prescribing them, and sharing data on usage trends.

North Memorial Health plans to merge with Sanford Health in the latest deal for an out-of-state nonprofit group to take ...
05/08/2026

North Memorial Health plans to merge with Sanford Health in the latest deal for an out-of-state nonprofit group to take corporate control over hospitals and clinics operating in Minnesota.

Concerns about low payment rates from government health insurance programs are driving hospitals and clinics to merge, aiming for better control over costs. However, health economists warn that such mergers often increase costs without enhancing quality.

Researchers assert that the notion of lower prices is an illusion. Numerous studies conducted over the years indicate that hospital mergers actually increase healthcare costs. One of the reasons hospitals pursue mergers is to enhance their bargaining power with insurers.

, the union representing more than a thousand North Memorial workers, issued a statement Friday that said the deal may not benefit staff and patients.

“At a time when health care costs are skyrocketing for Minnesota families and frontline healthcare workers are getting squeezed by short staffing levels, this latest attempt at consolidation brings many concerns,” the union said in a statement. “It is especially concerning because previous merger attempts by Sanford Health to come into Minnesota have failed due to their values and corporate behavior.”

The union is calling on Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to provide oversight in the agreement and “ensure the interests of Minnesota’s workers and patients are protected.”



📑 and Penn Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics

Lief Hembre’s story illustrates a sentiment that’s all too common among cancer patients: paying for oncology care can be...
05/05/2026

Lief Hembre’s story illustrates a sentiment that’s all too common among cancer patients: paying for oncology care can be more stressful than cancer itself.

Although Lief’s narrative concludes with a ‘sense of justice’—Medica covering all outstanding claims and reimbursing his out-of-pocket expenses to Mayo—he, along with countless others in similar situations, cannot go back in time and undo all the stress they’ve endured.

Health insurance is not healthcare.

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