Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, is facing sluggish sales, a dwindling workforce and restructuring challenges as it fights a slew of lawsuits claiming that the company contributed to the opioid epidemic, the Wall Street Journal reports.
What's happening: The company's revenue is expected to be less than $1 billion this year for the first time in a decade, and it has said it's considering filing for bankruptcy.
NorthBay Healthcare, a not-for-profit hospital system in California, recently gave a candid look into how it operates, telling investors it has used its negotiating clout to extract "very lucrative contracts" from health insurance companies.
Why it matters: This is a living exampleof the economic theories and research that suggests hospitals will charge whatever they want if they have no or minimal competition.
U.S. suicide rates are at the highest level since World War II, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, per Bloomberg's Cynthia Koons.
By the numbers: From 2000 to 2006, the suicide rate in the U.S. increased by an average of about 1% a year. From 2006 through 2016, it increased by 2% a year. There were 1.4 million suicide attempts in 2017 and 47,000 deaths.
