Helen Santoro

Colorado, United States

Reporter at The Lever

Science Journalist at Freelance

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Articles

Hospitals Are Cashing In on Real Estate

3 weeks ago | jacobin.com | Helen Santoro

Nonprofit hospital chains are buying up billions of dollars’ worth of real estate around the country, milking them for income while using their charity status to avoid paying property taxes that fund schools, emergency departments, and other community services.
Paging Dr. Land Baron

3 weeks ago | levernews.com | Helen Santoro |Luke Goldstein

Nonprofit hospital chains are buying up billions of dollars worth of real estate around the country, milking them for income while using their charity status to avoid paying property taxes that fund schools, emergency departments, and other community services.
How To Avoid Asbestos In Your Makeup

1 month ago | levernews.com | Helen Santoro

🔒 This is bonus material, for paid subscribers only, related to the story “The Cover Up Coverup.” To upgrade for access, click here. Talc has long been a common ingredient in makeup, since it absorbs moisture, improves consistency, and creates a soft texture in products like foundation and eye shadow. But it also comes with potential cancer risks. Talc is frequently contaminated with asbestos, which is linked to cancer and other diseases.
Berkshire Hathaway Wants to Stiff Makeup Poisoning Victims

1 month ago | jacobin.com | Helen Santoro

Juliet Gray never thought her makeup could harm her. But after years of regularly applying powders, eye shadow, and blush, Gray was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, an aggressive, incurable form of cancer. She can’t be certain what led to the disease, but for decades, scientists have known the cancer’s primary cause is long-term exposure to asbestos — a common contaminant in talc, one of the main ingredients in well-known cosmetic brands.
The Cover Up Coverup

1 month ago | levernews.com | Helen Santoro

Juliet Gray never thought her makeup could harm her. But after years of regularly applying powders, eye shadow, and blush, Gray was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, an aggressive, incurable form of cancer. She can’t be certain what led to the disease, but for decades, scientists have known the cancer’s is long-term exposure to asbestos — a common contaminant in talc, one of the main ingredients in well-known cosmetic brands.
You’ve Already Paid for Overpriced Weight-Loss Drugs

1 month ago | jacobin.com | Helen Santoro

US taxpayers spent an estimated $6 billion researching, developing, and implementing new blockbuster weight-loss drugs, according to new data shared with the Lever. Yet Americans are now paying pharmaceutical giants — including one in Denmark — up to eleven times more for these medicines than patients in other countries, markups that are inflating consumers’ insurance premiums and risk bankrupting the country’s health care system.
You’ve Already Paid $6 Billion For Weight-Loss Drugs You Can’t Afford

1 month ago | levernews.com | Helen Santoro

U .S. taxpayers spent an estimated $6 billion researching, developing, and implementing new blockbuster weight-loss drugs, according to new data shared with The Lever. Yet Americans are now paying pharmaceutical giants — including one in Denmark — more for these medicines than patients in other countries, markups that are inflating consumers’ insurance premiums and risk bankrupting the country’s health care system.
The Billion-Dollar Taxpayer Math Behind The Ozempic Boom

1 month ago | levernews.com | Helen Santoro

🔒This is bonus material, for paid subscribers only, related to the story “You’ve Already Paid $6 Billion For Weight-Loss Drugs You Can’t Afford.”Diabetes and weight-loss drugs drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have become increasingly popular — and are incredibly expensive. What may be surprising is that Americans have already spent $6.2 billion towards the research, development, and implementation of these medications through federal research grants from 1980 to 2024.
Amazon And UnitedHealth’s Inaugural Demands

2 months ago | levernews.com | David Sirota |Helen Santoro

On the same day Jeff Bezos sat in the front row of the inauguration (that Amazon helped finance), the retail giant sent nine letters pressing the Trump administration to let the company block votes on initiatives from its own shareholders. These include proposals to disclose more information about Amazon’s treatment of warehouse workers, handling of private medical data, lobbying activities, AI-related energy use, and employee pay gaps. UnitedHealth also called in some favors.
Bondi’s License To Shill

2 months ago | levernews.com | Helen Santoro |Veronica Riccobene

This is a web version of The Lever’s daily email newsletter. 🔥 Today’s Lever Story (full article here and attached below): If those pharma coupon offers on TV seem too good to be true — that’s because they often are. 🎧 Coming up on Lever Time: Elon Musk lost a big court case this morning — click here to add Lever Time to your podcast app to get our episode about the case later today.

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Helen Santoro

Helen Santoro @helenwsantoro

3 Apr 25

RT @linamkhan: Last year we sued the 3 largest pharmacy benefit managers for illegal tactics that inflate the cost of insulin & other drugs…