Starting a Fiscal Year, Closing an Exhibit

I enjoyed the closing reception for Pyramid’s Member Mash-Up exhibit on Sunday. Pyramid Atlantic Art Center runs a lovely, well-utilized space with workshops, exhibits, artist opportunities and a community presence in and beyond Hyattsville, Maryland. My mixed-media piece addressed drug formularies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Last week The New York Times ran a front page article on the role of PBMs by Rebecca Robbins and Reed Abelson. “A Shadow Industry: How pharmacy benefit managers inflate the cost of prescription drugs for millions of people” is very much worth a read.    

If you missed it, I also recommend the April 1, 2024 episode of The Daily Show. Jon Stewart's interview with Lina Khan, Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offers refreshing straight-talk about monopolies.

July 1 started the week and the new fiscal year. “Fiscal” relates to the public treasury and government expenditures. The term may sound wonky, but the lived results of FY decisions most certainly are not. Tonight, fireworks will fill our horizons. From your own backyard to rodeo arenas, to city waterfronts, they punctuate the Fourth of July. One type of firework, a skyrocket, uses solid fuel for a quick rise. When I look up, I will hear and see the echoes of rising drug prices. "Skyrocket" is the go-to word for journalists to describe what drug prices do. I yearn for the day when it is not.