Ghosts, Ghouls, and Ghastly Drug Prices in Winning Halloween Haikus

18 hours ago 3

If you dare, feast your eyes on this year’s winners of KFF Health News’ sixth annual Halloween Haiku contest. We received more than four dozen spooky submissions but only a few bubbled to the top of the cauldron. Here’s the winner and the top runners-up, illustrated by Oona Zenda. The judges’ favorites were inspired by blood shortages, high health care costs, and the eye-gouging price of prescription drugs. Keep an eye on KFF Health News’ social media accounts (X; Instagram; and Facebook) for more of our favorites. Enjoy!

1st Place

Vampires don’t scare me.

Empty blood shelves, now that’s fear.

Roll up, save a life.

— Crystal Decker

2nd Place

What spooks me the most

Is not a ghoul or a ghost

But steep health care bills.

— Sasha Zitter

3rd Place

No, not eye-gouging.

My costume is scarier:

Pharma price-gouging.

— Siri Palreddy

While Halloween may be coming to an end, KFF Health News reporting continues year-round. Send us your haikus at any time for possible inclusion in our Morning Briefing: https://kffhealthnews.org/contact-haiku/.