Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Coronavirus dashboard for December 7: the first winter wave of endemicity begins

Coronavirus dashboard for December 7: the first winter wave of endemicity begins  – by New Deal democrat COVID is well on its way to becoming endemic, with a significant background level similar to what we have experienced in the last 8 months, and a surge during the winter months when people spend more time socializing […]

What News Was in My In-Box, Dec. 7, 2022

Assorted topics this time. Consumerism was actually the first topic on the list of links in my In-Box. I am interested in seeing how the US negotiates with the Taiwanese on a new plant and what the US will do with Supply Chains. It is not as simple as what many people think. You should […]

New Guidance for States to Stop Charging Parents for Foster Care

“States Should Use New Guidance to Stop Charging Parents for Foster Care, Prioritize Family Reunification,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, cbpp.org, Diana Azevedo-McCaffrey. This article was referenced at “Mike’s Blog Round Up,” Crooks and Liars, by Batocchio, on October 22, 2022. The Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children & Families is allowing states […]

What News Was in My In-Box, Nov. 30, 2022

Healthcare and the Environment appear to be the issues talked about in this installment of links. It was pretty clear this week in what showed up in my In-Box. Two of the topics I marked and suggesting you might read them. One is Healthcare Insurance Claim denial. The other is Solar Panel efficiency. I am […]

From the frontiers of viral immunology

Ever since the COVID mRNA vaccines (Moderna and Pfizer) proved themselves, I became convinced they are the future of viral vaccines. Looks like a polyvalent flu vaccine is in the works that may obviate annual strain-specific vaccines. “In this work, we developed a nucleoside-modified messenger RNA (mRNA)–lipid nanoparticle vaccine encoding hemagglutinin antigens from all 20 […]

Medicare Advantage Healthcare and FFS Medicare

Medicare Advantage Over Payments In the conclusive summation of the latest KFF report on Medicare Advantage Healthcare plans which KFF also has in place, is this: Historically, one goal of the Medicare Advantage program was to leverage the efficiencies of managed care to reduce Medicare spending. However, the program has never generated savings relative to traditional Medicare. […]

Poor Healthcare Outcomes Resulting from Discrimination

Introduction to a Real World Issue: Taken from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Health (NIAID) headed by Dr. Anthony S. Fauci. Health disparities are gaps in the quality of health and health care mirroring differences in socioeconomic status, racial and ethnic background, and education level. These disparities may stem from many factors, […]

Five Stats making ASC Healthcare execs nervous

As I have said before, I get many things in my In-Box. Beckers Healthcare ASC News Review is one of them. If you do not know what an ASC is, I have included a definition. U of M Hospital has a few of the around Ann Arbor. Ambulatory Surgery Center = modern health care facilities […]

Coronavirus dashboard for Thanksgiving week 2022

Coronavirus dashboard for Thanksgiving week 2022  – by New Deal democrat As we start Thanksgiving week, let’s take a look at the current state of COVID. The Alphabet Soup of variants (most of which are direct descendants of BA.5), primarily BQ.1&1.1, has largely displaced their parent, which is down to 24% of all cases: Typically […]

Affordable Healthcare in Oregon? Maybe . . .

Oregon becomes the first state to make Affordable Healthcare a fundamental right. May 2021, the Oregon Legislature referred the proposed amendment to the voters. Known then as Senate Joint Resolution 12, it passed on a near-party-line vote. Democrats supported it. Republicans opposed it (what-a-surprise). Then-Democrat Betsy Johnson, who was running for governor as an unaffiliated candidate, […]