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

Omicron declines sharply

Coronavirus Dashboard for February 8: Omicron declines sharply; did Delta provide protection against the worst outcomes? As I mentioned yesterday, I haven’t posted a Coronavirus dashboard in awhile, and with Omicron in rapid retreat, it’s time for an update. To begin with, deaths are presently peaking at roughly 2450 a day, while nationwide cases are […]

I Got Caught Up in America’s Absurd Health Care System

Lambert at Naked Capitalism has an interesting article up as taken from KHN entitled “I Write About America’s Absurd Health Care System. Then I Got Caught Up in It” as detailed by Bram Sable-Smith. As taken from the KHN article, Bram describes the beginnings of his dilemma of getting Insulin: “I’d been waiting since September […]

With seasonality over, it is clear that Omicron is responsible for increased layoffs

With seasonality over, it is clear that Omicron is responsible for increased layoffs With seasonality behind us, it is apparent that Omicron has resulted in increased layoffs. New claims declined 30,000 last week to 260,000 – still well above its pandemic low of 188,000 set early in December. The 4 week average of new claims […]

Omicron has Peaked, Now What?

Coronavirus dashboard: Omicron has peaked; now what?, New Deal Democrat  – by New Deal democratLet’s start out with the good, or at least less catastrophic news: it’s almost certain that the Omicron wave has peaked in the US. In fact, the only Census region it is still up week over week is in the Midwest: […]

“No” to Having Premiums in Medicaid

“Biden Administration (CMS) Says No to Premiums in Medicaid,” Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, Joan Aker Georgia, Arkansas, and Montana recently had their 1115 Medicaid waiver requests denied. All three states were asking they be allowed to charge premiums to low income adults on Medicaid. A Section 1115 demonstration is intended to test new approaches […]

Kip Sullivan and Ralph Nader Talk Tradition Medicare vs Medicare Advantage

This podcast came to me by way of Kip Sullivan, the expert on Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage. We have had a running dialogue for about a year now. Most recently, Angry Bear featured Kip’s PNHP Single Payer Healthcare Financing Series detailing why healthcare is expensive in the US. I have put up numerous posts […]

Let It Be On Their Heads

Today the conservative majority of Supreme Court Justices decided that federal vaccine mandates are unconstitutional, that states rights and employer rights are more important than the public’s welfare in this time of pandemic. It is likely that their decision will result in the unnecessary death of as many as 250,000 Americans. Let it be on […]

Coronavirus dashboard for January 11: good news and bad news

Coronavirus dashboard for January 11: good news and bad news With no new economic releases today, let me give you a brief update on the fast-moving Omicron wave.First, the good news: as I pointed out yesterday, several States that were hit hardest first by Omicron look like they are hitting or have already hit peak: […]

How “mild” Omicron is depends upon how much you lag the data

Coronavirus dashboard for January 10: how “mild” Omicron is depends upon how much you lag the data So, how “mild” or not, is Omicron? It depends on whether you lag the data on hospitalizations and deaths or not.The original story out of South Africa was that Omicron was extremely mild. Despite a huge spike in […]