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

How much would it cost to eliminate US Poverty ? Why don’t we ?

First the US poverty gap is on the order of $180 billion per year. That is the sum over all households with income under the poverty line of the amount that household’s income is below the poverty line. That is a small amount of money compared to US GDP or even US Federal Government spending. […]

What News was in My In-Box

A lot of informational news deposited in my In-Box this week. Nothing this week is taken from anywhere else. I think last week, I included one news article from the outside. Political, Economic, Healthcare news are my mainstays. The usual economics and business news coming from different sources. Yes, inflation is still an issue. I […]

Why is the Signify Health Acquisition Such A Big Deal?

“CVS beats out Amazon for Signify Health” (axios.com), Sarah Pringle Why does was CVS battling Amazon for a rinky-dink company like this matter? Hmmm, think back to “Value-Based Payment. It is the New For-Profit Health Care Industry” and all of the healthcare providers being acquired by insurers. There is also an involuntary push going on […]

ARP Medicaid Postpartum Coverage Expansion

I believe it was 2019 when I was asked to write on women’s healthcare issues. I was not asked because I was an expert. They were asking me because they wanted a male’s perspective on women’s healthcare issues. In particular, the topic was maternal healthcare and mortality. “A Woman’s Right to Safe Healthcare Outcomes” – […]

Value-Based Payment Is the New For-Profit Health Care Industry

Before I get started on the main text of Kip’s expert article, I wish to point out something which is happening nationally. There is a plan afoot of forcing people into Value-Based Payment plans from traditional Medicare. The players include Iora Health (subsidiary of One Medical), Privia, General Catalyst, agilon health, Caravan Health, Signify (CVS […]

Coronavirus dashboard for September 7: the slow ebbing on the way to endemicity continues

“Coronavirus dashboard for September 7: the slow ebbing on the way to endemicity continues” I promised a COVID update, so I suppose I ought to follow through. Let’s start today with a graph of South Africa’s cases and deaths for the past year: South Africa is where BA.1 and BA.4&5 originated. You can see the […]

How Much Does The ARP/IRA Lower Health Insurance Premiums Now?

In 2020, after Democrats had retaken control of the House of Representatives, the third version of the larger bill managed to actually pass the House under the more reasonable title of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act. Of course, it didn’t even get a vote in the Senate. In early 2021, a temporary version of this bill by […]

“Finally, Some Accountability for Medicare Advantage Ads”

This was sent to me by Dale Coberly. I was wondering why Dale was sending me trash advertisements. Skimmed it and then it dawned on me. Much of this advertising is made to sway people’s minds to do something. It is the type of advertising I sometimes wish to throw a shoe at the 65-inch […]

What the IRA could mean for PBMs

“What the Inflation Reduction Act means for PBMs” Times of News This is a strange little article trying to fill a gap in knowledge. The italicized sentences are mine. It does make some sound points on PBMs so I kept it. If you can get into Seeking Alpha or Modern Healthcare, you may find a […]