It has been a bit since I have said anything about the Opioid epidemic. Such was brought on by companies and distributors (more like PBMs) claiming it was harmless and non-addicting. I do want to catch up and see how the Sacklers made out. Whether the Gov finally put the screws to them or did […]
“Medicare Advantage: Questionable Use of Health Risk Assessments Continues to Drive Up Payments to Plans by Billions,” Office of Inspector General | Government Oversight | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Why OIG Did This Review Medicare Advantage (MA) companies receive higher risk-adjusted payments from CMS for enrollees who are sicker, which helps to […]
– by New Deal democrat Initial claims have now completely reverted to trend after their recent hurricane-induced blip. Initial claims rose 3,000 for the week to 217,000, while the four week moving average decreased -5,750 to 221,000. With the typical one week delay, continuing claims declined -11,000 to 1.873 million: On the more important YoY basis, […]
Anterevolution, France was pre-industrial, feudal, and broke. Broke because its wealth (wealth that had been derived from the labor of serfs at home and slaves in her colonies, and the exploitation of indigenous peoples) had been wasted by its government and aristocracy on wars and extravagance. By 1789, wars and lifestyle had bled the country […]
The nation went through a period of high gasoline prices, even though the government released oil from the reserves. Now it appears the US has a glut of oil and may (and always has) lack refinery capacity. Prices appear to have stabilized in many places at about $3.50 per gallon (I may be paying more […]
No, the 1% aren’t the job creators—that’s the middle class and working class. Tax cuts for the 1%, of course, don’t create jobs, they just create greater wealth disparity: “The authors set out to examine all instances of major tax reductions on the rich in 18 OECD countries between 1965 and 2015 and identify the […]
NY Fed: Mortgage Originations by Credit Score, Delinquencies Increase, Foreclosures Remain Low; Calculated Risk Newsletter The NY Fed released the Q3 Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit this morning. Here are three charts from the report. The first graph shows mortgage originations by credit score (this includes both purchase and refinance). Look at the difference in credit […]
The Government made it possible for people to choose between Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage for their care at 65. An alternative was provided under the guise of commercial healthcare providing better healthcare and other services to those who qualify for Medicare at a lesser cost. There are superficial and also meaningful pluses that are […]
– by New Deal democrat Today’s CPI report for October generally showed stable monthly increases, but slight increases in YoY comparisons. But as usual, it was almost all about the usual culprit of shelter, as more fully parsed below; to wit: – Headline CPI increased 0.2% for the month, the fourth month in a row […]
We had rooftop solar on our house for eight years before we moved. Half the price was paid by Ameren, the electric utility, and we got a 30% tax rebate on the balance. Even with that steep discount, we never got back our put, even in nominal dollars. Solar panels are much cheaper now, and […]