The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) sounds like it should be involved in ground-breaking, state-of-the-art healthcare projects and programs. However, the center was created in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare, which in and of itself raises red flags. CMMI is run by the Centers for Medicare […]
Lame-Duck Session, 114th Congress: The Victors, the Vanquished, and the Un-Inaugurated
For anyone unfamiliar with the patois of politics, the term “lame duck” may seem like a bit of an odd duck, rhetorically speaking. As defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the more common understanding of this phrase is “an elected official or group continuing to hold political office during the period between the election and the […]
Obamacare Obituary
The Affordable Care Act of Washington, D.C., lovingly known as Obamacare, was born on March 23, 2010 and after a long illness, left this Earth on November 8, 2016. Beloved policy of President Barack Obama, it is also survived by Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and former-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). After a long illness and being […]
Some Good News on Drug Prices
We have read a lot about high drug prices in the news lately and how politicians, including presidential candidates former-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have called for the government to “negotiate” drug prices. But the government doesn’t negotiate drug prices. Instead, they use price controls to lower costs, which distorts the marketplace […]
FedRAMP Four Years Later
On June 6, 2012, the Federal Risk Assessment Management Program (FedRAMP) began accepting applications from cloud service providers and federal agencies to obtain authorization to operate (ATO) cloud services within the federal government. On October 27, 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced it will begin an audit of the program to measure its progress, […]
Obamacare’s Sky-High 2017 Rates are Finally Announced
Reports have been popping up since the summer that the 2017 premium rates for Obamacare would be increasing – by a lot. In addition, for more than a year, insurers have been announcing they will no longer participate in many of the Obamacare exchanges. On Monday, and just 16 days prior to the election, the […]
Show Me the Budget
Americans might fondly remember many experiences from 1996, including watching “Independence Day” and “Jerry Maguire,” reading about the cloning of Dolly the sheep, dancing to the Macarena, and surfing new websites such as Ask Jeeves and eBay.
Washington’s 2016 Year-End Spending Spree
As federal fiscal years wind down, a frustrating ritual takes place throughout departments and agencies: a spending surge on frivolous items in order to avoid budget cuts in the next fiscal year. The final month of fiscal year 2016 is no exception.
The Long Musical Road Home
As a preview to the 50th Anniversary of the Country Music Awards on November 2, 2016, the Country Music Association released a mashup video of three of its most popular songs. Entitled “Forever Country,” the revisited songs were “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” written by John Denver, Bill Danoff, and Taffy Nivert; “On The Road […]
The Cover Oregon Debacle
On September 15, 2016, and with little hubbub beyond the state’s borders, Oregon and Oracle, the prime vendor for the state’s Obamacare’s online marketplace exchange “Cover Oregon,” announced they had reached a settlement in a lawsuit. The dispute revolved around who was at fault for the website’s colossal failure. While the state had been asking more than $6 billion in damages, it will receive $100 million in goods, services, and cash.