Control, Alt, Delete seems to be the standard M.O. for the Obama Administration when they want to extricate themselves from politically damaging, and possibly criminal, behavior. Deleting emails, using alias emails, crashing or losing computers seem to be some of their favored tactics.* Most informed citizens are well aware of Lois Lerner’s lost emails due […]
The Name Game
Biologics are, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), medical products “made from a variety of natural sources (human, animal or microorganism). Like drugs, some biologics are intended to treat diseases and medical conditions. Other biologics are used to prevent or diagnose diseases.” Top-selling biologics include Humira® (adalimumab) and Remicade® (infliximab), which are both used for treating rheumatoid arthritis, and Rituxan® (rituximab), which is used to treat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. These remarkable drugs represent the future of drug research and development.
Bureaucratic Quagmire…Leads to Billions Wasted
A July 9, 2014 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report revealed that in fiscal year (FY) 2013 federal agencies issued an estimated $105.8 billion in improper payments. The GAO report serves as an alarming example of bureaucratic waste. The puzzling mismanagement of funds encompassed 84 government programs spread across 18 agencies.
What a Week!
Last week, important but opposing court opinions were released within hours of each other on two similar cases involving the Affordable Care Act (ACA), often referred to as Obamacare. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit released the opinion on Halbig v. Burwell, formally Halbig v. Sebelius, while the U.S. Court of Appeals […]
Gallup: “Uninsured Rate Sinks to 13.4%…Significant Decline in Uninsured Rate!” Really Gallup? Really?
Gallup released a poll yesterday with the blaring headline, “In U.S., Uninsured Rate Sinks to 13.4% in Second Quarter; Significant Decline in Uninsured Rate Across Age Groups Since the End of 2013.” But before the Obama administration and those that support Obamacare take credit for this supposed sharp decrease in the uninsured, one needs to […]
Here We Go…AGAIN!
President Obama has told the Congress and the country that he will be using his pen and phone to get his priorities implemented. That has meant bypassing Congress and changing, or ignoring, current law. It is well known that this has occurred several times during the horrendous rollout of the Affordable Care Act (ACA / […]
Is Another Special Exemption from Obamacare on the Way?
Last week on June 18, Inside Health Policy reported that lobbying efforts were underway by organizations that represent Medicaid-dependent providers, such as home care services, establishments that care for the disabled, hospice care facilities, etc., to get a special carve-out from the employer health insurance mandate found in the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare.) Under the […]
Don’t Know Much About Algebra
Paul Krawzak wrote in the June 4 Roll Call about some disturbing news that came from an April Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare.) Said Krawzak, “In a little-noticed footnote to a report issued in April, ‘Updated Estimates of the Effects of the Insurance Coverage Provisions of the Affordable Care […]
The Veterans Administration is a Socialized Healthcare System
Who said the “VA is a socialized healthcare system?” Or waxed poetically, “I know about a health care system that has been highly successful in containing costs, yet provides excellent care. And the story of this system’s success provides a helpful corrective to anti-government ideology. For the government doesn’t just pay the bills in this system — it runs the hospitals and clinics …The system in question is our very own Veterans Health Administration, whose success story is one of the best-kept secrets in the American policy debate?” Or who declared the VA is a godsend? And who promised that he’ll “make the VA a leader of national health care reform so that veterans get the best care possible?”
Fatally Long Waits and Red Tape
At the corner of Vermont Avenue and H Street in northwest Washington, D.C., a single structure’s exterior bears a bronze plate engraved with the words “To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.” The building is the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the phrase, uttered by President Abraham Lincoln, is the agency’s motto. Sadly, this goal is not being met, and, disappointingly, it hasn’t been for nearly a decade.