News junkies have been inundated lately with commentary on the ubiquity of “fake news” and its viral spread online. On December 12, 2016, The New York Times President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Thompson gave a thought-provoking speech before the Detroit Economic Club in which he made some incisive observations about the epidemic of junk news, including the fact that in this new anything-goes, free-for-all information environment, it is easy to forget that “fake news is not new. The spreading of false rumors for political advantage, for pure malice, or just for entertainment, is as old as the hills….Until something is proven to be false, it’ll remain a story. …Though it often seems like it to partisans, this is not a battle between Left and Right. …It’s a battle between facts and lies.”
Tobacco Harm-Reduction: Big League Healthcare Savings
In the twenty-first century, remarkable technology innovations have improved nearly every aspect of everyone’s lives. Smart TVs and smartphones are the most well-known examples; however, these innovations even extend to smoking. By 2025, health experts approximate that there will be nearly 1 billion cigarette smokers around the world. While cigarette smoking has declined in 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 […]
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 […]
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.
A Cure for Electoral Depression: Focus Final 2016 Presidential Debate on Policy Solutions
In a recent poll, a sizable portion of young Americans said they would rather vote for a giant meteor to strike the Earth over either of the two presidential candidates. There might be a reason for such a dark and depressing result. The first two presidential debates have utterly failed to discuss important issues facing the nation with any depth, choosing to focus on shenanigans instead of substance.
Medicare Making Improper Payments to Prisoners
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently exposed vulnerabilities that end up costing taxpayers hundreds of billions in wasteful spending due to erroneous and sloppy billing, and outright fraud. The OIG’s October 7, 2016 report documented that even though The Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization […]
Morning Joe Is Wrong: Medicare Does Negotiate Drug Prices
Today on the Morning Joe Show, a false narrative was perpetuated: Medicare does not negotiate drug prices. The show’s eponymous host, Joe Scarborough, called for free-marketers to call Congress and demand that the government negotiate Medicare drug prices. Joe needs to supervise his producers’ research better. The free market is very much involved in negotiating […]
President Clinton Did Not Say What You Think He Said
There’s been a lot of hoopla about former-President Bill Clinton’s recent criticism of Obamacare and the news media is playing some of the more juicer tidbits. So you’ve got this crazy system where all of a sudden, 25 million more people have health care and then the people that are out there busting it […]