Years ago, I saw a wonderful movie called “Other People’s Money.” If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you do, especially the monologues in the last 20 minutes of the film. Really first-class lessons in economics and capitalism encoded into a movie.
At one point in the movie, a merger and acquisition specialist (played by Danny DeVito) uses this (paraphrased) example to explain how technology changes our lives: Read more
My Mom has a wonderful way of dispelling fear, anxiety and trouble with just a few words. I guess when you make it to 82 (don’t tell her I told you how old she is!), you pick up a few things along the way.
About things in the future that could be problematic: “Don’t borrow trouble! Today has enough!” Read more
Gene therapy is the new moon shot. And the space race of the 60s is a lot like the race for new vaccines, medicines and prescription drugs of today. Developing these new treatments and in some cases, outright cures, that the U.S. is known for takes a lot of work, a lot of risk and a lot of money. Read more
Note from Mike: Yeah, I know there was an election this week. We are waiting for the final results and I’ll be back soon with my take. In the meantime, remember that, no matter the outcome, health insurance for 2021 is not changing. Read the post below for more on your options next year.
You ever wake up and feel like you’ve got a bullseye on your back? Like there’s so much going against you that the most prudent course of action would be just to get back under the bed covers. Like, life’s going to just gang up on me again today so why bother? Read more
A little over 10 years ago, I was sitting in a tiny hotel room in Washington, D.C., waiting for a phone call from a friend who is a lobbyist for our Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. It was Christmas Eve 2009, and we were awaiting the final vote of the U.S. Senate on the Affordable Care Act (ACA). I remember very clearly thinking that there was nothing to stop the then-Democratic majority from passing the ACA. Certainly, they had put a ton of work, time and effort into the law. But — they put much less time into gaining the trust of the opposition.
One of the more interesting things the Affordable Care Act did to the private health insurance business was to tell health insurance companies that the Feds were now in control of their profit margins. What does that mean?
Imagine you are the CEO of your own health insurance company. In fact, let’s call it Your Own Health Insurance Company, or YOHIC for short! How do you think you would feel if YOHIC collected $1 billion in premiums over a year, but only had to pay out $500 million in healthcare costs? Sounds like YOHIC is doing really well, turning a 50% profit. Does YOHIC get to keep the rest of the premiums for its own payroll and profits?
Since 2010, the answer to that question is a resounding NO! Read more
