https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/02/trump-promised-to-protect-medicare-thats-not-what-he-said-two-weeks-ago/
"During a January interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, CNBC’s Joe Kernen asked if cuts to entitlements, a euphemism for programs like Medicare and Social Security, would ever be on his agenda. “At some point they will be,” Trump answered. “It’ll be toward the end of the year. The growth is going to be incredible. And at the right time, we will take a look at that.” As the New York Times reported, it wasn’t the first time Trump threatened cuts to popular safety-net programs: The president has already proposed cuts for some safety-net programs. His last budget proposal called for a total of $1.9 trillion in cost savings from mandatory safety-net programs, like Medicaid and Medicare. It also called for spending $26 billion less on Social Security programs, the federal retirement program, including a $10 billion cut to the Social Security Disability Insurance program, which provides benefits to disabled workers."
3/10/20
Trump budget would cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security while expanding tax cuts for the rich
https://www.salon.com/2020/02/10/trump-budget-would-cut-medicare-medicaid-and-social-security-while-expanding-tax-cuts-for-the-rich/
"The plan also calls for a steep 8% cut to the Education budget; a 9% cut to the Health and Human Services Budget, including the Centers for Disease Control; and a 26% cut to the Environmental Protection Agency budget. The Interior Department would see a 13% budget cut; the Department of Housing and Urban Development would see a 15% cut; and both the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development would be slashed by 22%. However, Trump's budget proposal calls for an increase to the Homeland Security funding and $2 billion in additional funding for his border wall, down from $5 billion last year. Despite the deep cuts, the budget plan acknowledges that the proposal would fail to eliminate the deficit over the next decade. Trump's advisers vowed to eliminate the deficit by 2028, but it has only grown instead."
"The plan also calls for a steep 8% cut to the Education budget; a 9% cut to the Health and Human Services Budget, including the Centers for Disease Control; and a 26% cut to the Environmental Protection Agency budget. The Interior Department would see a 13% budget cut; the Department of Housing and Urban Development would see a 15% cut; and both the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development would be slashed by 22%. However, Trump's budget proposal calls for an increase to the Homeland Security funding and $2 billion in additional funding for his border wall, down from $5 billion last year. Despite the deep cuts, the budget plan acknowledges that the proposal would fail to eliminate the deficit over the next decade. Trump's advisers vowed to eliminate the deficit by 2028, but it has only grown instead."
The Trump administration has contradicted itself on coronavirus no fewer than 14 times in less than a month
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/09/trump-administration-has-contradicted-itself-coronavirus-no-fewer-than-14-times-less-than-month/
"Initially, warmer weather would kill it. Then it wouldn’t. The number of cases would soon be close to zero. Then they rose. It should be treated like the flu. Except Americans should know it is deadlier. As many as 1 million people could be tested by the end of last week. Until they weren’t. As President Trump has tried to contain the potential health, economic and political consequences of the coronavirus over the past month, he and administration officials have repeatedly undercut one another’s messaging about their efforts to combat the virus. We show exactly how in the video above. Over the past 30 days, Trump and members of his administration have contradicted other Trump officials at least 14 times on various parts of the coronavirus response. Often, Trump has sought to play down the threat with a mix of selectively presented facts and false statements. At other points, Trump officials have focused some of their remarks on praising the president during interviews and press gaggles about the virus. “A lot of people think [the coronavirus] goes away in April with the heat,” Trump said Feb. 10. Three days later, Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CNN, “This virus is probably with us beyond this season or beyond this year.” Laying out his administration’s response to the virus at a news conference on Feb. 26, Trump said Americans should “view this the same as the flu.” One week later, Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Congress that the coronavirus mortality rate is “multiple times” higher than the seasonal flu. Later that day, Trump told Fox News that based on his “hunch,” the World Health Organization’s coronavirus mortality rate was a “false number.” On multiple occasions, Trump has suggested that a coronavirus vaccine may be available sooner than expected, even as Fauci has repeatedly said a potential vaccine wouldn’t be available for at least a year."
"Initially, warmer weather would kill it. Then it wouldn’t. The number of cases would soon be close to zero. Then they rose. It should be treated like the flu. Except Americans should know it is deadlier. As many as 1 million people could be tested by the end of last week. Until they weren’t. As President Trump has tried to contain the potential health, economic and political consequences of the coronavirus over the past month, he and administration officials have repeatedly undercut one another’s messaging about their efforts to combat the virus. We show exactly how in the video above. Over the past 30 days, Trump and members of his administration have contradicted other Trump officials at least 14 times on various parts of the coronavirus response. Often, Trump has sought to play down the threat with a mix of selectively presented facts and false statements. At other points, Trump officials have focused some of their remarks on praising the president during interviews and press gaggles about the virus. “A lot of people think [the coronavirus] goes away in April with the heat,” Trump said Feb. 10. Three days later, Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CNN, “This virus is probably with us beyond this season or beyond this year.” Laying out his administration’s response to the virus at a news conference on Feb. 26, Trump said Americans should “view this the same as the flu.” One week later, Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Congress that the coronavirus mortality rate is “multiple times” higher than the seasonal flu. Later that day, Trump told Fox News that based on his “hunch,” the World Health Organization’s coronavirus mortality rate was a “false number.” On multiple occasions, Trump has suggested that a coronavirus vaccine may be available sooner than expected, even as Fauci has repeatedly said a potential vaccine wouldn’t be available for at least a year."
3/9/20
President Trump Is Unfit for This Crisis. Period.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/09/opinion/trump-corona-cdc.html
"Whose side is the Trump administration on? Based on every public appearance we’ve seen so far — whether it’s from a cabinet member or the director of the Centers for Disease Control or the president himself — the answer is clear: not the public’s. President Trump, hellbent on re-election, is focused on massaging numbers and silencing bearers of bad news. That’s what autocrats do. And it’s endangering lives."
"Whose side is the Trump administration on? Based on every public appearance we’ve seen so far — whether it’s from a cabinet member or the director of the Centers for Disease Control or the president himself — the answer is clear: not the public’s. President Trump, hellbent on re-election, is focused on massaging numbers and silencing bearers of bad news. That’s what autocrats do. And it’s endangering lives."
Trump Bears Full Responsibility for Botched Response to Coronavirus in US
https://truthout.org/articles/trump-bears-full-responsibility-for-botched-response-to-coronavirus-in-us/
"A serious president would have been taking the lead in organizing an international response. But Trump was busy doing other things. In addition to his golf games, Trump was holding campaign rallies and fundraisers around the country. When he wasn’t traveling, he was busy on Twitter making boasts about the economy, lying about his poll results and directing schoolyard taunts against his political opponents. With such a busy schedule, how could we expect Trump to have time to worry about a pandemic? It gets worse. Trump had dismantled the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) team to deal with pandemics. The CDC was also coping with Trump budget cuts, and is facing another cut of 16 percent slated for next year. Trump also attacked those who tried to warn of the risks of the virus. He claimed the whole thing was a Democratic hoax, and said that the United States had 15 cases and that the number would fall quickly. He then went full Trumpian in his management style, pushing aside the public health experts at the CDC, and putting Vice President Mike Pence in charge of protecting the country from the pandemic. Pence’s main credentials for this task are a disbelief in science (he doesn’t believe in evolution or global warming) and a failed effort to stem the spread of AIDS when he was governor of Indiana. Trump also attempted to clamp down on any accurate, concrete information that would contradict his “no-big-deal” story. He required that Pence clear all statements from the CDC. Using his famed vindictiveness, he also retaliated against a Health and Human Services whistleblower who reported that people exposed to coronavirus on a cruise ship were greeted by health care workers without protective gear or training. In short, the fact that we are likely facing a serious pandemic, unlike any we have seen in more than a century, is 100 percent Trump’s fault. Because of his vanity and ineptitude, people will die, and many more will get sick."
"A serious president would have been taking the lead in organizing an international response. But Trump was busy doing other things. In addition to his golf games, Trump was holding campaign rallies and fundraisers around the country. When he wasn’t traveling, he was busy on Twitter making boasts about the economy, lying about his poll results and directing schoolyard taunts against his political opponents. With such a busy schedule, how could we expect Trump to have time to worry about a pandemic? It gets worse. Trump had dismantled the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) team to deal with pandemics. The CDC was also coping with Trump budget cuts, and is facing another cut of 16 percent slated for next year. Trump also attacked those who tried to warn of the risks of the virus. He claimed the whole thing was a Democratic hoax, and said that the United States had 15 cases and that the number would fall quickly. He then went full Trumpian in his management style, pushing aside the public health experts at the CDC, and putting Vice President Mike Pence in charge of protecting the country from the pandemic. Pence’s main credentials for this task are a disbelief in science (he doesn’t believe in evolution or global warming) and a failed effort to stem the spread of AIDS when he was governor of Indiana. Trump also attempted to clamp down on any accurate, concrete information that would contradict his “no-big-deal” story. He required that Pence clear all statements from the CDC. Using his famed vindictiveness, he also retaliated against a Health and Human Services whistleblower who reported that people exposed to coronavirus on a cruise ship were greeted by health care workers without protective gear or training. In short, the fact that we are likely facing a serious pandemic, unlike any we have seen in more than a century, is 100 percent Trump’s fault. Because of his vanity and ineptitude, people will die, and many more will get sick."
Trump struggles to explain why he disbanded his global health team
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-struggles-explain-why-he-disbanded-his-global-health-team-n1153221
"It's worth emphasizing that this is Trump's second explanation related to his decision to disband his global health security team. "I'm a business person," he explained two weeks ago in response to a similar question. "I don't like having thousands of people around when you don't need them. When we need them, we can get them back very quickly." As it turns out, the administration cannot actually reassemble such a team "very quickly," though Trump, still unfamiliar with how much of the executive branch works, may not have known that. It set the stage for this new argument: Trump dissolved the White House's pandemic team because he had no idea he might need a pandemic team. Except, that's not an especially satisfying answer. The whole point of having a team focused on epidemiological threats is (a) viral outbreaks can happen; (b) one never knows when they'll happen; and (c) countries want to be prepared when they do happen. According to the president, "you can never really think is going to happen," but the National Security Council's team existed precisely because officials recognized the possible hazard. Indeed, as the New York Times noted overnight that President Barack Obama established the Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense at the National Security Council after the 2014 Ebola outbreak, making clear that some folks were acutely aware of possibilities like these. It's as if the president is unfamiliar with the idea of insurance on a conceptual level."
"It's worth emphasizing that this is Trump's second explanation related to his decision to disband his global health security team. "I'm a business person," he explained two weeks ago in response to a similar question. "I don't like having thousands of people around when you don't need them. When we need them, we can get them back very quickly." As it turns out, the administration cannot actually reassemble such a team "very quickly," though Trump, still unfamiliar with how much of the executive branch works, may not have known that. It set the stage for this new argument: Trump dissolved the White House's pandemic team because he had no idea he might need a pandemic team. Except, that's not an especially satisfying answer. The whole point of having a team focused on epidemiological threats is (a) viral outbreaks can happen; (b) one never knows when they'll happen; and (c) countries want to be prepared when they do happen. According to the president, "you can never really think is going to happen," but the National Security Council's team existed precisely because officials recognized the possible hazard. Indeed, as the New York Times noted overnight that President Barack Obama established the Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense at the National Security Council after the 2014 Ebola outbreak, making clear that some folks were acutely aware of possibilities like these. It's as if the president is unfamiliar with the idea of insurance on a conceptual level."
The U.S. Isn’t Ready for What’s About to Happen
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/us-isnt-ready-whats-about-happen/607636/"Trump’s initial impulse to downplay the risk, at least until the stock market took note, wasn’t just fanciful; it was dangerous. He has consistently minimized the number of sick, blamed Barack Obama’s administration for a shortage of test kits, and publicly mused about the potential of a vaccine being found quickly. The American response to the new disease should be based on something more than hunches and magical thinking. The whole time, people like me have been dutifully advising friends, family, and everyone else to take prudent precautions and avoid panicking. That’s still good advice, because any measures that slow the spread of the disease and lower the death rate could save thousands of lives. But Americans should also understand that even the best preparation humanly possibly wouldn’t be perfect—and that what the United States has done so far falls far short of that. Especially at this point, even a more vigorous response will not preclude a lot of people from getting sick. Preventing all infections is no longer a possibility, and the measure of success is how much public-health authorities can reduce the number of people who die or fall seriously ill."
Psst, After You Wash Your Hands, Clean Your Smartphone
https://slate.com/technology/2020/03/coronavirus-clean-phone-wash-hands.html
"While people typically transmit COVID-19 by spewing respiratory droplets with a cough or sneeze, a recent study in the Journal of Hospital Infection found, after swabbing the mobile devices of 250 hospital staff, that coronaviruses can survive on the kinds of smooth glass and plastic found in smartphones for up to nine days. Kenneth Mak, the director of the Singapore Ministry of Health’s medical services, told reporters in February that cleaning phones is an even more important anti-coronavirus measure than wearing face masks. Your phone is, as public health professor Peter Hall put it recently in the Conversation, a “portable petri dish.” Touching an infected surface, or your face, and then a phone is an easy way for the virus to find a home on your screen. The mucus that carries the coronavirus can then dry on your phone, allowing the disease to last longer. A 2019 survey found that people touch their phones 2,617 times per day on average, and experts estimate that the devices generally host 10 times more bacteria than toilet seats, mostly because people don’t commonly clean them as often. Wash your hands! Then wash your phone. “The rule of thumb is that you need to clean it when it’s been exposed to a risk,” says Michael Schmidt, a microbiology and immunology professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. “When you’ve been out in public and you return home, that’s when I would clean the phone to make certain that the phone is safe in your residence, so you don’t have to be washing your hands continuously subsequent to using it.” Apple instructs users to clean iPhones by first unplugging all cables and then rubbing them down with a microfiber cloth and warm soapy water. Google similarly recommends cleaning the backs and sides of Pixels with cleaning wipes or household soap, and to hand-wash the case fabric with mild soap or laundry detergent."
"While people typically transmit COVID-19 by spewing respiratory droplets with a cough or sneeze, a recent study in the Journal of Hospital Infection found, after swabbing the mobile devices of 250 hospital staff, that coronaviruses can survive on the kinds of smooth glass and plastic found in smartphones for up to nine days. Kenneth Mak, the director of the Singapore Ministry of Health’s medical services, told reporters in February that cleaning phones is an even more important anti-coronavirus measure than wearing face masks. Your phone is, as public health professor Peter Hall put it recently in the Conversation, a “portable petri dish.” Touching an infected surface, or your face, and then a phone is an easy way for the virus to find a home on your screen. The mucus that carries the coronavirus can then dry on your phone, allowing the disease to last longer. A 2019 survey found that people touch their phones 2,617 times per day on average, and experts estimate that the devices generally host 10 times more bacteria than toilet seats, mostly because people don’t commonly clean them as often. Wash your hands! Then wash your phone. “The rule of thumb is that you need to clean it when it’s been exposed to a risk,” says Michael Schmidt, a microbiology and immunology professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. “When you’ve been out in public and you return home, that’s when I would clean the phone to make certain that the phone is safe in your residence, so you don’t have to be washing your hands continuously subsequent to using it.” Apple instructs users to clean iPhones by first unplugging all cables and then rubbing them down with a microfiber cloth and warm soapy water. Google similarly recommends cleaning the backs and sides of Pixels with cleaning wipes or household soap, and to hand-wash the case fabric with mild soap or laundry detergent."
Trump used his Fox News town hall to again mislead Americans about coronavirus
https://www.vox.com/2020/3/6/21167675/trump-fox-news-town-hall-coronavirus-health-care
"One night after an interview with Sean Hannity in which he cited a “hunch” to make a case that the coronavirus mortality rate is actually far lower than the one identified by the World Health Organization (WHO), President Donald Trump was back on Fox News Thursday night once again misleading people about the public health crisis caused by the virus."
"One night after an interview with Sean Hannity in which he cited a “hunch” to make a case that the coronavirus mortality rate is actually far lower than the one identified by the World Health Organization (WHO), President Donald Trump was back on Fox News Thursday night once again misleading people about the public health crisis caused by the virus."
As Americans Continue To Get Coronavirus, Trump Shows He Doesn’t Really Care
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coronavirus-trump-doesnt-care_n_5e63ca67c5b68d6164551e41
"At least 17 people in the U.S. have died from the coronavirus and more than 200 people in the country are infected. That number could be much higher, but the CDC has bungled its response and limited the number of diagnostic tests that can be administered. None of these facts stopped the president from patting himself on the back as he bragged about being as smart as the public health experts tasked with handling the situation. “People are really surprised I understand this stuff,” Trump said during a press briefing at the CDC. “Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability.” He doesn’t. In fact, he has disputed a report from World Health Organization scientists that put the death rate from the virus at 3.4%. “I think the 3.4% is really a false number,” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday. “Now, and this is just my hunch, and — but based on a lot of conversations with a lot of people that do this.” In a meeting with health experts on Monday, Trump asked why doctors don’t just administer the flu vaccine to combat the virus. “But the same vaccine could not work?” he said. “You take a solid flu vaccine — you don’t think that would have an impact or much of an impact on corona?” It would not have an impact, the experts told him. During Friday’s visit to the CDC, Trump bragged about having “beautiful” coronavirus testing kits, and bizarrely claimed they were as “perfect” as the phone call that got him impeached. And when asked about infected passengers on a cruise ship anchored near San Francisco, Trump strongly indicated that he cares about bad PR — in the form of a higher number of infected Americans — above all else."
"At least 17 people in the U.S. have died from the coronavirus and more than 200 people in the country are infected. That number could be much higher, but the CDC has bungled its response and limited the number of diagnostic tests that can be administered. None of these facts stopped the president from patting himself on the back as he bragged about being as smart as the public health experts tasked with handling the situation. “People are really surprised I understand this stuff,” Trump said during a press briefing at the CDC. “Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability.” He doesn’t. In fact, he has disputed a report from World Health Organization scientists that put the death rate from the virus at 3.4%. “I think the 3.4% is really a false number,” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday. “Now, and this is just my hunch, and — but based on a lot of conversations with a lot of people that do this.” In a meeting with health experts on Monday, Trump asked why doctors don’t just administer the flu vaccine to combat the virus. “But the same vaccine could not work?” he said. “You take a solid flu vaccine — you don’t think that would have an impact or much of an impact on corona?” It would not have an impact, the experts told him. During Friday’s visit to the CDC, Trump bragged about having “beautiful” coronavirus testing kits, and bizarrely claimed they were as “perfect” as the phone call that got him impeached. And when asked about infected passengers on a cruise ship anchored near San Francisco, Trump strongly indicated that he cares about bad PR — in the form of a higher number of infected Americans — above all else."
Coronavirus Researcher Calls It The 'Most Frightening Disease I've Ever Encountered'
https://crooksandliars.com/2020/03/coronavirus-researcher-calls-it-most
"Appearing on Channel 4 in the UK a couple of days ago, Dr Richard Hatchett, who advised both the Bush and Obama administrations on pandemic preparedness called the coronavirus "the most frightening disease" he has ever seen, based on both the high rate of infectiousness and lethality. He compared it to the Spanish Flu of 1918 which killed tens of millions. Also noteworthy, Dr. Hatchett mentioned that the United States is particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 because of a lack of a centralized health system that other advanced industrialized nations enjoy, both in terms of mobilizing an effective response from the various government agencies, state and federal, and also the excessive costs. People will go untreated because they simply can't afford it here. The 20-minute interview has since gone viral online."
"Appearing on Channel 4 in the UK a couple of days ago, Dr Richard Hatchett, who advised both the Bush and Obama administrations on pandemic preparedness called the coronavirus "the most frightening disease" he has ever seen, based on both the high rate of infectiousness and lethality. He compared it to the Spanish Flu of 1918 which killed tens of millions. Also noteworthy, Dr. Hatchett mentioned that the United States is particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 because of a lack of a centralized health system that other advanced industrialized nations enjoy, both in terms of mobilizing an effective response from the various government agencies, state and federal, and also the excessive costs. People will go untreated because they simply can't afford it here. The 20-minute interview has since gone viral online."
You Might Be Buying a Hand Sanitizer That Won’t Work for Coronavirus
https://www.propublica.org/article/coronavirus-hand-sanitizers-cdc-recommended-alcohol
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends rubbing on hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol when you aren’t able to wash your hands. Huge pumps and multipacks of bottles are flying off store shelves. But “alcohol-free” products — which are not recommended by the CDC — are also getting snatched up in the consumer frenzy. Some of the hand sanitizers made by the brands Purell and Germ-X rely on benzalkonium chloride instead of alcohol as the active ingredient. Such non-alcohol antiseptic products may not work as well for many types of germs, the CDC says, or may merely reduce the growth of germs rather than killing them. They may be better than nothing, experts say. But people are buying them without knowing the difference."
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends rubbing on hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol when you aren’t able to wash your hands. Huge pumps and multipacks of bottles are flying off store shelves. But “alcohol-free” products — which are not recommended by the CDC — are also getting snatched up in the consumer frenzy. Some of the hand sanitizers made by the brands Purell and Germ-X rely on benzalkonium chloride instead of alcohol as the active ingredient. Such non-alcohol antiseptic products may not work as well for many types of germs, the CDC says, or may merely reduce the growth of germs rather than killing them. They may be better than nothing, experts say. But people are buying them without knowing the difference."
The Trump Administration’s Contemptuous, Pro-Corporate Response to Coronavirus
https://prospect.org/health/the-trump-administrations-contemptuous-pro-corporate-response-to-coronavirus/
"The roots of this crisis go back years and reflect deep-seated enmity to government experts. Each subsequent presidential budget has included ever more draconian, inhumane, and downright offensive cuts to the most basic government services, including those that would leave us prepared to take on a global pandemic. In 2017, Trump tried to slash the Centers for Disease Control’s budget to levels which a former director called “unsafe at any level of enactment.” In 2018, onlookers warned that Trump was “setting up the US to botch a pandemic response.” And in 2019, he went ahead and fired the government’s entire pandemic response chain of command. Even as the coronavirus spread, the administration was suggesting deeper cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health. And from the outside, commentators at the Heritage Foundation were cheerleading the president’s suggested budget cuts, while encouraging the administration to go further. While the budget proposals reveal administration priorities, so do the men and women Trump has empowered. Principal among them is a man whose primary qualification appears to be a lifelong devotion to enriching Big Pharma. When President Trump announced former pharmaceutical executive Alex Azar as his nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Azar’s colleagues in the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries felt relief that they had a friend in the Trump administration. Trump called Azar “a star for better healthcare and lower drug prices,” but the pharma and health insurance execs knew better: Azar’s expertise lies in jacking up medicine prices, not public health or research."
"The roots of this crisis go back years and reflect deep-seated enmity to government experts. Each subsequent presidential budget has included ever more draconian, inhumane, and downright offensive cuts to the most basic government services, including those that would leave us prepared to take on a global pandemic. In 2017, Trump tried to slash the Centers for Disease Control’s budget to levels which a former director called “unsafe at any level of enactment.” In 2018, onlookers warned that Trump was “setting up the US to botch a pandemic response.” And in 2019, he went ahead and fired the government’s entire pandemic response chain of command. Even as the coronavirus spread, the administration was suggesting deeper cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health. And from the outside, commentators at the Heritage Foundation were cheerleading the president’s suggested budget cuts, while encouraging the administration to go further. While the budget proposals reveal administration priorities, so do the men and women Trump has empowered. Principal among them is a man whose primary qualification appears to be a lifelong devotion to enriching Big Pharma. When President Trump announced former pharmaceutical executive Alex Azar as his nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Azar’s colleagues in the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries felt relief that they had a friend in the Trump administration. Trump called Azar “a star for better healthcare and lower drug prices,” but the pharma and health insurance execs knew better: Azar’s expertise lies in jacking up medicine prices, not public health or research."
8/18/19
Trump’s Anti-Obamacare Insurance Plans Are Ripping People Off
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/08/trumps-anti-obamacare-insurance-plans-are-ripping-people-off/?fbclid=IwAR3kurxRqLXFBgKdH9Phdu7ECCATqZVLPsaD__lzJeNMu7OlpNpuhEEatR4
"On average, the report found that, among the five health insurers that earn the most in short-term insurance premiums, 39.2 percent of premiums were going to pay for patients’ medical care. “Short-term health plans’ loss ratios are lower because they don’t cover nearly as many benefits,” Modern Healthcare writes. “Unlike Affordable Care Act-compliant plans, short-term plans can deny coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions and charge more based on health status. They are not required to and often don’t cover the 10 essential health benefits, including maternity care and prescription drugs.” ACA-compliant plans are required to spend 80 percent of premiums on medical care. Essentially, Obamacare set a cap on the percentage of profit health insurance companies can make off premiums, forcing them to spend the vast majority of their funds on actual medical services. If an insurance company ends up charging higher premiums than that 80 percent rate, the insurers have to send out rebates."
"On average, the report found that, among the five health insurers that earn the most in short-term insurance premiums, 39.2 percent of premiums were going to pay for patients’ medical care. “Short-term health plans’ loss ratios are lower because they don’t cover nearly as many benefits,” Modern Healthcare writes. “Unlike Affordable Care Act-compliant plans, short-term plans can deny coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions and charge more based on health status. They are not required to and often don’t cover the 10 essential health benefits, including maternity care and prescription drugs.” ACA-compliant plans are required to spend 80 percent of premiums on medical care. Essentially, Obamacare set a cap on the percentage of profit health insurance companies can make off premiums, forcing them to spend the vast majority of their funds on actual medical services. If an insurance company ends up charging higher premiums than that 80 percent rate, the insurers have to send out rebates."
7/4/19
VA Privatization Bill Threatens Closure of Key Facilities
VA Privatization Bill Threatens Closure of Key Facilities:
"Veterans service organizations like the DAV, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) are opposed to any acceleration of the AIR Commission. In written testimony for the hearing, the Deputy National Legislative Director of the DAV, Adrian Atizado, stated that “if H.R. 3083 were enacted, and Secretary Wilkie were to accelerate the AIR process as he has repeatedly indicated his desire to do, it would fundamentally undermine the dynamic structure of the VA MISSION Act by forcing premature decisions on infrastructure before decisions on health care delivery have been finalized"."
"Veterans service organizations like the DAV, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) are opposed to any acceleration of the AIR Commission. In written testimony for the hearing, the Deputy National Legislative Director of the DAV, Adrian Atizado, stated that “if H.R. 3083 were enacted, and Secretary Wilkie were to accelerate the AIR process as he has repeatedly indicated his desire to do, it would fundamentally undermine the dynamic structure of the VA MISSION Act by forcing premature decisions on infrastructure before decisions on health care delivery have been finalized"."
Drug prices in 2019 are surging, with hikes at 5 times inflation
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/drug-prices-in-2019-are-surging-with-hikes-at-5-times-inflation/?fbclid=IwAR3c7ZzW7J2waP1gO1mqJJf40_85lkmHx055i1xACvbXm0hsTuWN3XxG_Cg
"Drug prices are rising because of a combination of pressure from shareholders to deliver higher profits and what Rea calls an "inelastic market." "It's a good that people need, in many cases in order to stay alive," he says. "You have a lot of flexibility to drive prices higher and higher." That's an issue with insulin, which Type 1 diabetics require to stay alive. Even though the medication was discovered nearly a century ago, its price has more than doubled over 5 years, causing financial hardship for many diabetics and prompting some to ration the medication to cut costs. In some cases, those decisions have proved fatal."
"Drug prices are rising because of a combination of pressure from shareholders to deliver higher profits and what Rea calls an "inelastic market." "It's a good that people need, in many cases in order to stay alive," he says. "You have a lot of flexibility to drive prices higher and higher." That's an issue with insulin, which Type 1 diabetics require to stay alive. Even though the medication was discovered nearly a century ago, its price has more than doubled over 5 years, causing financial hardship for many diabetics and prompting some to ration the medication to cut costs. In some cases, those decisions have proved fatal."
5/18/19
'Spoiler: Because Australia Has Universal Healthcare': Watch Ocasio-Cortez Ask Pharma CEO Why HIV Drug Costs $8 Overseas But $1,780 in the US
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/05/16/spoiler-because-australia-has-universal-healthcare-watch-ocasio-cortez-ask-pharma?fbclid=IwAR1JLwsjE6n0T_wHIqvySNxEHWktk9AdV4tIcg0jjYOcBXKNn0UHf-SKedw
"During a House hearing on Thursday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asked the CEO of one of America's largest pharmaceutical companies a simple but crucial question: Why does a life-saving HIV drug that costs $8 a month in Australia have a $2,000 price tag in the U.S.? Gilead chief executive Daniel O'Day declined to comment on the low price of Truvada for PrEP in Australia, but said the reason the cost is close to $2,000—"the current list price is $1,780," he said—in the United States is because the drug has "patent protection." As the Washington Post reported in March, the development of Truvada as a treatment for HIV was "almost fully funded by U.S. taxpayers." The U.S. government patented the treatment in 2015, according to the Post, but has "opted not to file an infringement suit to enforce" the patent even as Gilead—which argues the government patent is invalid—rakes in billions of dollars in profits from Truvada. Ocasio-Cortez highlighted these facts during the House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Thursday."
"During a House hearing on Thursday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asked the CEO of one of America's largest pharmaceutical companies a simple but crucial question: Why does a life-saving HIV drug that costs $8 a month in Australia have a $2,000 price tag in the U.S.? Gilead chief executive Daniel O'Day declined to comment on the low price of Truvada for PrEP in Australia, but said the reason the cost is close to $2,000—"the current list price is $1,780," he said—in the United States is because the drug has "patent protection." As the Washington Post reported in March, the development of Truvada as a treatment for HIV was "almost fully funded by U.S. taxpayers." The U.S. government patented the treatment in 2015, according to the Post, but has "opted not to file an infringement suit to enforce" the patent even as Gilead—which argues the government patent is invalid—rakes in billions of dollars in profits from Truvada. Ocasio-Cortez highlighted these facts during the House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Thursday."
WATCH As Congressman Bawls In Emotional Defense Of Corporate Profits
https://crooksandliars.com/2019/05/watch-congressman-bawls-emotional-defense?fbclid=IwAR1QQ37_T1eyKkfYhORg5GhlclvrhpDQ0sr6sDU0ltIDrt1hNVtrmCtvp68
"When Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) questioned the obscene amount of money a giant pharmaceutical company was making yesterday in a congressional hearing it all proved just too much for Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) to stand. He lit into a fiery and emotional defense of price-gouging the American public, the likes of which not often seen except in dystopian novels."
"When Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) questioned the obscene amount of money a giant pharmaceutical company was making yesterday in a congressional hearing it all proved just too much for Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) to stand. He lit into a fiery and emotional defense of price-gouging the American public, the likes of which not often seen except in dystopian novels."
5/13/19
Over 40 states are suing generic drug companies for alleged conspiracy to hike prices
https://thinkprogress.org/states-are-suing-generic-drug-manufacturers-for-alleged-conspiracy-to-inflate-prices-9ecb18dbffc8/?fbclid=IwAR3gtKx-bcZmfthQRA9ER1jsZG6KsMJNPO7MKyA1xxsLMHGdvoap47oEgKI
"According to the lawsuit filed in Connecticut on Friday by 43 states and Puerto Rico, evidence shows these drug manufacturers embarked upon “one of the most egregious and damaging price-fixing conspiracies in the history of the United States.” Investigators allege that the companies worked together to artificially inflate and manipulate prices for over 100 different types of generic drugs — including diabetes, cancer, and arthritis treatments. The lawsuit implicates 20 firms and names 15 individual senior executives that oversee sales, marketing, and pricing. According to investigators, the drugs named in the suit account for billions of dollars of sales in the United States — a country which already has some of the highest drug prices in the world, especially compared to those where the government regulates or negotiates prices of new drugs."
"According to the lawsuit filed in Connecticut on Friday by 43 states and Puerto Rico, evidence shows these drug manufacturers embarked upon “one of the most egregious and damaging price-fixing conspiracies in the history of the United States.” Investigators allege that the companies worked together to artificially inflate and manipulate prices for over 100 different types of generic drugs — including diabetes, cancer, and arthritis treatments. The lawsuit implicates 20 firms and names 15 individual senior executives that oversee sales, marketing, and pricing. According to investigators, the drugs named in the suit account for billions of dollars of sales in the United States — a country which already has some of the highest drug prices in the world, especially compared to those where the government regulates or negotiates prices of new drugs."
5/5/19
'Siding With Big Pharma at Expense of the American People,' Republicans Warn CEOs Not to Cooperate With Drug Price Probe
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/09/siding-big-pharma-expense-american-people-republicans-warn-ceos-not-cooperate-drug?fbclid=IwAR1uZVgoOaXeLXse_TF2To3rdpMHksLCp_3HcHrkhCW8Q3f98pwOnEpE1Qw
"As Democrats on the House Oversight Committee attempt to investigate soaring drug prices in the U.S., Republicans are warning the CEOs of some of America's largest pharmaceutical companies against cooperating with the probe."
"As Democrats on the House Oversight Committee attempt to investigate soaring drug prices in the U.S., Republicans are warning the CEOs of some of America's largest pharmaceutical companies against cooperating with the probe."
Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows warn Big Pharma execs not to cooperate with drug-price probe
https://www.salon.com/2019/04/10/jim-jordan-mark-meadows-warn-big-pharma-execs-not-to-cooperate-with-drug-price-probe/?fbclid=IwAR1kFbDUXpA6LWWv_NvQZr3EV5jn5jrwtLMdQUHgNq0Xz0z-NblcVJkttjU
"Two prominent Republican members of the House Freedom Caucus warned pharmaceutical companies not to cooperate with a House probe into their drug pricing."
"Two prominent Republican members of the House Freedom Caucus warned pharmaceutical companies not to cooperate with a House probe into their drug pricing."
GOP Reps Suck Up To Big Pharma, Warn CEOs Not To Cooperate With Investigation
https://crooksandliars.com/2019/04/gop-telling-drug-companies-not-cooperate?fbclid=IwAR0yY76GT_Ci3Pl3zQoX0z65ahmJKC0xKWcrmBnZETa8vO9BwUvwvoBNmjE
"Republicans Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan from the House Oversight Committee sent letters to CEOs to drug companies encouraging them to not cooperate with any investigations being conducted by the Democratic led committee. They warned them that any information they provided "could be leaked to the public" and stated that this could affect stock prices. The letters alleged that the Democrats may be trying to "collect the information in order to bring down the industry’s stock prices." Wow. That is quite the threat. So what is this investigation about? The House Oversight Committee is looking into how the industry sets prescription drug prices. That is it. No industry secrets."
"Republicans Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan from the House Oversight Committee sent letters to CEOs to drug companies encouraging them to not cooperate with any investigations being conducted by the Democratic led committee. They warned them that any information they provided "could be leaked to the public" and stated that this could affect stock prices. The letters alleged that the Democrats may be trying to "collect the information in order to bring down the industry’s stock prices." Wow. That is quite the threat. So what is this investigation about? The House Oversight Committee is looking into how the industry sets prescription drug prices. That is it. No industry secrets."
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