Health Care
Business & Economics
Local Businesses Shrug Off California’s Strict COVID Restrictions
It’s not hard to argue that California has the country’s harshest pandemic restrictions, though New York and Michigan are close enough to call it a tie. This would be news to anyone visiting from elsewhere, though. Aside from a few exceptions, things look rather normal. About 33 million of the ...
Business & Economics
Wayne Winegarden Quoted in Nor Cal Record Story on Covid-19 Stimulus Bill
New federal COVID stimulus package could help in short term; longer-term impact less clear By Sarah Downey As final agreements on the new COVID-19 stimulus package were negotiated last week, crucial help for businesses and families was approved alongside projects having less to do with economic recovery. “The new relief package reminds ...
California
A Single-Payer Healthcare System Would Have Made the Pandemic Worse
The intended-to-scare-readers headline said “California hospitals discuss rationing care as virus surges.” And it should frighten anyone who saw it. Though not necessarily for the reason the headline writer had in mind. The alarmist string of words topped a Dec. 21 Associated Press story, which warned that “overwhelmed hospitals” in ...
Commentary
Price Transparency: A Gift To Americans In The New Year
The New Year is starting off with a healthcare victory for American patients. On January 1, a new rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services went into effect requiring hospitals to publish the prices they negotiate with insurers for various medical procedures. Previously, those prices had been secret. ...
Commentary
COVID vaccinations are going much too slowly — here’s how to speed them up and save lives
Vaccines against the novel coronavirus were developed in record time. But getting those vaccines into the arms of Americans has been frustratingly slow at a time when speeding up vaccinations is literally a matter of life and death. Tragically, thousands of people are dying of COVID-19 every day in the U.S. and the ...
Commentary
The illogical California lockdown orders
Get ready to stay home indefinitely, my fellow Californians. Gov. Gavin Newsom has suggested that the stay-at-home order he issued Dec. 3 will likely be extended well into January. So for a few more weeks — at least — most Californians won’t be able to engage in a wide range ...
Commentary
Why Joe Biden must keep Donald Trump’s short-term health plans in place
President-elect Joe Biden has promised “a dramatic expansion of health care coverage and bold steps to lower health care costs” once he takes office after his inauguration Jan. 20. But one of his first orders of business may undermine both those goals in one fell swoop. The incoming administration has signaled its intention to roll ...
Commentary
Americans are getting a good return on their healthcare spending
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released new data on Dec. 16 on health expenditures. In 2019, overall spending rose 4.6% to reach a total of $3.8 trillion, or 17.7% of the economy. That’s enough to make anyone do a double take. But a deeper look at the data ...
Commentary
COVID vaccines can give economy a needed shot in the arm once essential workers vaccinated
The arrival of two coronavirus vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use this month has prompted fierce debate about who ought to be immunized first. The latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices put health care workers and older Americans living in nursing ...
Blog
What’s Up with the New “California Driver Benefits Fee”?
Uber customers might have noticed a new fee that’s appearing on their charges. Now, who do we have to thank for that? Oh, yes, the lawmakers who tried to destroy the gig economy and its millions of jobs. Uber added a “California Driver Benefits Fee” to its charges on Dec. ...
Local Businesses Shrug Off California’s Strict COVID Restrictions
It’s not hard to argue that California has the country’s harshest pandemic restrictions, though New York and Michigan are close enough to call it a tie. This would be news to anyone visiting from elsewhere, though. Aside from a few exceptions, things look rather normal. About 33 million of the ...
Wayne Winegarden Quoted in Nor Cal Record Story on Covid-19 Stimulus Bill
New federal COVID stimulus package could help in short term; longer-term impact less clear By Sarah Downey As final agreements on the new COVID-19 stimulus package were negotiated last week, crucial help for businesses and families was approved alongside projects having less to do with economic recovery. “The new relief package reminds ...
A Single-Payer Healthcare System Would Have Made the Pandemic Worse
The intended-to-scare-readers headline said “California hospitals discuss rationing care as virus surges.” And it should frighten anyone who saw it. Though not necessarily for the reason the headline writer had in mind. The alarmist string of words topped a Dec. 21 Associated Press story, which warned that “overwhelmed hospitals” in ...
Price Transparency: A Gift To Americans In The New Year
The New Year is starting off with a healthcare victory for American patients. On January 1, a new rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services went into effect requiring hospitals to publish the prices they negotiate with insurers for various medical procedures. Previously, those prices had been secret. ...
COVID vaccinations are going much too slowly — here’s how to speed them up and save lives
Vaccines against the novel coronavirus were developed in record time. But getting those vaccines into the arms of Americans has been frustratingly slow at a time when speeding up vaccinations is literally a matter of life and death. Tragically, thousands of people are dying of COVID-19 every day in the U.S. and the ...
The illogical California lockdown orders
Get ready to stay home indefinitely, my fellow Californians. Gov. Gavin Newsom has suggested that the stay-at-home order he issued Dec. 3 will likely be extended well into January. So for a few more weeks — at least — most Californians won’t be able to engage in a wide range ...
Why Joe Biden must keep Donald Trump’s short-term health plans in place
President-elect Joe Biden has promised “a dramatic expansion of health care coverage and bold steps to lower health care costs” once he takes office after his inauguration Jan. 20. But one of his first orders of business may undermine both those goals in one fell swoop. The incoming administration has signaled its intention to roll ...
Americans are getting a good return on their healthcare spending
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released new data on Dec. 16 on health expenditures. In 2019, overall spending rose 4.6% to reach a total of $3.8 trillion, or 17.7% of the economy. That’s enough to make anyone do a double take. But a deeper look at the data ...
COVID vaccines can give economy a needed shot in the arm once essential workers vaccinated
The arrival of two coronavirus vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use this month has prompted fierce debate about who ought to be immunized first. The latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices put health care workers and older Americans living in nursing ...
What’s Up with the New “California Driver Benefits Fee”?
Uber customers might have noticed a new fee that’s appearing on their charges. Now, who do we have to thank for that? Oh, yes, the lawmakers who tried to destroy the gig economy and its millions of jobs. Uber added a “California Driver Benefits Fee” to its charges on Dec. ...
