Category: Health

STOP THE PRESSES!

After bumping his gums for a year Donny has a new healthcare plan that we all should study carefully….

President Trump on Thursday announced the outlines of a health care plan he wants Congress to take up. The move comes as Republicans have faced increasing pressure to address rising health costs after lawmakers let subsidies expire, the AP reports. The cornerstone is his proposal to send money directly to Americans for health savings accounts so they can handle insurance and health costs as they see fit. Democrats have rejected the idea as a paltry substitute for the tax credits that had helped lower monthly premiums for many people.

  • “The government is going to pay the money directly to you,” Trump said in a video the White House released to announce the plan. “It goes to you and then you take the money and buy your own health care.”
  • Trump’s plan also focuses on lowering drug prices and requiring insurers to be more upfront with the public about costs, revenues, rejected claims, and wait times for care.
  • Trump has long been dogged by his lack of a comprehensive health care plan as he and Republicans have sought to unwind Barack Obama’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act. Trump was thwarted during his first term in trying to repeal and replace the law.
  • When he ran for president in 2024, Trump said he had only “concepts of a plan” to address health care. His new proposal, short on many specifics, appeared to be the concepts of a plan, the AP notes. Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, described it to reporters on a telephone briefing as a “framework that we believe will help Congress create legislation.”
  • It was not immediately clear if any lawmakers in Congress were working to introduce the president’s plan. The White House did not offer any details about how much money it envisioned being sent to consumers to shop for insurance, or whether the money would be available to all ObamaCare enrollees or just those with lower-tier bronze and catastrophic plans.
  • The idea mirrors one floated among Republican senators last year. Democrats largely rejected it, saying the health savings accounts would not be enough to cover costs for most consumers. Currently, such accounts are used disproportionately by the wealthiest Americans, who have more income to fund them and a bigger incentive to lower their tax rate.
  • Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said the announcement was another one of Trump’s “empty promises” on health care, the Washington Post reports. “Every American should be asking themselves a simple question: are you paying more for your health care than you were a year ago?” Wyden said. “The answer ought to tell you everything you need to know about the Trump-Republican health care agenda.”

AS with anything that Donny spews out…there is little clarity but this is just an idea that will go to Congress for their take and that is where it will get more interesting.

Since this is not very clear I will hold my reservations until the final shoe drops in Congress.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

2026 Drug Prices

A brand new year and time for the Old Professor to get back to work.

Regardless what you have been told by Uncle Donny drug prices will increase this year and as an FYI for those that have to pay the piper for their meds I wan t you to know what is in store for you and your wallet….

Drugmakers plan to raise U.S. prices on at least 350 branded medications in 2026, including vaccines for COVID-19 and shingles, migraine treatments, and blockbuster cancer drugs, according to data provided to Reuters by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors.

The number of planned increases is up from the same point last year, when companies announced hikes on more than 250 drugs. The median increase for 2026 is about 4%, roughly in line with 2025. These figures reflect list prices before rebates or discounts negotiated with insurers and pharmacy benefit managers.

The price hikes come even as the Trump administration pressures pharmaceutical companies to lower costs for patients and government programs. President Donald Trump has touted deals with 14 drugmakers to reduce prices for Medicaid and cash-paying customers, but analysts say those agreements barely dent overall spending.

…

Pfizer announced the most increases, with hikes on about 80 drugs and vaccines, according to Reuters. Most are below 10%, but some stand out: Comirnaty, its COVID-19 vaccine, will rise by 15%. Paxlovid, the company’s COVID-19 antiviral, is also on the list, along with Ibrance, a breast cancer treatment, and Nurtec, a migraine pill. Hospital-administered drugs such as morphine and hydromorphone will see some of the steepest hikes, with certain formulations increasing more than four-fold.

Pfizer said in a statement that its adjustments keep average list prices below inflation and are necessary to fund research and offset rising costs.

“The modest increase is necessary to support investments that allow us to continue to discover and deliver new medicines,” the company said.

(What a bold face pile of bullshit!  But elsewhere the drugs, same drugs, are cheaper….put that in your pipe and smoke it)

https://www.newsweek.com/medications-drugs-vaccines-price-increases-2026-11290128

So much for that 1500% savings that Donny promised a few months back.

You might want to read the stuff carefully and see if you may be in for a rude awakening….just a suggestion.

The new year is already started out a sucky tone.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

M4A? Yes Please!

M4A?  Medicare For All.

back in 2019 I wrote about this proposal….a proposal that I feel has some merit….for those that may have missed my post…..it explains what this policy would look like…..

Medicare For All

I bring up this because of the plan that the GOP and Donny are offering the people….

The Senate failed to get anywhere on the health care issue this week. Now it’s the House’s turn to show what it can do. Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a Republican alternative late Friday, a last-minute sprint as his party refuses to extend the enhanced tax subsidies for those who buy policies through the Affordable Care Act, also called ObamaCare, which are expiring at the end of the year, per the AP. Those subsidies help lower the cost of coverage. Johnson huddled behind closed doors in the morning—as he did days earlier this week—working to assemble the package for consideration as the House focuses the final days of its 2025 work on health care.

“House Republicans are tackling the real drivers of health care costs to provide affordable care,” Johnson said in a statement announcing the package. He said it would be voted on next week. Later Friday, though, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “House Republicans have introduced toxic legislation that is completely unserious, hurts hardworking America taxpayers, and is not designed to secure bipartisan support. If the bill reaches the House floor, I will strongly oppose it.”

The House GOP offered a 100-page-plus package that focuses on long-sought GOP proposals to enhance access to employer-sponsored health insurance plans and clamp down on so-called pharmacy benefit managers. Republicans propose expanding access to what’s referred to as association health plans, which would allow more small businesses and self-employed individuals to band together and purchase health coverage. Proponents say such plans increase the leverage businesses have to negotiate a lower rate, but critics say the plans provide skimpier coverage than what’s required under the Affordable Care Act.

The Republicans’ proposal would also require more data from pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, as a way to help control drug costs. Critics say PBMs have padded their bottom line and made it more difficult for independent pharmacists to survive. Additionally, the GOP plan includes mention of cost-sharing reductions for some lower-income people who rely on ObamaCare, but those don’t take effect until January 2027. The emerging package doesn’t include an extension of an enhanced tax credit for millions of Americans who get insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act. More here.

This proposal is pure GOP manure!

It will help very few secure adequate and inexpensive health care.

People are starting to wake up to the problem that expanding health coost will do to their family…..

In less than a month, barring some kind of congressional intervention that probably isn’t going to happen at this point, the ACA subsidies are going to end and monthly premiums are going to skyrocket for the 90 percent of ACA enrollees who are relying on them.

Americans aren’t too happy about that — even during the shutdown, over 70 percent of us still wanted to see them extended, including half of Republicans (also — 72 percent of “non-MAGA” Republicans).

This may be part of why recent polling has shown that a large majority of Americans are once again in favor of Medicare for All.

It’s true! A survey from Data For Progress published late last month found that 65 percent of us either strongly or somewhat support “creating a national health insurance program, sometimes called ‘Medicare for All,’” including 49 percent of Republicans.

https://www.wonkette.com/p/medicare-for-all-starting-to-look

Time to stop playing favorites and think will be best for the health of your family.

I feel strongly that M4A is the way to go.

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Proof Is In The Policy

Since 1980 the GOP has been the champion of the anti-choice movement…..they have put all their energy in protecting a fetus from termination and so far they have been successful.

In that time people like me has been preaching that fetus is all important, right of choice has no bearing, that the GOP cares for a fetus and yet once it is born there is no concern.

Now there is more proof that they care nothing for children….

RFJ, Jr, the slug in charge of HHS, has made another of his pronouncements and condemned many children to crisis….

Federal health officials have yanked millions in grants from one of their most outspoken critics, and the American Academy of Pediatrics says kids will pay the price. The Department of Health and Human Services this week canceled seven grants to the AAP worth an estimated $18 million, according to documents reviewed by the Washington Post. The money had funded programs on issues such as sudden infant death, adolescent health, rural care access, birth defects, early autism detection, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. AAP CEO Mark Del Monte said the sudden cutoff would “directly impact and potentially harm” children and families, adding that the group is weighing a legal challenge.

Administration officials say the grants were scrapped because the projects no longer match the department’s priorities. Termination letters cited the academy’s use of “identity-based language”—including references to “pregnant and postpartum people,” racism- and poverty-related health disparities, and commitments to “diverse perspectives”—as out of step with current CDC and HHS direction. One Health Resources and Services Administration termination letter said a youth health grant didn’t sufficiently emphasize nutrition and chronic-disease prevention. Internal emails show senior political appointees at the HHS and CDC pushing staff to cancel the awards swiftly.

The move comes amid an escalating feud between Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the AAP over vaccines. The academy has accused Kennedy of sidelining scientific advisers, dismantling the CDC’s independent vaccine panel, and weakening trust in immunizations. It has pushed back by making its own vaccination recommendations, reports the AP. The group has also criticized Kennedy’s promotion of leucovorin, a form of vitamin B9, for regular use with kids with autism, noting a lack of evidence on its benefits and risks, per Reuters.

Kennedy has responded by highlighting AAP’s funding from pharmaceutical companies and suggesting its COVID vaccine guidance for children may serve “Big Pharma benefactors,” per the Post. The AAP and other medical groups are already suing the HHS and Kennedy, arguing his changes to federal coronavirus vaccine policy breached the law and asking a court to reconstitute the panel of vaccine advisers. A former senior CDC official warned that cutting off groups like the AAP risks undermining the public health network that connects scientific evidence to everyday medical practice.

This opens up a bunch of health problems, both mental and physical, for children….

I have been telling you so…..at what point do the mindless idiots stop drinking the poison kool-ade?

Just another disgusting individual serving a disgusting leader.

I must return to the hospital today for labs and doctors so I may not be around later……

If you are planning on Christmas parties then please drink responsibly and as always Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

High Beef Prices, We Have An Answer

Anyone that actually eats knows just how expensive beef prices have become….and now a Donny moron has the answer that we all have been waiting on….

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent didn’t argue that beef prices are rising — but he pointed to an unlikely culprit.

According to the Trump administration, the increase isn’t due to tariffs or inflation. Instead, Bessent blamed migrants for driving up costs.

“We are headed for what I’m calling … the $10-a-pound reality. By [the] third quarter of ’26, families are gonna see $10 a pound [for] ground beef in the grocery store. So we’re in for a bit of a haul here,” Rempe recently warned on Mornings with Maria.

According to Bessent, “The beef market is a very specialized market. It goes in long cycles. And this is the perfect storm, again, something we inherited.”

In an unexpected twist, Bessent went on to say that migrants contributed to the increase in beef prices by bringing diseased cattle from South America into North America.

“Because of the mass immigration, a disease that had been rid of in North America made its way up through South America. These migrants brought some of their cattle with them,” the treasury secretary alleged.

https://knewz.com/treasury-secretary-scott-bessent-blames-rising-beef-prices-migrants-screwworms/

Let me see if I have this right…..illegal immigrants bring their pet cows with them when they cross the border illegally, right?

How did those cows make it over the wall?

At what point do you people that voted for these clowns see your mistake?

Everyday there is something new from these morons…..when will enough be enough?

Does their hatred of people of color know no bounds?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The “Fart Walk”

Thanksgiving is done for now and onto Christmas.

To close out this week of enjoy and family I saw this report and wanted to add it for a little humor.

This FYI is a bit late for T’giving but there is another big meal coming in less than a week…..

There is a thing after the big holiday meal…..a “fart walk”…..

After your Thanksgiving meal, you might want to consider taking a post-dinner “fart walk”—doctor’s orders. Gastroenterologists say a light stroll after a big holiday feast can help ease bloating and gas, according to experimental research that found mild activity such as walking or gentle cycling helps the body expel not only gas from one’s last meal but also gas “hanging around even at baseline,” leaving you feeling “better off than you started,” per the Washington Post.

The recommendation is backed by an unusual study where researchers infused gas directly into volunteers’ intestines and measured what happened during rest and exercise. Sitting upright is also found to be better than lying down, with any movement helping to move things along. For those prone to bloating or conditions like IBS, gentle exercise also reduced uncomfortable symptoms.

The science behind this is simple: Our guts generate about half a gallon of gas daily, most of which is efficiently removed. A big meal, however, can tip the balance. A brief walk not only helps with gas but also tamps down on the rise in blood sugar that follows a meal, per the Post. If bloating is a constant companion, doctors say it’s worth checking in with a physician to rule out other issues.

“Fart walks” aren’t a new thing: People noted last year that the term was coined by wellness influencer and author Mairlyn Smith, and there’s even now a Wikipedia page devoted to the post-turkey regimen. The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, has more on what’s known as the holiday “cousin walk”—when certain relatives dip out of the house to secretly smoke pot.

Just a suggestion to help one make it through the over-eating of the holidays…..and after I read this I knew I had a post waiting to inform and entertain.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and can bounce back after the holiday meal and heavy shopping….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Uncle Don On Healthcare

The GOP has no idea or inclination to do anything about the shoddy healthcare here3 in the US….but never fear Uncle Don has a plan (he always has a plan)….

The White House is circulating a proposal that would extend subsidies to help consumers pay for coverage under the Affordable Care Act for two more years, as millions of Americans face spiking health care costs when the current tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year, the AP reports. The draft plan suggests that President Trump is open to extending a provision of Obamacare as his administration and congressional Republicans search for a broader policy solution to a fight that has long flummoxed the party. The White House stresses that no plan is final until Trump announces it. The subsidies were at the heart of the Democrats’ demands in the government shutdown fight that ended earlier this month. Most Democratic lawmakers had insisted on a straight extension of the tax credits as a condition of keeping the government open.

Eligibility for the Obamacare subsidies, which were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic to help people afford health care coverage, would be capped at 700% of the federal poverty level, according to two people with knowledge of the proposal. The baseline tax credits that were originally part of the Affordable Care Act were capped at 400% of the federal poverty level, but that cut-off was suspended because of the temporary COVID-era credits that allowed middle- and higher-income people to benefit from subsidies too. The White House would also require those on Obamacare, regardless of the type of coverage, to pay some sort of premium for their Obamacare plans. That would effectively end zero-premium plans for those with lower incomes, addressing a concern from Republicans that the program has enabled fraud.

As the White House worked quietly on its plan, led by the Domestic Policy Council, key lawmakers on Capitol Hill have drafted their own proposals. For instance, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy and others have proposed various ideas for redirecting the program’s spending on federal subsidies into health savings accounts that enrollees could use to shop for plans or defray out-of-pocket costs. Scott’s plan has been discussed with the White House multiple times since it was released Thursday, according to a person familiar not authorized to discuss the private conversations. Sources tell CNN that some Republicans are “balking” at Trump’s plan even though it has yet to be officially released, and that the administration delayed announcing the plan due to the GOP pushback.

Cool.

Buy why the push back on the ACA after demonizing it for years?

I think the two big issues in the upcoming mid-terms will be healthcare and economics….so is Donny trying to get a jump on the competition?

I see the GOP is pouting that Donny has de4cided to travel this route….will the party of hate win in the end?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

On The Health Front

This issue has become dear to my heart with all the health issues I am dealing with it is good to keep an eye on who is doing what….

With an election looming I think two of the major issues for the mid-terms will be the economy and health care….with that said let’s look at what Uncle Don has promised us peons as a GOP plan.

Donald Trump is so lost on so many issues that he can’t even understand how lost he is. This is perhaps most evident with his “$20 trillion” in foreign investment. Trump’s wacky number is five times annual investment levels. It is two-thirds of GDP. But none of his aides can get him to stop repeating his imaginary number.

In the wake of the shutdown disaster, Trump seems intent on coming up with some alternative to the subsidies for people to buy insurance in the Obamacare exchanges. Not surprisingly, Trump has almost no knowledge of all the issues and complexities that have come up in the debate on health care reform over the last three decades.

Incredibly, he is completely unaware of his own ignorance. He proposes giving people money and letting them buy either their own health care or their own insurance. (It’s not clear what Trump thinks he is proposing.) Trump seems to think this is an original idea.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/19/trumps-new-ideas-on-health-care/

As per normal the GOP has half-baked ideas….

US President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have made a show of criticizing insurance company greed as they stand firm against extending Affordable Care Act tax credits and offer ill-formed alternatives.

But a report published Wednesday by the office of Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) explains how a scheme endorsed by Trump and some top Republicans would further enrich insurance giants and big banks.

The report focuses on growing GOP support for a proposal that would give Americans money in tax-advantaged vehicles such as health savings accounts (HSAs) to help cover out-of-pocket costs. Last week, Trump championed the idea in the Oval Office, characterizing the proposal as a way to “forget this Obamacare madness.”

In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump railed against “BIG, FAT, RICH INSURANCE COMPANIES” and doubled down on the idea of funding health savings accounts instead of extending the enhanced ACA tax credits.

But Wyden’s report argues that “no matter how Republicans design their plan, their promise to take money out of the hands of big insurance companies and put it in the hands of patients will go unfulfilled, because the very arrangements they tout are administered by large financial institutions and the same big insurance companies.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/republican-healthcare-plan

Now some ideas from Dems….as most know I support the idea of Medicare For All and we know that will not happen for god forbid we become healthy people….

Bernie has offered up a few ideas for consideration….

The country’s current debate over ACA subsidies has sparked fresh calls for a shift to government-funded universal healthcare, for which Sanders has long led the fight in Congress. He acknowledged that “while I believe that the long-term solution to the healthcare crisis is Medicare for All, and I appreciate the 16 cosponsors we have on that legislation in the Senate, and the more than 100 cosponsors we have in the House, this bill does not yet have majority support in the Democratic Caucus.”

“The good news, however, is that there are a number of much-needed reforms to the healthcare system that we could offer now that would substantially improve the lives of the American people and are also incredibly popular,” he continued.

Specifically, Sanders called for:

  • Extending the ACA tax credits;
  • Repealing Trump and congressional Republicans’ $1 trillion in cuts to the ACA and Medicaid;
  • Expanding Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing;
  • Cutting the cost of prescription drugs by at least 50% with legislation requiring pharmaceutical companies to charge no more for medications in the United States than they do in Europe or Canada;
  • Expanding primary healthcare with investments in the National Health Service Corps as well as community and teaching health centers; and
  • Banning stock buybacks and dividends, and restricting CEO compensation.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-healthcare-crisis

Just a few ideas to let my readers know that this is becoming a priority….something that should have been years ago….

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

The Fallacious World Of Oz

NO this is not some cheesy knock-off or the some bad TV movie that relates to the beloved classic ‘Wizard of Oz”…..it is a look at the world that that hack Dr. Oz brings to the country.

Oz-zie boy is throwing the well worn MAGA BS about the billions of dollars wasted on immigrants….

Oz’s release said that California had spent $1.3 billion in federal taxpayer dollars to provide Medicaid coverage to illegal immigrants. Washington, D.C., spent more than $2 million in federal money on its Medicaid for illegal immigrants, and Oregon spent $5.4 million.

Illinois, which spent more than $629 million from its state budget on illegal immigrant healthcare last year, used almost $30 million in federal taxpayer funds to provide the illegal immigrant population Medicaid.

CMS’s findings come as the issue of federal funding for illegal immigrant healthcare has taken center stage in the federal government shutdown that started Oct. 1.

Of course these figures were to be found in the Washington Examiner….

Now let’s look at some real figures and not the lies of the Donny group….

Emergency Medicaid expenditures accounted for only a fraction of overall Medicaid spending, a cross-sectional analysis showed.

Among 38 states and Washington, D.C., emergency Medicaid expenditures accounted for a mean of 0.4% of total Medicaid spending, at a mean cost of $9.63 per resident, with some variability across states, reported Patricia Mae Santos, MD, of the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University in Atlanta, and colleagues.

States with larger undocumented populations spent more on emergency Medicaid, accounting for a mean of 0.9% of state Medicaid expenditures among states with the highest undocumented population share compared with 0.1% among states with the lowest undocumented population.

“The main takeaway is that emergency Medicaid is quite a microscopic percentage of the Medicaid budget. It’s not really a driver of Medicaid costs and Medicaid spending,” Leo Cuello, an attorney and research professor at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families in Washington, D.C., told MedPage Today.

For this analysis, the authors relied on financial management report data for fiscal year 2022 from the Medicaid Budget and Expenditure System. They also looked to other publicly available datasets to measure covariates by state, including Medicaid expansion status, the share of the population in each state that is undocumented, its census region, and political ideology index.

The study represents the “first and most contemporary analysis” of emergency Medicaid spending on both the national and state levels, Santos said.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/medicaid/117899

I do not know why I point this out because the mental midgets that believe the lies do not want to see the truth……

But I do what I must.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is There A Mutiny Afoot?

It is no surprise that I think the Donny band of thugs are as incompetent as anything…..but high on the incompetency list is the head of HHS….RFK Jr.

Something needs to be done to curb this idiot and his false information that he passes on to the public.

Something needs to be done….well maybe there is something brewing….a recently fired HHS employee is talking….

Steven Hatfill, a senior adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services, was fired over the weekend, according to both Hatfill and a senior agency official. Hatfill, known for his public support of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s move to end funding for mRNA vaccine research, claims his dismissal is part of a broader effort to undermine Kennedy’s leadership, per the New York Times. He alleges Matt Buckham, the secretary’s chief of staff, is orchestrating what he described as a “coup,” though he did not provide details to support this claim.

The department official, who spoke anonymously about the personnel issue, offered a different explanation, saying Hatfill was fired for misrepresenting himself as the “chief medical officer” for the assistant secretary for preparedness and response, and for not coordinating policy decisions with department leadership. “Firing a staff member for cause does not add up to a coup,” the official added. Hatfill disputes these accusations and says the department itself issued business cards listing him as both senior adviser and chief medical officer.

When he appeared on Steve Bannon’s podcast in August to claim, without evidence, that mRNA COVID vaccines are more dangerous than the disease itself, his title was listed as chief medical officer at the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, Bloomberg reports. The virologist promoted hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin as early treatments for COVID during the pandemic, a position widely disputed by medical experts. Some two decades ago, he was wrongly targeted in the 2001 anthrax investigation, for which the Justice Department later paid him a $4.6 million settlement.

WE can only hope that this ‘mutiny’ will be successful and rid the nation of this fake…..this country deserves so much better from the HHS than RFK.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”