[2022] The Dark History of Medicare Privatization

Medicare Advantage was supposed to be a money-saver. It’s now become a costly, unaccountable cash cow for private insurance companies that is swallowing traditional Medicare.

The Dark History of Medicare Privatization

Related:

Medicare goes “woke”?! 😉

CMS Unveils ACO REACH: What you Need to Know

The Geo Direct Contracting model is scrapped, and ACO REACH is replacing GPDC…

A new incentive will help to address health equity.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance companies are licensees, independent of the association and traditionally of each other, offering insurance plans within defined regions under one or both of the association’s brands. Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers offer some form of health insurance coverage in every U.S. state. They also act as administrators of Medicare in many states or regions of the U.S.

U.S. can ‘certainly’ afford military support to both Israel and Ukraine, meanwhile…

U.S. can ‘certainly’ afford military support to both Israel and Ukraine, Janet Yellen says

“America can certainly afford to stand with Israel and to support Israel’s military needs and we also can and must support Ukraine in its struggle against Russia,” Yellen said, adding that the U.S. economy is doing “extremely well.”

“Inflation has been high and it’s been a concern to households, it’s come down considerably. At the same time, we have about the strongest labor market we’ve seen in 50 years with 3.8% unemployment. And at the same time, America, the Biden administration, has passed legislation that is strengthening our economy in years to come for the medium term.”

Related:

Ticking Time-Bomb: Food Inflation Is Crushing Millions Of Low Income Americans (archived)

And so the debate circles round and round. The US, the “most wealthy nation on the planet”, has a food security problem and is on the verge of an inflationary calamity for millions of low income citizens, all while it spends hundreds of billions of dollars on pointless climate change programs, diversity and inclusion initiatives and proxy wars. Something has to give, and the chances are growing that it will be the American consumer.

Mexican drug cartels pay Americans to smuggle weapons across the border, intelligence documents show

Mexican drug cartels have been smuggling a vast arsenal of even military-grade weapons out of the U.S. with the help of American citizens, a CBS Reports investigation has found.

Mexican drug cartels pay Americans to smuggle weapons across the border, intelligence documents show

Related:

Documents: ATF used “Fast and Furious” to make the case for gun regulations

Rifle Capable of Taking Down a Helicopter, Found in El Chapo’s House – Guess Who Gave it to Him

Operation Fast and Furious: The Forgotten History of the ATF’s Notorious Gunwalking Scandal

Fast & Furious Gun Found At Mexican Beauty Queen Murder Scene

CBDC Failed: Congress Is Banning CBDC With Massive Support

Lena Petrova, CPA – Finance, Economics & Tax

Related:

Dueling Digital Dollar Bills Debated in Congressional Hearing on U.S. CBDC

Will Citizens’ Distrust of Government Surveillance Stop CBDCs?

But the eNaira launch came nine months after the CBN effectively banned cryptocurrencies, which were used to fund anti-police brutality protests that swept the country in late 2020. The CBN claimed crypto jeopardized the financial system and could be used to fund terrorism and froze protestors’ bank accounts.

What State Action Doctrine? Biden Administration Renews Push For Deal With TikTok, Where US Government Would Oversee Content Moderation On TikTok

What State Action Doctrine? Biden Administration Renews Push For Deal With TikTok, Where US Government Would Oversee Content Moderation On TikTok

For all the (mostly misleading) talk of the US government having too much say in content moderation decisions, this move would literally put US government officials effectively in control of content moderation decisions for TikTok. Apparently the thinking is “welp, it’s better than the Chinese government.” But… that doesn’t mean it’s good. Or constitutional.

Honestly, what this reads as is the moral panic over China and TikTok so eating the brains of US officials that rather than saying “hey, we should have privacy laws that block this,” they thought instead “hey, that would be cool if we could just do all the things we accuse China of doing, but where we pull the strings.”

So, look, if we’re going to talk about US government influence over content moderation choices, why aren’t we talking much more about this?

Related:

TikTok and U.S. rekindle negotiations, boosting app’s hopes for survival

CFIUS monitoring agencies, including the departments of Justice, Treasury and Defense, would have the right to access TikTok facilities at any time and overrule its policies or contracting decisions. CFIUS would also set the rules for all new company hires, including that they must be U.S. citizens, must consent to additional background checks and could be denied the job at any time.

A Draft Of TikTok’s Plan To Avoid A Ban Gives The U.S. Government Unprecedented Oversight Power

U.S. Government Seeks Extensive Oversight over TikTok

Is China really buying up U.S. farmland? Here’s what we found

Is China really buying up U.S. farmland? Here’s what we found

A review by NBC News of thousands of documents filed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, however, shows very few purchases by Chinese buyers in the past year and a half — fewer than 1,400 acres in a country with 1.3 billion acres of agricultural land. In fact, the total amount of U.S. agricultural land owned by Chinese interests is less than three-hundredths of 1%.

SouthFront.Org Blocked By U.S.-Controlled Global Internet Supervisor

On the night of 18 August, the “international domain name registry” blocked southfront.org without any warning or explanation. Despite the fact that this organisation has been formally independent since 1998, it is actually controlled by the US Department of Commerce. What they have done is an unprecedented action in the history of modern information society. This is the American way of democracy, freedom of speech and the rule of law.

SouthFront.Org Blocked By U.S.-Controlled Global Internet Supervisor

H/T: Dave DeCamp