The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly - 2/26/24

The ongoing saga…

 The Great – The efforts of Antony Blinken in his work to bring about a resolution of the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

The Good – Governor Ned Lamont (D-CT) for the State of Connecticut announced that the state will cancel roughly $650 million in medical debt for an estimated 250,000 residents in 2024 as an effort to provide fiscal relief those those without resources. PS – He holds the highest approval of any Governor in the nation.

 The Bad – The recalcitrant position of Benjamin Netanyahu – although it may be more bluster than real. We shall see in the coming weeks….

The Ugly – The legal and illegal drug problems that are permeating society (SEE above notices).

 

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly - 1/22/24

The ongoing saga… 

The Great – At least the healthcare community is creating jobs!! [SEE above commentary]. The only problem is that the percent of GDP health care spend is nearly 20% – which is not so good

The Good – Cigarette smoking among youth since 1997 has dropped consistently and has now reached historic lows of only 2.1% of youth smoking!!! That represents a 93% reduction from the smoking peak in 1997 when 28.3% of youth smoked cigarettes. 

The Bad – The ongoing war of survival for the people of Ukraine and the inability for the nations of the world to put a stop to the humanitarian crisis that is present in Gaza as a result of the ongoing war between the Israelis and Hamas.

The More Than Bad – The #2 recipient of the 7th Annual Shkreli Award given to the "most egregious examples of profiteering and dysfunction in healthcare," goes to former CEO – Lloyd Dean – of CommonSpirit Health (a NFP, Catholic health care system - nonetheless) for paying him a $35.5 million compensation package in 2021. The award is determined by a diverse panel. Whoa!! I really missed the boat as the former CMO for a predecessor organization to CommonSpirit…but, then, again – we actually had discussions about the pay differential of executives compared to front-line workers – and, what to do about it. But, that was in the day…

The Ugly – The inaction of the 2022-2023 Congress [SEE above commentary] portends an ugly time in America…

 

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly - 12/4/23

The ongoing saga… 

The Great – The holiday spirit is slowly eking its way into the discussions with friends and colleagues. It is a time of family, sharing, appreciating, and even loving. We should all try to figure out how to sustain the feeling throughout the entire year!

The Good – There were no reported mass shootings this past week. Hmmm… 

The Bad – The pointing of fingers amidst the controversies that abound throughout the world. Everyone is taking sides rather than listening to one another. It creates a bad situation whereby we don’t hear one another and negate discussions on potential solutions.

The Ugly – The discussion on “civil war” that I pointed to in the “Occasional Perspective” above. 

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and, Occasional Great

The ongoing saga… 

The Great – The re-introduction of the Value in Health Care Act of 2023 by a group of bi-partisan legislators with the support of 17 major health care advocacy groups!!

The Good – The growing movement within the health care industry towards moving our payment system from a “I-did-this” orientation toward a “I-helped-to-prevent this-and-made-that-better” reimbursement system with a focus on “value”.

The Bad – The ongoing effects of climate change – whether it’s the extreme summer temperatures in Phoenix, the adverse weather patterns in Europe, the fact that Maine lobsters have already moved 250 miles further north to become Canadians due to the warming Gulf of Maine, the hurricanes in the Atlantic or, your favorite weather-related problem. But, of course, there is no climate change from anything humans have done…

The Ugly – Returning to the USA and daily saga of American politics where the focus is on power and control rather than on solving problems – and, we have many!!

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly -8/14/23

The Great – I’m on a six-week trip through Newfoundland (pronounced “New-fin-land, as I understand it – still trying to verify 😊) across the entire island. It’s an extraordinary place with wonderful engaging and inviting people that make one feel right at home… Furthermore, it’s great to be disconnected from the media and mayhem of America for at least a short period of time…

The Good – News on the USA economic home front in the last week was very good, including:

  • 2nd quarter annualized growth of the USA economy at 2.4% - higher than projected.
  • Inflation was down from the last quarter and slower at 2.6% - or, lower than most analysts’ projections.
  • The USA economy is 6% larger today than it was prior to the onset of COVID-19.
  • Real business investment and consumer spending were up 7.7% in real terms… 

The Bad – I read all 45 pages of the August 1st indictment of our last USA President and developed severe dyspepsia. See “The Occasional Perspective” above…

The Ugly – The fact that Jack Smith, the Independent Counsel in charge of the investigation related to conspiracy issues of our former President, has had to seek protection because of death threats is an incredibly sad commentary. We – in the USA – are no longer acting like a “leader” country but more like a 3rd rate, lawless nation falling under the control of gangs!

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