Very little has changed since last week. The biggest change: The 100 U.S. counties with the highest #COVID19 death rate per capita have gone from voting for Donald Trump by 19 points...to voting for Donald Trump by *20* points.
Nationally, both cumulative #COVID19 cases and deaths per capita are still higher in red counties, though the ratio has narrowed slightly:
There are now just *48* U.S. counties (out of over 3,100 nationally) which haven't reported any #COVID19 deaths to date. Total population: 183,000.
There are still just *3* U.S. counties which haven't reported any cases yet. Total population: 3,070.
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No matter how sucky you may think your insurance carrier is, they’re limited to no more than a 15-20% gross (not net) margin by the ACA, and ultimately they aren’t usually the ones with the price negotiating power. That’s usually more on the providers side.
Of course sometimes the provider is ALSO the insurance carrier these days...that’s where antitrust and merger issues come into play. Guess who’s known for being a tough warrior against that sort of thing? @SecBecerra.
In light of the just-expanded #ACA subsidies *and* the pending SCOTUS decision on the fate of the ACA due to the zeroing out of the mandate penalty, a reminder: acasignups.net/19/02/26/blast…
During the 2008 primaries between Obama & Clinton, *she* was the one arguing that an individual mandate penalty was necessary to prevent adverse selection, while Obama argued that if the coverage was affordable enough, a mandate wouldn't be necessary. This was a MAJOR flashpoint.
In the end, Obama won the nomination & Presidency...but when the #ACA was signed, it included an individual mandate penalty after all...but the subsidies weren't nearly generous enough for many people.
📣 CALIFORNIA: @CoveredCA announces expanded subsidies will auto-start in May; new subsidy calculator available April 12th; much, MUCH more! acasignups.net/21/03/18/calif…
📣 @CoveredCA estimates 1.2 MILLION uninsured residents are eligible for *far less expensive* (or nearly free!) #ACA coverage thanks to the #AmRescuePlan
📣 They also estimate another *430,000 residents* currently paying full price for off-exchange #ACA plans are now eligible to have their premiums cut by MORE THAN 50% on average simply by switching to the same plan *on* the @CoveredCA exchange.
Short version: The expanded subsidies in the #AmRescuePlan are fantastic, but are only for 2 yrs & only reduce premiums, not deductibles/co-pays. if @SenatorShaheen's #S499 becomes law, not only would that expansion be made *permanent*...
...but it would also accomplish the SECOND major provision of @POTUS Biden's healthcare vision by *upgrading the benchmark #ACA plan* from SILVER to GOLD *and* upgrade *CSR* subsidies as well. Combined, this would dramatically cut down deductibles/other out of pocket expenses.
Powerful. I’m reminded of @ZachWahls famous speech a decade earlier.
The part at the beginning about people “not getting it” also reminds me of something I seem to recall @GovHowardDean saying when he signed the first civil union bill into law (I could be getting this wrong):
As I recall, he said something along the lines of “Lots of people say they’re not comfortable with same-sex couples; I’m not sure I’m entirely comfortable with it either, but it’s not my job to be comfortable, it’s my job to do the right thing.”