Healthcare
Fauci struggles to explain why vaccinated Americans should not travel
President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared on CNN’s “New Day” Tuesday morning, one year after the World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 outbreak a pandemic, and attempted to explain why the Biden administration has yet to say it’s safe to travel again.
Host John Berman asked Fauci to explain the science behind why the CDC has not said it’s safe for people who have been vaccinated to travel.
“We know from the Biden administration that they say it will make its decisions based on science. What’s the science behind not saying it’s safe for people who have been vaccinated, received two doses, to travel?” Berman asked.
Fauci said the CDC is “headed in that direction,” but it is a multi-step process.
Fauci went on to note the guidelines that were released Monday by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky that stated that fully vaccinated people can meet indoors without masks.
“That was the first in a multi-step process that they are going to be rolling out,” Fauci told Berman.
“They’re being careful, understandably. They want to get science. They want to get data. And then when you don’t have the data and you don’t have the actual evidence, then you’ve got to make a judgment call,” Fauci continued.
“I think that’s what you’re going to be seeing in the next weeks. You’re going to see little by little, more and more guidelines getting people to be more and more flexible,” Fauci added, noting there’s currently no data suggesting travel is not safe after receiving the vaccination.
“The first installation of this is what can vaccinated people do in the home setting? Obviously, the next one is going to be what you’re asking. What about travel? What about going out? What about getting a haircut? What about doing things like that? That’s all imminently going to be coming out,” he concluded.
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Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a longtime supporter of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, is now acknowledging the unintended consequences of the healthcare legislation, particularly its impact on industry consolidation and rising healthcare prices.
Warren, who has been a vocal proponent of Obamacare, has recently had what the Wall Street Journal reported as an “epiphany” regarding the consequences of the healthcare law. In a letter addressed to the Health and Human Services Department inspector general, Warren, along with Senator Mike Braun of Indiana, expressed concerns about vertically-integrated healthcare companies potentially increasing prescription drug costs and evading federal regulations.
According to reports from Fox News, the bipartisan letter highlighted issues with the nation’s largest health insurers allegedly bypassing Obamacare’s medical loss ratio (MLR). According to Warren, these insurers, through vertical integration, have manipulated the system, leading to “sky-high prescription drug costs and excessive corporate profits.”
The senators detailed how conglomerates, like UnitedHealth Group, with ownership across various healthcare sectors, could inflate medical payments to pharmacies and, by realizing those payments on the pharmacy side, appear to comply with MLR requirements while retaining more profits.
Moreover, despite the Democrats’ argument that the MLR would benefit patients, it has incentivized insurers to merge with or acquire pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), retail and specialty pharmacies, and healthcare providers. This, in turn, has made healthcare spending less transparent, as insurers can allegedly shift profits to their affiliates by increasing reimbursements.
Warren, who has consistently voted against Obamacare repeal efforts, notably advocated for a “Medicare for All” proposal during her 2020 presidential campaign. Despite her prior support for the healthcare law, Warren’s recent concerns about its unintended consequences have raised questions about the long-term effects of Obamacare and its impact on the healthcare industry.
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