Healthcare
Ottawa, Canada puts up COVID-19 checkpoint. Americans worry draconian measures aren’t over – when will it end?
Draconian coronavirus restrictions don’t appear to be going away. Despite ongoing progress with vaccinations against the virus, some government officials keep adding stricter regulations they say will curtail the spread.
But almost everyone is wondering when the government measures will end and question why restrictions are remaining in place if the vaccinations are successful in mitigating the spread of the disease.
In Canada, for instance, the Ottawa government has implemented checkpoints to stop traffic from Quebec from entering the city. Most Canadians are angry over the measures and feel they can’t do much to stop it. They, like their American counterparts, are concerned about civil liberties and government overreach.
One Canadian citizen responded to the post on Twitter by reminding people that “Section 9 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned. These checkpoints are grossly illegal.”
In the United States, mask mandates continue despite vaccinations and regardless of immunity due to exposure to the COVID-19 virus. Moreover, many public schools and employers are still implementing the same restrictions that initially began during the lockdowns over a year ago when the virus first started to spread in the U.S.
In Canada, residents have voiced their frustrations over the strict regulations that at one point led to the arrest of family members who visited a relatives home despite the nation’s six person gathering rule.
From the Ottawa Citizen Monday:
“Commuters were waiting an hour to get across interprovincial bridges as Ontario’s strict new stay-at-home order takes full effect. On the Quebec side, traffic on Highway 50 was backed up for several kilometres to la Vérendrye Boulevard.Ottawa police were not turning people around or ticketing on Monday, with stops initially aimed at “informing and sensitizing” people about the new restrictions.There are five bridges that connect Ottawa and Gatineau.Officers were also to be stationed at the Quyon and the Bourbonnais ferries.Ottawa police will question Ontario-bound travellers while Gatineau police are expected to screen those bound for Quebec, which has also announced interprovincial border control measures.“
Here’s a video Tweet from journalist Michel Boyer, in Canada that shows the checkpoint.
You can follow Sara A Carter on Twitter @SaraCarterDC
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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