Healthcare
Rand Paul: Fauci is wearing a mask ‘because it’s one of his noble lies to convince everybody to wear masks’
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul joined “Fox & Friends” Thursday to defend his earlier statements at Wednesday’s coronavirus hearing.
At the hearing, Paul challenged infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci’s stance on immunity and asked him to provide evidence on why people who have been vaccinated need to continue wearing masks.
“That’s the science of vaccines. When you get an infection or you get the vaccination, you develop immunity. Yet [Fauci] keeps moving the goal post saying, ‘well you might get this variant from South Africa.’ My point to him is: show us the evidence. Show us the scientific evidence that people who have already have Covid, people who have already had the vaccine, are getting it again,” Paul said on Fox & Friends.
“If they’re getting it in large numbers and they’re getting ill and going to the hospital and dying, we should know that. But it’s not true. It’s his conjecture. He says we might get it, therefore we need to wear the mask for another year.”
“It’s a ridiculous notion not based on science and what he is doing is theater and it goes against the science of vaccines. Dr. Fauci has immunity, he can’t get it again. He’s wearing a mask because it’s one of his noble lies to convince everybody to wear masks, but it’s not true.”
Paul went on to say that as an incentive for those who have been vaccinated, they should be allowed to not wear a mask.
“It should be the incentive for people to go out and get vaccinated,” Paul said.
Fauci said he “totally disagrees” with Paul and explained that new, highly contagious variants could pose a threat to people who have recovered from Covid or who have been vaccinated.
Fauci has said the U.S. is in a race against virus variants and he is concerned the country will “declare victory” over the virus too soon.
“I’m concerned that if we pull back in our enthusiasm for the fact that vaccines are rolling out, and things look good, if we pull back prematurely, we may trigger another surge. And that would really set us back in all the things that we’re trying to do,” Fauci said at the hearing Thursday.
Follow Annaliese Levy on Twitter @AnnalieseLevy
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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