Healthcare
Trump COVID-19 adviser Scott Atlas urges Michigan to ‘rise up’ against Whitmer’s new restrictions
White House coronavirus task force member, Dr. Scott Atlas, urged the people of Michigan to “rise up” after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced new coronavirus restrictions, in a tweet posted Sunday.
“The only way this stops is if people rise up,” Atlas tweeted. “You get what you accept. #FreedomMatters #StepUp”
Atlas followed up with a tweet to clarify he does not condone violence, “Hey. I NEVER was talking at all about violence. People vote, people peacefully protest. NEVER would I endorse or incite violence. NEVER!!”
Gov. Whitmer announced in a news conference Sunday that Michigan will begin a “three-week pause targeting indoor social gatherings and other group activities.”
The new restrictions will temporarily halt in-person instruction at high schools and colleges, indoor dine-in service at restaurants and bars and high school athletics as well as close some businesses, including movie theaters, bowling alleys and casinos.
Whitmer urged the public to “double down” with precautions such as wearing a mask and keeping distance to avoid a second stay-at-home order.
Last month, Atlas received backlash after he had suggested that masks do not work to stop the spread of the coronavirus. He tweeted “Masks work? NO,” which has since been removed by Twitter.
“I don’t understand why the tweets were deleted,” Atlas said in an email, calling out Twitter’s censorship.
He said his tweet was intended to show that “general population masks and mask mandates do not work,” and he clarified that the correct policy is to use masks when one cannot socially distance.
Atlas added that infections exploded even with mandates in Los Angeles County, Miami-Dade County, Hawaii, Alabama, the Philippines, Japan and other places.
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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