Book Review - Heaven on Earth: The Rise, Fall, and Afterlife of Socialism

The very first Armstrong & Getty Book Club (or A&G Book Review, TBD) has convened.  Jack & Joe were joined by "Tim The Lawyer" Sandefur and "Craig the Healthcare Guru/Gangsta" Gottwals. The group sat down at the A&G Radio Ranch for the first in a series of podcasts in which each participant shared their thoughts on "Heaven on Earth: The Rise, Fall, and Afterlife of Socialism" by Joshua Muravchik.

Listen to us discuss:

• The difference socialism and fascism
• Why communism will always lead to fascism
• What leads folks to desire socialism
• The work ethic of Karl Marx
• Did you bring enough gum for everyone? 
• And more  

We will be doing these roughly once per quarter with each of us selecting a book per year.  This book was my selection, up next is Tim with Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker.  We'll do that sometime on or near December 1st. 
 

Trump And The Senate Make Significant Progress On Hospital Price Transparency w/Armstrong & Getty

From Forbes:  

On July 30, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed a landmark new rule that would require hospitals to make public, in a machine-readable format, prices “for all items and services provided by the hospital.” Critically, the rule would require hospitals to publish both their “gross charges,” or their sticker prices, along with “payer-specific negotiated charges,” or the prices hospitals negotiate with each insurer they work with. 

In addition, the proposed rule would require hospitals to disclose “payer-specific negotiated charges for common shoppable services in a manner that is consumer friendly.” For example, hospitals would have to post what they charge for MRI scans and common lab tests that patients often pay for out-of-pocket.

“This proposal is now the most significant step any President has ever taken to deliver transparency and put patients in control of their care,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. He’s right. This rule, if finalized, will revolutionize the market for hospital care.

Full story.

See also:

• CMS Takes Bold Action to Implement Key Elements of President Trump’s Executive Order to Empower Patients with Price Transparency and Increase Competition to Lower Costs for Medicare Beneficiaries.  
• Fact Sheet: CY 2020 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System Proposed Rule (CMS-1717-P)
• Full Proposed Regulation: Medicare Program: Proposed Changes to Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs; Price Transparency of Hospital Standard Charges; etc.