Executive Director, Commonwealth Connector
Executive Director of Commonwealth Connector, which is leading the healthcare reformer in Massachusetts
PROFILE
Jon Kingsdale
Guest
FROM Jon Kingsdale
To the Point
Healthcare, Insurance Companies and the Presidential Campaign The cost of healthcare is rising all over the world, but nowhere faster than in the United States, even though more spending does not mean better health. In five years, the cost of health insurance premiums rose 87% in the US, four times faster than the growth in wages. Law enforcement officials in New York and California are investigating claims that insurance companies rig what they pay providers and dump patients after they get sick. But insurance, which is 25% of the cost, isn't the only thing that's driving up costs. Will the broader coverage promised by political candidates lead to better results? Are doctors and their patients helping to drive up costs by demanding more healthcare than they really need?
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To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.