author and former health insurance executive
Author of the forthcoming book Nation on the Take: How Big Money Corrupts Our Democracy and What We Can Do about It; former senior fellow on healthcare at the Center for Media and Democracy; former head of corporate communications for CIGNA, the country's fourth-largest insurer
America's Wild West of Drug Pricing Earlier this year, when pharma exec Martin Shkreli bought the rights to an old drug and then raised its price 5000%, Americans named him the most hated man in the country. But he is only doing what Big Pharma does everyday thanks to patent laws and America's free market approach to drug pricing. Rising costs are outraging patients, doctors and health insurers all along the political spectrum, but with all the money Big Pharma spends on lobbying, will Washington take up drug pricing reform?
Healthcare Reform: Competition and the 'Public Option' Last night, ABC News televised a so-called “ town hall ” from the Obama White House. Today on Capitol Hill, committees were meeting both in public and behind closed doors while thousands rallied on the streets outside. It was all about healthcare reform, and debate is focused on quality, cost and proposals for a government-sponsored alternative to private insurance, the so-called “public option.”
Healthcare Reform: Competition and the 'Public Option' Last night, ABC News televised a so-called " town hall " from the Obama White House. Today on Capitol Hill, committees were meeting both in public and behind closed doors while thousands rallied on the streets outside. There's a rare consensus in Washington that this is the moment for healthcare reform if Congress takes action before the end of this year. With protracted wrangling, the opportunity could be lost, and debate has bogged down over a public plan to compete with private insurance. Would it help maintain high quality at reduced cost? Would it drive insurance companies out of the healthcare business? We look at the pros and cons and at competing efforts to shape a winning message. What are the roles of ideology, media manipulation and money?
Is a ‘Red State Democrat’ Even a Democrat? Democrats and progressives were scratching their heads last week when West Virginia’s senator broke with the Democratic Party. We get their reaction.
Are state-mandated gender quotas legal? California becomes the first state to impose gender quotas on corporate boards, but will the new law make it through legal review? It’s a close race for the 25th Congressional seat in Ventura County, as Democrats try to flip the district from red to blue. A wine from the Central Coast plays a lead role in “Somm 3,” and artists debut performances inspired by the Thomas Fire and subsequent mudslides.
Rebecca Traister and the Power of Women’s Anger One of America’s leading feminist writers says women have changed history since Ancient Greece. And, she says, they’ll do it again. The backlash to President Trump was just the beginning. Record numbers of women are running for congress, state governorships and local offices. She tells Warren about her latest book,“Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger.”
