Nero + Fiddle = Covid-19 disaster

Trump and Pence know not what they say or do. And thousands of people are going to pay the ultimate price for their folly: 

Breaking News: Dr. Anthony Fauci warned the U.S. could see 100,000 new coronavirus cases a day, citing surges that put “the entire country at risk.” “It could get very bad,” he said.

Watch his Senate testimony live here.

Commentary on June Medical Services v. Russo

Today's three SCOTUSblog commentators aren't claiming "Victory" in yesterday's 5-4 ruling striking down Louisiana's patently unconstitutional abortion law: https://www.scotusblog.com/category/special-features/symposia-on-rulings-from-october-term-2019/symposium-on-the-courts-ruling-in-june-medical-services-v-russo/.

They're right to be worried. Justice Roberts made it perfectly clear that on the merits he believes Louisiana was within its rights to require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges in a nearby hospital.

This, of course, is a position the Court rejected four years ago in Whole Women's Health, which involved a nearly identical Texas requirement (and from which CJ Roberts dissented). But doing the math in 2020, there are now five justices who believe Whole Women's Health was incorrectly decided. Chief Justice Roberts' concurring opinion yesterday was based on the slenderest of reeds -- stare decisis -- and, although it provided the fifth vote to doom the Louisiana law, clearly signaled that a majority of the Court is open to an interpretation of Casey's "undue burden" test that allows states to impose draconian and unjustifiable burdens on a woman's right to choose.

The Roe/Casey consensus hangs by the slenderest of threads.

One pill retails for $15.98 or $0.11: Who decides?

As if I needed more evidence of how messed up our health care system is. I went to the pharmacy this morning to pick up a 90-day supply of Xarelto, a blood thinner prescribed by my cardiologist. List price: $1,437.98. My co-pay: $430. That's steep, but it works out to $4.78/day to help prevent blood clots that could go to my heart, lungs, or brain.

The pharmacy tech took pity on me and said, "Let's see if we can get you a better price on that." Ten minutes later, he found a manufacturer's discount that's available for Blue Cross/Blue Shield subscribers, and now my co-pay (for this 90-day supply as well as each of the next three 90-day supplies): $10.00. That's not a typo; that's ten bucks.

Total one-year savings off the list price equals $5,711.92 (who pays that? people with no insurance, that's who), and total one-year savings off my co-pay amount equals $1,680 (and who pays that? my employer (SMU) and fellow BC/BS subscribers (or at least the ones in the SMU health plan). On a personal note, I really owe that Tom Thumb pharmacy tech. On a more meta level: Would anyone design a health care system this random and capricious?