Darius Tahir | (TNS) KFF Health News President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to run the sprawling government agency that administers Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act marketplace — celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz — recently held broad investments in health care, tech, and food companies that would pose significant conflicts of interest. Oz’s holdings, some shared with family, included a stake in UnitedHealth Group worth as much as $600,000, as well as shares of pharmaceutical firms and tech companies with business in the health care sector, such as Amazon. Collectively, Oz’s investments total tens of millions of dollars, according to financial disclosures he filed during his failed 2022 run for a Pennsylvania U.S. Senate seat. Trump said Tuesday he would nominate Oz as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The agency’s scope is huge: CMS oversees coverage for more than 160 million Americans, nearly half the population. Medicare alone accounts for approximately $1 trillion in annual spending, with over 67 million enrollees. UnitedHealth Group is one of the largest health care companies in the nation and arguably the most important business partner of CMS, through which it is the leading provider of commercial health plans available to Medicare beneficiaries. UnitedHealth also offers managed-care plans under Medicaid, the joint state-federal program for low-income people, and sells plans on government-run marketplaces set up via the Affordable Care Act. Oz also had smaller stakes in CVS Health, which now includes the insurer Aetna, and in the insurer Cigna. It’s not clear if Oz, a heart surgeon by training, still holds investments in health care companies, or if he would divest his shares or otherwise seek to mitigate conflicts of interest should he be confirmed by the Senate. Reached by phone on Wednesday, he said he was in a Zoom meeting and declined to comment. An assistant did not reply to an email message with detailed questions. “It’s obvious that over the years he’s cultivated an interest in the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry,” said Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a watchdog group. “That raises a question of whether he can be trusted to act on behalf of the American people.” (The publisher of KFF Health News, David Rousseau, is on the CSPI board .) Oz used his TikTok page on multiple occasions in November to praise Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including their efforts to take on the “illness-industrial complex,” and he slammed “so-called experts like the big medical societies” for dishing out what he called bad nutritional advice. Oz’s positions on health policy have been chameleonic; in 2010, he cut an ad urging Californians to sign up for insurance under President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, telling viewers they had a “historic opportunity.” Oz’s 2022 financial disclosures show that the television star invested a substantial part of his wealth in health care and food firms. Were he confirmed to run CMS, his job would involve interacting with giants of the industry that have contributed to his wealth. Given the breadth of his investments, it would be difficult for Oz to recuse himself from matters affecting his assets, if he still holds them. “He could spend his time in a rocking chair” if that happened, Lurie said. In the past, nominees for government positions with similar potential conflicts of interest have chosen to sell the assets or otherwise divest themselves. For instance, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland agreed to divest their holdings in relevant, publicly traded companies when they joined the Biden administration. Trump, however, declined in his first term to relinquish control of his own companies and other assets while in office, and he isn’t expected to do so in his second term. He has not publicly indicated concern about his subordinates’ financial holdings. CMS’ main job is to administer Medicare. About half of new enrollees now choose Medicare Advantage, in which commercial insurers provide their health coverage, instead of the traditional, government-run program, according to an analysis from KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. Proponents of Medicare Advantage say the private plans offer more compelling services than the government and better manage the costs of care. Critics note that Medicare Advantage plans have a long history of costing taxpayers more than the traditional program. UnitedHealth, CVS, and Cigna are all substantial players in the Medicare Advantage market. It’s not always a good relationship with the government. The Department of Justice filed a 2017 complaint against UnitedHealth alleging the company used false information to inflate charges to the government. The case is ongoing. Oz is an enthusiastic proponent of Medicare Advantage. In 2020, he proposed offering Medicare Advantage to all; during his Senate run, he offered a more general pledge to expand those plans. After Trump announced Oz’s nomination for CMS, Jeffrey Singer, a senior fellow at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, said he was “uncertain about Dr. Oz’s familiarity with health care financing and economics.” Singer said Oz’s Medicare Advantage proposal could require large new taxes — perhaps a 20% payroll tax — to implement. Oz has gotten a mixed reception from elsewhere in Washington. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, the Democrat who defeated Oz in 2022, signaled he’d potentially support his appointment to CMS. “If Dr. Oz is about protecting and preserving Medicare and Medicaid, I’m voting for the dude,” he said on the social platform X. Oz’s investments in companies doing business with the federal government don’t end with big insurers. He and his family also hold hospital stocks, according to his 2022 disclosure, as well as a stake in Amazon worth as much as nearly $2.4 million. (Candidates for federal office are required to disclose a broad range of values for their holdings, not a specific figure.) Amazon operates an internet pharmacy, and the company announced in June that its subscription service is available to Medicare enrollees. It also owns a primary care service , One Medical, that accepts Medicare and “select” Medicare Advantage plans. Oz was also directly invested in several large pharmaceutical companies and, through investments in venture capital funds, indirectly invested in other biotech and vaccine firms. Big Pharma has been a frequent target of criticism and sometimes conspiracy theories from Trump and his allies. Kennedy, whom Trump has said he’ll nominate to be Health and Human Services secretary, is a longtime anti-vaccine activist. During the Biden administration, Congress gave Medicare authority to negotiate with drug companies over their prices. CMS initially selected 10 drugs. Those drugs collectively accounted for $50.5 billion in spending between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023, under Medicare’s Part D prescription drug benefit. At least four of those 10 medications are manufactured by companies in which Oz held stock, worth as much as about $50,000. 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It’s unclear whether the government would pay for the services. In his TikTok videos from earlier in November, Oz echoed attacks on the food industry by Kennedy and other figures in his “Make America Healthy Again” movement. They blame processed foods and underregulation of the industry for the poor health of many Americans, concerns shared by many Democrats and more mainstream experts. But in 2022, Oz owned stakes worth as much as $80,000 in Domino’s Pizza, Pepsi, and US Foods, as well as more substantial investments in other parts of the food chain, including cattle; Oz reported investments worth as much as $5.5 million in a farm and livestock, as well as a stake in a dairy-free milk startup. He was also indirectly invested in the restaurant chain Epic Burger. One of his largest investments was in the Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain Wawa, which sells fast food and all manner of ultra-processed snacks. Oz and his wife reported a stake in the company, beloved by many Pennsylvanians, worth as much as $30 million. ©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's defense of the national championship has fallen woefully short. The Wolverines started the season ranked No. 9 in the AP Top 25 , making them the third college football team since 1991 to be ranked worse than seventh in the preseason poll after winning a national title. Michigan (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten) failed to meet those modest expectations, barely becoming eligible to play in a bowl and putting the program in danger of losing six or seven games for the first time since the Brady Hoke era ended a decade ago. The Wolverines potentially can ease some of the pain with a win against rival and second-ranked Ohio State (10-1, 7-1, No. 2 CFP) on Saturday in the Horseshoe, but that would be a stunning upset. Ohio State is a 21 1/2-point favorite, according to the BetMGM Sportsbook, and that marks just the third time this century that there has been a spread of at least 20 1/2 points in what is known as “The Game.” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore doesn't sound like someone who is motivating players with an underdog mentality. “I don’t think none of that matters in this game,” Moore said Monday. “It doesn’t matter the records. It doesn’t matter anything. The spread, that doesn’t matter.” How did Michigan end up with a relative mess of a season on the field, coming off its first national title since 1997? Winning it all with a coach and star player contemplating being in the NFL for the 2024 season seemed to have unintended consequences for the current squad. The Wolverines closed the College Football Playoff with a win over Washington on Jan. 8; several days later quarterback J.J. McCarthy announced he was skipping his senior season; and it took more than another week for Jim Harbaugh to bolt to coach the Los Angeles Chargers. In the meantime, most quality quarterbacks wanting to transfer had already enrolled at other schools and Moore was left with lackluster options. Davis Warren beat out Alex Orji to be the team's quarterback for the opener and later lost the job to Orji only to get it back again. No matter who was under center, however, would've likely struggled this year behind an offensive line that sent six players to the NFL. The Wolverines lost one of their top players on defense, safety Rod Moore, to a season-ending injury last spring and another one, preseason All-America cornerback Will Johnson, hasn't played in more than a month because of an injury. The Buckeyes are not planning to show any mercy after losing three straight in the series. “We’re going to attack them," Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer said. “We know they’re going to come in here swinging, too, and they’ve still got a good team even though the record doesn’t indicate it. This game, it never matters what the records are." While a win would not suddenly make the Wolverines' season a success, it could help Moore build some momentum a week after top-rated freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan. “You come to Michigan to beat Ohio,” said defensive back Quinten Johnson, intentionally leaving the word State out when referring to the rival. "That's one of the pillars of the Michigan football program. “It doesn’t necessarily change the fact of where we are in the season, but it definitely is one of the defining moments of your career here at Michigan.” AP Sports Writer Mitch Stacy in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report. Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll[Bank Name]I Research Disappearing Small-Town Jewish Communities. I’m Finding the Best of America.
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Furthermore, Guangyu Mingdao has also played a pivotal role in promoting collaboration and knowledge sharing within the industry. By hosting international conferences, seminars, and workshops, Guangyu Mingdao has created a platform for industry leaders, policymakers, and experts to come together, exchange ideas, and explore opportunities for collaboration.
How the grateful dead and a New York Apparel designer sponsored the 1992 Lithuanian Olympic Basketball TeamOne of the key changes in the new regulations is the shift from a purely price-focused evaluation to a more holistic assessment that considers factors such as product quality, efficacy, safety, and service. This approach acknowledges the importance of ensuring that patients receive high-quality and effective medications while also promoting fair competition among pharmaceutical companies.
CMLC sells land east of Central Library for a pair of residential towersUnderstanding that market volatility can pose significant risks, the heroes of Aurora are inclined towards investing in medium to low-risk financial products. These types of investments typically offer more stable returns over time, while ensuring that their capital is relatively protected from market fluctuations.Trans-rights debate front and center on Capitol Hill
We continue to climb steadily up the World War III escalation ladder. Last week , Biden foolishly gave Ukraine the green light to strike deep into Russian territory using U.S. missiles. Now Russia has responded, as Putin promised they would. On November 21st Russia launched a new hypersonic missile known as the Oreshnik. It is a unique weapon designed to send a clear message. The Oreshnik utilizes a system similar to MIRV (multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle) technology common on nuclear ICBMs. This new missile has 6 warheads which each have 6 submunitions. That’s 36 projectiles per missile in total. Here is a still shot of one of the sets of 6 submunitions just before reaching its target. It is important to note that the projectiles are not glowing due to rocket engines firing. The warheads separated from the booster engine at a much higher altitude and are now gliding. The submunitions are glowing due to the plasma bubble created by friction against the dense atmosphere at speeds of around Mach 10 (7,600 mph). That’s 2.1 miles per second. At such speeds, even if the Oreshnik’s submunitions lack significant explosive payloads, the kinetic energy alone would make for an effective strike asset. This is similar to the sci-fi weapon concept colloquially known as “rods from God”, in which inert tungsten rods are flung down from orbit. The U.S. and NATO have no defense against the Oreshnik. Targeting 36 independent projectiles traveling at 7,600 mph is a fool’s errand. Striking the missile before the warheads separate is also unlikely, as it has a variable-speed solid rocket engine which makes its trajectory unpredictable. This new missile adds to Russia’s impressive hypersonic arsenal: Each of these weapons is fully operational, in full production, and has been used successfully during the Ukraine war. To date, these weapons have only been used with conventional explosives. But the first three can also be armed with nuclear warheads. NATO air defenses have not found much if any, success against Russian hypersonics. And with new options such as the Oreshnik, which would likely target air defenses and ballistic missile sites, the balance in conventional weaponry in Ukraine has moved further in Russia’s favor. Meanwhile, the U.S. is struggling to get our first hypersonic conventional missile, the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), in service. The U.S. has long worked on hypersonic missiles, but the engineering challenges are extreme. Traveling at speeds of Mach 5+ generates massive amounts of heat and friction. America’s bloated defense sector has been unable to meet the requirements so far. Hopefully, Trump finds success in revitalizing our military-industrial complex. Otherwise, we will continue to fall behind. Nuclear Options As Biden goads Russia, he is implicitly relying on America’s nuclear weapons stockpile as a deterrent. At this point, we cannot match Russia when it comes to conventional missile technology. So when Biden willingly crosses Russia’s red lines, he is counting on the threat of American nuclear weapons to prevent full-out war. He also appears to be attempting to sabotage President Trump’s promise to end the war in Ukraine. This is incredibly reckless behavior. One major problem is that Russia has an even larger and more modern nuclear arsenal. If Moscow or a nuclear power plant is targeted by Ukraine using American missiles, there is a possibility that Russia retaliates with a nuclear strike. We are in essence calling their bluff. And they need to preserve their own defense deterrence posture, or they could look weak. From there, things could get very ugly very quickly. In a nuclear war, there are no winners. Biden and his handlers are playing a dangerous game. They are gambling with hundreds of millions of lives. All of this is simply to drag out another unwinnable conflict. Have we learned nothing from the War on Terror? America’s reign as a lone superpower is over. That’s a reality that needs to sink in so U.S. policy can adapt accordingly. The sooner the Deep State realizes this, the better off we’ll all be. The lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis were clear. Lesson One is to avoid escalation. Lesson Two is that if escalation begins, it’s crucial to de-escalate. Failure to abide by these lessons is a straight path to nuclear war. Russia has signaled that it is ready to begin immediate negotiations with the Trump administration. Trump’s upcoming presidency may be the only thing preventing WW3. Inauguration Day can’t come fast enough.
With bowl drought quenched, Matt Rhule eager to see Nebraska football set new 'standard' (copy)
THE controversial China-born crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun has invested US$30 million in President-elect Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial, making him the largest investor in the decentralised finance (DeFi) project. “The US is becoming the blockchain hub, and Bitcoin owes it to @realDonaldTrump!,” Sun, the founder of the cryptocurrency firm Tron, announced in a post on X on Monday (Nov 25). “Tron is committed to making America great again and leading innovation.” A spokesperson for Sun did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “We are excited about the momentum experienced by World Liberty Financial, and this sizeable purchase of WLF tokens underscores the early success of this project,” a spokesperson for World Liberty said. “Indeed, there have been several significant purchases in recent weeks, and we are confident in our future success as we build a platform that promotes freer and fairer finance. We expect more such developments to happen in the coming weeks and months.” The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Sun in March 2023 for allegedly violating securities rules. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, claims that Sun worked with companies he owns and controls to engineer the offer and sale of the unregistered securities. It also accuses the crypto entrepreneur of breaking antifraud and market manipulation rules. Sun has said in the past that he believes that an SEC court filing accusing him and several of his firms of violating securities rules “lacks merit”. Earlier this year, USDC stablecoin issuer Circle axed their support for the Tron blockchain – attributing the decision to a “risk management framework” that “continually assesses the suitability of all blockchains” for the stablecoin. Trump-backed World Liberty Financial, launched a day after the former president emerged from a second apparent assassination attempt, is being promoted by Trump and his sons as part of the DeFi movement, which seeks to democratise access to financial services through the elimination of intermediaries. During World Liberty’s initial launch, the Wilmington, Delaware-based project planned to raise US$300 million at a US$1.5 billion valuation. However, it recently disclosed that its US$300 million offering of tokens is primarily being marketed offshore. World Liberty filed a notice with American regulators on the offering, stating that it “currently only plans” to sell US$30 million of tokens in the US. After reaching the US$30 million threshold, World Liberty will terminate the US offering, even though the company has some US$288.5 million of tokens available for sale, according to the document. Trump has been a recent and vocal proponent of digital assets such as Bitcoin. Last week, Bloomberg News reported that Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) is in talks to buy the digital-asset marketplace Bakkt Holdings, citing sources familiar with the discussions who asked not to be named sharing private information. Trump owns more than 50 per cent of TMTG, which operates Truth Social, a social media site. Donald Trump is listed as World Liberty Financial’s chief crypto advocate, while his sons, Eric, Donald Jr and Barron Trump are named as its Web3 ambassadors. The project also includes Paxos co-founder Rich Teo as its stablecoin and payment lead, as well as Luke Pearson, a senior research cryptographer for Polychain. Just two days ago, Sun announced that he paid US$6.2 million for a banana duct-taped to a wall, as part of a piece of work by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. The price of Tron’s TRX token dropped about 5 per cent to around 20 US cents on Monday. It has climbed about 87 per cent this year. BLOOMBERG
Controversial billionaire Elon Musk responded to speculation that MSNBC could be put up for sale , asking on Friday how much the cable news network would set him back. The Comcast media conglomerate announced Wednesday it planned to spin some of its NBCUniversal properties — including MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen and E! — into “a new publicly traded company.” The announcement prompted some social media users, including Donald Trump Jr., to suggest the world’s richest man should buy MSNBC . Many of the left-leaning network’s hosts, including Joe Scarborough, Rachel Maddow and Mika Brzezinski, have been critical of Musk and the MAGA movement he supports . “Hey @elonmusk I have the funniest idea ever!!!” Trump Jr. posted on Friday alongside a graphic joking that MSNBC would sell for the “best offer.” “How much does it cost?” replied Musk, whose net worth was estimated to have reached a record high of $321.7 billion on Friday. Musk’s response was very similar to the one he gave in 2017 when some social media users suggested he buy Twitter. Five years later, he spent $44 billion to purchase the platform , which he renamed X and has since used to promote his right-wing ideology and conspiracy theories . “I mean it can’t be much,” Trump Jr. wrote back. “Look at the ratings.” MSNBC viewership reportedly plummeted 38% after Election Day, according to The Wrap. Musk’s banter with Trump Jr. continued, with the entrepreneur writing, “The most entertaining outcome, especially if ironic, is most likely.” While Comcast made no mention of selling MSNBC to Musk , the big-spending tech wiz has proven he can take over companies despite resistance from their board of directors, just as he did with Twitter. Speculation about Musk buying a progressive cable news network comes a week after satirical site The Onion announced it had purchased Alex Jones’ far-right “InfoWars” empire in a bankruptcy auction. Jones was forced to sell the disgraced brand to satisfy a judgment against him in connection with the lies and conspiracy theories he pushed about the 2012 massacre at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School . A Texas judge has delayed that acquisition while a court reviews details of the bidding process.