-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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PBM’s are not driving up prices. People should think of PBM’s as subcontractors for the company that provides them health insurance. Most health insurance covers your medical and pharmaceutical benefit. Insurance companies outsource the administration of the pharmacy benefit to the pharmacy benefit managers. Those companies make their money in many different ways including a “per member per month” charge, spread pricing (what they pay versus what they charge insurance), administrative fees, rebates, etc… These PBMs work with many different plans and they end up controlling a large chunk of the market. Because of their size and influence, they extract… Read more »