Sir, the people want to know about your casino.
Casino? I don’t have a casino.
The property at 1200 Cunix Way is in your name.
Well, I have a lot of properties.
And there is a casino on that property.
That would probably be a grand place for a casino.
That’s the name! The Grand Cunix Casino.
Really? I don’t know anything about that.
And there is a huge picture of you in the entrance.
You’ve seen this and been in the casino?
Yes.
So you frequent casinos and have a gambling problem. You should be ashamed.
How many times were we told last year by Donald Trump and his apologists that he knew nothing about Project 2025? This is a link to his statement during the Presidential Debate.
He was clear that he knew nothing about Project 2025, had not read it, and wouldn’t. He put as much distance as he could from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise. And now we are moments away from one of the authors, Russ Vought (page 23 of 922) becoming the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
It is obvious that some people like being lied to. I’m just not one of them.
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It is amazing how many people find themselves in possession of protected health information. It is not just every insurance agent and medical professional. And since 1996 we have had strict regulations detailing how that information must be stored and how it can be shared. It is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). What can be shared and with who has been strictly delineated. Failure to comply can result in fines. There are both civil and criminal penalties for individuals who OBTAIN or USE Protected Health Information without permission. Has Elon Musk breached the CMS computers? Here is the truth – we don’t know. I often tell my clients that “We don’t have any privacy. You are undressing in front of the window. Smile and wave.” Who knew Elon Musk was peeking through the window?
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Change is inevitable. Our health care system is about to change. Perhaps the changes will be subtle. Perhaps we will see a radical remaking of our health insurance system, the way Americans access and pay for health care. I don’t know. We shouldn’t fear change, but it is reasonable to be concerned based on who is currently driving (us off a cliff…). I was finishing an application with a client last week. We were down to the last questions.
Are you feeling Anxious or Depressed?
She hesitated and laughed uneasily.
OK, let me ask this differently. Are you feeling Anxious or Depressed when you aren’t watching the news?
Dave, yes, I’m worried all of the time. He is going to screw up everything! Can you guarantee that we are going
to keep our Medicare Supplement policies, that our Social Security won’t be touched?
No, I can’t. I can only hope that we will be grandfathered.
Then my answer is “Yes”.
I will be in Washington the week of the 23rd. I knew what to expect in 2017. I have no idea what my peers and I will encounter this year as we meet with member of Congress and the administration to discuss the rules, regulations, and goals of our health care system. Please call or email me if you have any questions or topics you would like me to discuss while I’m there.
I promise to avoid all government computers and I won’t be peeking through any windows.
Dave
Picture – Dark Skies – David L Cunix