Salty Ginger Talk Newsletter

December 12, 2024

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SGT
December 12, 2024

Salty Ginger Talk Newsletter

December 12, 2024

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CURRENT EVENTS

MSNBC ratings are dropping faster than Olympic user life expectancy.

Our take: MSNBC has seen its ratings continue to plummet since election day. During the week of December 2nd, two of it’s “biggest” on-air personalities, Jen Psaki and Alex Wagner, saw their shows deliver the lowest ratings since their inception. In addition, Lawrence O’Donnell saw his smallest audience ever in the coveted 25-54 age bracket, with only 61,000 demo viewers.

MSNBC owner Comcast has been rumored to be planning to spin off its “news” networks for sale. One has to wonder what value the buyer would see in this network and their current line-up.

MSNBC started off as a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC in 1996, combining the news chops of NBC and the technology and financial resources of Microsoft. It’s slow, but partisan hackery has escalated over the past 10 years, with biased coverage of the 2016 elections, the George Floyd riots, the 2020 election, and especially all things negative about Donald Trump. It turns out when you keep clearly lying to people and refusing to acknowledge it, you wind up paying a steep price. The bill has come due for MSNBC, and it looks like they left their wallet in the car.

COURTESY: MSN

The murder of a healthcare CEO surfaces outrage held by many against the medical insurance industry.

Our take: The tragic shooting death of UnitedHealth Care CEO Brian Thompson has brought a major issue to light: the disdain millions of Americans have towards the health insurance industry. People from all walks of life (notably including doctors and nurses) have used the heightened awareness of the industry to voice their outrage and frustration at the perceived business model of deny as many claims as possible to increase profits.

In 2023, UnitedHealth Care delivered gross revenue of $371.6 billion and a profit of $32.4 billion, more than any other company in the industry. All this while denying an industry high 32% of the claims it received, double the rate at which the rest of the industry denied claims. It did not help that United’s parent company CEO Andrew Witty delivered a video message to all associates, memorializing the slain Thompson, which also included the gem that United would “continue to guard against unnecessary care." Oof. The internal video was promptly leaked, which went over like a fart in church.

One would be hard pressed to find someone who worked outside the medical insurance industry who was enamored with the state of customer service and care delivered by medical insurance companies. The solution does not seem that hard to us. A few actions could have this solved in a matter of months.

First, all medical providers and insurance companies need to publish their prices like any other business. And everyone pays the same price regardless of their insurance status. Medical care consumers have zero clue what it should cost for even basic things like blood tests, MRI’s, and X-rays. The only other business we can think of where you consume the product with no idea of the cost of the service is drilling wells.

Second, push the medical industry to the state level, just like auto, home, and life insurance. These markets all function normally every day with almost no heartburn. Only medical insurance is regulated federally, and it is a circus.

Third, an independent body needs to be responsible for approving new hospitals. Currently, the approval or denial of additional hospitals is largely left to existing hospitals. This is akin to the fox guarding the henhouse. If we let the market determine which hospitals get built and which ones fold because they are poorly run, we never would have heard “we are out of beds” during COVID.

This field is another example where you look at the heavy regulation in the industry and don’t have to wonder why the industry is broken. Push these things back to the market, and they will resolve themselves immediately.

COURTESY: MSN

A study shows those who have strong, supportive bonds with family and friends are the happiest.

Our take: The study, conducted over an 85-year period starting in 1938, tracked the health and well-being of 238 sophomores at Harvard College. Wealth and fame were the answers people gave when asked what would make them happiest in life. It turns out having strong relationships with loved ones beats everything else for happiness and satisfaction in life. The article lays out the various categories that bring people the most satisfaction. Check out the article using the link below. It’s worth the read.

COURTESY: MSN

TIP OF THE DAY

Don’t try to do something you love to make a living. Learn to love something you are really good at, or can get really good at. If you learn to love something you are skilled at, it gives you the best chance for financial freedom.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.

SOURCES: