Sunday, July 21, 2019

Acts of cowardice by Greensboro's News and Record and its editorial page editor Allen Johnson

Sunday, April 21, 2019; "Allen Johnson's deafening silence on N.C. Treasurer Folwell's plan to increase transparency and lower healthcare costs"

 https://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2019/04/allen-johnsons-deafening-silence-on-nc.html


State Treasurer Dale Folwell is trying to keep North Carolina’s State Health Plan
projected to run out of money in 2023, solvent,
while Greensboro and North Carolina's media don't bother to actually investigate
and editorial page editors like Allen Johnson sit on the sidelines.

The State Health Plan Board of Trustees unanimously approved Folwells plan,
yet our corporate, for profit 'news industry' won't provide any numbers
or show examples of how the health industry is ripping off North Carolinians.

A starting teacher or trooper has to work one week out of every work month 
just to afford the family premium for health care.  

The current plan is unsustainable.  

The increased money we get is 4 percent a year 
and our health care costs are going up more than that 
and our prescription drugs are double digit.

Dale Folwell

Folwell says state auditors “do not have access to the contracts and cannot verify that the State Health Plan is receiving the proper contractual discounts."  A public records request his office made for medical procedure price lists from UNC Health Care provided only reams of redacted pages, and people like Allen Johnson won't speak up on the issue.

Allen Johnson let Cone Health run an opinion piece on keeping the con in place by the CEO, but has yet to write anything himself on the subject.

Allen Johnson let Cone Health CEO Terry Akins, who made more than $1.7 million in 2017, cite a "$26 million a year to our bottom line" potential annual loss for a 'non-profit' which "reported $110.4 million in "excess revenue," which is akin to profit for a for-profit organization" according to the News and Record.

The News and Record's Taft Wireback asked NC Treasurer Dale Folwell where the $26 million number came from, but not Cone CEO Terry Akins, who Wireback reported "Cone Health's CEO also said in an internal email that the Clear Pricing Project would cost the hospital an additional $26 million."

The state treasurer’s cuts — $26 million a year to our bottom line
...would reduce our yearly operating margin by nearly half. 

That means Cone Health would have almost 50 percent fewer dollars to invest in facilities,
employees and services that keep you healthy and well.

Cone Health CEO Terry Akins
Allowed to lie to the public by Greensboro's News and Record
Opinion Page Column, Feb 17, 2019 
Allowed to run by Allen Johnson, who has yet to chime in on the issue

Sunday, July 14, 2019; News and Record's "Cone Health, state remain at odds over new State Health Plan" with no investigative reporting on health care pricing

 https://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2019/07/news-and-records-cone-health-state.html

 WFMY reported Folwell saying "Cone Health says the state health plan makes up only 5% of their revenue but they claim that it will cost them 50% of their profit."


"Those two numbers just don't add up," he added.

Carolina Journal reported "The State Health Plan’s actuary says Folwell’s changes would avoid $486 million in extra health plan costs through fiscal year 2021-22, and an extra $1.1 billion in unfunded liabilities. The General Assembly’s actuary puts the additional claims costs at $534 million, and pegs new unfunded liabilities at $1 billion", but the News and Record and our 'mainstream' local and state media can't bring themselves to informing the public about actually useful information

The medical industry is chock full of thieves, which includes local physicians and providers who play dumb about skyrocketing costs.

How many families did Cone Health force into bankruptcy last year?

Our media and government let the healthcare industry fleece consumers.

Our 'leaders' barred drug re-importation from Canada at the expense of ordinary Americans and Warren Buffet's News and Record etc... let them without much of a peep as the advertising money rushed in.

The scene from Lake Jeannette:




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