DocuSign: Time To Start Taking Profits Here (Rating Downgrade)
Last week, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot to death on a New York City sidewalk in what was clearly a thoroughly planned-out attack. Over the next few days, as authorities hunted for the killer, online progressives did not try hard to hide their delight that a millionaire health insurance executive like Thompson was killed. Social media was flooded with posts and videos—with different ranges of subtlety—suggesting that Thompson, at the very least, did not deserve to be mourned because of all the health care his company has denied to poor and working people. Progressives framed the shooting as an act of self-defense on behalf of the working class. Before the alleged killer was caught Monday, they promised not to snitch if they saw the shooter themselves and fantasized about a working-class jury nullifying all charges, leading to other CEOs getting gunned down with impunity if they oversaw price increases. The narrative that these online progressives clearly subscribe to and perpetuate is one where, in the United States, healthcare is a totally unfettered, unregulated industry; where—because of a total lack of government involvement—wealthy CEOs charge whatever prices they want and then refuse to provide customers what they already paid for without facing any bad consequences. The characterization of healthcare and health insurance companies charging absurdly high prices while treating their customers terribly without the risk of losing them is spot on. But the idea that what caused this was a lack of government involvement in the healthcare system is completely delusional. And this delusion conveniently removes all the responsibility progressives bear for the nightmare that is the US healthcare system. Today, healthcare is one of the most heavily government-regulated industries in the economy—right up there with the finance and energy sectors. Government agencies are involved in all parts of the process, from the research and production of drugs, the training and licensing of medical professionals, and the building of hospitals to the availability of health insurance, the makeup of insurance plans, and the complicated payment processes. And that is nothing new. The US government has been intervening heavily in the healthcare industry for over a century. And no group has done more to bring this about than the progressives. It really began, after all, during the Progressive Era, when the American Medical Association maneuvered its way into setting the official accreditation standards for the nation’s “unregulated” medical schools. The AMA wrote standards that excluded the medical approaches of their competitors, which forced half of the nation’s medical schools to close. The new shortage of trained doctors drove up the price of medical services—to the delight of the AMA and other government-recognized doctor’s groups—setting the familiar healthcare affordability crisis in motion. Around the same time, progressives successfully pushed for strict restrictions on the production of drugs and, shortly afterward, to grant drug producers monopoly privileges. After WWII, as healthcare grew more expensive, the government used the tax code to warp how Americans paid for healthcare. Under President Truman, the IRS made employer-provided health insurance tax deductible while continuing to tax other means of payment. It didn’t take long for employer plans to become the dominant arrangement and for health insurance to morph away from actual insurance into a general third-party payment system. These government interventions restricting the supply of medical care and privileging insurance over other payment methods created a real affordability problem for many Americans. But the crisis didn’t really start until the 1960s when Congress passed two of the progressive’s favorite government programs—Medicare and Medicaid. Initially, industry groups like the AMA opposed Medicare and Medicaid because they believed the government subsidies would deteriorate the quality of care. They were right about that, but what they clearly didn’t anticipate was how rich the programs would make them. Anyone who’s taken even a single introductory economics class could tell you that prices will rise if supply decreases or demand increases. The government was already keeping the supply of medical services artificially low—leading to artificially high prices. Medicare and Medicaid left those shortages in place and poured a ton of tax dollars into the healthcare sector—significantly increasing demand. The result was an easily predictable explosion in the cost of healthcare. Fewer and fewer people could afford healthcare at these rising prices, meaning more people required government assistance, which meant more demand, causing prices to grow faster and faster. Meanwhile, private health “insurance” providers were also benefiting from the mounting crisis. In a free market, insurance serves as a means to trade risk. Insurance works well for accidents and calamities that are hard to predict individually but relatively easy to predict in bulk, like car accidents, house fires, and unexpected family deaths. Health insurance providers were already being subsidized by all the taxes on competing means of payment, which allowed their plans to grow beyond the typical bounds of insurance and begin to cover easily-predictable occurrences like annual physicals. And, as the price of all of these services continued to shoot up, the costs of these routine procedures were becoming high enough to resemble the costs of emergencies—making consumers even more reliant on insurance. With progressives cheering on, the political class used government intervention to create a healthcare system that behaves as if its sole purpose is to move as much money as possible into the pockets of healthcare providers, drug companies, hospitals, health-related federal agencies, and insurance providers. But the party could not last forever. As the price of healthcare rose, the price of health insurance rose, too. Eventually, when insurance premiums grew too high, fewer employers or individual buyers were willing to buy insurance, and the flow of money into the healthcare system started to falter. The data suggests that that tipping point was reached in the early 2000s. For the first time since the cycle began back in the 1960s, the number of people with health insurance began to fall each year. Healthcare providers—who had seemingly assumed that the flow of money would never stop increasing—began to panic. Then came Barack Obama. Obama’s seminal legislative accomplishment—the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare—can best be understood as a ploy by healthcare providers and the government to keep the party going. Obamacare required all fifty million uninsured Americans to obtain insurance, and it greatly expanded what these “insurance” companies covered. Demand for healthcare shot back up, and the vicious cycle started back up again—which is why the bill enjoyed so much support from big corporations all across the healthcare industry. Before it was passed, economists were practically screaming that the Affordable Care Act would make care less affordable by raising premiums and healthcare prices while making shortages worse. Progressives dismissed such concerns as Reagan-era “free market fundamentalist” propaganda. But that is exactly what happened . Now, the affordability crisis is worse than ever as prices reach historic levels. And, because Obamacare brought American healthcare much closer to a single-payer system, the demand for healthcare far exceeds the supply of healthcare—leading to deadly shortages. There are literally not enough resources or available medical professionals to treat everyone who can pay for care. Also, the tax code and warped “insurance” market protect these providers from competition—making it almost impossible for people to switch to a different provider after their claims are unfairly denied. If it were simply greed, denying customers who already paid would be a feature in all industries. But it’s not. It requires the kind of policy protections progressives helped implement. And on top of all that, despite paying all this money, Americans are quickly becoming one of the sickest populations on Earth. This is one of the most pressing problems facing the country. A problem that requires immediate, radical change to solve. But it also requires an accurate and precise diagnosis—something that, this week, progressives demonstrated they are incapable of making. Related Articles Commentary | John Stossel: Your tax dollars not at work Commentary | After so many years of failure, time’s up for California Democrats Commentary | Vince Fong: We don’t need Newsom to lecture us. We need him to listen to us. Commentary | Deregulation rather than fossil fuel controls needed to fix California insurance market Commentary | The FBI has been political from the start The American progressive movement is responsible for providing the political class the intellectual cover they needed to break the healthcare market and transform the entire system into a means to transfer wealth to people like Brian Thompson. Now, they want to sit back, pretend like they’ve never gotten their way, that the government has never done anything with the healthcare market, and that these healthcare executives just popped up and started doing this all on their own—all so they can celebrate him being gunned down in the street. It’s disgusting. Brian Thompson acted exactly like every economically literate person over the last fifty years has said health insurance CEOs would act if progressives got their way. If we’re ever going to see the end of this century-long nightmare, we need to start listening to the people who have gotten it right, not those who pretend they are blameless as they fantasize online about others starting a violent revolution. Connor O’Keeffe ( @ConnorMOKeeffe ) produces media and content at the Mises Institute. This commentary is republished with permission from the Mises Institute.The Real Deal: We use deal trackers and commerce experience to sift through “fake” hike-and-drop deals and other deceptive sales tactics. Products will usually be rated at least 4 stars with a minimum 15% discount (and when there’s an exception, we’ll tell you why). HuffPost and its publishing partners may receive a commission from some purchases made via links on this page. Prices and availability are subject to change. As someone who tracks deals on a daily basis, I can say two things with certainty: One, after years of scouring the net for deep discounts and sweet promos, I know what a great deal looks like, and two, Walmart has been beating Amazon’s butt in terms of savings events lately. If you’re one of the many who found this year’s Amazon Prime Day underwhelming, I’m here to tell you that Walmart is the true retail queen. Walmart’s Cyber Monday sales event sees massive discounts off of everything from home goods and appliances to clothing and electronics. You can also become a Walmart+ member for only $50 through the end of today. That’s 50% off the typical annual subscription cost, giving you free shipping on all items, free local grocery delivery, a Paramount+ subscription and so much more. ( You can read about it here !) It also grants you exclusive access to sales events like Cyber Monday. If you’re already a member, great! We’ve rounded up the absolute best Walmart Cyber Monday deals below that I truly think offer incredible savings to save you some window shopping time and maybe spark some holiday gift ideas. Take a look below, browse the entire sale at Walmart’s site and don’t slack on these deals. I can’t imagine some of these items will last long. HuffPost and its publishing partners may receive a commission from some purchases made via links on this page. Every item is independently curated by the HuffPost Shopping team. Prices and availability are subject to change. A 4.9-star rating is always impressive but a 2-in-1 moisturizer and sunscreen with a 4.9-star rating is basically a unicorn. And yet, we've found one: This Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench moisturizer is packed with hyaluronic acid for top-tier hydration and SPF 45 for adequate sun protection. Per reviewers, it works like nobody's business. Two of the best things you can do for your skin to keep it healthy and prevent premature aging are to 1) Keep it moisturized and 2) use an SPF regularly — yes, even in the cooler months and yes, even when it's not sunny. Grab this moisturizer that doubles as UV ray protection to prevent dryness and other skin damage associated with sun exposure. Promising review: "My ride or die SPF - works so well no white cast and rubs into the skin very smoothly. Leaves a beautiful glow." — Pameal J. "Soooo moisturizing and feels great on skin. I received sample size and fell in love and had to purchase full-size. Doesn't leave skin feeling greasy and absorbs nicely into skin. Doesn't leave a white cast. Performs excellent under makeup and doesn't pill. Excellent sun protection" — Michelle Slim, lightweight, cordless, compact and so powerful, the Dyson V12 Detect is everything you could want in a vacuum and then some. (I should know, I own one.) It has a green laser that better illuminates dust, dirt and debris on the floor, an LCD to show you its suction level and how much battery life is left and plenty of attachments to tackle hair, upholstery and hard-to-reach spots. A single charge lasts about 60 minutes, and the ability to break it down means it'll barely take up space. Trust me, at $200 off , this is well worth the investment. Promising review: “I bought this about a month ago and it has absolutely lived up to the advertising. The weight is perfect for me and I'm 80 years old. The one touch emptying is a real bonus. I'd highly recommend this model.” — Sue W. The latest Apple Watch just released in September, and Walmart has its first discount ever — up to $40 off list price. It has the biggest display yet, with 30% more screen than the previous model, while still managing to be the thinnest and lightest Apple Watch to date. The watch also supports fast-charging, reaching 80% battery life with just 30 minutes of charging. Get it in multiple colors and with a 42- or 46-milimeter screen. I'll let you in on a secret about the K-Express Essential: We haven't seen a worthy deal on Keurigs in about a year. It's marked on "sale" at $40 to $50 so often that in our eyes, that's the standard price. But today? The Keurig is the lowest price we've seen EVER — at any retailer — at $29.88 . If you've ever wanted this thing or wanted to gift it and just held out for any reason, today is the day to take the plunge. This Keurig coffee machine serves up 6- 8- and 10-ounce coffee at the push of a button. The slim design has a removable 32-ounce water reservoir, making it easy to fill, and its drip tray comes out so you can stick your favorite tumbler underneath for travel-ready bean water. It's on sale in so many colors this week that you're bound to find one (or two) to match your kitchen or office. Promising review: “I love this Kuerig, it's exactly what I needed. I was looking for a sturdy K-cup machine that travels well and is compact, this was the perfect. This Kuerig works really fast, and brews a great tasting cup of coffee. I love the color (light green), the ease of refilling the reservoir, the speedy brew time, and the design. I would recommend this product. 👌” — Margaret Apple's popular Beats Solo3 headphones are at a deep, deep discount this week for as much as $130 off their regular list price . These guys use an Apple W1 chip for Apple-specific features (spatial audio, for one) and speedy wireless Bluetooth connectivity that allow you to not just listen to music, but take calls, control your music and activate Siri. They provide up to 40 hours of listening time per charge, plus its rapid-charging feature gives you an additional three hours of playback with just five minutes of charging. Get these over-ear headphones for some crispy, cushy audio, whether you're listening to music or taking phone calls. Promising review: “ they are perfect they sound like surround sound and they are loud but not loud loud they tune everything out you cant hear anything i love them .” — amiyah The Reebok Flexagon Force 4s are super simple training shoes on sale for an extremely attractive price: $30. These mesh lace-ups are plenty breathable for hitting the gym or taking walks, while the brand's FuelFoam midsole has enough cushioning for the softest landings. As their name might suggest, they're ultra-flexible, and with plenty of colors to choose from, you can hit the gym with whatever style you want. Get 'em in men's sizes 6.5-11.5 and women's sizes 5-10. Promising review: “Honestly for the price these are fantastic! These are my 2nd pair, they fit great, look great very comfortable, I used them for the gym and they do not disappoint! And looks good with shorts or sweats, great shoe for the price I'm surprise the price isn't higher” — Sulli Air purifiers don't just eliminate odors; they also capture airborne pollutants and bacteria. This one from Renpho is on mega-sale right now, and reviewers say it's particularly good if you have pets or allergies. People also seem to deeply appreciate that it's very quiet, even in its highest setting. Promising review: “My husband and his rather large cat spend a lot of time together in what used to be my sun room. Needless to say, he doesn't always do a good job keeping the litter box clean %26 and the odor can be bad. I also worried about bacteria. I ordered this air purifier, and the difference is like night and day. No odor anymore. I was so impressed that I bought one for the upstairs... even though I don't have a cat, just 4 wonderful, clean little Yorkies.” — Walmart Customer The Peter Thomas Roth brand is known for skin care products that create noticeable results in an impressively short time. Consider adding its enzyme mask to your skin care regimen, especially if you're trying to restore your glow and improve texture. It works as an exfoliator that removes impurities and dead skin cells from the skin. Promising review: " This mask is wonderful. Felt a difference first time I used it. Definitely makes your skin softer and brighter." — Wendy This 15.6-inch laptop from Lenovo is one of the more popular touchscreen computers out there, and this week it's getting a nifty discount. With 16 GB RAM, 512 GB of internal storage, it's not the most poweerful laptop out there, but you'd be hard pressed to find anything better for under $430 . Promising review: “I use the laptop for school stuff and The Sims 4 and everything runs well. I even have a bunch of mods and cc and it's setting all the way up. Only issue I have is that I have to reconnect to the internet even if I just closed it and not turned it off.” — Sara A massage gun can get those nasty knots out of your body and relieve sore muscles, whether you work out, slouch all day during your desk job or sleep poorly (and, if you're like me, you're doing all three!). This FitRx massage gun comes with its own carry case and plenty of head attachments to really get in there and loosen up. Use it on yourself or ask someone else to vibrate you from your neck all the way down your spine. Promising review: “This is a great device. Did not expect the power of it. Definitely been a huge help with all my muscle issues as well as for my wife. Definitely recommend this device for anyone who is needing a deep tissue massager. Does not disappoint.” — Julio A decent gaming laptop usually cost thousands of dollars, but Walmart is selling one at a ridiculously low price: $500. That's $600 off the Victus budget-friendly laptop by HP with a 15.6-inch screen, up to 10 hours of battery life, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 graphics card and 16 GB RAM. Having a carpet cleaner on hand is useful, especially if you've got kids, pets or clumsy adults in the vicinity. The Hoover PowerDash is a cleaner that, unlike most small wet-floor cleaners, is push operation. That means no more bending over the floor and sucking up the nastiness. This device has one tank for clean water and solution and a separate one to isolate dirty water, so you don't have to worry about your carpets still being icky. There's also a brush roll on the end to help dry your wet stains without getting pet (or human) hair tangled. Hot tub season has come around again and until now, we hadn't seen as many inflatable hot tubs with any noteworthy markdowns. Today, it all changes because Intex just marked this 77" x 28" bubble jet spa down with over $100 off! Who doesn't want new underwear? This classic multi-pack of 4.5-inch inseam boxers is baggy enough to wear as shorts at home but still classic enough for underwear. (The red plaid kind of screams "holiday," so yes, we've also just recommended a solid stocking stuffer option for gift giving season.) Get this five-pack in men's sizes S-2XL. Bigscreen televisions are typically expensive, but TCL manufactures wallet-friendly ones fit for living space or budget. If you're looking for a 75-inch whopper of a TV to upgrade your home entertainment, this one is on mega-sale. It has an ultra-HD display with a max resolution of 4K, plus it has all of your favorite streaming services, like Netflix , Hulu and Peacock, plus way more available to download right from its Roku store. Reviewers particularly love its thin panel, easy setup and crisp picture! Promising review: “I have been looking for a new TV for a while. I ended up going with TCL because of its crisp resolution! It has so many great features and never lags. My previous TV had issues keeping internet connection, but with TCL’s TV, it had never dropped internet connection. I’m very happy with my purchase and the quality of this TV! I highly recommend getting this TV if you are looking for a new one!!!” — Kevin11 The Jessica Simpson brand may be known for its stunning shoes but don't sleep on this chic Maxi puffer coat , for example. It's lengthy for keeping your body warm, puffy for a protective outer layer and versatile enough to match with practically anything in your closet. Reach for this coat to bundle up this winter and take 40% off its list price. Get one in various colors and women's sizes S-XL. If you've got a little one in your life, these Sanrio slippers will surely stir up some excitement. These themed, cozy and cushy slippers are available in three characters — Hello Kitty, Keroppi and My Melody — and are perfect for toddlers and young children. A Dyson for $20!? Well, kinda... This styling set is a toy Dyson that actually blows air, but it won't do much good with actual styling or, thankfully, accidentally burning any fingers. It's got a bunch of nozzles and attachments like the real thing, so if you know a kid who loves to pretend, this could make a great holiday gift! The massive 1 TB version of Microsoft's latest and greatest Xbox game console is on major sale this week, and not only is it much lower than normal — it also comes with a bonus controller for longer gaming sessions or friendly local competition with friends. Enjoy smooth, powerful 4K gaming in 120 frames per second, and with a subscription to the cloud gaming service Game Pass , you'll never have to buy another game again. Keep in mind that this is the digital-only edition of the console, so it won't play discs, but that could be a relief in saving physical space. Check Out All Of The Cyber Week Deals Related From Our Partner