In well-functioning healthcare markets, governmental regulatory policies ensure access, safety, quality and privacy. The government’s most important role is creating level-field competition through balanced regulation, targeted enforcement actions and price/outcomes transparency. Unfortunately, many healthcare markets do not function efficiently.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) is not uniformly supporting pro-market reforms. Two recent CMS decisions diminish competitiveness and hurt consumers in key healthcare market segments.

This newsletter marks the end of the longest hiatus I’ve taken from FinTech Rising since I started it in October 2014. In the midst of a large client acquisition, I’ve taken the time to review the newsletter, plan some forthcoming content, and complete our initial product, FinTech Rising 2018: Toward a Golden Age of FinTech (use code FTR-SUB).

Co-Authored with Andy Waldeck.

Amid much fanfare, the Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, JP Morgan health venture (ABJ) announced on June 20th that its new CEO will be acclaimed author and surgeon Atul Gawande. Gawande starts his new job this week at ABJ’s new headquarters in Boston, Gawande’s hometown. We wish you well Atul. Your country needs you.

Mexico matters. In addition to being our southern neighbor, Mexico is our third largest trading partner, after China and Canada. It is ranked as the 15th largest economy in the world. On Sunday the country experienced a seismic change in leadership. Fueled by anger at violence and corruption, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the 64-year old populist center left candidate best known as AMLO, was elected by a clear majority in all but one state and a simple majority in both houses. He had promised to Make Mexico Great Again.

This is a shortened version of my longer report posted at Newsmax.

In 1993, the health insurance industry funded the legendary “Harry and Louise” campaign to mobilize public opinion against the Clinton healthcare reform proposal. The strategy worked. Despite enormous investment of political capital, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives never voted on the Clintons’ reform legislation. It “died in Committee.”

Shortly after publishing Market vs. Medicine: America’s Epic Fight for Better, Affordable Healthcare in June 2016, I met with my former investment banking colleague, Jullia Quazi. Jullia arrived with a very funny story regarding her precocious and freaky-smart 6-year-old son Kairan.

As Jullia was leaving home, Kairan asked her to ask me who won. When Jullia asked what he meant, Kairan responded, “Dave wrote Market vs. Medicine. Who won, “Market” or “Medicine?” Out of the mouths of babes…