Pulse: US


Spare Change

"If the current financial industry is to remain relevant, it must brace for a FinTech-tonic shift of unprecedented proportions," writes Jim Marous in the Financial Brand. "FinTech carries awesome potential for creative disruption, and the financial industry—the very creators of money—must manage this global dash towards both disintermediation and demonetization."

Honey vs. Vinegar: Value-Based Pricing Wins Customers and Market-Share

Common wisdom holds that “it’s easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar.” That aphorism also applies to payers seeking lower prices for routine healthcare procedures. It “tastes” better when providers attract new customers with “bottom-up” high-value services than when payers hammer providers through “top-down” payment reform.

Taxing Consequences: House Republicans Target Tax-Exempt Hospital Bonds

Having failed to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, House and Senate Republicans have set their sights on reforming the U.S. tax code, a daunting undertaking that hasn’t occurred since the mid-1980s. Their principal objective is to reduce the corporate tax rate from its current level of 35% to 20%.

The Banking Drama

This week, the banking drama unfolds in three acts:

I.   Payments Possibilities
II.  Regulatory Ruminations
III. Lending Lessons

I. Top 10 trends in retail payments

Capitalizing on Comprehensive Care: Cultivating a Medicare Advantage Mindset

Co-authored with Richard Jones, president and CEO of Essence Healthcare, one of the nation’s first accountable delivery systems and a consistently high-rated Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MAPD) health plan. 

Good Intentions Aren't Enough: Choosing Wisely Misses the Target

Earlier this year, the Choosing Wisely campaign celebrated its 5th anniversary. Choosing Wisely is a well-funded, practice-focused organization created to reduce “wasteful or unnecessary medical tests, treatments and procedures.”

Crypto Currents

The original plan for this issue was to cover the main trends from last week's Money20/20 conference and get a sense of how banking, payments, and FinTech have evolved over the last year and what the year ahead looks like.

Crony Capitalism Has Consequences: Opioid Distribution, Destruction and Death

Talk about bombshells. On October 15th, the Washington Post and 60 Minutes released a detailed and damning investigative report titled “The Drug Industry’s Triumph Over the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency).” The report chronicles how Big Pharma and its Congressional allies orchestrated passage of legislation that has severely weakened the DEA’s ability to curtail illegal distribution of opioid drugs.   
 

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