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Man City 3 Feyenoord 3: Pep Guardiola’s nightmare run goes on as hosts throw away THREE-GOAL lead to drawBankwell Financial's director Jeffrey Dunne acquires $6,711 in stock
AP Business SummaryBrief at 3:55 p.m. ESTWASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of Americans with obesity would be eligible to have popular weight-loss drugs like Wegovy or Zepbound covered by Medicare or Medicaid under a new rule the Biden administration proposed Tuesday morning. The costly proposal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services immediately sets the stage for a showdown between the powerful pharmaceutical industry and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an outspoken opponent of the weight-loss drugs who, as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the agency, could block the measure. While the rule would give millions of people access to weekly injectables that have helped people shed pounds so quickly that some have labeled them miracle drugs, it would cost taxpayers as much as $35 billion over the next decade. “It's a good day for anyone who suffers from obesity,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told The Associated Press in an interview. “It's a game changer for Americans who can't afford these drugs otherwise.” The rule would not be finalized until January, days after Trump takes office. A bipartisan coalition of congressional members has lobbied for the drugs to be covered by Medicare, saying it could save the government from spending billions of dollars on treating chronic ailments that stem from obesity. While it's unclear where Trump himself stands on coverage of the weight-loss drugs, his allies and Cabinet picks who have vowed to cut government spending could balk at the upfront price tag. Under the proposal, only those who are considered obese — someone who has a body mass index of 30 or higher — would qualify for coverage. Some people may already get coverage of the drugs through Medicare or Medicaid, if they have diabetes or are at risk for stroke or heart disease. Becerra estimated that an additional 3.5 million people on Medicare and 4 million on Medicaid could qualify for coverage of the drugs. But research suggests far more people might qualify, with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimating roughly 28 million people on Medicaid are considered obese. Medicare has been barred from offering the drugs under a decades-old law that prohibits the government-backed insurance program from covering weight-loss products. The rule proposed by the Biden administration, however, would recognize obesity as a disease that can be treated with the help of the drugs. The anti-obesity drug market has expanded significantly in recent years, with the Food and Drug Administration approving a new class of weekly injectables like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound to treat obesity. People can lose as much as 15% to 25% of their body weight on the drugs, which imitate the hormones that regulate appetites by communicating fullness between the gut and brain when people eat. The cost of the drugs has largely limited them to the wealthy, including celebrities who boast of their benefits. A monthly supply of Wegovy rings up at $1,300 and Zepbound will put you out $1,000. Shortages of the drugs have also limited the supplies. Kennedy, who as Trump's nominee for HHS secretary is subject to Senate confirmation, has railed against the drugs' popularity. In speeches and on social media, he's said the U.S. should not cover the drugs through Medicaid or Medicare. Instead, he supports a broad expansion of coverage for healthier foods and gym memberships. “For half the price of Ozempic, we could purchase regeneratively raised, organic food for every American, three meals a day and a gym membership, for every obese American,” Kennedy said to a group of federal lawmakers during a roundtable earlier this year. Ozempic is a diabetes drug that can stimulate weight loss.AI is a game changer for students with disabilities
On International Anti-Corruption Day, let’s resolve to bring down the corruption rate Recently, Goa made headlines due to a scandal involving cash-for-government jobs, which even drew attention from Delhi. For the people who have been seeking government jobs, the cash-for-job episodes may not be new. The proportion of the scam that came to light is unimaginable. Besides the clamour for government jobs and people willing to pay any price to secure one, the other main element involved is corruption. The involvement of so many “agents” in the racket is not only a clear indicator of its magnitude but also shows that the tentacles have reached far and wide. At the height of the episodes, which threatened to explode politically, the arrested “agents” either didn’t spill any beans or the police may have suppressed their revelations. Could the agents give jobs without higher connections? They say the level of corruption in developing countries is high as the economy of these countries is showing an upward trend. In countries like India, there may or may not be full evidence, but from what is spoken about in political circles and corridors of power, the level of corruption is huge. Often fingers are pointed at higher-level politicians, but lower-level governance machinery, including democratically elected institutions at the grassroots, also lack corruption-free, clean administration. This seems to be worse in the case of central government organisations. Recently, CBI booked an income tax officer on charges of corruption. There are upright officers and other government employees. Many times these officers face the brunt for not “helping the system”. The past politicians who rose on the plank of fighting corruption are no longer in power. Ironically, the party that came to power on the same promise of fighting corruption now has the very people it had pointed fingers at in its fold. The opposition is also weak, and the apparatus formed to curb corruption has virtually been put to sleep. How many cases of corruption have been booked by the anti-corruption branch (ACB)? There are no ‘trap cases’. Hardly any cases are filed before the Goa Lokayukta. During Justice P K Misra’s term, the Lokayukta had found evidence of corruption in more than 20 cases. Was anyone punished? After investigation, the Lokayukta makes recommendations to the government for necessary action. But in more than a decade, negligible cases have been acted upon by the government. What does this mean? The state government seems to be shying away from taking corruption cases to the logical end. Corruption is a complex social, political, and economic phenomenon that affects all countries. It undermines democratic institutions and slows down socio-economic development. It goes against the much-repeated ‹Good Governance› and is corroding our systems. Young people are significantly affected by corruption. However, on the other side, they also have the potential to become powerful agents of change. If the society is built on integrity, selection for jobs will be on merit, and, consequently, more people will not move out of Goa for jobs, and so on and so forth. A mass movement is needed to fight corruption. Today is International Anti-Corruption Day. Let’s hope that the government will strengthen the anti-corruption agencies and come out with new mechanisms to fight graft. Otherwise, corruption will derail our efforts to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat and Viksit Goa by 2047. Corruption needs to be addressed effectively.
UDST Unveils Qatar's First Aeronautical Engineering ProgrammeAlleged Would-Be Trump Assassin Ryan Routh Touts Direct Connection to Thomas Matthew CrooksThe former England footballer, 39, said he was “proud” of how Coleen was doing in the Australian jungle in a post on social media on Saturday. The couple, who first met at school and began dating aged 16, share four sons – Kai Wayne, Klay Anthony, Kit Joseph and Cass Mac. Proud of on she’s doing great ❤️ Me and the boys would love to see her doing a trial and we know she’d want to put herself to the test. If you can download the app and let’s get voting! 🗳️🕷️🐍 — Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney) “Proud of @ColeenRoo on @imacelebrity she’s doing great”, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, alongside a collage of photos of her on the show. “Me and the boys would love to see her doing a trial and we know she’d want to put herself to the test. “If you can download the #ImACeleb and let’s get voting!” During the first task of the series, BBC Radio 1 presenter Dean McCullough chose to partner up with TV personality Coleen as he hailed her as “Wagatha Christie”. Rooney, 38, was given the nickname when she accused Rebekah Vardy, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, of leaking her private information to The Sun in a viral post on social media. In July 2022, a judge at the High Court found the post was “substantially true”. During Vardy’s stint on I’m A Celebrity, she became the third celebrity to leave, saying the series helped her become more tolerant. Earlier this week, Liverpool-born Coleen told her fellow campmate that going to court over her feud with Vardy was her “worst nightmare” as she felt she was “putting on a show for the whole world”. However, she said she was not scared about making the viral post which kicked off the dispute, saying: “I just didn’t think it would have the impact it did, because I was just that sick and tired of it, it was draining.” Later in the episode, Rooney became emotional over the loss of her sister Rosie, after boxing star Barry McGuigan spoke about the death of his daughter. I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! continues on ITV1 and ITVX.
Bankwell Financial's director Jeffrey Dunne acquires $6,711 in stockNYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for December 29
Walgreens Boots Alliance is considering selling the company to a private equity firm — a move that would take the publicly traded company private, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens has been in discussions with Sycamore Partners over a deal that could be completed early next year, the Journal wrote, citing unnamed “people familiar with the matter.” A Walgreens spokesperson declined to comment on the report Tuesday, telling the Tribune, “we don’t comment on rumors or speculation about our business.” A spokesperson for Sycamore also declined to comment. Walgreens’ stock shot up 21% on the news early Tuesday afternoon. New York-based Sycamore specializes in retail and consumer investment, and would likely sell off pieces of the business or work with partners, the Journal reported. The report follows years of struggles for the massive retail pharmacy chain, some of which are related to industrywide challenges over reimbursements for medications, while others stem from past moves made by Walgreens. The company announced plans in October to close 1,200 stores — about 14% of its U.S. locations — over the next three years, saying that only about three-quarters of its U.S. stores are profitable. Walgreens has also conducted several rounds of layoffs, eliminating more than 1,000 jobs over the last few years, including many in Illinois. The company has had a cost-cutting program in place for years, and exceeded its goal of cutting $1 billion in costs last fiscal year, following years of similar measures. Many of the cuts came as Walgreens worked in recent years to become more of a health care destination, partnering with various health care providers. Walgreens invested billions in primary care provider VillageMD and had planned to put Village Medical clinics in 1,000 of its stores by 2027. But Walgreens has since backtracked on that plan. In March, CEO Tim Wentworth said Walgreens had recorded a $5.8 billion impairment charge related to VillageMD, and that VillageMD would close 160 clinics. In August, Walgreens said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was considering selling all or part of its VillageMD business. In recent months, Wentworth has indicated that Walgreens is now working on a different strategy of focusing more on its historic work as a retail pharmacy-led organization. ©2024 Chicago Tribune. Visit at chicagotribune.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
