Alexa, I Have a Sore Throat   

   Following up on the healthcare announcement by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase, a few experts in the field are speculating about what may come of it. Here are two of them:

Dr. Eric Topol, San Diego. "Amazon could assume drug distribution. They could use voice platforms, like Alexa, to help discuss symptoms and get feedback, to coordinate hospital post-op care through voice-activated artificial intelligence." 

Douglas Hoey, National Community Pharmacists Assn. "It seems like a logical next step for self-insured companies to administer the health benefit themselves. You could...still make the providers whole and cut out much of the red tape and bureaucracy. The providers' masters are those intermediaries - the health plans, the pharmacy benefit managers. This is a way for companies to be the new masters." 

$20 million
   The amount the IRS paid private debt collectors in 2017 to collect $6.7 million in back taxes. So much for eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. 

Coming Monday:

What Old Testament King David and New Testament Paul had in common.

       Jimmy