Author: DOuG pRATt

Why Medicare?

Medicare exists because the free market doesn’t work for elderly patients. Old people are profit eaters, so private insurers don’t want to cover their medical expenses. Medicare reimbursements are typically low compared to private insurance, so some health care providers are tempted to pad their bills. On Monday the PBS News Hour had a report on alleged Medicare fraud by Prime Healthcare in California.

Watch California Hospital Chain Eyed for Possibly Bilking Medicare for Millions on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Will there be Tintin fever or failure in America?

Personally, I don’t think Steven Spielberg was the right talent to bring Tintin — who is only a couple of years younger than Mickey Mouse — to the big screen. But it’s too late now, because ready or not, America, Tintin is coming to a movie theater near you for Christmas. Last week, Tom Ashbrook, who apparently has a soft spot for the intrepid boy reporter, devoted an installment of his radio show On Point to the world of Tintin.

[audio:http://audio.wbur.org/storage/2011/12/onpoint_1216_2.mp3|titles=On Point with Tom Ashbrook: Tintin!]

One wacky neighbor and his wacky deal!

Last year, when I was in New York, I commented in this post that “I have been in unit 11L of the Apthorp, and unit 11K appears to be undergoing renovations, so presumably it will soon have occupants.” So who moved into unit 11K? This guy.

Louis C.K. has a deal going where, for only five bucks, you can buy his new hour-long video, Live at the Beacon Theater. Do it through PayPal and you’ll see this download screen.

Louis is doing this on the honor system, and he’s trusting everybody to not distribute the video freely. So far, it’s been going all right.