dChan - Q Origins Project Archive

Anonymous ID: 5e905d March 16, 2023, 7:05 a.m. No.18517828 🗄️.is 🔗kun >>8054

Democrat Senators Urge DOJ Action After Credit Cards Refuse to Track Gun Purchases

AWR Hawkins15 Mar 2023

Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of the Treasury (Treasury) to take quick action to implement financial tracking of gun and ammunition purchases in the wake of announcements fromVisa, Mastercard, and Discover that they would not be tracking purchases of guns and ammunition.

On September 11, 2022, Breitbart News pointed out that Visa caved to pressure from gun control groups and New York Democrats, agreeing to flag gun and ammo purchases via a new merchant category (MCC) code. The Associated Press observed that Mastercard and other major credit card companies also agreed to flag gun sales.

On March 2, 2023, Breitbart News noted that Discover was slated to begin tracking gun and ammunition purchases with the new MCC code in April 2023. This news created a feeling of momentum for the left countered by a wave of pushback among conservatives.

On March 9, 2023, Breitbart News reportedthat Visa and Mastercard pivoted amidst the pushback and that the two credit card giants announcedthey would not begin tracking gun and ammunition purchases anytime soon.

On March 10, 2023, Money.com indicatedDiscover was hitting the brakes as well, and would not begin tracking gun purchases in April as planned.

In a joint press release, Sens. Menendez and Warren reacted to the credit card companies’ decisions by urging the DOJ and Treasury to intervene and “provide guidance” for financial institutions to adopt the new MCC code and track gun and ammunition purchases.

Menendez and Warren admitted that red state pushback had caused the companies to back away from the idea, saying, “This effort comes on the heels of recent developments, in which Visa, Mastercard, and American Express have paused the implementation of the new MCC code becausesome Republican-led states are actively working to block its enactment.”

Menendez and Warren wrote:

We urge Treasury and DOJ to quickly publish any policy advisory, enforcement guidance, and other materials needed by financial institutions, retailers, and law enforcement as the new MCC code is implemented for gun and ammunition stores. … We also ask Treasury, with input from the DOJ, to issue guidance to financial institutions regarding circumstances that should prompt financial firms to file a suspicious activity report about transactions they suspect are related to trafficking in firearms, money laundering proceeds from trafficking in firearms, or other criminal activity.

On August 28, 2022, Breitbart News pointed out that the pressure for credit card companies to track gun and ammo sales was not the result of a grassroots groundswell but of a campaign by Gabby Giffords’ gun control group, Giffords, which was urging major credit companies to flag such purchases via a new MCC code.

Giffords posted a tweet on August 28, 2022, which said, “The shooters in at least 5 mass shootings have stockpiled guns & ammo using credit cards and killed 145 people. Visa, Mastercard, and American Express have the power to flag suspicious purchases and save lives. Call on them to act.”

On August 30, 2022, Breitbart News observed that Democrat New York lawmakers were also urging major credit card companies to create and use a new MCC code which would in effect flag gun purchases in the state and around the country.

Menendez and Warren are now urging the DOJ and Treasury to get involved and secure compliance with the code. Their effort is supported by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ed Markey (D-MA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bob Casey (D-PA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM).

https://www.breitbart.com/2nd-amendment/2023/03/15/democrats-senators-urge-doj-action-after-credit-cards-refuse-track-gun-purchases/

Still don’t trust them, they’ll cave, it will take a SC case to overturn this

AI Death Panels: Algorithms Are Denying Care for Medicare Advantage Patients

Lucas Nolan15 Mar 2023

(Obama told everyone they would deny care when they pushed ACA)

A recent investigation by STAT News found that AI algorithms have influenced how Medicare insurers deny insurance to patients. In some cases, insurers cut off benefits for elderly patients because the AI says they should be better, ignoring what human doctors have to say about the patient’s condition.

STAT News reports that as AI continues to become integrated into various industries, its impact on the healthcare sector is starting to become apparent. A recent investigation by STAT has revealed that AI’s influence onMedicare Advantage insurersmay be driving denials to unprecedented levels, affecting millions of older Americans who rely on the taxpayer-funded program.

In one striking example, Frances Walter, an 85-year-old Wisconsin woman with a broken left shoulder and an allergy to painkillers, was expected to make a quick recovery by the algorithm, which didn’t factor in the opinion of her human doctor. Her Medicare Advantage insurer, Security Health Plan, followed the algorithm’s estimate and cut off payment for her care after 17 days, even though she still required assistance. As a result, Walter had to spend her life savings and enroll in Medicaid to continue her treatment.

The STAT investigation found that health insurance companies are increasingly using unregulated predictive algorithms to determine when to stop payments for older patients’ treatments. While the insurers claim that these tools are merely suggestive, in practice, they often serve as hard-and-fast rules that don’t account for individual circumstances or changes in a patient’s conditions.(Insurers are lying, they bully and demand the FDA and CDC influence all medical decisions. Hospital administrators push death by overriding doctors. It’s more profitable)

As more Americans over 65, and those with disabilities, choose plans with lower premiums and prescription drug coverage, Medicare Advantage has grown significantly more profitable for insurers. These plans, however,give insurers more discretion to limit and refuse services. The last ten years have seen the emergence of a new industry focused on using AI to predict patient discharge dates from hospitals, doctor types, and therapy hours. Insurers have even acquired companies specializing in these predictive tools.

The increasing reliance on AI algorithms to make crucial decisions about patient care is raising concerns among medical professionals and patient advocates. In many cases, the algorithms’ recommendations conflict with basic rules on what Medicare plans must cover, creating heated disputes between doctors and insurers and often delaying treatment for seriously ill patients.

TheFDA assesses the AI modelsused by doctors to identify diseases like cancer or recommend the best treatment. In contrast, the tools used by insurers to decide whether to pay for those treatments are not subjected to the same scrutiny, despite their influence on the care of the nation’s sickest patients.

Doctors and medical administrators report that Medicare Advantage payment denials for services that are regularly covered by traditional Medicareare happening more frequently. Insurers like UnitedHealthcare and others claim they discuss a patient’s care with providers before denial, however, many service providers claim that when they ask for explanations, they are met with blank looks and denials of their requests for more details.(Trust me UHC is the worst, sued by many states for cheating Medicare and Medicaid)

“They say, ‘That’s proprietary,'” said Amanda Ford, who facilitates access to rehabilitation services for patients following inpatient stays at Lowell General Hospital in Massachusetts. “It’s always that canned response: ‘The patient can be managed in a lower level of care.'”

The lack of regulation and oversight of these predictive algorithms raises concerns about the impact on patient care and treatment access. As the influence of these tools continues to grow, the precise role they play in insurers’ decisions remains opaque. This raises important questions about the ethical use of AI in healthcare and the potential consequences for vulnerable patients who depend on Medicare for their medical needs.