Author Archives: ceopate

The simple answer is, no one knows. And, I hate to tell you that you are very likely misunderstanding the President’s comments on this subject and misinterpreting those prediction models you are looking at. Asked when the U.S. might expect to turn a corner in its efforts to rein in the virus, President Trump replied,Continue reading “How Long will this Pandemic Last?”

In a week, it will be three months, let me say that again, three months- a quarter of a year – since all of us learned about the outbreak of the novel coronavirus infections in China. No one could have predicted this? Is it true that no one could have predicted this? No. As aContinue reading “Should the President Exercise his Authority under the Defense Production Act?”

This is a scary time – there is no doubt. But, I am amazed by the generosity and caring of Idahoans. Instead of feeling like victims of having to give up social events, having to take their classes online from home instead of attending school, or having to work from home, Idahoans are rising toContinue reading “Please Donate Blood”

Recently, I was interviewed for an article about hospital surge capacity in Idaho. I indicated that I was not worried about that right now – we have many options to expand the number of beds for treatment of COVID-19 patients. At the time, we had no hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Idaho, and while IContinue reading “COVID-19: What I am Worried About”

More Information on the Coronavirus The World Health Organization today declared that the coronavirus disease is now a pandemic. What does that mean and what is the significance of this? It turns out that there is no widely accepted definition of what a pandemic is. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines it as the worldwideContinue reading “Coronavirus Update”

First of all, two disclaimers. I am providing you with my thoughts. These are not official positions of the federal government or the state of Idaho, though I do think my advice is consistent with government guidance. For official advice, go to coronavirus.gov or coronavirus.idaho.gov. Second, this is a rapidly evolving situation and as weContinue reading “Answers to Questions you have about Coronavirus that you are Afraid to Ask”

There are now about 225 confirmed cases of coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) and 14 deaths in the U.S., although these numbers may have changed by the time you read this. Yes, that is scary. But, let’s put that in perspective. The virus has been in the U.S. for at least six weeks. The population of theContinue reading “Why You Still Shouldn’t Panic about Coronavirus”

The United States Supreme Court just granted a request to hear the case challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that I wrote about on my blog on January 27, 2020. At that time, it was called Texas v. United States, but for some confusing reasons that we don’t need to get intoContinue reading “Breaking News – Supreme Court Unexpectedly Decides to Hear Obamacare Case”

In last week’s blog post, I discussed some of the legislation being considered in an attempt to control drug prices. I concluded that piece indicating that this week’s blog piece would address another proposal that President Trump has talked about – allowing for the importation of drugs from other countries as a way to makeContinue reading “Is Drug Importation the Answer to High Drug Prices?”

There is no doubt that the situation concerning coronavirus has worsened. I certainly felt more encouraged when the overwhelming majority of cases were confined to China. The spread of cases (but, keep in mind, we are talking very low numbers of cases) to 58 countries is disappointing and suggests early efforts to restrict travel wereContinue reading “If You are Freaked Out about the Coronavirus, Read This!”