Open Thread - 10-24-2025 - A bit of Economics and Medical Care
In the midst of season change. Last of the hay was stacked in the barn this week. Cattle and donkeys are complaining about the quality of the grass in the field. Maybe if they were let into another field it would taste better. Active imagination and dissatisfaction with the status quo is not limited to humans.
I will be out most of the day working on winterizing the irrigation system. Still have a couple of fields to finish before the snow expected next week.
Another method to move away from US dollar control.
BRICS state to convert dollar debt to yuan Russia Times Oct 21, 2025
Ethiopia has begun negotiations with China to convert part of its $5.38 billion debt to Beijing into yuan-denominated loans amid the government’s push to ease foreign-exchange pressure and deepen trade ties.
...
The move by the East African country’s government followed a similar arrangement by Kenya. Earlier this month, Nairobi completed the conversion of three China-financed railway loans from US dollars into yuan – a measure the Finance Ministry says will cut interest costs by about $215 million a year. Nigeria also renewed a 15-billion-yuan ($2 billion) currency-swap with the People’s Bank of China last December to support naira-yuan trade settlement.
This could be a bad idea, if it interrupts manufacture or logistics of critical exports. Such as medications used by a large number of our population.
Bessent Does The Unthinkable To Russia As U.S. Threatens Brutal Tech Export Ban On China Sean Foo Oct 23, 2025 (13:57 min)
China can't innovate without US Tech. Right? Most of the items mentioned in this video I have been following over the last year.
China Just Shocked the World With What They’re Building! (18.24 min)
A little more on the AI hospital mentioned in the video.
The world’s first AI Hospital, developed in China, is transforming healthcare, highlighting Asia’s position in healthcare innovation. MedTech World July 11, 2025
China’s ambitions for artificial intelligence are staggering. The country is projected to invest more than US$1.4 trillion into AI development by 2030, a figure that eclipses the GDP of many nations. But what’s perhaps more astonishing is where some of that investment is already landing: hospitals powered not by humans, but by AI doctors.
In 2024, Tsinghua University made headlines with the launch of the world’s first AI hospital, Agent Hospital—a concept that blends virtual AI agents, clinical care, and real-world pilot deployment into one tightly integrated system. Now that vision is being refined, tested, and expanded across China in what might be one of the most ambitious attempts to reimagine modern healthcare.
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May 2025 marked a symbolic and strategic milestone: the Phase II expansion of Beijing Tsinghua Chang Gung Hospital, adding 500 new beds, raising its capacity to 1,500 inpatients and up to 10,000 outpatients daily.3 However, while the physical infrastructure grew, the real story was in the digital layer being embedded alongside it.AI now supports nearly every step of the patient journey—from digital admissions and predictive alerts to infusion management, diagnostics, and mobile nursing stations.
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This is not a case of slapping AI on top of a legacy system. This is a full rethinking of what a hospital can be when clinical need, AI capability, and design philosophy converge.
Comparison of US vs China medical care.
(Ep.102) My California Emergency Room Medical Bill Aug 13, 2025 (19.46 min)
Cost of Affordable Care Act medical insurance plans in twelve states are now public, prices have increased 7.1 to 35.7 percent. At the moment fewer individuals and families will be eligible for subsidies to assist paying for premiums.
Will You Qualify for an ACA Plan Subsidy in 2026? Healthcare Insider Updated Oct 23, 2025
Key Takeaways
- Enhanced ACA subsidies from the American Rescue Plan—extended through 2025—are set to expire unless renewed, meaning that in 2026, Premium Tax Credits will likely apply only to individuals and families earning between 100% and 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).
- ACA premiums for 2026 are climbing, with approved state increases ranging from +7% to +35% across the U.S.
- Without renewal, monthly premiums could rise sharply for middle-income enrollees.
- Open Enrollment for 2026 begins November 1, 2025, giving consumers time to compare options and adjust coverage.
- Some states may mitigate price hikes with reinsurance programs or state-funded subsidies
Thanks for taking time to read the articles and watch a video or two.
Comments
Scratching the surface
.
Economics and medical care
are intertwined no doubt.
We are being screwed by the
system here in the US.
Designed by the few to profit
from the needs of the many.
Thank-you for pointing this out!
Zionism is a social disease
I will only go
to an AI-driven medical facility if I have already assumed room temperature, and have a tag on my toe. No smiley.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Is AI any much worse than
.
the so-called trained medical professionals?
The state of medical care in the US is poor.
Not to say there aren't wonderful docs here but
good luck finding them. Find they only operate
without insurance coverage (cash) , which is
sensible on some levels.
Zionism is a social disease
Point taken.
However, at least when there's a human doctor-object there, you can punch them in the throat. Can't do that with an AI. (;-)
Note to the humor-impaired: I keed, I keed...
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
yeah, but when the minimum wage
.
receptionist hands you the prognosis
can't really blame her for the ignorance
of the system. Don't shoot the messenger.
Just a link in the chain.
Zionism is a social disease
The drs. that go for cash, not insurance,
typically have no hospital privileges. Regardless, you can't be admitted into a hospital unless you go in from an er or have insurance.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
understood
.
day to day health diagnosis does not require
ER type of 'care'. If there is a bigger issue which
needs addressing, then that is another thing altogether.
Scoping out the problem is important in the short term.
That is why it is referred to as primary health care.
Just saying that from my experience.
Zionism is a social disease
Yep.
The primary dr. is all-important. Some tend to treat by the insurance chart and AI. My dr. starts out that way, but if we keep talking, he starts to turn off his laptop and think.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good morning soe. Not crazy about ai medicine.
I can't have a serious discussion with an ai, and if it's infobase doesn't include certain information and/or certain fields or methodologies, it won't stop and look them up and see if they might be applicable to my case. I know many doctors in the corporate medicatin culture won't eithere. but a decent doctor will.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
AI may be a wonderful tool
for dedicated health care professionals. On the other hand, it could be used to just increase profits. Guess what we'll end up with?
Good afternoon, soe!
After work, I cleared about 15 ft of fence line, including a small tree.
We are expected to have a t-storm and heavy rains tonight and in the morning. Afterwards, maybe the burn ban will be lifted and we can burn all the bushes and small trees I have been cutting down over the last couple weeks. The pile is getting high.
I think the end result of the tariff war will be a rise of BRICS, going off the petrodollar, and our dollars lowering greatly in value.
We must be ready for this as best we can.
I hope your irrigation winterizing went well and that your weekend will be fun.
Thanks for the OT, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Afternoon SOE
Rain has already started here at the border. A light one right now but supposed to be a drencher through the weekend.
Not much to winterize as it's still a fairly warm rain.
Thanks for the videos, will watch them later.
I see China has just floated a new passenger/cargo ship that runs on Natural gas and oil. The US is so far behind. We will never catch up.
Our politicians for the last 5 decades are to blame. Never forget what they have done.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.