EDUCATION
Former education secretaries offer advice to Trump’s pick
A panel of three former secretaries of education convened Thursday at the National Summit on Education Reform. The panel’s moderator, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, asked the three what advice they would give to President-elect Trump’s pick for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos.
Bill Bennett served under President Reagan from 1985-88. He advised DeVos to hire the right personnel. “Get people in there that believe what you believe and what the president-elect believes.” He also urged DeVos to get the federal government out of the way in education. “Recognize that the action is elsewhere.”
Rod Paige, who served during President George W. Bush’s first term, advised DeVos to “be aware of the gaping gap between education policymakers and education practitioners.”
Arne Duncan served for President Obama’s first seven years in office. He told DeVos to “have a sense of urgency.” He said his department was often criticized for “going too fast. I think the honest critique I gave myself is we went way too slow.”
Earlier in the summit, Jeb Bush praised DeVos and said, “I don’t have to give her advice, I know exactly what she believes.” DeVos is still subject to confirmation by the Senate. — Jason Russell
LAW
Study: Medical tort reform could save billions
Medical liability reform at the state level has reduced total healthcare premiums by 2.6 percent, according to a study by American Action Forum, and if those same reforms were made on a national level, insured Americans could save more than $15 billion.
“So much money goes into healthcare,” Sam Batkins, director of regulatory policy at the Washington, D.C., think tank, told Legal Newsline during an interview last month. “For a state that has Medicaid increasingly taking up a stake in its budget, a 2-3 percent decline in costs is tens of billions of dollars in savings.”
After reviewing data on the impact that medical malpratice insurance is having on premiums around the country, Batkins, who co-authored the study released in October, compared costs for states that passed some regulatory measures versus states that had not. Even some regulations decreased premiums by employers and employees, he found. And while the average percentage seemed small — 2-3 percent — Batkins said that when it comes to healthcare costs, that’s a huge number.
Similar data was released in 2013 by the Congressional Budget Office that limiting medical malpractice torts could reduce mandatory federal spending by $57 billion during the next 10 years, increase revenue by $6.7 billion and reduce discretionary outlays by $1.8 billion.
Michigan, Texas and Florida have all seen their costs go down after governors in those states passed tort reform. — Joana Suleiman
DRUGS
Colorado company launches payment app for pot businesses, banks
A company based in Littleton, Colo., has launched an electronic payment app in three states that aims to take the cash out of the marijuana industry.
CanPay has an app that allows consumers in Colorado, Washington and Oregon to pay for marijuana and marijuana-related products electronically. The payments then go directly into the bank accounts of the cannabis retail business.
It’s an attempt to “de-cash” the industry, Dustin Eide, CEO of CanPay, told the Denver Business Journal. The company is already partnered with 15 retailers and a handful of banks who are using the app.
CanPay only works with retailers, banks and credit unions that adhere to the so-called Cole memo and the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which includes filing suspicious activity reports if a bank suspects that money from the business was obtained or will be used illegally.
Pot businesses have been turned away from banks for typical business accounts because bankers fear being accused of money laundering and drug trafficking despite it being a billion-dollar industry. While use of medical marijuana, dispensaries and recreational marijuana sales are legal in Colorado and other states, they are still illegal under federal law. — Joana Suleiman
