A November ballot measure will give voters a chance to weigh in on whether or not the city should create a municipal bank. The proposal is contentious, and we debate the pro's and con's. We also interview Ken Starr about his new memoir; reminisce about the former retail hub Sears; and more.
What a proposed federal rule requiring drug manufacturers to list prices in TV ads means for consumers
The nation’s top health official announced yesterday a plan to require pharmaceutical companies to disclose in TV ads the list price of the drug being touted.
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar made the announcement during a speech yesterday in front of an audience at the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine in Washington, D.C. The proposed rule would mandate that drug manufacturers include the price of any drug that costs more than $35 a month in a “legible manner” at the end of the ad against a high contrast background that makes it easy to read. Azar and other proponents say that the move will make consumers more price-savvy, and that would slow the rise in pharmaceutical charges. But drugmakers claim including a list price would be deceptive, given few patients pay list. Typically, they pay a price negotiated by their insurer. Others say it’s not clear exactly how or why the new policy would drive down drug prices. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the trade group representing major drug manufacturers in the U.S. announced its own plan that it says will increase transparency of drug prices. The organization says its proposal would require member companies to direct consumers to a website at the end of TV ads where they could find more information on drug prices.
Will this strategy drive down drug prices, as the government suggests, or will it cause more confusion than clarity? How would the government enforce the new rule?
We reached out to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and invited Secretary Alex Azar or another representative to join our discussion. They declined our request for comment.
Guests:
David Merritt, executive vice president of public affairs and strategic initiatives at America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), industry group representing major health insurance providers
Robert Zirkelbach, executive vice president of public affairs for The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the major industry trade group for branded drugs
AirTalk midterm elections interview: Katie Hill for California’s 25th Congressional District
California’s District 25 stretches from Northern Los Angeles to San Fernando Valley, and it’s a seat that Democrats are hoping to flip from red to blue this November.
According to the New York Times, registered Democrats now outnumber Republicans in District 25, though the area has been red for decades. United States Rep. Steve Knight currently holds the seat and is a former Los Angeles police officer, Palmdale City Council member and veteran.
Challenging Knight is Katie Hill, executive director of a large non-profit assisting the homeless. She’s captured younger voters, identifies as bisexual and is hungry for more female representation in Congress.
Hill joins AirTalk to highlight what she will bring to CA 25. Call us at 866-893-5722 with your questions or comment below.
Ready for Election Day? Get up to speed on what you need to know with our Voter Game Plan at elections.laist.com. Read up on the candidates and ballot measures, find out about registration deadlines or ask us your questions.
Guest:
Katie Hill, Democratic challenger for District 25 that covers part of northern Los Angeles County and part of Ventura County; executive director of People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), California’s largest non-profit provider of homes for the homeless; she tweets
A look at Sears’ historical impact on American consumers as the company files for bankruptcy
They sold clothing and appliances. They even sold houses. But now that the company has filed for bankruptcy and is closing 142 unprofitable stores, how much longer will it be selling, well, anything?
The answer to whether or not the 125-year-old company will be able to weather the storm remains unclear, but for now it intends to stay intact and functioning, simply on a smaller scale. In order for this to happen, Chairman Eddie Lampert, who stepped down as CEO upon with the filing, will need to lend the company $300 million in addition to purchasing a number of outlets.
Financial strains aside, the company has had a long, rich history with Americans. What started as a small watch company, Sears became the largest national retailer during parts of the 20th century, and provided a necessary service to residents of small and rural towns through its famed catalogue business.
We discuss the latest regarding the company’s bankruptcy, and also take a broad look at its position in retail history.
Guests:
Matthew Townsend, business reporter at Bloomberg; he tweets
Mark Cohen, a former executive at Sears, who is now the director of retail studies at Columbia Business School at Columbia University; he was chief marketing officer and president of softlines at Sears Roebucks in Chicago (1998-2001), and CEO of Sears Canada (2001-2004)
AirTalk midterm elections interview: CA 45th Congressional District candidate Katie Porter
Orange County has traditionally been seen as a Republican stronghold in the midst of the otherwise largely blue Southern California, and this midterm election cycle, all eyes are on several districts in the OC that could have a hand in shifting control of the House of Representatives.
One of those is the California’s 45th Congressional District, where consumer protection attorney and UC-Irvine law professor Katie Porter, running as a Democrat, is challenging Republican Congresswoman Mimi Walters
Polls show a tight race shaping up between the two. A recent survey done by the New York Times and Siena College showed Porter with a 4.5 percentage point lead over Congresswoman Walters 48-43, with 8 percent reporting they are still undecided.
Today on AirTalk, Larry Mantle sits down to interview Katie Porter about her bid for Congress and some of the key points of her platform.
AirTalk has made repeated attempts to contact Congresswoman Mimi Walters’ campaign and invite her to join us on the air today for a debate with Katie Porter, but as of the airing of this segment we have not received any response from anyone with the Walters campaign. We will continue to pursue an interview with the Congresswoman and update this segment if we are able to do so.
Ready for Election Day? Get up to speed on what you need to know with our Voter Game Plan at elections.laist.com. Read up on the candidates and ballot measures, find out about registration deadlines or ask us your questions.
Guest:
Katie Porter, Democratic candidate for Congress in California’s 45th Congressional District, which is based in Orange County and includes the communities of Irvine, Tustin, North Tustin, Villa Park, Orange, Anaheim Hills, Laguna Hills, Lake Forest, parts of Aliso Viejo, parts of Laguna Niguel, Rancho Santa Margarita, and Mission Viejo; she is also a consumer protection attorney and professor of law at UC-Irvine; she tweets
Should the city of LA create its own public bank?
City Council President Herb Wesson wants Angelenos to weigh in on whether the city of Los Angeles should create a municipal bank.
Wesson proposed the idea more than a year ago. Next month, a ballot measure will give Los Angeles voters a chance to decide if they like the idea before the city goes to the trouble of working on a detailed plan. Voters will decide via charter amendment B whether to eliminate a barrier and alter the City Charter to allow Los Angeles to create the commercial enterprise. But critics say voters should first know how much forming a municipal bank would cost.
Meanwhile, city analysts say that ensuring public funds could require more changes to the City Charter and state law. If the ballot measure passes, Los Angeles would be the first jurisdiction in the U.S. to sign off on the idea.
Should the city of Los Angeles create its own public bank? Call us at 866-893-5722 and weigh in.
Guests:
David Jette, co-organizer for “Yes on B” and legislative director for Public Bank L.A., an advocacy group
Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA), a nonprofit representing businesses in the San Fernando Valley
‘I did not have sexual relations with that woman’: How Ken Starr helped burn nine words into US history
In 1998, Time magazine committed an unorthodox move and bestowed its prestigious “Man of the Year” award to two people instead of one: Kenneth Starr and Bill Clinton.
It was dramatic irony worthy of a Greek tragedy. Only this time it was real.
Ken Starr is now documenting this highly publicized period of his life with “Contempt: A Memoir of the Clinton Investigation.” The book dives deep into Starr’s perspective on the investigation, the political turmoil of the time, the criticisms regarding the “Starr Report” and more. Many details in the book are previously undisclosed, and Starr takes a frank and hard lined approach at analyzing the Clintons and their role in U.S. politics.
Starr joins Larry Mantle to discuss the new memoir and reflect on how America’s political past is never too far behind its present.
Guest:
Kenneth W. Starr, author of “Contempt: A Memoir of the Clinton Investigation” (Sentinel, 2018); served as independent counsel (1994-1999) for a series of high-profile investigations, including the suicide of Vince Foster, and the Whitewater and Lewinsky scandals of the Clinton Administration; he filed the “Starr Report,” which included findings that contributed to the eventual impeachment of President Clinton; he currently sits of counsel with the Lanier Law Firm