Baucus “Train Wreck” Is a Technology Issue, In Other Words We Have a “Model Train” Problem Embedded With Code and Algorithms Colliding For Profit Versus Functionality And Standards

I read all the news coverage on this and he’s right, there are problems with Obamacare but they are rooted in complexities of technology. I’m not here to keep a job with the ratings I get but rather to hopefully try to educate. I wrote a blog post on this Saturday and I’m going to reproduce it here. A while back PLOS One did a report on the fear of math creating real physical pain for humans and with what I am reading of late, I think this adds in here too. I try to take complex issues and put a “real” technology opinion here and it is what it is..math, models, algorithms in IT Infrastructure runs everything today and some of it conflicts, is modeled wrong, has a model that lies, or some of it is just plain Algo Duping where all are soaked into believing stats and reports that have no validity.

Read the study at the link below and see if you think this has impact. If one is afraid of something and doesn’t understand then all kinds of silly interpretations and perceptions appear, or someone has to blame someone. When you know the issues are technology created, some of the articles just become another ho hum OMG story.

“Algo Duping” – PLOS One Journal Publication Explains Why The Fear of Math Plays a Big Role As One Underlying Reason We All Get Duped And Those Who Don’t Fear Math Take All the Money, Gradually, Using “Mathematical Formulas & Algorithms”

Here’s a repost of what I said that may address some of the idiotic interpretations that are out there…and watch the video if you have time, it will grow your perceptions a little differently on perceptions…learn a little about models. In addition the Senate letter was way off asking about the stimulus incentives, (and I was not alone with this same type of opinion) again the same thing once again, a clouded understanding of how IT systems work…so sad to keep seeing this persist.

Not ObamaCare That is Failing, It’s the Models and Subsequent Algorithms that Execute Within IT Infrastructures Intersecting, Changing And Conflicting– The Affordable “Complexities” Act…

It’s funny I hear this all the time from people that blame Obamacare for everything and yet there’s problems on both sides. Remember the healthcare reform was created a couple years ago and just the time we live in today will tell you that no long term plan over a number of years goes off without a hitch but we have folks that still think that can happen. We have had a lot of unintended consequences and horrific problems that have occurred. The biggest thing that most can’t get through their heads and this includes lawmakers is the fact that we are about at the cross-roads to where some digital centric laws are needed. IT Infrastructure runs everything…do I need to repeat that…people seem to think that “free text” laws are still the total solution, they are not time to add some digital input.

Unintended Consequences = Algorithms in Models That Execute, Where Everyone Forgot About Their Inclusion…when aggregating data sources….

How many companies, banks, etc. do you see working that way…like none but we still think our government can write a lot of text and get things done efficiently. This might be due to the sorry idea that we still use so many lawyers for creating laws and not enough input from technologists. When I say that I don’t mean another CEO testifying in front of Congress, we have had plenty of those and they just see, to get ignored anyway. Look at the effort Bill Gates put forward and zero. Nothing really happened there until he and Melinda started the Foundation. All his efforts with addressing Congress was like talking to deal ears. On the the other side let Jamie Dimon come to town and “I don’t know” becomes an acceptable answer of sorts.

So today, here we are with the bad “Obamacare” and it’s model and the algorithms that have to agree to run all of this. Do we have enough in place..nope. Do we have an HHS director that has even a tiny bit of technology in her background…don’t think so. I said back in 2009 that Health IT in a few years would eat her up, and it has. You need a person in that spot with some technology in their background. Leavitt was just as bad though and didn’t do a lot either. Without some tech knowledge they all get sucked in looking for the Algo Fairies that steroid marketing sells today. It’s what the world is today and figure heads just don’t stand a chance. I have my big doubts too at the SEC with yet another attorney running that place as it gets worse over there and the SEC just established a “tech and coding” division so they are just now learning..a little I think.

From a tech person’s point of view, all of the politics are very boring and useless as so much of it is fantasy. Like repealing the healthcare reform…couldn’t be done as the work to readjust all the IT Infrastructures put in place would be very costly and the same with a voucher system for Medicare. Nobody looks at the cost and time not to mention the disruption it would create in about an 8 year project or more. If member of Congress saw an “estimated” cost for all of that they would fall out of their chairs but in the meantime they use it to keep the pot stirred with garbage to talk about. Shoot to do that we might have to deal with immigration laws first to get enough engineers to work on such a feat:)

The real solutions will come when we talk intelligently and model together and investigate for any dirty code written out that is there to only make profits. Private industry technology runs circles around most areas of government and it’s kind of always been that way but it is accelerated now and in every step of a law that is made, they are modeling it for every turn or curve it may take until the final law is passed and on record and then the serious modeling takes place to find loopholes and still remain legal with a business practice. It’s been working that way for a while now, it’s just that Washington has not caught on to it yet. We also heard this “hurry up Health IT” and it left vendors chucking and frustrated in this business all over the web. Like I keep saying it takes time and money so there’s no use in trying to “water board” developers, don’t work that way:) About 3 years ago too I did a post about how IT Infrastructure doesn't grow on trees either. I think too that is why we hear so much about women’s health issues as when folks are over their heads with technology they race for something they “think” they know about and can get a law passes regulating abortions. I have for a long time just see all of that as showing “digital illiteracy” and so do many others:)

HHS Seeks Additional Funding to for Health Insurance Exchanges to Keep “The Affordable Complexities (Care) Act” Moving Forward

All of this is in the news everyday and it’s a choice of how you want to interpret it and I take the logical choice and the hell with the OMG garbage as I know better that nothing happens until models and codes gets fixed or changed. All the yackity yack that goes on prior to a law actually being voted on with the added soap opera contents is just that. Look at the DOJ for another pitiful example and we have same thing over there with an executive that completely appears to have zero tech background and stumbles along. HHS and DOJ actually stumbled together on their silly letter where they both must have been panicking about their jobs or something else when they sent out this “cheating” letter and could not even find one example to bring to the table. Again myself and others just shook our heads and wondered what will they come out with next and how soon can that foot in mouth quiet down (or will other foot go in too).

They got hit with some unintended consequences due to some algorithms set to go off when something programmed occurred. This lack of tech knowledge and how IT Infrastructure works must really drive top executives nuts as we see the silliness and lack of understanding flat out in the press all the time. Meanwhile back at the ranch this type of disruption is welcomed at it distracts from anyone asking questions about their modeling for loopholes as the quieter that is the better. When doing counter intelligence nobody wants it out there in a loud fashion by all means as this will also change business models within, so as an example, this policy has been discontinued and replaced with these 2 (that are more than likely more complex), see it all the time and then CMS gets kicked in the face over not being able to keep up? This post was pretty interesting though as you could really see the frustration with the Inspector General requesting that Insurance companies “certify” everything that is send to CMS for accuracy.

So we move forward and and when it comes to exchanges we can clearly see where the issues are with getting insurance policy information on there and up to date. All carriers are not going to participate in all exchanges either, as United said they would pick and choose so here we go with a model for profit and algorithms that will only aggregate and present information where they are programmed to function. I have talked and tried to inform and educate like this for about 3 years now and maybe some are finally ready to learn about the mechanics on how some of this works, to just get the general idea without having to be specific.

Anyway in summary, it’s not ObamaCare as a sole area to blame as many models have changed since then and the President is smart enough to know that and had said he’s open for discussions but both sides seem to think that the law is written in stone for goodness sakes and it does have to change with the times. When it comes to complexities, look to insurers and with the government being behind the 8 ball so much of the time and working with their own systems, well…who taught the government…get it? Scroll down to the footer here and get educated on some videos I curated and they are in layman’s language for the most part about how this works.

Here’s a bonus video here with former Wall Street Quant, Cathy O’Neill which is a few months old but she’s right out there too with complexities and she serves on the Occupy committee on banking…they have supplied the SEC with some real reading material.. She also talks about the government math being all wrong…BD