January 15, 2019

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Netflix Increases Subscription Prices As It Churns Out Original Content

Netflix has increased its prices by 13 to 18 percent. The company’s headquarters are pictured here in Los Gatos, Calif., in 2012.

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Paul Sakuma/AP

Netflix has raised its prices for U.S. viewers, as the company invests in original content amid growing competition from other streaming services.

The company’s most popular subscription plan, which allows high-definition viewing on two screens, has jumped from $10.99 to $12.99 per month. Its cheapest, non-HD plan has risen from $7.99 to $8.99, and its premium plan from $13.99 to $15.99.

It’s the largest hike since the company launched its video streaming service 12 years ago, according to The Associated Press. The increase has drawn a positive response from Wall Street, where Netflix’s stock increased 6.5 percent on Tuesday.

The increase will affect all consumers in the United States, the company tells NPR in a statement, as well as countries in Latin America and the Caribbean where Netflix bills in U.S. dollars, including Uruguay, Barbados and Belize. In the U.S. alone, Netflix has 58 million subscribers.

“We change pricing from time to time as we continue investing in great entertainment and improving the overall Netflix experience for the benefit of our members,” Netflix tells NPR.

Still the dominant player in streaming and subscription video on demand, Netflix has felt pressure from current rivals like Amazon and Hulu, as well as new competition set to enter the market, including Disney, NBC and Apple.

Part of the company’s strategy to deal with increased competition has been to put money into original content, which it has been producing since House of Cards hit the small screen in 2013. Michael Pachter, a media analyst at Wedbush Securities, told NPR last month that Netflix’s goal is “to be a major production company that makes compelling content that is available exclusively on Netflix.”

In a rare move that illustrates the company’s production ambitions, Netflix recently showed an original picture in theaters for several weeks before making it available online. The cinematic, black-and-white film Roma may even be an Oscar contender, NPR’s Jasmine Gard reports. And it’s already won several critics’ choice awards.

Netflix also won an Academy Award last year, for its documentary Icarus about doping among cyclists.

But the California-based company has accumulated extensive debt as it invests in that original content, the AP reports, to the tune of more than $8 billion dollars for 2018.

Netflix has also reached into its pockets for other content that attracts viewers, including the late 90’s and early 2000’s sitcom Friends. The company is paying $100 million to keep licensing the popular program for 2019, up from $30 million, The New York Times reported in December.

Increased subscription revenue will likely help balance the books over the next several years, the AP reports, as long as Netflix’s total user base of 165 million people continues to grow.

Anyone new to the streaming service will immediately be charged the higher prices, while the increases will roll out to existing customers over the next few months. Netflix will notify existing members by email 30 days before raising the cost of their subscription.

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Feast Fit For A Burger King: Trump Serves Fast Food To College Football Champs

President Trump talks to the press about the table full of fast food laid out in the State Dining Room of the White House for a reception for the Clemson Tigers.

Susan Walsh/AP


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Susan Walsh/AP

It’s a scene often observed in the White House. Men in bow ties light golden candelabras while the president of the United States stands behind a table containing small mountains of food on silver trays.

So far, so good.

But look closely, and you’ll see the labels on the packages: “Quarter Pounder.” “Filet-O-Fish.” Chicken nugget dipping sauces sit in serving bowls off to the side. Behind the current president, Abraham Lincoln looks down, his hand on his chin, surveying the scene.

If only paintings could offer witty commentary.

In this case, we’ll have to rely on late night comedians and Twitter observers, who roundly ridiculed President Trump for the feast he provided for the Clemson Tigers. Clemson beat No. 1 ranked Alabama to take the College Football Playoff National Championship and might have expected that a visit to the White House would command a dinner befitting a champion. Instead, the Tigers got a dinner befitting a drive-through customer — granted, on fancier plates.

Here’s a video I shot of President Trump showing off his 300 hamburgers. pic.twitter.com/P06S6I5w07

— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) January 14, 2019

“I think we’re going to serve McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King with some pizza,” Trump told reporters beforehand. “I really mean it. It would be interesting. And I would think that’s their favorite food.”

Because of the shutdown, most of the staff in the White House residence had been furloughed, so Trump paid for the meal himself, he said.

Great being with the National Champion Clemson Tigers last night at the White House. Because of the Shutdown I served them massive amounts of Fast Food (I paid), over 1000 hamberders etc. Within one hour, it was all gone. Great guys and big eaters!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2019

But Trump’s magnanimity did not spare him from the biting tongue of Twitter.

Cold McDonald’s on expensive plates could not be any more perfect a representation of Trump.

— Jill (@JillChristinaWV) January 14, 2019

Commenting on a picture of the president posing with his hands wide in front of the feast, television writer Jess Dweck said: “This is the news photo that would make a returning time traveler realize they f***** something up.”

Catering a White House event with 300 fast food burgers would be a setpiece in a movie where a kid becomes president

— Nick Wiger (@nickwiger) January 14, 2019

“Great American food!” Trump told reporters at an informal news conference before the meal. “And it could be very interesting to see at the end of this evening how many are left.” He declined to say whether he prefers McDonald’s or Wendy’s. “I like ’em all. If it’s American, I like it.”

Hey Clemson! Congrats on the game, AND the diarrhea!!

— Matt Braunger (@Braunger) January 15, 2019

Toward the end of his remarks, Trump pivoted to more traditional talking points. “We need border security,” Trump said. “We have to have it. No doubt about it. It should have happened 30 years ago, 20 years ago, 10 years ago. And it’s gonna happen now.”

Perhaps befitting Trump’s hard stance on the southern border, it is not clear whether tacos were served at the gathering.

Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics! https://t.co/ufoTeQd8yA pic.twitter.com/k01Mc6CuDI

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2016

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Clinics Struggle To Resolve Fears Over Medicaid Sign-Ups And Green Cards

A migrant worker in a Connecticut apple orchard gets a medical checkup in 2017. A proposed rule by the Trump administration that would prohibit some immigrants who get Medicaid from working legally has already led to a lot of fear and reluctance to sign up for medical care, doctors say.

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Last September, the Trump administration unveiled a controversial proposal — a policy that, if implemented, could jeopardize the legal status of many immigrants who sign up for some government-funded programs, including Medicaid.

The Trump proposal is still working its way through the public comment and evaluation process, and could go into effect as early as this year, though some state attorneys general say they would challenge any such policy in the courts.

In the meantime, some doctors and clinics are torn: They want to keep patients informed about the risks that may be coming, but don’t want to scare them into dropping health benefits or avoiding medical care right now.

“We are walking a fine line,” says Tara McCollum Plese, chief external affairs officer at the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers, which represents 176 clinics in the state. “Until there is confirmation this indeed is going to be the policy, we don’t want to add to the angst and the concern,” she says.

However, if immigrants do come to a clinic asking whether using Medicaid now might affect their legal status down the road, trained staff members are ready to answer their questions, McCollum Plese says. (According to legal specialists, the rule would not be retroactive — meaning it wouldn’t take into account a family’s past reliance on Medicaid.)

Other providers prefer to take steps that are more proactive to prepare their patients, in case the proposal is adopted. At Asian Health Services, a clinic group that serves Alameda County, Calif., staff members pass out fact sheets about the proposed changes, provide updates via a newsletter aimed at patients, and host workshops where anyone with questions can speak to legal experts in several Asian languages.

“We can’t just sit back and watch,” says CEO Sherry Hirota. “We allocate resources to this, because that’s part of our job as a community health center — to be there not only when they’re covered,” she says, “but to be there always” — even when that coverage is in jeopardy.

Currently, people are considered “public charges” if they rely on cash assistance (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Supplemental Security Income) or need federal help paying for long-term care.

Trump’s proposed change to that rule, which is awaiting final action by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, would allow the federal government to consider immigrants’ use of an expanded list of public benefit programs, including Medicaid, food stamps and Section 8 housing as a reason to deny lawful permanent residency — also known as green card status. Medicaid is the state-federal health insurance program for low-income people.

If the proposed rule change goes into effect, it could force patients to choose between health care and their chance at a green card, McCollum Plese says. “And most people will probably not take the services.”

Already, some immigrant patients are skipping medical appointments out of fear stoked by the proposed rule, according to providers and advocates.

“For now, our focus has been on correcting misinformation, not necessarily raising awareness among those who haven’t heard about the potential changes,” says Erin Pak, CEO of KHEIR Center, a clinic group with three locations in Los Angeles. “This is a proposal that thrives on fear and misunderstanding,” she says, “so we wanted to be thoughtful about how and when to engage patients on the issue, given that nothing has passed into law.”

The Department of Homeland Security is reviewing more than 200,000 comments from the public before it issues a final rule. And it’s still possible the department won’t adopt the rule at all, legal experts say.

At KHEIR Center, most patients are immigrants from Korea. Many are highly aware of the proposed rule because of the coverage it has received in Korean-language media, according to Kirby Van Amburgh, the center’s director of external affairs.

Other groups served by the clinic, such as Latino and Bengali immigrants, have tended to ask few questions, Van Amburgh says.

Trained staff address patients’ questions one-on-one, she says, and hand out a fact sheet when needed.

Last month, L.A. Care health plan, which covers more than 2 million Medicaid enrollees in Los Angeles County, hosted a webinar on the topic for about 180 providers. David Kane, an attorney at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles, led the webinar and urged doctors to tell concerned patients that nothing has changed yet — and that most immigrants would not be affected.

If the federal government adopts the rule, it would not be effective immediately, he notes; there would likely be a 60-day grace period before the changes take effect. After that, implementation could be further delayed or stopped in court.

John Baackes, CEO of L.A. Care, has been critical of the Trump administration’s proposal, and says his organization offered the webinar because of the estimated 170,000 clients — legal immigrants — who could potentially be affected.

“I think we’ve got to let people know what could come, and try to give them more accurate information so that they don’t act imprudently,” Baackes says. To do that, “we have to stay current.”

This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation. KHN is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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