Latest / Bloomberg Intelligence / The Cruise Ship Suicides Began After The Passengers Left

Transcript

The Cruise Ship Suicides Began After The Passengers Left · Bloomberg Intelligence

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bloomberg Markets Podcast. I'm Paul Sweeney. Along
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: with my co host of Bonnie Quinn. Every business day
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: we bring you interviews from CEOs, market pros, and Bloomberg experts,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: along with essential market moving news. Find the Bloomberg Markets
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Podcast on Apple podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts,
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: and on Bloomberg dot com. This is Bloomberg Markets. I'm
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Carol Masser and for Bonnie and Paul. Well, this story
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: has been among the most read since it hit the
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Bloomberg terminal and has to do with the cruise industry,
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: and basically we know this is an industry that has
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: been hit hard, obviously by the pandemic. We've also seen
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: some of the horror stories as patients tried patients, i
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: should say, as travelers and passengers tried to get off
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: the ships during those early days of the pandemic. Well,
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: someone who's been reporting on the industry from day from
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: day one, as Austin Carr, technology reporter at Bloomberg News,
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: he joins us right now on the phone from Los Angeles.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: His latest story talks about not the passengers, but the
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: members of cruise and the cruise of the cruise line
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: that had to really stay on the ships for many
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: weeks months until they could get off safely. Austin, good
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: to have you here with us. UM tell us about
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: your story, because you do look specifically at the cruise
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: that were kind of left behind after the passengers left totally.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Um So at the beginning of the pandemic when the
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: cruise industry was hit, there was so much emphasis on
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: the passengers and the struggles that they had to both
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: deal with outbreaks aboard several ships owned by operators like
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Royal Caribbean and Carnival UM. But after they gone off,
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: there was sort of a class of forgotten people, the
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: crew workers, all the sort of lower paid UH folks
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: for often from poorer countries abroad that really struggled to
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: get home due to changing health rules, evolving travel restrictions,
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: borders being struck down shut down, and there was tens
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: of thousands of them stuck at sea. Uh and and
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: this story sort of explores some of the difficult conditions
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: they had to face be they sort of the uncertainty
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: of when they were going to get home and see
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: family being stuck in small cabins in some cases without windows.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: UM and they're pay, being cut off and just living
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: in a very highly regimented lifestyle due to the pandemic
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: that for a lot of them resulted in uh some
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: mental health issues, depression and anxiety and stress over things
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: like their salaries being cut off and wondering when they
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: were going to get back to work. And this story
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: explores some of those uh sort of cases, the conditions
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: of board ships as well as unfortunately, tragically, the suicides
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: that resulted in certain on these cruises during repatriation. Well
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: and Austin, this is something you know with your reporting
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: that really just always stands out and that it's not
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: just broad strokes. You actually get into the individuals and
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: tell their stories. Give us one of the stories of
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: one of the workers from one of the cruise ships
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: and what they went through and what the outcome was.
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: So well, one of the families that we'd focus on
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: is the Solar family. Uh the a crew member named
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: Joseph Salzer was on a ship called Carnival Breeze. He've
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: been transferred a number of times during the pandemic in
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: an attempt to get home to Hungary, and he really
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: epitomizes what a lot of the cruise industry crew members
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: went through, which was, Yeah, these these isolated effects living
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: in a on a ship where you were stuck in
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: your cabin with mandated curfews, limited time in which you
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: could go outside. For example, this worker might be able
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: to leave for about an hour day for breakfast, but
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: it might take forty five minutes just to get a
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: coffee due to understaffing and sort of social distancing rules
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: that made lines very, very long. Um, you know, people
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: just talked about the monotony of living at sea. They
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: felt like prisoners, they felt like cargo with with sort
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: of no E T A. And ultimately, at some point
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: in this long journey endless journey home, Joseph Salzer hadn't
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: been seen for several days. He missed daily temperature checks,
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: he hadn't responded to text from friends, and they sent
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: crews to check on him, and unfortunately they found him
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: hanged inside his cabin. And the story explores not just
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: what led to that tragedy, but how it affects a
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: family at home having to deal with a death and
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: international waters with the company that sort of incorporated with
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: entities all around the world. Right, and if anybody has
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: been on a cruise ship and and like you have
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: done some reporting you know on Carnival specifically, you know,
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: it is a global workforce. I mean that's kind of
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: what makes it unique. And it's an opportunity for people
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: around the around the globe, and in particular people you
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: know who might have trouble finding jobs in their home country,
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: uh and are just looking for a start somewhere. It's
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: an opportunity for them. So it is a global workforce
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: and your right. So what I want to get to
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: is also a couple of things. First of all, what
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: what do the cruise ship companies say as a result
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: of this, Because it wasn't just it seems like one suicide,
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: but it seems like multiple suicides from some of the
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: crew members. So first off, they do highlight how immensely
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: difficult uh it was to get these crew members home.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: I mean, it's one thing to offload American taskers at
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: an American port and charted them flights home, but what
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: about workers that are from places like Ukraine and the
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: Philippines and in India. It was a very logistically difficult
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: time getting them home by land air and c especially
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: with the CDC changing a lot of health processes, uh,
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: from from you know, sending people home in US waters,
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: but also abroad just a lot of borders being shut down,
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: and just you know, concern about COVID being spread through
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: these cruise ships. So be'st number one and then the
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: second Um, they do emphasize that they tried to take
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: care of the workers best possible. They provided them with
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: free food, housing, paid for all their transportation getting home,
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: provided them free WiFi, and even counseling services by phone
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: so you could call if you had sort of mental
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: health issue, you would call a hotline and hopefully get
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: in touch with a trained therapist. Um. The issue is,
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: I suppose that when we talk to workers, they've actually
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: felt concerned about these types of hotlines. They were worried
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: that if they sort of disclosed emotional issues that they
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: were dealing with anxiety and stress and depression, that that
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: might jeopardize their employment somehow with the championship going forward.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: So it was just also just one of the interesting
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: direct of the story is just how taboo of a
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: subject it is among seafarers that they sort of pride
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: themselves on salthy toughness and don't want to admit that
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: they might be dealing with just a very difficult, isolating,
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: trying experience, in many ways a more extreme version of
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: what we're all going through with lockdowns at home. Hey,
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: just got about a minute or so left here. Um.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: To be fair, Also, I feel like, um, Austin is
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: you know, mental health was not a top of mind
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: issue for I feel like the broader public and certainly
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: for the broader corporate world. You know, most were thinking
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: about physical health. And I mean, I just I've had
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: a lot of conversations too with CEO. Is that you know,
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: the thing that everybody realized is that it wasn't just
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: a physical toll, but a mental wellness toll as well.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: And I feel like the cruise industry, um, and certainly
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: the cruise employers kind of went through that realization as well.
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: Just got about forty seconds here. Absolutely, it's such a
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: good point, Carol. And one of the psychologists that we
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: talked to for the story just called that sort of
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: a pandemic within the pandemic. In other words, there's been
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: such focus on some of the desks that happened directly
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: through COVID, either due to infections or or otherwise. And
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: this is just also some of the ancillary effects that
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: we have to deal with being isolated at home, and
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: these cruise ship workers really reflect that. If you you've
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: been dealing with that at home, you might really enjoy
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: the story because it talks about some of the trials
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: that they went through in challenges just dealing with that
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: mental health and depression at the well. It's another round
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: of great reporting by you, Austin. Thank you so much.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: Austin Carr and really Balance their technology reporter at Bloomberg
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: News joining us on the phone from Los Angeles. Check
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: check him out by the way at Austin car on Twitter.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: One thing that this year and I hope we talk
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: about and do a lot more about next year, and
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: that is reaching out and really especially when it comes
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: to the financial sector getting into those underserved communities. Our
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: next guest has some thoughts on that. Darren Williams, the
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: CEO of Southern Bank Court, joining us on the phone
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: from Arkansas. Darren, nice to have you here on Bloomberg.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: First of all, set the set this stage for us.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: You're talking about c d f ies, community development financial institutions.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: Remind our audience for those who may not be familiar
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: what they're all about. Sure, First of all, Carole, thank
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: you for having us welcome. CDFIs or Community development finances
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: institutions are UH. They can be banks, can could be
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: credit unions, loan funds, and even venture funds. But we
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: agree to the destination by the Department of Treasury and
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: six of our activity must take place in low and
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: moderate income SENSUS tract communities. It's a public private partnership.
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: We received UM support from the government to ensure that
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: we actually provide access to capital and credit in areas
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: where they don't traditionally slow. If you think about in America,
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: the number of banks and final institutions have traditionally have
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: specifically declined UH in low income, often minority and rural communities,
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: and so we're filling the gap. We're kind of the
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: financial first responders for communities that don't have access to
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: traditional capital and credit. And first of all, I do
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: want to point out and remind everybody that you were
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: part of the Blueberg fifty UH this year, which is
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: really just individuals who stand out from all walks of life,
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: all aspects of our world in terms of the impact
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: that they are you know, making on our world and
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: changing things UM for the better. So having said that,
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: um tell us how this can be a game changer
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: for especially those underserved communities. Well, first of all, care
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: I'm honored to be a part of Bloomberg's fifth the
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: and and that's a recognition that really deserving of the
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: entire cd f I industry, in the minority depositoral industry. UH.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: During this pandemic, we saw UM these low income, underserved
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: optimonority communities being left behind when access to federal stimilus programs,
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: for example, the paycheck Protection program, which put dollars in
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: hands of businesses to keep their employees on the payroll. Unfortunately,
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: many of these small business and underserved and rural communities
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: don't have access to juditional banks. One because many of
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: those banks have have abandoned those rules and small communities
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: so they're not there. But also because also because you know,
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: typically small and minority businesses UH just don't have that
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: type of relationship with with banks. And so we worked
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: with the administration and with Congress to ensure UH. In
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: the first round of paycheck Protection dollars, there was a
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: car about of money UH thirty billion dollars out of
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: that six D fifty billion that would be set aside
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: for c d f I in the eyes. So we
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: make sure that those dollars get to those small businesses
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: that often don't have access to odditional capital and credit.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: And so with this latest round of paycheck protection dollars
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: in this latest Stimus faction, proud that the Congress and
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: Administration has seemed that to inject about twelve billion dollars
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: into the c d f I and Minority Depository banking
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: UH and financial services space. So I gotta ask you,
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: we're a trillion dollar economy. I still feel like that's
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: significant amounts of money. But when you see the stimulus
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: packages that come down, when you see the initiatives that
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: come generally speaking from the big financial sector, they're still
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: not doing enough, are they? Well, clearly there's much more
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: that can be done. There's a huge disconnect between what
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: you see on Wall Street and what's happening in Main
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: Street America. Of course, to your most recent segment before
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: I came on, you're talking about the gains in Wall Street.
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: You talk to the folks in Main Street and rule America.
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: They don't feel those games. They don't see that, they
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: don't feel that they're being disproportionately impacted by COVID. Uh.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: They are the essential workers. They providing and food and
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: feeding the world, but they're not able to work remotely.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: They're having to put their lives on the line to
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: continue to be essential workers provide that things needed. And
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: so we do need, desperately need access because many of
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: these markets we serve call they were struggling before COVID, right,
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: so under what was hind those communities. Job losses were
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: hind in that community. And so clearly with the with
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: the impact of COVID being disproportionately impacted and felt in
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: those communities, we need additional support to provide really a
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: broad based relief because as we get this pandemic under control,
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: it's important that all the economy come back, uh, that
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: we all you know, build back better. As as as
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: as presidents they like Biden who talks about that must
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: include these underserved rural communities. We cannot forget rural communities
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: in the United States. Well, the only way we're going
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: to close that wealth gap is by making sure that
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: money gets to all segments of our economy. Darren, thank
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: you so much, really appreciated. Good luck and happy New Year.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: Darren Williams see Southern Bank or part of the Bloomberg
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: fifty and part of a successful effort to add ten
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: billion for community development finance institutions of that second round
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: of paycheck protection program loads. So I think it's safe
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: to say that we are all thinking a lot more
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: about the world of medicine and healthcare generally because we
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: did see some disruption as a result. Obviously a lot
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: of disruption to be quite honest, because of the pandemic,
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: but also in terms of how we get healthcare, uh,
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: and thinking again about some of the inequities and the
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: costs of it because of COVID nineteen. But there's a
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: lot more to think about in deeper plays here. Michael
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: Ray is founder and chief executive officer at r X
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: Saving Solutions. He's on the phone from Overland Park, Kansas,
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: joining us on this Thursday. Michael, nice to have you
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: here on Bloomberg. How are you and how is your world? Yeah?
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: How is your good to be here? Yeah? How's your world?
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: Considering as we continue to watch some of these virus
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: headlines around the country. Yeah, you know, it's been good.
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: I think, um, you know, as as a general statement,
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: we saw quite a bit of growth from a company
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: standpoint this year. UM, as it relates to the vaccine.
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: You know, we're looking at this as as an employer ourselves.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: We're answering a lot of questions about to our corporate
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: clients what this means, you know, when they can expect
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: a vaccine and uh, and you know how we can
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: help them. Well, what are you hearing on that front?
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: I think that's one of the biggest questions. You know,
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: we kind of lay people are like, well, when do
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: I get the vaccine? And how do I get it?
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: Especially since we know the logistics and the distribution of
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: it is so tricky. Yeah, you know, I think that
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: the Fiser vaccine was especially tricky just with the temperature
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: requirements that that came into play, but the Maderna one
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: was a little more forgiving. I think that, you know,
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: what we're starting to hear is just more frustration. Um.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: You know, ten million vaccines have been shipped, two millions
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: have been given, so we're starting to hear, you know,
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: more questions about when is that going to hit mainstream? Um,
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: why aren't they being given? Um? And I think that
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: there's there's been a tremendous number of pr opportunities and
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: probably not enough action Um, I expect more pressure to
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: be put on that from you know, corporations and health
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: plans and for that to change very quickly after the
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: new year. All right, So you expect we'll get some
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: more clarity when it comes to get to get out.
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: Hey Having said that, what about clarity when it comes
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: to drug pricing? I feel like one of the great
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: black holes is prescription drug pricing. And you know, I
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: thought the PBMs, the pharmacy benefit managers, were supposed to
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: make it all, you know, better, and I'm not so sure.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: I think there's many who would argue that it hasn't
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: necessarily played out that way drug pricing. What changes or
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: what are your hope for changes when it comes to
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: this year and maybe under a new administration. Yeah, A
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: good question and something that we're really dialed in on.
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: I think that a lot of focus over the past
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: really four years has been put on things like rebates
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: most favorite nation drug importation, things that have kind of
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: kind of gotten a lot of headlines but fallen flat
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: from a productivity standpoint. To me. The bigger piece that
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: has not gotten headlines last six to twelve months, but
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: it is going to be embraced by the new administration
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: is breaking down data silos, making data accessible to consumers,
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: making it share able um. And really what you're gonna
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: see is that is going to be the key that
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: lets private industry come in and really disrupt the status quo.
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: It's going to allow consumers to be educated, empowered and
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: engage with you know, the decisions that are happening that
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: that ultimately cost them dollars um. And that's going to
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: be the biggest change in the market. You and I
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: really think over the next few years as more and
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: more companies, technology companies find cool new ways to help
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: consumers make better choices. Well, tell me about that, because
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: I do feel like and it's one of the areas
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: that has lagged in our economy in terms of the
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: medical world, the pharmaceutical world really getting kind of with
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: it when it comes to disruption and technology. But I
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: do think the pandemic is going to change some of
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: that as as myself. I'm speaking my book that I've
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: moved on to you know, apps and platforms to check
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: in and do different things when it comes to the
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: medical world. Tell us about what you guys are doing
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: specifically and what are the changes that you're seeing in
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: terms of driving down costs for employees employers as a result. Yeah,
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: great question. I mean, you know, the entire business that
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: we're focused on is helping consumers and employers help plans
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: save money on drugs. What we've seen through this COVID
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: period is an acceleration and adoption of of our platform.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: We service just about nine million members today and the
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: use of our platform spiked. Um. People want to do
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: more things digitally. They want to have prescription drugs show
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: up at their doorstep and not have to go to
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: a pharmacy where a bunch of crowded, you know, sick people. Maybe. Um. So,
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: I think you'll continue to see adoption and acceleration in
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: healthcare tech as a general statement, and certainly driven by
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: some of the government bills, the transparency bills like nine
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: and C. Those are going to be big market drivers
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: in the medicare market that will expand to the commercial market. Yeah.
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: We'll ultimately see whether the incoming administration kind of stays
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: with some of the policies that the current administration revealed
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: in late November when it comes to drug pricing specifically,
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: which was certainly something they talked about a lot, but
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: only getting to it a month or so ago. UM, Michael,
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: thank you so much. Michael Ray is founder and chief
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: executive officer at r X Saving Solutions, joining us on
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: the phone from Overland Park, Kansas. What a year and
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: typically the end of the year New Year's Eve. It's
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: a big day in a normal year for restaurants, but
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: it's not going to be that way. In fact, restaurants
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: are bracing for a New Year's Eve without much celebration
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: after a year obviously without much celebration. Let's get into
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: it with our at least young reporter ut Bloomberg News.
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: She joins us on the phone from Trenton, New Jersey. UM,
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: at lease, nice to have you here. Tell us a
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: little bit about the story you did with your colleagues
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: about you know, kind of I can't even believe, like
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: what this year has meant for the restaurant community, and
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: the bad news is far from over. New Year's Eve
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: is a huge day for restaurants. UM. To give you
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: an idea of of what it means monetarily, there's an
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: olive garden in Times Square where people are willing to
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: pay four hundred dollars for the New Year's Eve celebration. UM.
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: And uh. Last year a lot of chains reported uh
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: that versus a typical night they did Outback State Hostedent
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: More Business, Olive Garden, did Applebe's eighteen percent more. It's
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: it's huge, um One South Orange restaurateur, South Orange, New
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: Jersey restaurateur told me on the typical New Year's Eve
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: they could make twenty dollars um. This year at Papillon,
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: she said, if they make three thousand dollars, she'll feel lucky. Yeah.
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: I mean the whole idea of like take out and
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: ordering out, you know, I guess it's helped restaurants a
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: little bit, but it's it's no comparison on a night
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: like tonight, where typically the prices are tacked up big time,
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: and we as consumers don't have a problem about kind
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: of overspending because we're celebrating a holiday. That's right. Um.
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: Carlo Momo, who's um part of the Terra Momo Group family,
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: which operates for properties in and around the Ivy League
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: town of Princeton, New Jersey, told me that it's fun
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: for the staff. New Year's Eve is fun that the
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: folks who come after seven or so tend to stay.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: Everybody's happy, everybody has somebody something to look forward to,
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: their freely spending and their generous to the staff, and
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: that's simply not going to happen this year. Yeah exactly, So,
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: I mean, and there's also curfews right in a lot
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: of towns and cities that even for someone who might
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: try and do something, I guess even outside um, there
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: are rules that are going to restrict what they can do.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: That's right in in New Jersey statewide. UM, restaurant indoor
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: dining must end at ten o'clock, which then runs into
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: well New Year's Eve. How do you do a countdown
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: at ten o'clock? So some restaurateurs are sending people off
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: with wine bottles or sangria at fifteen percent off so
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: that they can continue the party at home. Um. There.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: So there are some bright spots here. The Tara Momo Group,
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: for the first time this year, is offering a one
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: fifty dollar advanced order in advanced box that feeds for people. Um.
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: And this is the first time they've done that. It's
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: got for what what's got shrimps, ribs, um. So there's
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: there's room for innovation to yeah, right exactly, and we diply,
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: you know, it's been pretty impressive at least when you
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: think about some of those restaurants. I even know from
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: those that we order online at home, restaurants that never
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: did take out, that all of a sudden they were,
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: you know, kind of some of those higher end restaurants,
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: and people were because they were stuck home, they couldn't
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: go out. We're more inclined, uh to splurge. Um. When
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: all is said and done, what's the restaurant industry going
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: to look like post pandemic? I asked some of the
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: restaurateurs whether they can hang on, and they said they
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: have high hopes for the vaccine UM, and they think
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: that they can get through the next three or four
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: months around the time when the general population will start
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: getting vaccinations. UM. Some told me that they are, uh,
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: they're doing drink specials. UM. They're they're publicizing exactly how
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: they're sanitizing anything they can do. UM. But they say
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: they're a little bit worried about this um, this newberry
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: catchy strain that seems to be in the US from
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: Great Britain. UM. So uh, they're they're also hopeful for
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: help from Congress. I have to say, there's a great
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: chart in your story and obviously forgive me for everyone
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: who's listening on radio, but I'll just kind of walk
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: it through and it's quiet night. The survey a Pole
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: Morning Consult Pole conducted December four through the six and
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: most Americans have low key plans for this New Year's Eve,
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: and at least you lay it out for us. Are
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: going to cook dinner at home, twenty nine percent, streaming
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: a movie, consuming liquor, small family gathering nineteen eighteen percent
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: consuming wine, and seventeen percent are going to bake. I
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: think at least what I found kind of comical if
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: you can do that in kind of a black year
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: or dark year UM, is that there were two categories,
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: consume liquor and consume wine. I love that that was
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: breaking broken down into two categories. It's just a reminder.
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: I mean, that has been one of the bright spots
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: I feel like when it comes to UM kind of
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: the dining out or drinking out, you know, people have
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: been just kind of consuming that big time. Yes, And
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: what that chart doesn't show but is down in the
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: text of the story, just seven percent of Americans intend
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: to go to a restaurant for New York. So think
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: of that seven percent who can't stick around all night,
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: who can't spend the way they wanted to spend um,
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: and the staff that's not going to be compensated that
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: way and have a good time, right And as somebody
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: who reminded me who had been a waitress for a
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: long time, they're like, it's these kinds of nights where
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: people make a lot of money. It's a way for
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: them to bank some money, you know, sock it away
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: for those those days when it's a lot quieter, and
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: it's that's not what's happening this year. Alicia Young, great reporting.
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: Thank you Alicia Young. She's reporter at Bloomberg News with
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: us on the phone in New Jersey. Thanks for listening
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: to Bloomberg Markets podcast. You can subscribe and listen to
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: interviews at Apple Podcasts or whatever a podcast platform you prefer.
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: I'm Monnie Quinn. I'm on Twitter at Annie quint on
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: Twitter at pt Sweeney. Before the podcast, you can always
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: catch us worldwide at Bloomberg Radio m H