Posted on 08/04/2009 3:45:39 PM PDT by Cindy
THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG
THE BLOG
TUESDAY, AUGUST 4TH, 2009 AT 6:55 AM Facts Are Stubborn Things Posted by Macon Phillips
Opponents of health insurance reform may find the truth a little inconvenient, but as our second president famously said, "facts are stubborn things."
Scary chain emails and videos are starting to percolate on the internet, breathlessly claiming, for example, to "uncover" the truth about the President’s health insurance reform positions.
In this video, Linda Douglass, the communications director for the White House’s Health Reform Office, addresses one example that makes it look like the President intends to "eliminate" private coverage, when the reality couldn’t be further from the truth.
For the record, the President has consistently said that if you like your insurance plan, your doctor, or both, you will be able to keep them. He has even proposed eight consumer protections relating specifically to the health insurance industry.
There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.
Here are the complete videos that Linda refers to. First from the AARP:
And then from the President's news conference:
http://www.PhysiciansAgainstObamacare.org
#
Quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2587645/posts?page=232#232
To: rodguy911
The other really interesting story this weekend is about a courageous group of docs (see www.PhysiciansAgainstObamacare.org) who are loosely associated as the National Doctors Tea Party.
If you see the FOX interview with Physicians Against Obamacare founder and National Doctors Tea Party President, Doctor Adam Dorin,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtCQDmVIcZA, then you’ll get part of the picture of an emerging debate. On Doctor Dorin’s site, he challenges the AMA to give up the ‘copyright’ monopoly it has on the billing codes necessary for docs to bill insurance companies.
This is shaping up to be one of the hottest issues underpinning Obamacare—the disingenuous way in which the legislation was ‘sold’ to the public despite the AMA’s membership numbers of (at best) somewhere between 10 and 17%.
The Challenge to the AMA: “Give U.S. the Codes” used to bill for insurance that nets the AMA between 70 and 100 million dollars annually—the largest single segment of its income stream.
As per www.PhysiciansAgainstObamacare.org:
CHALLENGE TO THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
“Release the medical billing code copyright monopoly and assign the codes to the ‘public domain’ in an Internet-based ‘freeware’ system. This would save American docs 70 to 100 million dollars annually and would go a long way toward the spirit of cost-savings in the healthcare system. Without the unfair coding monopoly, the AMA can then compete fairly, on a level playing field, with other medical groups for the membership it so desperately lacks”
Most doctors and most Americans, by all polling over the past year, are not in favor of the Obamacare law. Doctor Dorin and many other physician leaders are fighting to defund and repeal this legislation so that a better healthcare reform product can be created.
Patrick Toomey
232 posted on September 12, 2010 9:55:58 AM PDT by toomeydoc (American Doctor)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 219 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/75200
“Boehner: Repeal Obamacare or It Will ‘Ruin’ Health System and ‘Bankrupt Our Country’”
SNIPPET: “House Minority Leader John Boehner (R.-Ohio) said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” today that Obamacare must be repealed or it will “ruin” the nation’s health-care system and “bankrupt” the country.”
Sunday, September 12, 2010
By Terence P. Jeffrey
Thanks for all the links Cindy. Good job on putting all that info at our fingertips.
You’re very welcome Captain Beyond.
Note: Video included.
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/75243
“Conservative Leaders Call For The Repeal Of Obamacare”
SNIPPET: “Conservative leaders at the Faith and Freedom conference called for the repeal of President Obama’s health care law.”
Monday, September 13, 2010
By Nicholas Ballasy
SNIPPET: “(CNSNews.com)- Conservative leaders at the Faith and Freedom conference called for the repeal of President Obama’s health care law. The Obama administration is currently attempting to persuade a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit brought forth by 20 states over the individual mandate in the health care law.”
###
###
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/13/states-prepare-day-court-health-care-law/
“20 States Prepare for Day in Court Against Health Care Law”
Published September 13, 2010 | Associated Press
NOTE The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2596219/posts
Unintended, But Not Unforeseen (Hidden Consequences of Obamacare)
National Review ^ | 9/24/2010
Posted on September 25, 2010 1:21:10 PM PDT by markomalley
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, is to the law of unintended consequences what Newton’s apple was to the law of gravity: the illustration that bonks us on the head with its obviousness. Practically every week since its passage has added a new dimension of mirth to Nancy Pelosi’s punchline for the ages, that we had to pass the bill to find out what is in it. Out of the mouths of babes and clueless politicians#…#
And on the subject of babes, they are the latest victims of Obamacare: Health-insurance giants Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, CoventryOne, Humana, and UnitedHealthCare have stopped writing child-only policies in those jurisdictions where they are able to do so. The reason for this is obvious: Because Obamacare forces insurance companies to accept children who are already sick with pre-existing conditions on the same terms as healthy children, parents now have a strong incentive to wait until their children are sick to buy child-only policies, making the products a guaranteed money-loser for insurers, which are not in the business of guaranteeing losses to their investors and employees. It is no accident that they stopped offering child-only policies on the very day the rule came into effect. Want to buy a child-only policy in Colorado, California, Ohio, or Missouri? Good luck with that.
The Democrats will rail in reliably demagogic fashion about the evil insurance fat cats boosting their profits, but consider this: Those losses would be passed on to health-care consumers in the form of higher premiums and reduced benefits, meaning that the mandate to cover those with pre-existing conditions will function as a tax on other insurance consumers, and those who were responsible enough to buy insurance before they got sick will be punished to bail out those who were not similarly responsible.
The Obama administration, which already has done almost everything in its power to buy off the insurance industry, announced that it would try to accommodate insurers’ concerns by allowing the use of “structured open-enrollment windows” to continue conducting business on more or less the same terms as they had been. These came in the form of what the administration calls, with exquisite bureaucratic hedging, “interim final regulations.” Interim or final? Your guess is as good as anybody’s.
Democrats of late have spent a lot of time engaged in televised scoffing at the idea that regulatory uncertainty is a major cause of our current economic malaise. They would do well to consult the insurers whose businesses they are attempting to micromanage. WellPoint had this to say about its decision to discontinue child-only policies: “Unfortunately, there remains a great deal of uncertainty as to how the rules will be implemented and what the impacts might be on participating insurers.”
Health-insurance rates already are rising even more quickly than they had been in the past because of concern about the costs that will be imposed by Obamacare. Various kinds of insurance products and services are being discontinued. Colleges have had to go begging to Washington to be allowed to continue offering the inexpensive, bare-bones coverage they make available to 18–22-year-old students who do not much need annual prostate exams or coverage for hip-replacement surgery. These consequences were unintended, but they were not unpredictable: They were, in fact, predicted by a very large number of critics, not least those writing for National Review.
Dozens of new taxes, regulatory beasties, and unlovely business outcomes have cropped up since the bill was passed. Meanwhile, the Democrats have declared war on financial reality, blasting insurance actuaries for the crime of consulting the actuarial tables when it comes to pre-existing conditions. And who can forget Rep. Henry Waxman’s fit of rage inspired by the fact that corporate accountants were following the rules of corporate accounting, inflicting massive writedowns on scores of struggling American companies forced to adjust their balance sheets to reflect the new costs and liabilities Obamacare inflicted on them?
And if you’re going to ignore a century’s worth of actuarial practice and accounting rules, why not just throw out all of economics and feign surprise at rising insurance premiums, the cancellation of services, and the discontinuation of products? Obamacare levies a 3.8 percent tax on profits from home sales — meaning they have reduced the real sales value of American homes by 3.8 percent — and Democrats act as though this will have no effect on the tanking housing market. They issue “interim final” rules that change at the whim of the administration and then deny that uncertainty is hobbling the economy. They require that every business file a 1099 for the IRS for every vendor transaction exceeding $600 — a requirement that the IRS itself confesses it lacks sufficient manpower to handle — and then promise that their program will save the country money through reduced paperwork. They add an extra layer of taxation onto investments to offset the costs of their health-care mess and then wonder that investors aren’t pouring money into new job-creating enterprises. No, neither Obamacare nor regulatory uncertainty is exclusively responsible for the poor state of the economy, the unsteady markets, or weak housing prices, but they are contributors, and their contribution is not negligible.
Meanwhile, Obamacare innovations such as the Community Living Assistance Program already are poised to far exceed the budgets established for them in the bill, and the turbocharged Medicaid provisions are threatening to bankrupt states across the country. Thanks to Obamacare, you will pay more for heart stents and other life-saving medical devices, and you’ll have less money to do so once all the additional taxes and fees with which the bill is larded up kick in.
On their own signature domestic issue, Democrats are as lost as last year’s Easter eggs. In the wake of the bill’s passage, the conventional wisdom held that Republican promises to repeal the bill in its entirety and start from scratch were wishful thinking that savored slightly of sour political grapes. But the continuing stream of noxious consequences percolating up from the murk of Obamacare make it clear that repeal is the only sensible option. The wise choice is, at the moment, also the popular choice, a rare enough concurrence, with half of the population strongly in favor of repealing Obamacare and more than half sympathetic to the idea. We propose that the next Congress adopt as House Bill 1 a single sentence: “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is hereby repealed.”
They should have called it "Community Living Assistance Program To Remove Aged Persons." Then it could be known as CLAPTRAP.
Ditto and BUMP.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/75976
“First Lady Asks Nurses to Spread the Word About Affordable Care Act”
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
By Penny Starr
SNIPPET: “(CNSNews.com) – In a “listen only” telephone conference call on Tuesday, First Lady Michelle Obama told nurses they need to help Americans learn about the benefits of the new health care law, which President Barack Obama signed in March.
“But in order for this law to make a real difference in people’s lives, we have to make sure that people know about these reforms and that they take advantage of them,” Michelle Obama said. “And that’s why we need your help in spreading the word.
“So, we’re asking you all to get involved in this outreach effort,” the first lady said. “Talk to your patients about how these reforms can help them.
“Also, talk to your colleagues about the best ways to inform patients about what this new law means for them and for their families,” Obama said.”
NOTE The following propaganda is a quote:
www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/28/remarks-first-lady-during-conference-call-with-nurses
Home • Briefing Room • Speeches & Remarks
The White House
Office of the First Lady
For Immediate Release September 28, 2010
Remarks by the First Lady During Conference Call with Nurses
Via teleconference
MRS. OBAMA: Thank you, thanks so much, Dr. Wakefield. Thank you for that introduction but more importantly thank you for your hard work in fighting for health care reform for so many years. She’s truly been a wonderful advocate and a partner to this White House.
I also want to thank all the nurses who are joining me here today at the White House. And of course I want to thank all of you joining us on the call across the country today. We have a wonderful representation of the profession on this call.
But we’re on this call today to talk about what health insurance reform means for you and for your patients, specifically the new provisions that just went into effect. But I do want to start by saying that I was looking forward to this call for a couple of reasons, not just because we’re talking about important reforms, but because Barack and I have seen firsthand the crucial role that nurses play in our nation’s health care system.
And just to recall a story, I will never forget the time back in Chicago, when Sasha was then a baby, she was just about four months old, and one day she just began to cry inconsolably. And up until that time, Sasha was a healthy, happy baby who rarely cried for no reason. So of course we knew something was wrong, and we immediately took her to the ER.
And as you all can imagine, when a child gets sick, you are scared, and we were certainly scared when we got to the hospital. And we were even more frightened when Sasha was diagnosed with meningitis.
But what made that difficult time so much easier to bear was really all of you. It was the nurses. And don’t get me wrong, the doctors did a phenomenal job. But the nurses were the ones communicating with us every single step of the way, using their expertise not just to comfort our little baby girl, but to comfort us.
And thank God, everything turned out okay, and Sasha is healthy, as everyone knows. But it’s because of that experience we will always be grateful to the nurses who helped us then and to all our nurses across the country who provide such outstanding health care each and every day.
And I know that so many Americans have their own stories to tell about the skill, the care, the compassion that nurses showed them during difficult days.
We all have these stories because in moments of need, nurses are on the front lines of America’s health care system. We all have these stories because in moments of need, nurses are the ones who make things work.
And that’s the reason we’re talking today. You all play such a critical role in helping patients understand what’s going on with their health care, giving them the information they need not just to get better, but to stay healthy.
And right now, there’s some very important new information that we really need to help pass along.
Last week, we hit the six-month anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. That means that we’re starting to see more of the reforms take effect, including new protections and benefits in the Patient’s Bill of Rights.
So for example, insurance companies can no longer discriminate against kids because they have a preexisting condition. Patients can no longer be dropped by their insurance companies because they get sick. People suffering from a serious illness like breast cancer can focus on their treatment because they no longer have to worry about hitting their lifetime limit on coverage. And college kids and young adults just starting out on their own can now get coverage through their parents’ plan.
Now, all this means that individuals and families have more control over their health care. But here’s the important point: These reforms aren’t abstract theories that just make for good talking points. These are real changes that will benefit Americans all across the country.
And some of the biggest new changes and benefits are the reforms that deal with preventative care, because we all know, everyone on this call, that the best way to keep families healthy and cut health care costs is to keep people from getting sick in the first place.
And, as a result of the Affordable Care Act, that’s going to be easier because many preventative services are now covered at no out-of-pocket costs. Things like mammograms, cervical screenings, colonoscopies, childhood immunizations, prenatal and new baby care, high blood pressure treatment, all of these are included in new insurance plans with no deductable, no copay, no coinsurance, nothing. These steps are crucial because they can help combat preventable conditions that can have serious health consequences later in life.
Take childhood obesity, for example, an issue that’s of particular concern to me as First Lady and as a mother. It’s an epidemic that’s sweeping the country and it’s one that I’ve been trying to combat through our “Let’s Move” initiative. These new reforms are critical in addressing this challenge because we know that preventative care, at least certain steps if taken early in a child’s life, can help reduce obesity and improve a child’s prospect for a healthier future.
We know, for example, that breastfeeding can have an impact on a child’s health. That’s why the Affordable Care Act makes it easier for a mother to breastfeed once she’s returned to work.
We know that prenatal care and early childhood screenings can have a dramatic effect on a child’s chances of becoming obese later in life. So the Affordable Care Act covers screenings for an array of conditions that affect pregnant women and their babies.
We know that kids getting their BMI checked is an easy step that can help parents make better decisions about their children’s health. So the Affordable Care Act covers BMI screenings.
And it’s not just childhood obesity. Preventative measures like these can have a major effect on so many chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease or high blood pressure.
So those are just some of the examples of what’s in the law. But in order for this law to make a real difference in people’s lives, we have to make sure that people know about these reforms and that they take advantage of them. And that’s why we need your help in spreading the word.
So we’re asking you all get involved in this outreach effort. Talk to your patients about how these reforms can help them. Also, talk to your colleagues about the best ways to inform patients about what this new law means for them and for their families.
But in closing, just let me say this to all of you on this line. So many of you have played such an important role throughout this process. From the very beginning, it’s been nurses who have sat at the table sharing your ideas, sharing your concerns and your experiences. And as a result, all of you have helped to make this law even better. So I want to thank you for that. And we needed your help then and we need your help again to spread the word.
So, again, thank you everyone for the work that you’ve done, thank you for the work that you’re going to do and all the things that you do every single day to make this country a healthier, more secure place.
And with that, I’m going to turn it back to Mary Wakefield who will provide a few more details on some of the other reforms.
Thanks, again.
Quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2600037/posts
Vanity: Three Cheers for Obamacare!!!
self | 10/01/2010 | self
Posted on October 1, 2010 3:44:40 PM PDT by Cementjungle
Today my previously announced 20% premium increase for health insurance through Regence Blueshield kicked in, and by coincidence I also received a packet in the mail from them regarding the cancellation of all their current plans, with new ones replacing them.
Rates will of cource increase yet again in January, and one of the nice new provisions for ALL their plans is the fact that nothing related to anyone’s pre-existing conditions will be covered for nine months.
I called and asked questions... and when I asked about the pre-existing condition deal, I was told that the H.C. bill did in fact have “fine print” allowing the insurance companies to do this.
Quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2600970/posts
How ObamaCare May Disrupt Your Health Plan
Forbes ^ | Sept. 29, 2010 | Avik Roy
Posted on October 3, 2010 6:21:20 PM PDT by prairiebreeze
Imagine if you ran a business, and one day the government told you that you would be fined if you: (1) minimized unnecessary expenses; (2) hired workers to specialize in customer service; (3) invested resources in order to ensure you wouldn’t get victimized by fraud. What would you do? Think quickly: because three months from now, this very system will be the law of the land for our nation’s health insurers.
Last Friday, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners—the association of the 50 state insurance commissioners—issued its draft guidelines for how insurers will need to calculate “medical-loss ratios,” or MLRs. The wonkiest among you will recall that the medical loss ratio is loosely defined as the dollar amount that an insurer spends on the health care of its beneficiaries, divided by the total dollar amount the insurer collects in premiums. Section 2718 of our new health care law mandates that insurance plans sold to individuals and small employers must spend at least 80 percent of their premiums on health care, and plans sold to large employers must spend at least 85 percent.
But, like everything else with Obamacare, the devil is in the details: how do you define health care? How do you define “insurance plan”? Now that the NAIC has spoken, we have a good idea of how the final regulations will look. And the news is not good: the MLR regulations are likely to lead to a significant disruption of the health insurance market, with many insurers exiting the market, driving premiums up and choices down.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.forbes.com ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2601036/posts
“Single Payer Coming Under Obamacare”
Human Events ^ | October 2, 2010 | Roger Hedgecock
Posted on October 3, 2010 10:01:49 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
SNIPPET: “Leftists who opposed Obamacare because it was not the British-style National Health Service or the Canadian “single payer” system should take another look.
Constitutional conservatives who feared that Obamacare was a blueprint for an incremental roll out of “single payer” have been proven right.
California’s governor is about to sign legislation to set up that state’s Health Benefits Exchange. The HBE is authorized under Obamacare and is supposed to be a place where small business and individuals can access the best insurance plans at the cheapest price—a real exchange where customers can compare benefits and price in a competitive atmosphere.
Not in California. The main feature of the California HBE allows the exchange governing board to meet in secret and determine not only which insurance companies can participate and what must be covered, but also what they can charge.
Exchange employees would not be limited by Civil Service pay rates and personnel decisions would also be secret. The exchange would operate independent from either legislative oversight or the governor’s authority.
The main goal of this California HBE is to impose government price controls on insurance while mandating the expanded coverage that policies must provide.
California appears to be fulfilling the real intent of Obamacare. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius assailed the “free rein” which insurers had before Obamacare to set any price they wished. Obamacare she vowed would bring “accountability” to health insurance price.
States already regulate the health insurance industry. Responding to higher premium costs driven by new benefits mandated in Obamacare, the HBE in California and soon in your state will destroy what’s left of the insurance free market.”
Quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2602977/posts
Obamacare firesale: Three Catholic Hospitals for sale in Pennsylvania
The Washington Examiner ^ | October 7, 2010 | Mark Hemingway
Posted on October 7, 2010 12:39:11 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
It looks like it’s not just insurers that suddenly want to get out of the health care business. Three Catholic hospitals in Pennsylvania are now on the market, and the hospital management is telling the local media that Obamacare is a major reason why the facilities are being unloaded:
Mercy Hospital in Scranton is up for sale.
Those who run the place and all other Mercy facilities in our area said Wednesday they are already in talks with organizations interested in buying.
Mercy Health Partners hopes to have a buyer by the end of the year.
Officials said there are numerous reasons for the sale. One big one is the heath care reform bill signed into law this year.
The potential sale includes Mercy Hospital in Scranton, Mercy Tyler Hospital in Tunkhannock and Mercy Special Care Hospital in Nanticoke.
For almost a century there has been a Catholic hospital in Scranton. Now it looks like that will be coming to an end.
Incredibly, the hospitals are doing well financially, but according to the hospital owners, the new requirements brought on by the new health care legislation makes it hard for them to stay in the hospital business:
“Actually we’re doing well. We’re ahead of budget for the year. It’s more that when we look out over the landscape of health care over the next five years and the needs of these facilities, the needs of this community, we understand a different level of investment will be needed than what we can do on our own,” [Mercy Health Partners CEO Kevin] Cook said.
They said much of that required investment is the result of the health care reform bill passed in Washington.
The CEO said it means the need for more spending and less federal reimbursements.
“Health care reform is absolutely playing a role. Was it the precipitating factor in this decision? No, but was it a factor in our planning over the next five years? Absolutely,” Cook added.
This is likely to be a big story locally, and the hospitals fall in the districts of Rep. Chris Carney, D-Pa., and Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa. In the latest polls, Carney has a very narrow three point lead over his Republican challenger and Kanjorski, 13-term incumbent, is down 11 points against his Republican challenger.
[ Report Abuse | Bookmark ]
“You think health care is expensive now? Wait until it’s free.” PJ O’Rourke
1 posted on October 7, 2010 12:39:15 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
NOTE The following posts are a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2607883/posts
Suing ObamaCare
NY Post ^ | October 14, 2010 | Betsy McCaughey
Posted on October 15, 2010 2:27:16 AM PDT by Scanian
Yesterday, in a federal courtroom far from the noise of town-hall meet ings, Tea Parties and talk shows, Judge Roger Vinson quietly compelled the Obama administration to show why the new health law, enacted on March 23, does not trample the Constitution.
The ruling is a victory for the cause of freedom and limited government.
Vinson reminded the nation that even in the face of a perceived crisis, such as the number of uninsured and rising health costs, it isn’t enough that a law be wise or expedient. That law must also respect the limits imposed by the US Constitution. Those limits are not merely “formalistic,” he said; they protect liberty.
Vinson rejected many of the administration’s arguments for throwing out constitutional challenges brought by 40 percent of all the states in the nation: Florida, South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Louisiana, Alabama, Michigan, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Washington, Idaho, South Dakota, Indiana, North Dakota, Mississippi, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and Alaska.
The ruling paves the way for a trial to begin in Florida in December, with appeals expected all the way to the Supreme Court. The final word from the nine justices would likely come late in 2012, before the presidential election.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; Click to Add Topic
KEYWORDS: Click to Add Keyword
FReepathon: Contribute to FR by secure server
Or by check: Free Republic, LLC, PO Box 9771, Fresno, CA 93794
[ Report Abuse | Bookmark ]
1 posted on October 15, 2010 2:27:16 AM PDT by Scanian
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: Scanian
Attorney General Releases Summary Analysis of the Health Care Lawsuit Ruling
http://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsreleases/A7EF30F80CE898B8852577BC007135B0
2 posted on October 15, 2010 2:31:10 AM PDT by sheikdetailfeather (Who needs an enemy when we have Barack Obama?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
Quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2610908/posts
Cost of your health plan to rise (at least) 14% (Hey Liberal Idiots, YOU GOT PUNKED!)
cnn ^ | 10/20/2010 | Michelle Andrews
Posted on October 20, 2010 3:54:50 AM PDT by tobyhill
It’s that time of year when employers deliver bad news about next year’s benefits.
Chances are you’ll learn that your 2011 health insurance tab will be sharply higher, as companies continue to shift the burden of rising costs onto their workers.
Employees’ share of premiums for a family plan is up an average 14%, to $3,997, vs. just a 3% rise in the total bill, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
And it’s not just premiums that are spiraling higher. You’re also likely to be hit with higher deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums as well as bigger bills for doctor’s visits and drugs.
“Increasingly, employees have to be thoughtful about not just the cost of the plan, but the cost of the services they use,” says Michael Thompson, a principal with Pricewaterhouse-Coopers’ human resources practice.
1 million to lose out on better coverage It seems people are doing that, but not in the way experts recommend: Recent data suggest that many insured Americans are now forgoing care because of the cost. Rather than sacrificing your health, keep expenses in check with these strategies.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/hhs-giving-states-millions-taxpayer-doll
“HHS Giving States Millions of Taxpayer Dollars to ‘Help Consumers File Complaints’ Against Their Health Plans”
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
By Susan Jones
SNIPPET: “(CNSNews.com) – President Obama’s Health and Human Services Department on Tuesday announced nearly $30 million in grants to “help consumers see the benefits” of the Democrats’ new health care law.
Those “benefits” include helping consumers file appeals and grievances against their existing health insurance plans.
HHS says the $30 million will go to state consumer assistance programs that help Americans who have questions or concerns about their health insurance.
Specifically, the grants will help consumers:
— enroll in health coverage;
— file complaints and appeals against their health plans (see examples below);
— educate consumers about their rights and empower them to take action; and
— track consumer complaints to help identify problems and strengthen enforcement.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2613984/posts
#
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HnkxIh62dQ&NR=1
“Dr. David Janda explains rationing and why Dr. Rob Steele must defeat Dingell.”
Video Description - quote:
robsteele2010 | October 19, 2010
Dr. Rob Steele must defeat Obamacare author John Dingell, sending a strong message to Defund, Repeal and Replace this disastrous bill. Dr. Dave Janda discusses the rationing component inherent in ObamaCare, and the only solution being electing representatives like Dr. Rob Steele on Nov. 2nd. Support Dr. Steele today at www.robsteeleforcongress.com .
Category:
News & Politics
Tags:
Rob Steele Dr. Robert Steele MI-15 John Dingell
Quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2614672/posts
The creeping chill of ObamaCare
NY Post ^ | October 25, 2010 | MARK K. SIEGEL
Posted on October 26, 2010 3:47:55 AM PDT by Scanian
I Can feel ObamaCare closing in.
It starts with small things. Consider a patient I’ll call Jane, a corporate executive in her mid 40s. She’s happy with her current health coverage — a high-deductible policy paired with a Flexible Spending Account that can cover up to $3,000 a year in routine expenses, which she uses to pay for much of her medical care.
Other than her yearly screening check-up, Jane doesn’t come in to see me unless she’s really sick. An occasional bout of bronchitis prompts a brief visit, where I prescribe her a short course of antibiotics. Otherwise she uses her FSA to buy Tylenol and Advil over-the-counter for an occasional headache, insect repellant for summers in her backyard and Prevacid for an infrequent case of heartburn.
But, starting Jan. 1, Jane won’t be able to use her flex-spend account to cover OTC remedies without getting a prescription first. That’s right: She’ll need a prescription for non-prescription drugs — a waste of her time, and mine. Otherwise, she has to pay a 20 percent penalty for using the account to buy exactly the sort of things it was designed to cover.
She’s not alone: I have 20-plus patients facing this pointless restriction on their flex-spend or Health Savings accounts. Nationwide, more than 30 million workers with FSAs and 10 million others with HSAs are all in the same boat.
Do the congressmen who passed the health-reform law seriously expect me to somehow find the time to prescribe laxatives, antacids, creams for insect bites and hemorrhoids and so on for these patients? Or are they just looking to render that coverage worthless?
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
http://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/article/littlest-victims-obamacare
“The Littlest Victims of Obamacare”
Commentary by Michelle Malkin
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
By Michelle Malkin
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.