Free Republic

Here’s a brilliant idea from our friend, John Goodman, who writes to us: “If you do this the right way, it will (1) save a ton of money, (2) make it easier for enrollees to get health care.”It would also save people on Medicaid from losing a whole day of working instead of waiting in an emergency room for routine care, and provide higher quality care at the same time.Goodman explains:Private companies managing Medicaid (or the state itself) should be able to make deposits to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) that would cover, say, all primary care. Enrollees would be restricted...

We have some good tax minds here, so I have a question about the HSA last month rule. I can’t seem to get a good answer, elsewhere, so YES, this is a vanity. A relative had an HSA 2023 and most of last year. The relative got a new job last year that had normal health insurance and no HSA. On the tax program being used, the question brings up “2023 contributions eligible due to last-month rule.” How is this determined? What does 2023 have to do with anything, when that tax year was on their taxes last year? Note...

The democrat party (deliberately) wants to make it difficult, tedious, and confusing - To be even eligible for a Health Savings Account, - To start a Health Savings Account once eligible, - To put money into your Health Savings Account, - To use that money from your Health Savings Account, - To transfer or inherit or even help somebody with your own money from your own Health Savings Account. Worse, if by accident or by confusion (in the rules, or in the monthly amount saved, or by unexpected bonuses, promotions, or job changes) a taxpayer puts "too much" into an...

The Biden administration made multiple last-minute moves that could make the Department of Homeland Security more expensive to operate, and cause the funds allocated to the department to secure the border to be less effective. On January 17, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas wrote to all employees that he was giving them three days of additional vacation time to be used in 2025, in memory of him. “It has been the honor of my life to support you and to work alongside you. In recognition of your extraordinary talent, dedication, and sacrifice, I am proud — this one last time...

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) has introduced a bill that would make tax-free Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) available to all Americans.Currently, most Americans cannot use HSAs due to the stringent rules that govern their use: only those who pay an abnormally high insurance deductible can take advantage of the pre-tax program. In practice, this means that 90 percent of Americans are not eligible for HSAs.Roy’s bill, dubbed the Healthcare Freedom Act, would change the rules to make all Americans eligible for HSA accounts.To do this, the bill would de-link eligibility for an HSA, renamed a “Health Freedom Account” by the legislation,...

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way a lot of people live — and not necessarily for the better. All of this upheaval could cause you to make some very poor choices with regard to your healthcare, and that’s a good way to lose money and compromise your health at a time when you can’t afford to. With that in mind, here are three Medicare mistakes to avoid at all costs during the ongoing crisis.1. Not signing up on timeHealth coverage under Medicare begins at age 65, and you can enroll up to three months prior to the month...

You might have missed this big news because the media largely ignored it, but President Trump signed a historic health care executive order (EO) in June. It supports innovative direct primary care (DPC) practice models and promises to make health care prices more transparent than they have been in a half century. One of the executive order’s biggest changes, however, is allowing patients to use tax-advantaged health savings accounts (HSAs) to pay for DPC services.This incredibly important point about HSAs is buried deep in the EO: “Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Treasury,...

Legislation that would dramatically increase an important contribution limit just cleared a major hurdle. The House of Representatives recently passed two pieces of legislation that would make significant changes to health savings accounts (HSAs), including a massive increase in the amount of tax-deferred contributions that could be made to them. These changes could not only allow Americans to get more of a tax deduction for their healthcare expenditures, but they could also help participants build their retirement nest eggs at a faster rate. Here's a rundown of what the new HSA contribution limit could be, why it matters for retirement...

If you are a member of a health sharing ministry like Medishare, are you allowed to contribute new money to an existing HSA? Assume there is no employer coverage / employer contributions.

Obamacare is imploding, as we all knew it would, due to the crazy regulations and unlimited liabilities for providers. Some areas now have no insurance carriers covering them, because the cost and risk are too high. In other areas providers are threatening to pull out for the same reason. The issue is how to fix this, and do it in such a way that we keep getting good coverage, access, affordable premiums, and choices. How about this? Every citizen gets a high-deductible plan, with a $50,000 deductible. This wouldn't pay a dime before $50,000, so it ought to be relatively...

How bout simple insurance? What is insurance? Insurance is protection against random events that exceed your ability to absorb the impact based on your current position, financial or otherwise. Insurance isn't health care. Insurance isn't a maintenance plan or payment plan. So why not have two types of insurance. 1. Insurance of a percentage of impact up to a certain maximum benefit. 2. Insurance of a maximum impact. Both Insurances could be purchased on the open market like life insurance. 1. Would work that after a low deductible would kick in a increasing scale coverage based on the total expense...

Smart pick. Tom Bossert brings a 21st century cybersecurity profile to Trump’s inner National Security team. Bossert has deep knowledge of cybersecurity from both a Homeland Defense (infrastructure), and a counterterrorism perspective. President-elect Donald J. Trump today announced his selection of Thomas P. Bossert to serve as Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. In this position, Mr. Bossert will advise the President on issues related to homeland security, counterterrorism, and cybersecurity, and coordinate the Cabinet’s process for formulating and executing policy in these matters.

The Transportation Security Administration's woes continue. Despite the Transportation Security Administration's ten-point action plan to reduce long lines at airports across the country, lengthy queues remain. Now, the TSA's summer may be getting even worse: According to a recent report from the House Homeland Security Commission entitled "Misconduct at TSA Threatens the Security of the Flying Public", nearly half of the TSA’s 60,000 employees have been cited for misconduct in recent years. The bad news doesn't stop there. Citations have increased 28.5 percent from 2013 to 2015, and in 2015, the average U.S. airport received 58 complaints each year—more than...

There's no link associated with this post. A few times now I've clicked on my Free Republic book mark and as soon as the page loads, my Malware reports "Malicious site blocked; mod.gov.al" Anyone have any ideas or insight on that? I wouldn't alert on it were it not for the .gov domain.

Health Reform: Workers across the country will soon learn just how big President Obama's "keep your plan" lie was when ObamaCare costs them their beloved Flexible Spending Accounts.

Federal agents in a sweep targeting the most dangerous criminal immigrants arrested 15 people who have been allowed to remain in the U.S. under President Barack Obama's executive action intended to protect children who came to the U.S. years ago with their parents, the Associated Press has learned. Fourteen of the 15 had been convicted of a crime, the Homeland Security Department confirmed late Thursday. In at least one case, the Obama administration renewed the protective status for a young immigrant after that person's conviction in a drug case, a U.S. official briefed on the arrests said. One of the...

A former South High School teacher who resigned last year over allegations of inappropriate behavior with students has found work as a grant coordinator with the regional homeland security agency. Larisa Oringdulph was named the South All-Hazards Regional Homeland Security Coordinator on Monday. The job pays $48,000. ... the job as an annual contract position with the South All-Hazards Region and, essentially, a conduit for the federal homeland security funds that get passed through the state and into counties to be used for various projects. ... She was never charged with any criminal act, but was accused of sending sexually...

Off-the-shelf fix for veteran hospital waiting lines “To care for him who shall have borne the battle and his widow and orphan”. This Abraham Lincoln quote on a plaque in front of the Veterans Administration building is a succinct mission for the VA. Our veterans have earned our best efforts toward this end. Congress recently acted in a rare bi-partisan fashion to ease the scandalous backlog. Nine million “Veterans Choice” cards allow access to care outside the VA for veterans living at least 40 miles from a VA facility or on very long wait lists. I applaud the efforts of...

AMD has just published a massive patch-set for the Linux kernel that finally implements a HSA (Heterogeneous System Architecture) in open-source. The set of 83 patches implement a Linux HSA driver for Radeon family GPUs and serves too as a sample driver for other HSA-compatible devices. This big driver in part is what well known Phoronix contributor John Bridgman has been working on at AMD.********************** Heterogeneous System Architecture has been talked up for a while now by AMD as well as ARM vendors and now finally for open-source enthusiasts we can finally start seeing the advantages of the CPU and...

It's fortunate the Supreme Court of the United States saw it fit last week to rule that corporations could not be coerced into covering religiously objectionable forms of birth control for their employees. This was a critical ruling, because it indicates that the majority of the Court still thinks religious beliefs and personal choice have a valid place in American society. The margin of the split decision, however, is alarming, because it reminds us of how close we are to having a government that will subject moral convictions to its bureaucratically directed control. People have legitimate differences of opinion about...