“And insurgent attacks rock Pakistan.”

Not merely insurgents. Islamicist assassins who want to set up a Talibanesque State.

Olympia Snowe’s vote was a joke, and a poor one at that. I am rooting for this whole healthcare reform effort to fail, because it is such a sham. Maybe in another 15 years we will be ready to seriously address this issue. Obama’s election showed that alot of people are getting fed up. What has happened since the election has shown that they aren’t fed up enough. The progressive “soup” needs to simmer a bit longer.

04/27/2009

This was my response to an article by Peter Bergen on CNN

CNN DID NOT PUBLISH THESE COMMENTS ON THEIR BLOG SITE REFERENCED ABOVE 04/28/2009

PAKISTAN IS NOT FALLING
Comments on a CNN analysis

Dear Mr. Bergen

“Editor’s note: Peter Bergen is a fellow at the New America Foundation, a Washington-based think tank that promotes innovative thought from across the ideological spectrum, and at New York University’s Center on Law and Security. He’s the author of “The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda’s Leader.”

Sir, you fail to recognize, regardless of the survey you quote, that Pakistan is a majority illiterate country, and even though it does not have a central religious figure to lead it does have many minor religious leaders that are fed up with the westernization of their society, and many among the military foot soldiers are from villages and are religious, they have clearly not fought Al Queda and Taliban forces as a organized, reliable and disciplined force.

As Bush was a failure at foreseeing the economic troubles, due to his wishful thinking, he also did not recognize the trouble he was in when he promoted democracy in Pakistan ( mainly to put Musharraf in his place when Bush seemed to have lost control of him), Bhutto if any thing was not a beacon of democracy for Pakistan.
In Pakistan you do not have a one major Islamic center, and that is a major major problem again, you have hundreds, many so called political leaders use the name of Islam to incite rebellion against the center and entice their followers in the name of Islam to mayhem and murder.

The privileged classes are only interested in their own survival and benefit, not in the common good of the country. Corruption of the judiciary (you mention the lawyers revolt) at all levels is shameless and shameful. Zardari government is paralyzed, he is Sindi, the officers corps (mainly Punjabis) want him to fall, he is an idiot any way but he is the president, if he fails another Punjabi, may be a military leader gets to take control.
In Pakistan, defeating Taliban will not be easy because the population in general does not want an “Islamic Force” defeated by the secular.

Pakistani intelligentsia it self is confused as to where their loyalties lie, they talk appeasingly to the westerners then they take out their Qurans, and try to seek absolution from having cavorted with the infidels. No problem if you sound confused.

Cory,
Americans have been waiting for over 65 Years! This Health Care Reform is not a sham! Those out there reporting it are Clueless to what America needs. “Americans for Prosperity?” My Health Insurance went up in ten years 131 Per Cent! with only 1 small claim. Now I have none due to being laid off. I worry that I do not get Injured or Sick. I clear all Media Information about Health care thru MediaMatters.org and thru FactCheck.org These are two great Independent Sites.

To all those strong believers who believe that rushing to the ER (with or without) insurance is what driving our cost high (ofcourse for small issues), let me ask them what are the other options?

I was FORCED to go to ER for a small allergy (which I got confirmed after the ER physician’s diagnosis) because there IS NO URGENT care or anything like that feasible and to wait for NEXT APPTMENT for things like allergy is not wise or safe.

Why dont have more Outpatient services as walkin rather than only going through the schedule.

BTw, I checked in my area there are only 2 Walk-ins in a radius of 40 miles and that too are on only at off hours.

when I listen to an analysis of congressional pending legislation, by the media or members of congress themselves, I hear much allusion to how the matter will affect different legislators’ reelection potentials and/ or how the matter will affect different industries who are important donors. I do not hear analysis of how the legislation will affect we the people. am I one of those “back in the old days” fogies or has the purpose of being a member of congress become a mission to get reelected to congress, rather than a mission to serve the people?

We are broke! We are spending money that we do not have in bizarre military operations. As simple as that. What are we going to do when we get the invoice for the money we borrow for these operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the finance charges.

It is depression folks – if dollar is replaced by Euro … sooner and later. Unfortunately it will be a depression in USA only. In that case, US Treasury cannot print money, because other governments will not have to.

Two solutions:
Iraq: Let’s have an investigation regarding why we invaded Iraq. Once we find out “why” we were conned into, hostilities will stop immediately and withdrawal is a snap. $$$avings!

Afghanistan: Let’s find out what really happened on Sept 11. As soon as we do that, Afghani’s (including Taliban) and the US people will understand that they have been in the same “victim” boat of 9/11. Will huddle and cuddle and peace forever. $$$avings!

If anybody has a better idea about how to get out of the Foreign Invasion, Inc. (aka Black Hole), please come forward.

Since Snowe has the deciding vote, you can be sure the plan meets her expectations. And she’s a Republican. Therefore, it’s actually a Republican plan. Another Obama victory!

Cory — Would you say that to someone who’s seriously ill thanks to not being able to afford health care?

Sam — I had the same experience ten days ago. I’m covered with good insurance so payment was not an issue. The issue is having a serious health crisis at night or on weekends. Where I live, doctors are available from 8 am Monday to noon on Friday. The rest is picked up by ER docs at the hospital’s emergency room — at huge (and inflated) cost to them and insurance carriers.

What will be the public reaction when they realize the proposed insurance reforms won’t lick in for 4 1/2 years and premiums continue to escalate at 12-15% a year?

And some of the financial fixes are only priced in for 1 year, i.e. physician payments.

70% of Americans support public option. Since when is 70% of the people a SIDE SHOW!!!! Who does the guest think he is, part of royalty??

If we never had Goldman Sachs and AIPAC, this country wouldn’t know what to do with its Wealth….trillions of surplus every year, no homelessness, Dow Jones = 20000, unemployment 1%.

Enough is Enough!

The public option is “peripheral” in the same way that a wooden stake is “peripheral” to the death of the vampire…. and yes, I do mean that metaphor to work on many levels.

The public option introduces actual health care into the health care reform and with it the health care companies will either have to reform themselves, or, in five or ten years, they’ll be begging to hand their business over to a single payer plan.

Earlier in the week OnPoint had Arianna Huffington on and she made a comment that this health care bill is a joke just like education reform was and is.

The congress will slap themselves on the back as will the president as a job well done as they did with No Child Left Behind. It will be a mess. It will hurt people more than help. It does nothing to control costs or deal with the way we deliver health care in this country.

Read Robert Reich’s article on the Insurance companies.

http://robertreich.blogspot.com/ scroll down to the headline:

The Audacity of Greed: How Private Health Insurers Just Blew Their Cover

Does any other country have health insurance tied to a person’s employer? Let’s have a real reform and divorce the health insurance from employers. It makes no sense, why should I have to change insurance networks (and probably PCP) if I decide to change jobs?

I just received a notice from Blue Cross Blue Shield that my premium is going up 28% on December 1. I pay for this plan myself, because I have been squeezed out of the full-time job market and work part time for 4 places that do not offer me benefits.
My income is down 40% over 3 years ago and I work twice the hours! I am healthy and have used only a tiny bit of the coverage it claims to offer. Unfortunately, this scenario is now typical.

The government has to step up on behalf of its people, not on behalf of the profit-mongering lobbyists! Throw the bums out!

Three questions about afghanistan:
1) When will we discuss the cost of more troops?
2) How long will Americans accept McChrystals Rules of Engagement when casualties inevitably go up? He requires our soldiers to actually see who is shooting at them in order to fire..etc. This was very devisive during Vietnam.
3) Frank Rich uses Petraus’ own rules about force levels for counter insurgency and comes up with a number around 500,000 trops needed for Afganistan. When will make the hard decision about a draft and tax increases to support our 2 wars?

The awarding of the Nobel Prize to President Obama can be seen as the international community’s welcoming of the U.S. back to the family of nations, after eight years of cowboy diplomacy that dismayed our allies.

The only viable health reform is SINGLE PAYER. No one REQUIRED to carry insurance because everyone HAS insurance. Single payer has NOTHING to do with physician choice, nor does it make health care decisions for your doctor. It can be paid for with money that is already being spent on private insurance and be a LOT cheaper.
Medicare for all, private supplemental for those who want it.

The insurance companies already dictate your care. For example, my childrens’ dentist says they need fluoride treatment twice a year (no fluoride in our water). The insurance company says they only need it once a year and that is all they will pay for.

-Tossing tax credits and subsidies at poor people will not make insurance affordable.
- A bunch of small co-ops is NOT cost effective. The larger the pool, the lower the overall cost.

The only positive thing about the Republican plan is tort reform and cracking down on cheats.

The first is easy – make it illegal for ANY punitive damages to be paid to the victim or their lawyers. The victim already gets compensated for their past and potential future loss, plus pain and suffering. Punitive damages should go into a pool for health care coverage (the single payer!). No individual or his/her lawyer should get rich because punitive damages to keep a company from repeating an egregious offense are deemed appropriate. The lawyers won’t fight for huge and unreasonable punitive damages if they can’t line their own pockets.

The second is not so easy or the cheats would already be in jail. Where is the detail plan to fix that?

Explain to me how the guys and gals that are going to wring hundreds of billions of savings out of Medicare are the same people who are about to abandon the law of cost of living increases for Social Security so that Congress can dole out tens of billions of dollars to seniors. I mean, come on, this is a vote buy and a complete lack of discipline. Mark my words, Congress’ healthcare plan will bankrupt this country because it’s got no teeth and Congress has no backbone.

We are now seen as the world’s patsies, recently validated by the Nobel peace prize.

More than 99% of the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan are Muslim. Do you understand what the implications are?People tend to see only what they want to see and hear only what they want to hear. We tend to interpret the world around us in familiar terms. Unfortunately our judgment is limited by the extent of our experience and knowledge. All cultures are inherently ethnocentric. The mores and values of a culture are projected on the proceeding generations by contrasting the native values as superior to all others. Conflict between cultures is guaranteed by ignorance and the arrogance bourn from it. The friction between the Islamic world and the west has been created by the prejudices, greed and arrogance of western media and leaders as is evident from a six hundred year record. Before you can determine such ideas of what is extreme or moderate you must have a firm understanding of the center. I have yet to hear from anyone in the media the formal definition of what is Islam. If you do not know the answere to that question then you are engaging in prejudice.

Correction for Jack B.: that’s actually $400 per gallon that was reported by The Hill.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/63407-400gallon-gas-another-cost-of-war-in-afghanistan-

The 2 to 3 million rational viewers aren’t watching cable news…they’re listening to NPR!

“-Tossing tax credits and subsidies at poor people will not make insurance affordable.”

Exactly right. Government subsidies and credits to people designed to make stuff more affordable achieve exactly the opposite result. Housing has become more expensive because everybody suddenly was on the market to buy, so is education. Affordable loans make the prices go up and up. And why not? The artificial money creates artificial demand. Same story is going to be with health insurance and services.

Bonnie, whose health premium is going up 28 percent to Blue Cross on 12/1. That’s also my insurer, and every year I go down on level of coverage in order to try to keep my monthly premium about $700. As it is, the copays and so on dictate: Use only in dire circumstances.
As defined by Congress, this coverage is deluxe, is Cadillac coverage.
I am not the only one dismayed. Ms. Ignani who represents the nations insurers was all over the airways this week saying the insurers would do all they could to keep premiums down to where people like you and me would not get hit with the Cadillac tax (on top of high premiums).
Apparently being female and over 50 puts me in the cohort of people who are only offered Cadillac plans. I’m hoping that the Congress comes up with plans that don’t say the sicker you are, the more we charge you; or the older you are, the more we charge you. Age is a preexisting condition. (The insurers don’t realize we’d be healthier if we weren’t working ourselves to death; oh, they want us ill; they get a cut of the costs charged on our account, I think.)
On the cost of gas in Afghanistan, $400 a gallon! And this is the place where the oil barons are planning to build a pipeline…?

To add to the lessons learned from the ‘balloon’ incident yesterday, it is important that
people know that the news directors enhanced the visuals by having the helicopters [ at least 3 of them ] orbit the silver balloon to create the effect of speed, when in fact the thing was going slow. It was immediately obvious that no one was on board that balloon. We quickly did the calculations for lift, on an object that size, to conclude it could not lift 50 pounds to the height we see. The behavior of the balloon was also a dead give-away to the fact that it carried no ballast more than one pound.

Yesterday: <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
The Balloon – we really really really believed it. Captivating, tragedy….right?

Reasonable judgment comes in, questions raised… who knows, maybe we were lied to.

Cost: $9,455.78 waste of police time and money

Eight years ago Sept 11: <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Terrorists attacking America with planes and the buildings were wired up with explosives. Loss of life, tragedy mixed with anger. Reasoning out the door.

Oooops, buildings (WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7,WTC #7) demolishing itself…. all by itself.
Asking questions? No way!
Investigative Journalism: No way!
Scientific Brains? Burried in the Sand!

Cost: Priceless!

Don’t gey me wrong my friends. We desperately need healthcare reform (revolution?). What is being done in congress is an insult, and I’m not convinced that it won’t actually make things worse. I make $10 an hour, and can’t wait to see what sort of private insurance they force me to buy.

Felipe, if the owner of the building is not complaining, that would be the place to start. Was he/she trying to collect insurance? Someone in a previous forum indicated that incompetence provokes the sort of silence you see here. It’s like the little boy hiding in the attic, and what he says to his dad suggests the whole thing was staged. But the media would be embarrassed to lay that out. ABC, CBS, and NBC all had that floating balloon at the top of the hour. You cite almost $10,000 cost for the three helicopters. Never mind the TV time.
What about WTC7? Is it worth any more thousands, if it was more of an embarrassment to someone? If there is another al Kaida group that did that, a group laying in wait say in Brooklyn somewhere, they have lain in wait a long time, longer every day.
If the laws of physics were violated, well, look at the silver balloon. The builder, the dad, is said to believe in UFO’s. It looked home-made to me. The WTC7 looks pretty home-made too. We’re waiting for the little boy to come out and confess. “A long timeout awaits him,” some reporter said. But if he did his job for his dad, then no.

Cory, if the Congress creates a menu of options and a series of percentages so you would be repaid some of the cost of health care once you’ve sent them your tax returns, the result will be you will not be motivated to boost your earnings. You won’t want to do overtime, you won’t want the job that pays twice as well. You won’t work the second job. Those would be great losses to you, because you would lose your subsidy.
“Affordable” housing is similar; because subsidies are based on income, it works for someone with a regular job and even pay; it keeps the peons in line. But if you actually need more money, the subsidy equations really treat you like roadkill. I mean, you have to “make it big” or stay in your particular bracket.
If both housing and health care are designed to stamp on the go-getters, the land of hope becomes a land of downers.

“More than 99% of the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan are Muslim. Do you understand what the implications are?”

***

And that 99% of Muslim population is a monolith that thinks and acts in unison with no differences or disagreements among them. That’s why Ahmaddiyas in Pakistan – who are part of that 99% – are persecuted by Shia-Sunni Muslims – who again are part of that 99%.

And Pashtuns in Afghanistan have a history of persecuting minority Hazaras which continues to this day – but they all are part of that 99%.

Stereotype much? Ignorance much?

****

“The friction between the Islamic world and the west has been created by the prejudices, greed and arrogance of western media and leaders as is evident from a six hundred year record.”

*****

Again, Islamic world is not a monolith. There are people like Ali Sina, Ayan Hirsi Ali, Taslima Nasrin, Wafa Sultan, Salman Rushdie and Ibn Warraq who are (or were) Muslims and are critical of certain practices in Islam. Maybe you should think about why so many of the above have to either write their criticisms anonymously, or if they write openly, then they get death-threats and are intimidated. I was under the impression that the so-called liberals were – or are supposed to be – champions of free speech.

On Healthcare: To hear that the public option could potentially be “optional” to the bill, i.e., states could opt out of it, would be laughable if it were not a disappointing possibility. I suppose this is coming from the Republican/Democrat effort to ‘work across the aisle.’

The Republicans have consistently touted the idea of needing to give people a choice to go across state lines to purchase insurance as a way to increase competition. The Democrats are perhaps floating this idea to appease Olympia Snowe?

In states where insurance companies have a stranglehold on suppressing competition, they will also strong arm that state’s legislators to “opt out” of a public option should this become part of any bill. I never felt the Republicans were being genuine when they proposed the idea of state-to-state portability in purchasing insurance; in regard to this “optional” idea, competitive pricing would be even less likely.

I am also starting to hear more and more about larger employers being afforded exemption from any new healthcare legislation?!? (There has been very little substantive talk from Congress about getting health insurance away from an employer-based system.) The news coming to light about exemption for insurance companies from anti-trust laws is also disheartening. I believe this will further afford the insurance industry even more latitude to engage in some “legal price-fixing” making the industry giants even bigger.

On Afghanistan: I have already talked about this in recent blogs, but I will reiterate: there needs to be a draw DOWN of military troops in Afghanistan. Adding 40,000–or even “splitting the difference” and devoting 20,000–would be a mistake. We haven’t any reasonable objectives there, and if people believe we are unifying their government, or we are protecting our freedoms or their people, or we are quashing terrorism by our presence there, then we haven’t learned a damn thing in the last eight years and are just as susceptible to platitudes, misguided intentions and fear-mongering as we have ever been.

On Wall Street: No increased regulatory oversight=same shenanigans from the financial industry.

On “balloon boy”: A perfect example of modern media’s collective, hysteria-driven need to make a national story out of a small, local one in an effort to garner ratings.

Barney Frank and the Planet of the Banks

What planet is Congressman Barney Frank on, anyway? It is the planet of the banks and other financial firms that keep his campaign coffers humming, as their chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

Yet, the banks have every expectation that the Glass-Stegall Act–repealed by Clinton, Citigroup and the Congress in 1999–will not be reinstated to separate retail banking from investment banking and block the conflicts of interest that ravage investors.

Read the rest here.

Of course, it’s another matter that such valid criticism won’t get any airtime on On Point or any other major media outlets who are beholden to the corrupt two-party rule. Hail Democracy. Hail Freedom.

‘I’m hoping that the Congress comes up with plans that don’t say the sicker you are, the more we charge you; or the older you are, the more we charge you.’ -Ellen Dibble

My hope, as well, albeit probably a false one! I am relatively healthy, but I do have a couple of chronic conditions I have had my whole life. Regular, maintenance care, monitoring and daily medication (in addition to my own healthy lifestyle) help me to stay healthy. I pay for most of my medical costs out of pocket and carry catastrophic insurance (self employed). I would love to purchase a plan to cover my monthly medical costs (approaching $500 not counting my insurance premiums) but it is not BLOODY LIKELY!!!

“-Tossing tax credits and subsidies at poor people will not make insurance affordable.” -BHA

This is so true!

BHA,
I mostly agree with your ideas. I am not quite sure of your approach in how to handle malpractice. I do think that tort reform is worth a very close analysis, though. Perhaps some tighter controls in frivolous suits, but it is difficult to affix a standard cost to a wrongful death or someone left in a vegetative state/left quadriplegic, etc., from a doctor’s incompetence or an insurance company’s coverage denial. Malpractice insurance costs to doctors and hospitals, as well as the insurance industry’s cost in fighting lawsuits, has more to do with the insurance industry’s greed than anything. The “cheats” only represent less than 1% of overall costs.

Sometimes I feel as if we the public are like Charlie Brown and the government is Lucy egging us along to trust them and go for it and kick the football. Of course at the last minute she pulls the ball away and Charlie Brown falls flat on his back.

This whole health care debacle has been just like that. With congress promising us reform and then not following through.

The banking nonsense is beyond the pale with the Democratic party finally turning into a centrist pro-wall street party. When Barney Frank is giving in to the banking lobby then I know we don’t stand a chance.

How many programs do we have too listen to about the lies and manipulations of these people who claim to represent our interest? From health care to the banks and wall street we the people have been sold out.

Ellen

You don’t understand. ie. Let’s say, police decides to investigate to find out if the balloon thing was a set up. What a “right” thing to do … so that it will not happen again.

Imagine….just imagine….
Obama Administration or New York decides to look into 9/11 just to see if WTC 7 came down by itself or it was wired with cutter charges before the morning of 9/11.

Imagine the possibilities…..

Savings for America: Trillions of dollars, magnificant trillions.

If not… we are arguing about Afghanistan in 2044.

millard-fillmore, I’m hoping some from the Muslim communities can address your points about Islam. Last night (or the night before?) one of the networks had a story about an American girl who at 14 had converted to Christianity and had fled to another state because she felt her parents would murder her. (I have indeed read that Islam will not let people leave that faith, whether that’s a monolithic fatwa or not I don’t know.) The judge in Florida decided to send her to a foster home and transition her back to her parents; he believed the parents who said they would accept her back with the crucifix around the neck and all.
Who is hillard-millmore?
Brett, the $500 monthly cost for drugs. That’s pretty bad. I mean, I’m glad there is something that keeps you well, but. You probably do take great care of yourself to avoid any extra costs.
In such a case, a large enough “pool” (say 300 million Americans) would have enough clout to bring down the cost from $500. Actually, just HAVING insurance is said to bring down the cost by a huge percent. Size of pool and size of bargaining unit (all and all) would go a long way to help you.
The positive side of new legislation would be adding a lot of rejects to those mandated to be insured. The insurers would have to boost their rates. Those too healthy to seize the opportunity might still see a penalty of a few thousand dollars a lot better than paying for even a subsidized plan.
It’s a curious thing now that if you fall off a bridge, the ER has to take you, but if you choke on smoke, they can’t bring someone an inhaler. You have to go the ER first. Am I right?
Aren’t needed prescriptions as much a “right” as emergency room care?
Whatever it is we think people “need” (ER care, certain urgent care, certain prescriptions) should be the basic insurance provided to all citizens, as part of 1040 taxes, and “gap” insurance can cover the rest.

Felipe, if someone wired WTC7 to collapse BEFORE 9/11, how would that influence “trillions” of dollars? If the landlord who owned WTC7 doesn’t care to further investigate, doesn’t that suggest something to you? Say parts of al Kaida wired the building, does it influence our need to go after them? It maybe provides useful leads, leads not likely to be broadcast. If someone else wired the building, not knowing anything about the 9/11 plot, then that is another matter, not necessarily related to AfPak. It would be a concern to architects if the cause were bad construction. Again, any insurance claims would be the way to go after this.

“(I have indeed read that Islam will not let people leave that faith, whether that’s a monolithic fatwa or not I don’t know.)”

*********

Yup. Apostasy in Islam is punishable by death, and it is (supposedly) the duty of any good Muslim to fulfill it. Remember that big issue a few years ago regarding an Afghani guy who converted to Christianity? He had to leave Afghanistan and find refuge elsewhere (Italy?) *and* he had to be declared mentally unstable (for doing the right thing of leaving Islam) because the apostasy rule has some loopholes regarding mental condition of a person who leaves Islam.

I personally do not care for the two big Abrahamic faiths – Christianity and Islam – which have intolerance of others who are not of their faith as the central tenet of their faith. It’s the conflict between these two insecure faiths that’s at the heart of many problems – today as well as in the past.

The only place Obama can bring peace in an instant, if he really wants it, it’s in the Congo(DRC).

The foreign’s armies(Rwanda,Uganda,Burundi and Angola to some extent) fueling the unrest in that part of the world( 5-7 millions people have perished already+thousands of women and men raped!)on behalf of international big businesses(european,asian, and american) because of(oil,coltan,gold,diamonds…)

Those african countries that i have just mentioned are plundering the mineral ressources of their neighbor the Congo with the complicity of the world community that is getting a windfall profit in form of debt reimbursement by those countries to the IMF and BM!

While in the senat,Obama worked on the issue, he knows it from top to bottom. As a nobel prize winner, this should be an easy one!

Why? BECAUSE THOSE ARMIES ARE TRAINED AND SUPPORTED BY THE USA!with black americans soldiers actively participating in combat,leading bataillon!

Unfortunately his pragmatism so far has not been in favor of peace and justice for the people,neither here at home nor abroad, but more into appeasing the rich and powerful money interests that have manage to inflitrate the Obama white house with their “watchdogs”in the top echelon of decision making.

Ellen-
I’m waiting to see how any plan will work in reality. Hopefully, I can get a plan that includes coverage of my usual out-of-pocket expenses AND catastrophic. I wonder how much it will cost, though. I HAVE heard consistently that the final plan will stipulate that insurance companies have to cover “pre-existing”/chronic conditions. With no real reform, though, I wonder what insurance companies have in mind when dealing with someone like me.

You touch on a point (at least I think you touched on this point) about someone with chronic conditions who by the same token remains healthy. I have asthma and diabetes (lifelong conditions. Conditions, btw, which were covered when i used to receive insurance through an employer.) Yet, I rarely have problems; however, once in a blue moon I will develop pneumonia as a complication of a respiratory infection, etc. SO, will they charge me an arm and a leg for having a plan that covers these conditions, yet not reward my good track record for relatively few problems? Is it better (cheaper) to just pay the fines than pay the premium rates? If I do get coverage, will I be severely penalized if I do have that occasional health misstep? These are questions I have not had sufficiently answered.

If I could get my monthly asthma medications consistently covered alone, it would make a big difference. My PCP will even periodically load me up with free samples, but the newer medications that really work well for me are usually not in her kindly closet of freebies. I refuse to take medication that does not work well for me just because it is cheaper. I do periodically drop certain medications from my regiment to see if I can “get by” without them. I am almost always proven that ultimately I can’t, and that idea is counter-productive to my preventive approach to my health!

Olympia Snowe should just do what Arlen Specter did and switch parties. Either way, the Democratic party can have her and her goverment run health care, high tax, sea of red tape, welfare state, liberal vision for America’s future.

Ooooops, we did it again. Protecting Israel in US Security Council and pressuring other countries to vote for the wrong side.

How do you spell the word “CHANGE”?

Want to respond to Ellen about nine/eleven, but they are putting filters on this website.

Can’t post the message

Soooooo, let’s look at our bank account:

Fiscal 2009 (Today’s News)

Government Revenues: $2.1 Trillion
Government Expenditures: $3.52 Trillion
2009 Deficit: $1.42 Trillion

Conclusion: Let’s continue Occupations on the other side of the world at any cost, so that Israel can feel a bit safer.

Enough is Enough!!!

TOM,
YOU AND YOUR GUESTS KNOW THAT IN ORDER TO INCREASE COMPETITION THE GOV’T NEEDS TO ALLOW HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES TO COMPETE ACROSS STATE LINES. I LIVE IN MASSACHUSETTS AND I CANNOT BUY HEALTH INSURANCE FROM COMPANIES THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF MASSACHUSETTS. THAT’S REDICULOUS. YET, YOU AND YOUR GUESTS DO NOT MENTION THIS. AT SOME POINT A PUBLIC OPTION WILL RAISE EVERY WORKING MAN’S TAXES. ALSO, I BET ALMOST ALL OF THE PEOPLE WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE HAVE INTERNET, CELL PHONES, AND CABLE T.V.

Ken Feinberg is the Compensation Czar?

If we really believe in Fox and the Hen House theory, why did we allow Rahm Emanuel appoint Ken Feinberg to watch Lloyd Blankfein?

Isn’t it true that in a few years both Rahm Emanuel and Ken Fienberg may get job offers from Goldman (with mind boggling Bonus money), if they allow Goldman to steal our money today – in bundles.

Enough is Enough!

Chris Matthews’ Big Number

Cost of Gallon of Gasoline for the US Military: $400.00/ gallon

MPG of an average military vehicle in muddy Afghanistan mountains where goats live: 0.1 mpg

OMG, we are screwed!

We will either lookin into the events of 9/11 or I should marry a Goldman Sachs Exec.

As I understand it, introducing more competition by letting insurers compete across state lines would create the AT&T of health insurers, gobbling up all the business. It’s a distraction.

AARP, which one can join at age 50, has good articles on costly new medical treatments and how they fit into our future, and on getting medical claims paid. They say 96% of denied claims (which they say are 1 in 7 claims) are not pursued. They give a phone number to call, and AARP website links.
I do think with iffy insurance, Americans are learning to live very healthy, whether or not they have difficult and costly conditions they have to manage. There will be the $100,000/year cure or the do-it-yourself cure. Do I want to pay for the person who goes the costly route?
Where I am, in Massachusetts, with menus of options, the dependable insurers have comparable costs. And I think if we have profit and overhead as part of the future, it’ll be luck of the draw as to who gets to try to pay for this or that.

Average Bonus for an average Goldman Sachs “employee” (not exec) without the vesting cold cash amount is $830,000. With the vesting and other perks, average annual (just divide the payroll numbers by the headcount) is about $1,080,000 per year.

I guess a mail clerks and customer reps get far less than the average. Imagine how much the execs and partners get. Wow!!! Justice?

Enough is Enough!

EDDIE,

DO YOU REALLY THINK ALLOWING FOR-PROFIT INSURANCE COMPANIES TO WORK ACROSS STATE LINES IS SOME SORT OF PANACEA? ITS LIKE ELIMINATING PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS. NOT A BAD IDEA, BUT ALSO NOT A SOLUTION. YOU ALSO MENTION YOUR TAXES GOING UP. TELL ME, HAVE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE RATES, CO-PAYS, AND DEDUCTIBLES GONE UP AT ALL IN THE LAST 5-10 YEARS?

‘There will be the $100,000/year cure or the do-it-yourself cure. Do I want to pay for the person who goes the costly route?’

I am surprised at the over simplicity of that statement. It seems very black and white thinking where there is a lot of room for gray area. And it could easily be misconstrued to read as a “my tax dollars should not cover someone else’s care” kind of statement, or a neighbor vs. neighbor mentality.

I am reminded of a nasal spray I use for severe inflammation. Years ago, when I had an insurance plan that had comprehensive coverage, my insurance company at first would only pay for a cheaper alternative. It caused noes bleeds, did not reduce the inflammation, made my throat sore and my voice hoarse, and increased the number of upper respiratory infections I had in the course of a year, which increased my asthma related problems. After much wrangling, the insurance company finally agreed to pay for the medication that worked well and cost a little more. The “black and white” “cost” looks like more, but overall I am saving money and health care, and I am staying healthier by using the “costly route”!

I am sure there are many examples like mine in people’s lives. I even have more with my asthma medication and even some in my history of treating diabetes. Ellen, I already pay for my meds and can easily continue. I am lucky, but I am smart enough to see that within those examples someone else out there may have to struggle with similar decisions. Hopefully, they won’t have to be viewed by others as being an excessive drain if they don’t engage in home remedies!

I am not sure what you mean by the “menu of options” in Massachusetts, and this may be what you were thinking of in making those statements. Perhaps you could elaborate so that people who do have fears of either being forced into healthcare that is not effective vs. healthcare that is not covered at all can see a viable alternative.

If you are progressive and smart, you should move to San Diego where Felipe is

Oct 2, 2009

A Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) group in North San Diego County approved a resolution, as presented below.

Independent Investigation of Destruction of World Trade Center Buildings

– Presence of high-tech explosives –

Whereas: Three World Trade Center high-rise buildings were destroyed on September 11, 2001; and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the government agency commissioned to investigate these three building failures, did not follow the National Fire Protection Association NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations, section 19.2.4 which states that molten steel and concrete could indicate the use of exotic accelerants, according to Fire Fighters for 9-11 Truth (FF911Truth),

Whereas: A peer-reviewed scientific paper in The Bentham Open Chemical Physics Journal (Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe, by Niels H. Harrit, et al.) reports finding large quantities of unignited nanothermite in four independent samples of dust from the World Trade Center, evidence of the presence of high-tech explosives or incendiaries otherwise known as exotic accelerants which should not have been there,

Whereas: Over 850 architects & engineers have petitioned for a new investigation, under the auspices of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth (AE911Truth),

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That an independent investigation with subpoena power be established at the Federal level to fully investigate the destruction of these three World Trade Center high-rise buildings.

Name of adopting organization and organization chair:
PDA – North San Diego County; Dr. Zoltan Lucas, President
Date adopted: September 13, 2009
Name and phone number of contact person
Dwain Deets — 760-445-3242

Barack Obama, stop blaming George Bush for your own failed presidency. However, you need not worry to much, in 2012 the American people will go to the polls and releieve you of your official duties.

Brett, I did an oh-so-careful post that evaporated since I had forgotten to put my name up top, so I was cutting corners. I figured maybe there was a cut-off being imposed.
You are getting to the nuts and bolts of reform. It is somewhat slash and burn. The AARP article says one in seven claims are currently denied. The procedure for challenging is not used by that 94 percent, but when challenged, half are covered.
What this means to me is that premiums will go up. How? When more people are covered, including costlier ones who have been driven out by bankruptcies and so on, more people will be making claims, and because they might be unwilling insureds, they might just follow AARP’s advice and push the insurers.
If one in seven claims are denied, and 50% are covered if they are appealed, and if 94% don’t bother to appeal, think of the costs to the insurers that would get rounded up into the next set of premiums.
So why are premiums so high? I have noted from AARP (source sdi/verispan.vona) the cost to the USA of Lipitor is $5.88 billion annually,, Nexium for reflux/ulcers is $4.79 billion annually. In a single-payer plan we would all pay for that, 10 billion annually for 10 years really mounts up. I do know people who use Lipitor in order to be able to continue to eat potato chips and chocolate, and my own experience with reflux is that careful diet goes a long way. But there is lots of profit to be made by prescribing those medicines, even when careful nutritional advice and followup would do the same. I also complain that once the insurers started to cover reconstructive surgery post-mastectomy, they were venturing into the for-profit versus the for-life. I’d say insurance MAY offer such coverage, but one should be able to CHOOSE insurance that relies on self-reliance wherever possible. A sort of credit-union where a group agree to live healthy, be judicious.
For your asthma medications, you would probably have insurance that challenged the costly one that works for you. Your doctor would write a letter explaining that you tried x, y, and z, and these cheaper alternatives do not work for you. And you would get the medicine you need. That is what AARP says. And I type letters for a medical office where that is a fairly frequent breed of letter they send.
The menu in Massachusetts appeared since the “requirement” for coverage. You can find it on the web at Massachusetts The Connection (something like that), and the state negotiated “plans” with each company. What I find is that they may have negotiated a slightly better price than what Blue Cross offers me, but the slight savings goes along with a loss in coverage that makes my choice a no-brainer. It does mean I can see a mind-boggling array of choices, without making dozens of phone calls, but I don’t think Massachusetts is designing the “credit-union” plan (as I defined it above), to put on offer. It’s my idea of the “public option,” something without all the for-profit options (Lipitor for the asking etc) built in.
They might offer a public option, with an opt out by state, but would people be able to agree on what “basically” needs to be included? The record in Massachusetts is that the profit-mongers win out anyway.
Brett, I think the reform should definitely mean that preexisting conditions are no longer a worry (starting in 2014 or whenever it is); this would mean higher premiums all around, however.

Bill Moyers did a piece on PBS last night about a community in Orange County, CA, that took on diabetes, led by a public health lady, born in Venezuela, Ms. Rivera. She had each diabetic become one of the Promotores, promoters, and go house to house to train others to avoid or treat diabetes. It worked so well they eventually got a park (still in planning phase) where the children can play. She says the same model works with getting former illegal drug users to knock on doors and “promote” to users, or (former) prostitutes to knock on doors in re: STD’s.
Where I live, I spent several years in after-school and summer programs with mostly Puerto Rican youngsters, and the food that was brought for them from the Food Bank was sugar and fat. Even the juice was spiked with sugar. It would have been better to go hungry, I thought. Children should be brought up in houses where candy is only available on Halloween, and soda is only available on special outings, if at all. Diabetes and obesity is Brought to You by Big Agriculture, I think.
Those children fed from the Food Bank get distracted and fidgety, become behavior problems, education problems, health care problems… Immigrants who are used to living from local farms overseas don’t necessarily know how dangerous the American default diet is.

Ellen-
Thanks for the clarification. I have also been interested in learning more of the realities of how people feel about their health insurance options in Ma. and how it truly works (I’ll look for the website you mention), purely to get a feel for another model and to separate fact from fiction when hearing someone criticizing it or extolling its virtues in the media.

I also was glad you included a first-hand account of how having a good rapport with a good doctor can create good coverage advocacy, i.e., writing letters to insurers if he/she and patient have determined a certain treatment/medication can mean better care beyond simple dollars and cents. A patient’s own tenacity in appealing denials is another important component to empowerment. I hope that personal empowerment in working with the “system” is not removed in the process of change.

I personally would like to see a good public option, some vigorous regulation and oversight of the private insurance industry (including preventing individual corporations from growing too large), people accept some personal responsibility, the whole system removed from employer sponsorship, perhaps some more regulation for the pharmaceutical industry itself (their profits are way out of line)!!
(I can dream of an ideal, can’t I?!?!)
And, also, I am not against paying good money or higher taxes for good services.

From what I have heard from systems around the world, the best systems appear to be the ones which offer a combination of private insurance competition and public alternatives.

And, as you may have guessed, my personal situation has, as its problem areas, a couple of conditions and age as stumbling blocks to health care coverage beyond catastrophic coverage. I hope that when people think of universal coverage, they consider there will be problems, and some aspects may not be pleasing or accommodating to everyone.

I have never thought, as some other people, however, that discussion of pros and cons of a single payer system should ever be verboten. Though, a complete replacement of all free-market options should never be the way for the US to go, just as I think it is not the way to go with any other of our systems.

As I am sure with any reasonable person who is interested in finding innovative solutions to enormous problems we face as a nation, my disappointment has been that what has gone on in Congress has less to do with creative legislation and more to do with ideological/political wrangling and being beholden to special interests. I guess I fault all of us for that! I fault politicians, our system and average citizens!

I am amazed that we all haven’t gone completely cynical!

Ellen,
I agree with you on dietary habits and our culture. It is important for people to understand the difference between type I and type II diabetes, though. That said, both types benefit by good dietary habits.

Go to mahealthconnector.org (or Google Massachusetts Connector and click that), pick self-employed, and if you earn more than $32,000-something, you don’t qualify for “Commonwealth Care,” so pick Shop now, say that you’re an individual (or whatever), plug in your date of birth or something close to it, and a Mass. zip code (01060 works fine), and you’ll find options from $425 a month to $1,002 a month (at least if you’re born in 1947).
That’s the Massachusetts solution.

WE NEED TO CONTACT Harry Reid (NV) 202-224-3542 AS HE IS THE ONE WHO WILL DECIDE WEATHER OR NOT THE PUBLIC OPTION WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE FINAL BILL. YOU CAN ALSO SEND HIM EMAIL VIA THIS LINK….

http://reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN. THANKS

January 20, 2013 cannot come too soon.
End this failed presidency!

Amen Natalie! That was the best On Point blog ever. Let’s do our civic duty in November 2012 and fire Obama and replace him with a Commander in Chief who doesn’t hate, loathe, and despise this country like Barack Obama does.

yea Natalie, and Lousie someone like Palin?( you know the one quit being governor, doesn’t know what news papers she reads, and talks about abstinence but can’t even control her 16yr daughter), or Romney?(someone that stated it was the women right to have a abortion running for the senate than a few years later reneged it.)

Romney on abortion senate run MA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9IJUkYUbvI

Maybe Glen beck or Rush?or Michael Steele( you know the guy that had to kiss Rush L. but for criticizing him) any others?

hahaha

Since Obama became president, more than 2 million Americans have lost their jobs, unemployment went from less than 8% to 10%, the value of the dollar is plunging, the federal deficit is soaring, home foreclosures are up, and the Taliban and Al-qaida are regrouping. Is that what “your” president Obama meant by “Hope and Change”?? I’ll be the one laughing and celebrating in November 2012 when America comes to it’s senses and fires it’s most incompetent and weakest president ever, Barack Obama.

Tom Ashbrook and listeners are having a dinner with Ted Koppell at $XXX.00 per plate, in Boston.

The Subject is: State of Journalism

Begging anybody who goes to that dinner not to come back with answers for two questions and inform the rest of us.

a))))))))
Why we cannot have a question why WTC #7 has collapsed at “free-fall” speed on the afternoon of 9/11 in New York City. WTC Building 7 was 2.5 times bigger than Boston’s Prudential Tower and the 3rd steel structured building that is to collapse. The only ones (3 of them) that have collapsed on the same day at the same time and were controlled by the same person – Larry Silverstein. Why there has not been a single independent question and/or collage course session has been devoted to the reason “why” out of 1785 Civil Engineering Colleges and 27844 Engineering Profs?

b))))))))
Why did we invade Iraq? Can we name another war/occupation when the Motive Is Not: “Land Grab” in modern history? If the motive was NOT Land Grab, then what the hell was the motive. Of course, whoever answers this question will find a way NOT to answer the question. But don’t take no for an answer. Don’t settle for “probably”, “maybe”, “who knows”, “historian’s will tell”. It is BS. BS. BS. They are the Journalists. It is their Job, to know. Remember, Cindy Sheehan? Her “only” question was: Why did my Casey die? She failed. She was attacked to be silenced.

Be prepared: Approx 9-10 Middle aged white males with some accent and heritage were cheerleading between 1992-1996. (Nineteenninetytwo-Nineteenninetysix; got that?) They had one reason/motive (not two, not three; got it?). This original motive had nothing to do with America. And in 1996/1997, they got smarter and decided to wrap an American flag around the cause. They went to Clinton, for overthrowing Saddam … and Clinton said: Nope.

Then comes March 2001: All but one of the Original Cheerleaders are in the White House, on the Payroll and crafting United States of America’s foreign and military policy on our behalf at our expense. Just 8 of them. Eight Guys with connections.

And Our Journalists are in Deep Sleep and they are the least informed or lazy and incompetent members of their profession. Shame on Them!!!

I am no longer proud to be an American. I was for about 9 months, but Obama has shown himself to be more of the same, or much worse. Our government is a complete embarrassment.

Nut jobs and righties can’t separate between free speech and threats against a president.

It’s already starting

Calif. man charged with threatening Obama

“Gimbel is scheduled to be arraigned Monday. Randall Davis, a defense lawyer assigned to serve as Gimbel’s co-counsel because Gimbel wants to represent himself, said he expects him to plead not guilty.

“He contends he didn’t violate the law” and only was exercising his free speech rights,” Davis said.

The e-mail rambled on and included specific references to first lady Michelle Obama and the phrase, “do it to his children and family first in front of him. Failure to comply. That’ll teach him,” according to the indictment.

A similar e-mail was sent earlier in the month, according to a criminal complaint prepared by the Secret Service.

When officers interviewed Gimbel at his home, he admitted sending the first message but said he wanted to get attention, not hurt Obama, authorities said.

He was warned that he would be prosecuted if he sent any more.

The Secret Service listed a history of more volatile e-mails directed at President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and the Crescent City police chief over the past two years.

In seeking an arrest warrant, authorities asked for permission to enter Gimbel’s house without knocking because sheriff’s deputies had found him with a loaded handgun during an earlier arrest and some of his e-mails included threats against law enforcement officers.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33351461/ns/politics-white_house/

“To you Obama haters — I agree that Obama’s top financial people seem to be part of the same old group and the same old syndrome of helping the rich get richer. But what I don’t understand is all the rhetoric about it from the Obama haters, who are overwhelmingly politically conservative.

You folks should be happy! After 30 years of conservative voodoo economics, during which the rich got richer faster and more extremely than at any other time in history,conservatives have gotten all they’ve asked for:

* unions are weaker than ever

* banks are bigger than ever

* taxes on the wealthiest are lower than ever

* the defense budget is bloated and we’ve wasted well over a trillion dollars on 2 un-necessary wars

* we’ve thrown billions at the banks to keep them from failing and gotten nothing back except more bonuses for the fat cats

So how come you guys are only now complaining about it??!! And what do you expect Obama to do, when he is blocked at every turn by rhetoric from people like you who keep telling us how wonderful the private sector is, how inept the government is, how restrictions on the rapacious practices of big business are some kind of creeping socialism.

Every attempt to re-regulate our economy has been blocked by Congress people in the pockets of big lobbyists aided and abetted by right-wing media pandering to the likes of you guys.

You sneer at “change we can believe in”? Well, the USA has to want to change. If you want a country in which ordinary, working people can prosper, then stop supporting regressive ideas!!”

http://business.newsvine.com/_news/2009/10/17/3392161-bailout-helps-fuel-new-era-of-wall-street-wealth#comments

i couldn’t have said it better

Excellent blog Arnold. The left controls the White House, The Senate, the House of Represenatives and they are failing miserably. I have never seen this country in such bad shape as it is now. Thanks Democrats.