Is he or is he not trying to close down the coal industry ?Quote:
Originally Posted by talaniman
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Is he or is he not trying to close down the coal industry ?Quote:
Originally Posted by talaniman
Hello again, tom:
Hmmmm... FIRST you think injured PATIENTS shouldn't get compensation from a doctor for RUINING their lives... Now, you want to take away EVERYBODY'S rights!!Quote:
Well there is other stuff needing addressing like liability reform
You just don't like JUDGES judging, do you? You want to take away their ability to sentence people, and now you want to take away their ability to AWARD injured people.. You think people like Ted Cruz ought to be able to decide how much an injury is worth...
Nahhh... That's going to give your darling business's carte blanche to hurt as many people as they want... Nahhh... That ain't America..
Excon
Natural gas, and oil is what's closing down the coal industry. And there is oil and gas in them thar hills. Why are the oil and gas industries keep the wells closed?Quote:
Originally Posted by tomder55
And the renegade EPA regulations by people with ZERO accountability to anyone has nothing to do with it?Quote:
Originally Posted by talaniman
I'd like to see where I defended mandatory sentencing . And do you really think that liability insurance is not passed on in the form of higher fees... and is part of the reason for exploding health care costs ?Quote:
Originally Posted by excon
Everything is passed to the consumer except higher wages. If that's not an example of a broken business, and economic model, what is?
Ex all he wants to do is put the ambulance chasers and scam artists out of businessQuote:
Originally Posted by excon
We get most of our electricity from coal-fired generators and the air is nice and clean here.Quote:
Originally Posted by smoothy
A very large percentage of this state (Virginia) relies on the Coal industry for jobs as well as electricity. And we have a far greater problem with all the liberal hot air than the coal fired plants or coal mines.Quote:
Originally Posted by speechlesstx
The White House is elated that rates reportedly are lower than expected (even though some states won't be able to calculate them until November), as in the rate INCREASES are lower than expected. When asked where the missing comparison was to current rates was Jay Carney gave this answer:
Huh?Quote:
There were numerous projections about what these exchanges — which, by the way, did not exist before, including the multitude of plans that will not be available to consumers that did not, that were not in place before. So, obviously, this is not an apples-to-apples. It’s a, you know, apple full of worms compared to an apple that’s fresh and delicious…
Not even Liberalland lovesObamacare... according to the 9-26-2013 Express, lower right, page 15 (a Washington comPost publication)... in 2010 Washington DC had 918 active primary care physicians reporting to the board... today there are only 453 that even spend more than 20 hours a week seeing patients at all.
For a population of a bit over 632,000
District of Columbia QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
They don't have it in their online version to link but its in their print copy today. Good luck finding a doctor.
The beauty of America is people can make choices. If doctors want to pick customers, let them. We have needed more doctors and nurses for years any way, and health care is a growth industry.
Obamacare offers no choices.Quote:
Originally Posted by talaniman
THis happened because of Obamacare... they were packing up and closing their offices rather than deal with the crap Obamacare is full of.Quote:
Originally Posted by talaniman
THey promised this was going to happen.. and here's proof it is.
Obama can claim responsibility for this. Hope he's proud.
That's a false statement, according to the state exchange websites I have visited. Obviously you have not. Start with Kentucky.
Dream on... this was in today's newspaper... published by the Washington comPost which is a VERY liberal publication.Quote:
Originally Posted by talaniman
Hey.. you are one of the people that claim liberals never lie.. and the lame stream media tells the truth... well... its them that said this.
I understand a law that helps millions of people mostly poor isn't what's popular with you conservatives. But you guys have been crying about Obama care for years now.
Democrats worked with Republicans to make Medicare part D work, to bad the repubs refuse to do the same thing.
4 more days, and then we will see.
The chance to work with Republicans was when the Obamacare bill was being written.. But no... they had to be crooked and ram it through without a vote.Quote:
Originally Posted by talaniman
Yes, the NY Times pointed that out but apparently they know something the Times doesn't.Quote:
Originally Posted by tomder55
Hello again,Here are the Obamacare choices offered in MY state:Quote:
Obamacare offers no choices.
ExconQuote:
Qualified Health Plans Selected
The following insurance carriers were approved to sell health plans through Washington Healthplanfinder:
BridgeSpan – King, Kitsap, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston, and Spokane
Community Health Plan of Washington – Adams, Benton, Chelan, Clark, Cowlitz, Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Grant, Grays Harbor, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Okanogan, Pacific, Pend Oreille, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Spokane, Stevens, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, Whatcom, Yakima
Coordinated Care – Adams, Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Franklin, Grant, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Mason, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Spokane, Thurston, Walla Walla, Yakima
Group Health Cooperative – Benton, Columbia, Franklin, Island, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Lewis, Mason, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, Spokane, Thurston, Walla Walla, Whatcom, Whitman, and Yakima
LifeWise Health Plan of Washington – All 39 counties
Molina Health Care of Washington – King, Pierce and Spokane
Premera Blue Cross – All counties except Clark
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest– Clark and
Cowlitz (Small Business and Individual Market)
Delta Dental of Washington, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest, LifeWise, Premera Blue Cross – All 39 counties (Pediatric Dental Only)
These health plans have been certified to meet state and federal requirements for health plans as well as standards developed by Washington Healthplanfinder.
Standard Plan Benefits
Starting in 2014, all health insurance plans are required to provide a certain level of standard benefits known as Essential Health Benefits. The federal Affordable Care requires that all health plans offered in the individual and small group markets must provide these items and services. These benefits fit into the following 10 categories:
Ambulatory patient services
Emergency services
Hospitalization
Maternity and newborn care
Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment
Prescription drugs
Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices
Laboratory services
Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management
Pediatric services, including dental and vision care
Levels of Coverage
Washington Healthplanfinder will allow shoppers to find a plan that fits their needs and their budget by offering side-by-side comparisons of health plans based on a variety of factors such as cost, quality and physician networks. Plan options will be broken down into metal tiers including Gold, Silver and Bronze based on the level of coverage they provide:
Gold Plans: Gold plans cover 80 percent of the cost of essential health benefits, while the patient pays 20 percent.
Silver Plans: Silver plans cover 70 percent of the cost of essential health benefits, while the patient pays 30 percent.
Bronze Plans: Bronze plans cover 60 percent of the cost of essential health benefits, while the patient pay 40 percent.
All plans on Washington Healthplanfinder will have new limits on out-of-pocket costs, including deductibles and co-payments, of $6,350 for an individual and $12,700 for a family.
"A "catastrophic" plan will also be offered. This is a type of health care plan only available through Washington Healthplanfinder for individuals under age 30. This type of plan generally offers the least coverage with the lowest monthly premiums.
There are 49 other states and several US territories that aren't part of Washington State.
THe Huffington Post the ultra liberal ews outlet... even says costs will significanly rise for most.
Obamacare Will Cause Medical Claims Costs To Jump 32 Percent: Study
WASHINGTON (AP) — Insurance companies will have to pay out an average of 32 percent more for medical claims on individual health policies under President Barack Obama's overhaul, the nation's leading group of financial risk analysts has estimated.
That's likely to increase premiums for at least some Americans buying individual plans.
The report by the Society of Actuaries could turn into a big headache for the Obama administration at a time when many parts of the country remain skeptical about the Affordable Care Act.
While some states will see medical claims costs per person decline, the report concluded the overwhelming majority will see double-digit increases in their individual health insurance markets, where people purchase coverage directly from insurers.
The disparities are striking. By 2017, the estimated increase would be 62 percent for California, about 80 percent for Ohio, more than 20 percent for Florida and 67 percent for Maryland. Much of the reason for the higher claims costs is that sicker people are expected to join the pool, the report said.
The report did not make similar estimates for employer plans, the mainstay for workers and their families. That's because the primary impact of Obama's law is on people who don't have coverage through their jobs.
The administration questions the design of the study, saying it focused only on one piece of the puzzle and ignored cost relief strategies in the law such as tax credits to help people afford premiums and special payments to insurers who attract an outsize share of the sick. The study also doesn't take into account the potential price-cutting effect of competition in new state insurance markets that will go live on Oct. 1, administration officials said.
At a White House briefing on Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said some of what passes for health insurance today is so skimpy it can't be compared to the comprehensive coverage available under the law. "Some of these folks have very high catastrophic plans that don't pay for anything unless you get hit by a bus," she said. "They're really mortgage protection, not health insurance."
A prominent national expert, recently retired Medicare chief actuary Rick Foster, said the report does "a credible job" of estimating potential enrollment and costs under the law, "without trying to tilt the answers in any particular direction."
"Having said that," Foster added, "actuaries tend to be financially conservative, so the various assumptions might be more inclined to consider what might go wrong than to anticipate that everything will work beautifully." Actuaries use statistics and economic theory to make long-range cost projections for insurance and pension programs sponsored by businesses and government. The society is headquartered near Chicago.
Kristi Bohn, an actuary who worked on the study, acknowledged it did not attempt to estimate the effect of subsidies, insurer competition and other factors that could mitigate cost increases. She said the goal was to look at the underlying cost of medical care.
"Claims cost is the most important driver of health care premiums," she said.
"We don't see ourselves as a political organization," Bohn added. "We are trying to figure out what the situation at hand is."
On the plus side, the report found the law will cover more than 32 million currently uninsured Americans when fully phased in. And some states — including New York and Massachusetts — will see double-digit declines in costs for claims in the individual market.
Uncertainty over costs has been a major issue since the law passed three years ago, and remains so just months before a big push to cover the uninsured gets rolling Oct. 1. Middle-class households will be able to purchase subsidized private insurance in new marketplaces, while low-income people will be steered to Medicaid and other safety net programs. States are free to accept or reject a Medicaid expansion also offered under the law.
Obama has promised that the new law will bring costs down. That seems a stretch now. While the nation has been enjoying a lull in health care inflation the past few years, even some former administration advisers say a new round of cost-curbing legislation will be needed.
Bohn said the study overall presents a mixed picture.
Millions of now-uninsured people will be covered as the market for directly purchased insurance more than doubles with the help of government subsidies. The study found that market will grow to more than 25 million people. But costs will rise because spending on sicker people and other high-cost groups will overwhelm an influx of younger, healthier people into the program.
Some of the higher-cost cases will come from existing state high-risk insurance pools. Those people will now be able to get coverage in the individual insurance market, since insurance companies will no longer be able to turn them down. Other people will end up buying their own plans because their employers cancel coverage. While some of these individuals might save money for themselves, they will end up raising costs for others.
Part the reason for the wide disparities in the study is that states have different populations and insurance rules. In the relatively small number of states where insurers were already restricted from charging higher rates to older, sicker people, the cost impact is less.
"States are starting from different starting points, and they are all getting closer to one another," said Bohn.
The study also did not model the likely patchwork results from some states accepting the law's Medicaid expansion while others reject it. It presented estimates for two hypothetical scenarios in which all states either accept or reject the expansion.
Larry Levitt, an insurance expert with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, reviewed the report and said the actuaries need to answer more questions.
"I'd generally characterize it as providing useful background information, but I don't think it's complete enough to be treated as a projection," Levitt said. The conclusion that employers with sicker workers would drop coverage is "speculative," he said.
Another caveat: The Society of Actuaries contracted Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, to do the number-crunching that drives the report. United also owns the nation's largest health insurance company. Bohn said the study reflects the professional conclusions of the society, not Optum or its parent company.
Good thing you don't live in CaliforniaQuote:
Originally Posted by excon
Second major health insurer pulls out of California market
The Slimes supports my case
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/he...anted=all&_r=0
They'll be back.Quote:
Originally Posted by tomder55
The Treasury Inspector General has found that the IRS cannot account for $67 million of Obamacare funds.
Americans for Tax Reform : IRS Watchdog: $67 Million Missing from Obamacare Slush FundQuote:
According to the report: “Specifically, the IRS did not account for or attempt to quantify approximately $67 million [from the slush fund] of indirect ACA costs incurred for Fiscal Years 2010 through 2012.”
The report also found other spending abuses, including using the money for travel that was unjustified.
That was Arnold - The Governator... not the insurance company.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wondergirl
And they'll be kicking themselves too.Quote:
Originally Posted by smoothy
I'm surprised it's that little... someone in the IRS is off their game.Quote:
Originally Posted by tomder55
You can't MAKE a business sell something at a loss if they don't want to... not in this country anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wondergirl
Lots and lots of customers will be roaming around.Quote:
Originally Posted by smoothy
That remains to be seen.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wondergirl
But then places that operate like Payday loan places always swoop in to screw people when they are given half a chance.
http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-new...ease053-13.cfm
More from a link of Tom's link,Quote:
"One of the factors I believe contributed to this decision, even if the two companies are disinclined to acknowledge it, is the special tax break that California law gives to Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which has allowed and continues to allow those two companies to avoid paying $100 million in state taxes a year," added Commissioner Jones. "Aetna and United Healthcare don't get the special tax break provided to Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and so they faced a major competitive disadvantage in California."
Aetna Health Insurance Rate Increases for Small Employers are Unreasonable
The right hollers Obama Care is a disaster, but it seems so is the business practice of the insurance companies. But I have been saying that for years, despite Tom wanting to go back to those good old days of insurance company gouging and extraction.Quote:
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced today that the Department of Insurance has determined Aetna's most recent quarterly health insurance rate increase for small employers to be unreasonable.
Commissioner Jones requested that Aetna withdraw its April 1 health insurance rate increases for small employers after finding the proposed rates unreasonable. The Commissioner does not have the authority to reject excessive health insurance rate increases. Despite the request from the Department, Aetna has decided to implement the 1.8 percent average rate increases, which total an average 8 percent increase annually (with some receiving up to a 21.4 percent annual increase) and an average 30.3 percent increase over 24 months for small employers with Aetna's PPO health insurance policies. Aetna files rate increases quarterly on its small employer policies.
After a thorough review of Aetna's rate filing, the Department's actuaries found that Aetna made projections about medical cost increases that were not supported by Aetna's actual claims experience. The Department also determined that the Aetna subsidiary selling health insurance in California made a 27.7 percent profit in 2011, paid $1.7 billion in dividends to its parent company, is increasing rates in excess of the U.S. Bureau of Labor's medical cost inflation index, and with this most recent increase, Aetna is hitting its California small employer customers with an average increase of 30.3 percent over the last 24 months.
Quote:
Originally Posted by talaniman
The insurance companies all look like a charity compaired to the gouging that takes place by the government.
I'm in 'region 2' (2014 health plans and rates) - which offers like 9 or 10 choices wow! - EXCEPT - for some reason my county has been excluded from all but two. Hmmm Great.Quote:
Here are the Obamacare choices offered in MY state:
You see... an insurance company decided to not participate in the charade in Kalifornia... and Tal blames it on the insurance company ,and not the mandates and the blatant crony favoritism that led to that decision.
Meanwhile... remember when the emperor said that if you like your plan and your doctor ,you can keep them ? Well Michelle Malkin has been posting the cancellation notices that have been 'tweeted' to her .
Hey, know what you get to 'keep' with Obamacare? Cancellation notices | Twitchy
Never mind the right wing sound machine, we will see how the sign up goes the next 6 months.
Professional Maintenance ,a janitorial company has cut jobs due to Obamacare... So the SEIU has gone on strike.
http://inthesetimes.com/working/entr...abor_contract/
Across the nation similar job reductions are happening... all related to the upcoming implementation of Obamacare (T- 3 Days ).
Last week at the AFL-CIO convention in Los Angeles , this was a major theme. A parade of union bosses took the podium to complain about Obamacare impacts . By voice affirmation ,the AFL-CIO voted to demand major changes in the law despite furious lobbying by the Obots to table the resolution.
White House calling union leaders ahead of vote on ObamaCare resolution - The Hill's Healthwatch
Prior to the law's passage, the emperor repeatedly promised it would not harm existing employer provided insurance.That was the big lie necessary to sell it to the nation.
Back then all the unions supported the plan. But as Madame Mimi warned... the bill had to be passed to find out what was in it. Of course back then ,the unions were all gung-ho in favor of the law . As AFT President Randi Weingarten said, “Congress and the White House have now given Americans what they need and deserve.” Well it isn't exacly what the nation needs . But for some like Weingarten ,it's certainly what they deserve. Oh that buyers remorse !
The resolution reads :
The ACA should be administered in a manner that preserves the high-quality health coverage multi-employer plans have provided to union families for decades and, if this is not possible, we will demand the ACA be amended by Congress.
Of course they also threw in their preferred remedy demanding a socialized ,single payer, universal ,nanny state run health care system. How that gets them to that goal of preserving their gold standard union plans is beyond me .
You realize that you're the only industrialized country that doesn't have that, right? No matter how many pejoratives you attach to it most countries feel that universal health care is the way to go.Quote:
socialized ,single payer, universal ,nanny state run health care system
Good for you and them... the entitlement state will collapse from the weight of the obligations shortly . I can't tell you when ;but I'm postitive our children will see it and bear the burden of repairing their birthright squandered by their parents .
There is a certain efficiency in a single payer system, but who needs efficiency when you can have freedom to pay more. You want to stop insurance companies gouging then you take insurance companies out of basic insurance, let them provide the top end and the extras. Everybody winsQuote:
Originally Posted by NeedKarma
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