World Politics

[Alpe d'Huez]

Actually, just looked up Rangel's Monument to Me. Scott's going to love this one.

CBS News link here.

Even the majority of Democrats voted to censure him. Unfortunately,they left his damned name all over the buildings he had built. That's the ugly part.

 

[Anonymous]

Wasn't that Charlie Rangel's defense, when he used millions of tax payer dollars, during a recession, to have his "Monument to Me" built?

Meanwhile, Vermont passed a single payer health care plan. I actually expect several other states to follow, maybe sooner rather than later. As I said before, I support single-payer, I just think it needs to be rationed, with supplemental insurance covering the rest, and coupled with HSA's. Yes, it's socialist in it's roots. So is enforcing EMTAL, which says hospitals can't turn away patients in need, part of COBRA, which is basically socialist as well. So are Medicare and Medicaid.

Rangel.... That stuff is what really pisses off the average tax payer.


Alpe, I'm literally giving up regarding public vs. private health care. I have no idea what the way forward is but my plan for employees has gone up 29.98% effective June 1st., which prices this out of my ability to continue absorbing this expense.


Not a great day.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I'll stick to my suggestion. Not a panacea, but better than what we have.

Single payer, with a co-pay, that is rationed - Meaning nothing cosmetic, nor elective, and some procedures will not be covered due to cost. Further cuts would have to come in order to off-set costs.

Supplemental insurance can be purchased to cover what is not covered via single payer.

HSA (Health Savings Accounts) can be set-up to where up to X% or $X,000 a year can be put into savings to be used for health care purchases. This includes the single-payer co-pay, supplemental coverage, coverage not covered by the single pay, or various prescriptions not covered. I'm still mulling over an option to have HSA's mandatory to at least a small amount, such as .1% (or $10,000 a year, whichever comes first), off income, pre-taxes.

 

[redtreviso]

Here's a real stunner.



His defense...



Everyone else is doing it..... so it must be ok.

http://bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/2011_0526frank_knocked_on_his_fannie_rep_admits_to_helping_lover_land_job_at_mortgage_giant_in_91/srvc=home%26position=0

pfft and you think that would be a root cause of a multitrillion dollar scam.
and Dodd got a DISCOUNTED loan from countrywide.. Lions tigers and bears oh my.,.Meanwhile swiss and cayman island numbered accounts belonging to YOUR KIND are overflowing with the true causes and costs.

 

[Anonymous]

pfft and you think that would be a root cause of a multitrillion dollar scam.
and Dodd got a DISCOUNTED loan from countrywide.. Lions tigers and bears oh my.,.Meanwhile swiss and cayman island numbered accounts belonging to YOUR KIND are overflowing with the true causes and costs.

You are not impressed.

Why am I not surprised?

 

[redtreviso]

You are not impressed.

Why am I not surprised?

Not at all.. Your kind and your philosophy was the cause from the start.. The Dodd Frank thing you repeat is just ditto-isms..POODLE-ISMS.. Brown nosing, forehead star seeking, lacky, tattletale, isms.. Republican..Stoopit

 

[Anonymous]

Not at all.. Your kind and your philosophy was the cause from the start.. The Dodd Frank thing you repeat is just ditto-isms..POODLE-ISMS.. Brown nosing, forehead star seeking, lacky, tattletale, isms.. Republican..Stoopit

Well, you are nothing if not consistent.

 

[redtreviso]

Well, you are nothing if not consistent.

see 8108-------------------------------

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showpost.php?p=536624&postcount=8108

 

[patricknd]

Rangel.... That stuff is what really pisses off the average tax payer.


Alpe, I'm literally giving up regarding public vs. private health care. I have no idea what the way forward is but my plan for employees has gone up 29.98% effective June 1st., which prices this out of my ability to continue absorbing this expense.


Not a great day.

that's how ours did last year, we had to get pretty creative in how we structured it all. now they are getting out completely, so we have to change carriers.

 

[redtreviso]

Rangel.... That stuff is what really pisses off the average tax payer.


Alpe, I'm literally giving up regarding public vs. private health care. I have no idea what the way forward is but my plan for employees has gone up 29.98% effective June 1st., which prices this out of my ability to continue absorbing this expense.


Not a great day.

They will price you out at some point too.

 

[Anonymous]

They will price you out at some point too.

Yep. The Federal mandates are killing many things, not just healthcare.

It won't make any difference if the govt controls healthcare. It will just be govt denying services instead of insurance co's.

 

[redtreviso]

Yep. The Federal mandates are killing many things, not just healthcare.

It won't make any difference if the govt controls healthcare. It will just be govt denying services instead of insurance co's.

seriously???

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Actually I agree with that, and support it. And as I stated before, there is no way health care cannot be rationed to some degree. Impossible, at this time, and probably for the next few decades. A way to off-set that is with HSA's. If you look at this long-term, as in 20+ years, there is a serious benefit to it.

Your basic needs are covered. Have a cold? Break a finger? Need a physical? Have a heart attack? You're covered. Many other things, from transplants to orthodontics are not. But if you start putting $ into a HSA from the time you are working until the time you need it, that money will pile up and you can use it to pay for supplemental insurance, or the procedure itself if you saved enough.

With everyone covered, at least to some degree, costs should if not come down, at least not skyrocket at the rate they currently are.

 

[rhubroma]

Yep. The Federal mandates are killing many things, not just healthcare.

It won't make any difference if the govt controls healthcare. It will just be govt denying services instead of insurance co's.

But the problem is the insurance companies, not government. The ridiculous liability cost of doctors the insurance companies factor into their fees, as well as the profit margins they like, have driven up the cost of health care exponentially over the decades.

Though this is what happens when lawyers and private interests infringe upon the public domain with their savage destructiveness. Thus it should make a difference who controls it. And since health is a communal patrimony, it should be a public and not a private affair. Though what we have is a pure private business logic calling the shots.

PS: I realize this is all just Greek to you though.

 

[redtreviso]

that's how ours did last year, we had to get pretty creative in how we structured it all. now they are getting out completely, so we have to change carriers.

Neither yours or Scott's insurance carrier has incurred any mandated losses or will any time soon. In fact they have probably made money..Covering people they wouldn't have before..But at a price..AND they made pure profit before any claims could be made for what? 6 mos a year.. Poor babies.. Maybe the next office tower they build will only be 25 floors instead of 50. tsk tsk tsk

 

[Anonymous]

Neither yours or Scott's insurance carrier has incurred any mandated losses or will any time soon. In fact they have probably made money..Covering people they wouldn't have before..But at a price..AND they made pure profit before any claims could be made for what? 6 mos a year.. Poor babies.. Maybe the next office tower they build will only be 25 floors instead of 50. tsk tsk tsk

You are ignorant regarding actuarial functions and their relationship to risk. That's ok because most people are.

You are also ignorant regarding commercial enterprise which is not ok as it is the basis of our economic system (for now) .

Ignorance is bliss I suppose.

 

[redtreviso]

You are ignorant regarding actuarial functions and their relationship to risk. That's ok because most people are.

You are also ignorant regarding commercial enterprise which is not ok as it is the basis of our economic system (for now) .

Ignorance is bliss I suppose.

You are a Pinocchio to put it nicely. Their risk is one day they might get put out of business completely..better to s*cre& everyone they can now. For now though they are NOT out anything.

 

[redtreviso]

""In the early 1950s, Greenspan began an association with famed novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand.<29> Greenspan was introduced to Rand by his first wife, Joan Mitchell.

Rand nicknamed Greenspan "the undertaker" because of his penchant for dark clothing and reserved demeanor. Although Greenspan was initially a logical positivist,<39> he was converted to Rand's philosophy of Objectivism by her associate Nathaniel Branden. He became one of the members of Rand's inner circle, the Ayn Rand Collective, who read Atlas Shrugged while it was being written.

During the 1950s and 1960s Greenspan was a proponent of Objectivism, writing articles for Objectivist newsletters and contributing several essays for Rand's 1966 book Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal including an essay supporting the gold standard.<40><41> Rand stood beside him at his 1974 swearing-in as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers.

Greenspan and Rand remained friends until her death in 1982""

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Greenspan

Philosopher? Is Steven King a Philosopher?? Upton Sinclair? J. D. Salinger?

 

[Anonymous]

You are a Pinocchio to put it nicely. Their risk is one day they might get put out of business completely..better to s*cre& everyone they can now. For now though they are NOT out anything.

Normally I might jump in and try and explain how insurance works but, in your case, it's way more fun to watch you embarrass yourself.

 

[redtreviso]

Normally I might jump in and try and explain how insurance works but, in your case, it's way more fun to watch you embarrass yourself.

Insurance is like the gasoline market.. Rumor of a conflict? price goes up..Rumor subsides price stays up.. The victimhood of the insurance carriers is laughable. You holding them in high regard and blaming the government is a brain malfunction.

 

[Anonymous]

Insurance is like the gasoline market.. Rumor of a conflict? price goes up..Rumor subsides price stays up.. The victimhood of the insurance carriers is laughable. You holding them in high regard and blaming the government is a brain malfunction.

To restate: Normally I might jump in and try and explain how insurance works but, in your case, it's way more fun to watch you embarrass yourself.

Please continue.

 

[redtreviso]

To restate: Normally I might jump in and try and explain how insurance works but, in your case, it's way more fun to watch you embarrass yourself.

Please continue.

face it you ain't got nothin but some lies..prove your carrier is raising due to government mandates... put up or shut up

 

[Hugh Januss]

face it you ain't got nothin but some lies..prove your carrier is raising due to government mandates... put up or shut up

Scott's premiums went up because his employees got a year older, but he prefers to blame the Evil Empire of big government. Mine go up every year too, usually I can lessen the effect a tiny bit by shopping around but since the insurance carriers are all in cahoots the savings is minimal.
If you want to save money on health insurance just fire all your experienced workers and hire only 20 year olds who don't smoke.

 

[Anonymous]

face it you ain't got nothin but some lies..prove your carrier is raising due to government mandates... put up or shut up

Medical Care inflation rose 2.8% for a rolling 12 month period (nearly triple the non-energy CPI of 1.1).

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

Yet my increase is 29.98%. To Hugh's point, part of this is in fact my employees are a year older. Part of this is due to hospital cost increase of 6.6% in the last 12 months.

Part of this is due to;

Health care costs in 2011 are expected to increase an estimated 8.9% as a result of the recently passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. To manage this situation, many employers in the survey claim that they will implement changes in their health care plans that shift some of the financial burden onto employees:

http://www.gntravelinsurance.com/us-health-insurance-2/understanding-the-new-health-insurance-law/2010-updates-for-employers/compliance-alert-us-health-insurance-law-for-employers-in-the-us-2010/

Then there is just basic understanding of the effects the mandates will have;

The architects of the recent health care reform bill — the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" — are counting on consumer ignorance when it comes to insurance to divert attention away from regulations that will, inevitably, increase the cost of their health care. (psst, He's talking about you, Klink)

Financial literacy starts at home, so it's important to understand the four reasons your health care costs will soon be going up.

The Affordable Care Act requires one-size-fits-all insurance programs. It limits the selection of health insurance plans to "qualified" government-approved plans, rather than consumer-approved plans. Why does the government want single males to purchase insurance that covers pregnancy, or childless couples to purchase pediatric coverage, or twenty-somethings to purchase care more suited for the elderly? They claim it's because such benefits are essential for an insurance plan to be valuable. In reality, it's just costing you more money.

Then there's the fact that people can game the system by waiting to buy insurance until after they get sick. This is absurd: Imagine a system where people could buy home insurance after their house caught fire, or auto insurance after their car was wrecked. Under the new law, healthy people will pay a small yearly penalty (equivalent to one-fifth the amount of money one would pay in premiums annually) and then purchase insurance after incurring an illness or suffering another malady — meaning that only the sick will be insured. Some estimate that this requirement will cause premiums to increase by 50 percent all on its own.

Young people will be hardest hit by the new regulations. New rules will limit the ability of insurance companies to charge the elderly (who use more health care services) higher premiums than young adults (who use relatively little in the way of health care services). The Rand Corporation estimates that premiums for the under-35 set could jump by 17 percent as a result.

Finally, the new health care law raises revenue by massively increasing taxes and fees on drug companies, medical-device manufacturers, and insurance companies. These new taxes will generate $107 billion in revenue for the federal government — $107 billion in expenses that the federal government's chief Medicare actuary estimates will be passed on to you, the consumer.

http://www.caller.com/news/2011/may/17/how-health-insurance-is-about-to-change/

Now it's your turn.

Please tell me more about how the insurance market is like the 'gasoline' market.

As you say, "put up or shut up."

 

[redtreviso]

Medical Care inflation rose 2.8% for a rolling 12 month period (nearly triple the non-energy CPI of 1.1).

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

Yet my increase is 29.98%. To Hugh's point, part of this is in fact my employees are a year older. Part of this is due to hospital cost increase of 6.6% in the last 12 months.

Part of this is due to;



http://www.gntravelinsurance.com/us-health-insurance-2/understanding-the-new-health-insurance-law/2010-updates-for-employers/compliance-alert-us-health-insurance-law-for-employers-in-the-us-2010/

Then there is just basic understanding of the effects the mandates will have;



http://www.caller.com/news/2011/may/17/how-health-insurance-is-about-to-change/

Now it's your turn.

Please tell me more about how the insurance market is like the 'gasoline' market.

As you say, "put up or shut up."

The Rand Corporation LOLOLOLOL... got any cost estimates from Cato or Heritage or Rush Limbaugh??