* No Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.
* No Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.
* No Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.
* No Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.
* No Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.
* No Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.
* Extended Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.
* Guaranteed Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
saintstweetup
Me and da boys had a great time at Sainte game. Joey, Adam and Niner put on a good spread b4 the game. Lisa had some great jalapeno and artichoke dip from Costco too! YUM. At the game was me - Joey - Steve and Scott - we sat by a bunch of teens from Columbia in town for soccer - we had a blast with them and the Saints won by like 10 - a good time was had by all.
more poli
Friday, Jul. 24, 2009
Inside Bush and Cheney's Final Days
By Massimo Calabresi and Michael Weisskopf
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1912297,00.html
Palin Favorability Rating Dips As She Nears Exit, Poll Finds – granted it is a poll, but it does have some interesting comments and stats in the article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/23/AR2009072303799.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter
Inside Bush and Cheney's Final Days
By Massimo Calabresi and Michael Weisskopf
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1912297,00.html
Palin Favorability Rating Dips As She Nears Exit, Poll Finds – granted it is a poll, but it does have some interesting comments and stats in the article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/23/AR2009072303799.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter
Thursday, July 23, 2009
link with lots of articles
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/health-care-reform/?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter
tidbits 3
http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2009/07/16/10245/mary_brainerd_the_ultimate_aim_better_health_and_more_accessible_affordable_health_care
health tidbits 2
You don't want universal health care?
By Michael Goldfarb
LONDON — In America, the health care debate is about to come to a boil. President Barack Obama has put pressure on both houses of Congress to pass versions of his flagship domestic legislative program prior to their August recess.
Good luck.
Opponents are filling the airwaves with the usual litany of lies, damned lies and statistics about socialized medicine and the twin nightmare of bureaucratically rationed health care and high taxes amongst allies like Britain, France and Germany.
So here is a brief overview of health care in some of Europe's biggest economies:
Britain's National Health Service is paid for out of a social security tax. Services are free at the point of provision. No co-pay, no reimbursement. The budget last year was 90 billion pounds (about $148 billion). That makes the average cost per person about 1,500 pounds ($2,463).
The NHS is big — huge, in fact. With 1.5 million employees it is one of the largest employers in the world. Only China's People's Liberation Army, India's state railways and good old Wal-Mart employ more folks. Sixty percent of the NHS budget goes toward salaries.
The French system is run on a compulsory purchase of insurance through the workplace. The insurance cost is based on how much a worker earns. Low-income workers pay nothing. The average contribution per person is about $4,000. The government sets fees for services and negotiates the price of drugs with pharmaceutical companies.
Service is not free at the point of provision. But reimbursement for costs is swift and in the case of catastrophic illness all fees are waived. People are free to purchase supplementary insurance from private companies.
With a compulsory insurance plan, as in France, German care is universal and equitable. Germans pay approximately 14.3 percent of their earnings to buy this insurance. As in France, people are free to buy supplementary private health insurance.
Each system is unique (as are all the systems around Europe) but they have two things in common that make them different from the United States: Coverage is universal and the cost of care as a percentage of GDP is significantly less.
For Europeans — even those who would label themselves conservatives — American attitudes to setting up a universal health care system with strong state participation and management seem bizarre. The peace of mind that comes from knowing that in an emergency you will be taken care of and you won't be financially ruined has no price. Why resist it?
Beccy Ashton, policy adviser at health care think tank The King's Fund, worked for more than half a decade in the U.S. She explains the difference this way: "In Europe health care is regarded as a human right. In America, people think of it as a commodity that you buy."
If you look at how the Big Three's health systems came into being, you realize changing American attitudes may be difficult.
Britain and France created their systems out of the rubble of World War II. Pushed from below, the leaders of both nations sought to bring greater social equality to their societies. Social security systems were set up with equal access to health care given pride of place.
This wasn't done without facing down doctors and insurance companies, but politicians are never so bold as when the public will for something is clear. In 1945 in both Britain and France, there was no going back to the status quo before the war started.
Germany's system has the weight of history behind it. Its origins can be traced back to the first era of German unification when Chancellor Otto von Bismarck created the First Reich. In the 1880s he set up a system of compulsory health insurance by workers and employers and other forms of social security. He did not invent the system out of nothing. There had been a tradition among the German guilds going back to the Middle Ages of members making compulsory contributions to help their brothers in old age or if a colleague had to stop working because of injury.
Clearly, America at this moment in time has not recently experienced an epoch-shattering historical event like a World War and despite Obama's comparative popularity, he doesn't have the clout of an Iron Chancellor to simply decree what he wants and know that Congress will rubber stamp it.
Beccy Ashton points out, "The president must be aware of the fine line he has to walk. If he goes forward with a radical agenda, he knows you've lost before you've started."
So people in Europe continue to watch with bemusement as American legislators grapple with reforming a system that basically needs to be junked. Professionals like Ashton answer calls from reporters and try to refute right-wing misinformation that floats around the debate. Those damned lies and statistics.
The only statistics on health care systems that really matter are life expectancy and infant mortality. Both speak to accessability and affordability. If you want to know how the United States, the wealthiest nation on earth, stacks up, here you go:
In life expectancy, the United States ranks 38th or 45th depending on whether one uses the United Nation's statistics or those compiled by the CIA. (In both cases, life expectancy in Cuba is higher!)
According to the CIA World Factbook, the United States has many more infant deaths than its EU counterparts or its neighbor, Canada. While the United States has 6.26 deaths per live births, Canada had 5.04.
Britain, France and Germany? 4.85, 3.33 and 3.99, respectively
http://www.minnpost.com/globalpost/2009/07/22/10398/you_dont_want_universal_health_care
By Michael Goldfarb
LONDON — In America, the health care debate is about to come to a boil. President Barack Obama has put pressure on both houses of Congress to pass versions of his flagship domestic legislative program prior to their August recess.
Good luck.
Opponents are filling the airwaves with the usual litany of lies, damned lies and statistics about socialized medicine and the twin nightmare of bureaucratically rationed health care and high taxes amongst allies like Britain, France and Germany.
So here is a brief overview of health care in some of Europe's biggest economies:
Britain's National Health Service is paid for out of a social security tax. Services are free at the point of provision. No co-pay, no reimbursement. The budget last year was 90 billion pounds (about $148 billion). That makes the average cost per person about 1,500 pounds ($2,463).
The NHS is big — huge, in fact. With 1.5 million employees it is one of the largest employers in the world. Only China's People's Liberation Army, India's state railways and good old Wal-Mart employ more folks. Sixty percent of the NHS budget goes toward salaries.
The French system is run on a compulsory purchase of insurance through the workplace. The insurance cost is based on how much a worker earns. Low-income workers pay nothing. The average contribution per person is about $4,000. The government sets fees for services and negotiates the price of drugs with pharmaceutical companies.
Service is not free at the point of provision. But reimbursement for costs is swift and in the case of catastrophic illness all fees are waived. People are free to purchase supplementary insurance from private companies.
With a compulsory insurance plan, as in France, German care is universal and equitable. Germans pay approximately 14.3 percent of their earnings to buy this insurance. As in France, people are free to buy supplementary private health insurance.
Each system is unique (as are all the systems around Europe) but they have two things in common that make them different from the United States: Coverage is universal and the cost of care as a percentage of GDP is significantly less.
For Europeans — even those who would label themselves conservatives — American attitudes to setting up a universal health care system with strong state participation and management seem bizarre. The peace of mind that comes from knowing that in an emergency you will be taken care of and you won't be financially ruined has no price. Why resist it?
Beccy Ashton, policy adviser at health care think tank The King's Fund, worked for more than half a decade in the U.S. She explains the difference this way: "In Europe health care is regarded as a human right. In America, people think of it as a commodity that you buy."
If you look at how the Big Three's health systems came into being, you realize changing American attitudes may be difficult.
Britain and France created their systems out of the rubble of World War II. Pushed from below, the leaders of both nations sought to bring greater social equality to their societies. Social security systems were set up with equal access to health care given pride of place.
This wasn't done without facing down doctors and insurance companies, but politicians are never so bold as when the public will for something is clear. In 1945 in both Britain and France, there was no going back to the status quo before the war started.
Germany's system has the weight of history behind it. Its origins can be traced back to the first era of German unification when Chancellor Otto von Bismarck created the First Reich. In the 1880s he set up a system of compulsory health insurance by workers and employers and other forms of social security. He did not invent the system out of nothing. There had been a tradition among the German guilds going back to the Middle Ages of members making compulsory contributions to help their brothers in old age or if a colleague had to stop working because of injury.
Clearly, America at this moment in time has not recently experienced an epoch-shattering historical event like a World War and despite Obama's comparative popularity, he doesn't have the clout of an Iron Chancellor to simply decree what he wants and know that Congress will rubber stamp it.
Beccy Ashton points out, "The president must be aware of the fine line he has to walk. If he goes forward with a radical agenda, he knows you've lost before you've started."
So people in Europe continue to watch with bemusement as American legislators grapple with reforming a system that basically needs to be junked. Professionals like Ashton answer calls from reporters and try to refute right-wing misinformation that floats around the debate. Those damned lies and statistics.
The only statistics on health care systems that really matter are life expectancy and infant mortality. Both speak to accessability and affordability. If you want to know how the United States, the wealthiest nation on earth, stacks up, here you go:
In life expectancy, the United States ranks 38th or 45th depending on whether one uses the United Nation's statistics or those compiled by the CIA. (In both cases, life expectancy in Cuba is higher!)
According to the CIA World Factbook, the United States has many more infant deaths than its EU counterparts or its neighbor, Canada. While the United States has 6.26 deaths per live births, Canada had 5.04.
Britain, France and Germany? 4.85, 3.33 and 3.99, respectively
http://www.minnpost.com/globalpost/2009/07/22/10398/you_dont_want_universal_health_care
healthcare tidbits 1
U.S. PIRG offers 'human snapshot' of small businesses' health-insurance dilemma
By Casey Selix | Tuesday, July 21, 2009
When Tracy Singleton opened the Birchwood Café 14 years ago, she was able to offer health insurance to all full-time and part-time employees. Today, she can only afford to offer coverage to full-time workers at the organic eatery.
"Every year, the costs kept going up, going up, going up — double digits like 22 percent; 26 percent was the highest," Singleton said today at a press conference in front of her café in Minneapolis' Seward neighborhood. "What that means is that every year you have to spend a whole lot of time shopping around to find the most-affordable health care plan for my employees. And what that means is that I'm trying to mitigate the cost to them because I can only pay 50 percent. … To mitigate the cost to them means we have to lower the actual plan they're getting. So, they're getting these high-deductible plans with not very much benefit."
Singleton was among more than 300 small-business owners across the nation to participate in a report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. The press conference announced findings in "The Small Business Dilemma: How Rising Health Care Costs are Tough on Small Business."
Effects of rising costs
Sure, 300-something is a small sampling, said John Stewart of U.S. PIRG, a consumer advocacy group. "Our goal wasn't to provide some scientific poll but to get a real human snapshot of what rising costs mean for small businesses."
Among the findings [full report here (PDF)]:
• 78 percent of the small businesses that do not offer coverage would like to do so, but 80 percent cite costs as the barrier.
• 55 percent of small businesses that offer coverage "do so to attract and retain good employees."
• 27 percent of those offering coverage do so "to increase worker productivity."
Despite reports of health-care industry lobbyists spending $1.4 million a day during the reform debate on Capitol Hill, most of the small businesses in this report think their voices aren't represented.
"The current voices that claim to speak for small businesses — big Washington lobbies like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business — just aren't getting the job done," Stewart said. "Only 24 percent of small-business owners felt that their interests were represented in the current health reform debate."
Others speakers at the press conference were state Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, and state Rep. David Bly, DFL-Northfield, co-authors of legislation to create the MN Health Plan. The bill, which seeks a single-payer system to cover all Minnesotans, has 30 co-authors in the Senate and 40 in the House, but hasn't made its way to the floor of either chamber yet.
"Simply put, it covers everyone and covers everything — cradle to grave," said Marty, who is running for governor in 2010. "When I say it covers everyone, that doesn't mean 94 percent [of people will be covered] like what's being talked about in Washington right now, but 100 percent. And it covers everything, including prescription drugs, including dental care, including chemical dependency and mental health."
Struggling to get insurance
Though Marty said he knows the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce will never endorse his plan, he hears a different story from at least one outstate chamber. "An executive I talked to at the Grand Rapids chamber said he thinks a lot of their members would be very supportive of this (MN Health Plan) because while the state association represents insurance companies, the members are people who are struggling to get insurance. … So, I think a lot of members of chambers are to the point now where they desperately need some way to take care of their employees."
"Many small-business people are spending lots of money on health care that doesn't bring them anything," Bly said. "They put a lot of money into trying to keep insurance and increases keep going up and up and up, and yet they're not buying any real health care."
Papa John Kolstad, a musician and owner of Mill City Music who has run for public office on a single-payer platform, told the small assembly that Minnesota could see job creation if the Marty-Bly bill were passed.
"This would be the biggest magnet to Minnesota for jobs to be created," said Kolstad, a member of Metro Independent Business Alliance. "It would draw businesses from all over the country ... that would take the Minnesota economy back to the Minnesota miracle again. This is proven by many studies; it's not just an idle assertion. So, if they can't do it for the right reasons, which would be the humanitarian reasons, they should do it for the business reasons."
Casey Selix, a news editor and staff writer for MinnPost, can be reached at cselix[at]minnpost.com.
http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2009/07/21/10391/us_pirg_offers_human_snapshot_of_small_businesses_health-insurance_dilemma
By Casey Selix | Tuesday, July 21, 2009
When Tracy Singleton opened the Birchwood Café 14 years ago, she was able to offer health insurance to all full-time and part-time employees. Today, she can only afford to offer coverage to full-time workers at the organic eatery.
"Every year, the costs kept going up, going up, going up — double digits like 22 percent; 26 percent was the highest," Singleton said today at a press conference in front of her café in Minneapolis' Seward neighborhood. "What that means is that every year you have to spend a whole lot of time shopping around to find the most-affordable health care plan for my employees. And what that means is that I'm trying to mitigate the cost to them because I can only pay 50 percent. … To mitigate the cost to them means we have to lower the actual plan they're getting. So, they're getting these high-deductible plans with not very much benefit."
Singleton was among more than 300 small-business owners across the nation to participate in a report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. The press conference announced findings in "The Small Business Dilemma: How Rising Health Care Costs are Tough on Small Business."
Effects of rising costs
Sure, 300-something is a small sampling, said John Stewart of U.S. PIRG, a consumer advocacy group. "Our goal wasn't to provide some scientific poll but to get a real human snapshot of what rising costs mean for small businesses."
Among the findings [full report here (PDF)]:
• 78 percent of the small businesses that do not offer coverage would like to do so, but 80 percent cite costs as the barrier.
• 55 percent of small businesses that offer coverage "do so to attract and retain good employees."
• 27 percent of those offering coverage do so "to increase worker productivity."
Despite reports of health-care industry lobbyists spending $1.4 million a day during the reform debate on Capitol Hill, most of the small businesses in this report think their voices aren't represented.
"The current voices that claim to speak for small businesses — big Washington lobbies like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business — just aren't getting the job done," Stewart said. "Only 24 percent of small-business owners felt that their interests were represented in the current health reform debate."
Others speakers at the press conference were state Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, and state Rep. David Bly, DFL-Northfield, co-authors of legislation to create the MN Health Plan. The bill, which seeks a single-payer system to cover all Minnesotans, has 30 co-authors in the Senate and 40 in the House, but hasn't made its way to the floor of either chamber yet.
"Simply put, it covers everyone and covers everything — cradle to grave," said Marty, who is running for governor in 2010. "When I say it covers everyone, that doesn't mean 94 percent [of people will be covered] like what's being talked about in Washington right now, but 100 percent. And it covers everything, including prescription drugs, including dental care, including chemical dependency and mental health."
Struggling to get insurance
Though Marty said he knows the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce will never endorse his plan, he hears a different story from at least one outstate chamber. "An executive I talked to at the Grand Rapids chamber said he thinks a lot of their members would be very supportive of this (MN Health Plan) because while the state association represents insurance companies, the members are people who are struggling to get insurance. … So, I think a lot of members of chambers are to the point now where they desperately need some way to take care of their employees."
"Many small-business people are spending lots of money on health care that doesn't bring them anything," Bly said. "They put a lot of money into trying to keep insurance and increases keep going up and up and up, and yet they're not buying any real health care."
Papa John Kolstad, a musician and owner of Mill City Music who has run for public office on a single-payer platform, told the small assembly that Minnesota could see job creation if the Marty-Bly bill were passed.
"This would be the biggest magnet to Minnesota for jobs to be created," said Kolstad, a member of Metro Independent Business Alliance. "It would draw businesses from all over the country ... that would take the Minnesota economy back to the Minnesota miracle again. This is proven by many studies; it's not just an idle assertion. So, if they can't do it for the right reasons, which would be the humanitarian reasons, they should do it for the business reasons."
Casey Selix, a news editor and staff writer for MinnPost, can be reached at cselix[at]minnpost.com.
http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2009/07/21/10391/us_pirg_offers_human_snapshot_of_small_businesses_health-insurance_dilemma
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
insurance
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-tue-problem-insurance-0721jul21,0,5666288.column?page=1
patient gets surgery pre-authorized and insurance still denies payment – says pre-auth doesn’t guarantee payment! WTF!!! They went to the newspaper and suddenly insurance was willing to pay.
SPIN
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/21/AR2009072101677.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter
you must be insured
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/07/21/ST2009072103763.html?sid=ST2009072103763
This healthcare stuff is so irritating – it needs major overhaul but I don’t even think this admin is getting it right – not to my ideas anyway. I am so sick of all the con crap being put out by insurance companies – sick of Dems that take money from insurance whiel on the very committees working on reform. Conflicts????? Insurance company profits need to be removed from the equation.
Decisions in healthcare are made every day based on money and profits, not the health of people - so don’t tell me socialized medicine would be worse. I don’t decide my care or drugs and neither does my doctor – the insurance companies do….and they base it on how much money they can make.
For every person from another country (found by insurance companies or cons) that says gov’t healthcare sucks - I can find you one that loves it. I talked with 2 Canadians who were cutting their vacation a little short to go home for a health issue – they had some care here to stabilize and didn’t even have to pay for that.
Watch Michael Moores movie - you don't have to like him and yes he has an agenda but there is info and examples there that people should see.
patient gets surgery pre-authorized and insurance still denies payment – says pre-auth doesn’t guarantee payment! WTF!!! They went to the newspaper and suddenly insurance was willing to pay.
SPIN
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/21/AR2009072101677.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter
you must be insured
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/07/21/ST2009072103763.html?sid=ST2009072103763
This healthcare stuff is so irritating – it needs major overhaul but I don’t even think this admin is getting it right – not to my ideas anyway. I am so sick of all the con crap being put out by insurance companies – sick of Dems that take money from insurance whiel on the very committees working on reform. Conflicts????? Insurance company profits need to be removed from the equation.
Decisions in healthcare are made every day based on money and profits, not the health of people - so don’t tell me socialized medicine would be worse. I don’t decide my care or drugs and neither does my doctor – the insurance companies do….and they base it on how much money they can make.
For every person from another country (found by insurance companies or cons) that says gov’t healthcare sucks - I can find you one that loves it. I talked with 2 Canadians who were cutting their vacation a little short to go home for a health issue – they had some care here to stabilize and didn’t even have to pay for that.
Watch Michael Moores movie - you don't have to like him and yes he has an agenda but there is info and examples there that people should see.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Weekends
I had a great weekend thanks to family and friends. Fri night Heidi and I went to the Twins game courtesy of my friend Terry – we had GREAT seats and the Twins won!
Sat I chillaxed a little and then Don and I went to a Saints game with Dean and Lori – they brought steaks and baked tatos for grilling and I picked up yummy salads at deli. The eve was very fun – had a few beers and the Saints won! Plus both games had giveaways so I got some fancy Twins sunglasses on Fri and a Saints wiffle bat and ball on Sat.
Sun Heidi decided to go hang at her pool so I went along – we toasted and swam a little – Wendy came down to visit for a few also. Then Heidi headed back to St Michael where she is dog sitting and I headed over to Carrie and Lonny’s for a Meet the Baby BBQ. The food was delish thanks to Mary Jo! L3 is so adorable – I also hadn’t seen PEN for a while so was amazed at how much my little niece has grown.. She is so cute and I can already tell how smart she is – and I’m not biased :).
Short week at work – Wed I get to leave early for a project celebration – appies and drinks and then Thur we are heading up to Lancaster for the Wilebski reunion. I plan to stay until Monday – maybe Tues – it would be nice to be home and have a day before going back to work. The summer is FLYING by!!! Couple more Saints games – Buffet concert – women’s camping and then it will be fall!
Sat I chillaxed a little and then Don and I went to a Saints game with Dean and Lori – they brought steaks and baked tatos for grilling and I picked up yummy salads at deli. The eve was very fun – had a few beers and the Saints won! Plus both games had giveaways so I got some fancy Twins sunglasses on Fri and a Saints wiffle bat and ball on Sat.
Sun Heidi decided to go hang at her pool so I went along – we toasted and swam a little – Wendy came down to visit for a few also. Then Heidi headed back to St Michael where she is dog sitting and I headed over to Carrie and Lonny’s for a Meet the Baby BBQ. The food was delish thanks to Mary Jo! L3 is so adorable – I also hadn’t seen PEN for a while so was amazed at how much my little niece has grown.. She is so cute and I can already tell how smart she is – and I’m not biased :).
Short week at work – Wed I get to leave early for a project celebration – appies and drinks and then Thur we are heading up to Lancaster for the Wilebski reunion. I plan to stay until Monday – maybe Tues – it would be nice to be home and have a day before going back to work. The summer is FLYING by!!! Couple more Saints games – Buffet concert – women’s camping and then it will be fall!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
