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The girl that does insurance in our office just called me about her new blue cross premium. She works 4 jobs and has individual coverage for her, her husband and 3 kids $2500 deductible annually. She likes her plan and pays $321 per month.
Now to the new rate. $1500 per month. Now that's what I call affordable health care. Those liberals are doing a great job in DC.
Pat yourselves on the back boys. Mission accomplished. Written by the insurance lobbyists and the insurance companies are going to be limited to a percentage profit. Now as an example of 5X a greater pie. Hope and change.
She says she will drop coverage when her current policy ends.
In reading the article, the amount of ice that was occurring in the Antartic wasn't that much, it just reported that it wasn't receding as much as it was in the Artic, or Greenland.
In the words of Al Gore "I did not have sexual relations with that iceberg". That's good enough for me to be a non-beleiver.
Also, George Bush caused the ice age.
Lee, and your vision is?
I sure would like to know where they come up w this information. My primary care Doctor here in Chattanooga, a nice Doctor, in his mid sixties. He has been my Doctor ever since I got my insurance back again.
Most Doctors have nothing to do with selecting patients, every time I see him, he reminds me that his wife likes to spend money, and enjoys vacations, which is why he feels he will never retire, besides he enjoys being a Doctor. Almost every one of his patients have Medicare, he doesn't care, he is to busy just being a Doctor to be concerned with the money aspect of the business.
Zab, you don't realize how out of touch you are with how medical practices run. The Docs ALWAYS decide which insurances they will take and relay it to the front desk. In our office, we are a provider of 3 insurances- Blue cross, United healthcare and Medicare. We have taken new patients for 3 weeks out of the last 8 years. Too much paperwork to be done and reaccredited every 6 months to a year. We also see folks in need for free.
To give you an idea of how well the Chicago or rather Illinois system works. They are broke, broke, broke. We have alot of Snowbirds that come down to the South to escape the winters from IL. There medicare pays immediately, and if they were state retirement- we immediately get a letter saying the 20% that their retirement insurance owes will be promptly paid within the next 62 weeks. Would anyone want 20% of their pay held for over a year? I think not.
I always wondered where the "C S" came from. You're a Shriner, right?
And Basser is happy, happy, happy.
Ain't ya DUDE ?
Great movie. I especially like the put down in the BMW history conversation.
Yes Lee, a tin hat?
Tinner- congrats, after over a decade you are the first that I have placed on ignore , as I consider every one of your responses I have ever read as irrationally irrelevant.
Congratulations on your reward. Please place me on ignore also, as I can assure you that nothing I post will agree with your observations.
By the way, what color is the sky in your world today? No response needed as I won't be able to read it. IGNORED!!!!!!!!!!
Zab, I am not posting this to "shoot at you or piss you off". People have different opinions and are allowed to post them. I personally pretty much agree with Bassers posts. I'm of pretty much the same opinion. Which pretty much means I disagree with most of your opinions.
The area of the country where I live is on the east side of Mobile bay in Alabama. Fairhope, AL. It is truly a unique area and I feel lucky to live here. Looks ALOT like Carmel, CA. Average income probably $70K (that's a guess). 40% retired folks 30% yuppies 30% normal.
18 years ago building costs were as follows: Framing $8-$12 sq ft.
Sheetrock hang and finish $1.50 sq ft.
Today Framing is $1.30 and sheet rock $0.30. We're a booming here. You know the supply and demand thing. There is no demand. We're booming so well I'm gonna build a 1200 sq ft shop in the backyard just to have a place to play. I'm just waiting for the prices to come down.
Had a friend who built a 2000 sq ft house in 6 weeks. The contractor said he could have done it in 4 weeks if he didn't need to wait on the inspectors. The subs were sitting in the shade of a tree waiting for the sub that preceeded to finish so they could jump in and buy some food.
This has been going on for 4 years and I'm sure it's all W's fault.
Conelda, you wrote:
I process WC claims for insurance co and self insured companies x 28 yrs - most of your patients are medicare- how many of your collegues refuse to take medicare? I am finding more and more MD s who have this policy- medicare is not fair
I am speaking about the under 65 insured folks-
most insured policy holders are responsible for 20 % of THE ORIGINAL HOSP / professional fees BILLED- the consumer / policy holder's deductable is calculated from the amount of the bill
blue cross/ins co gets big discount- not the policy holder- if you have a cap on benefits- they deduct the ORIGINAL BILL amount- not what group ins deems u&c- from your benefit limit.
my premiums have gone from 225.00/mo in 2006 to 1560.00/ month today- and go up a minimum 30-40 % every yr- - your premiums reflect the hospital billed charges not what the the insurance company pays- {to be fair the ins co costs have risen }
------------------------------------------
workers comp --
In WC for outpt hospital bills in LA the insurance pays 90% of the bill ! - whatever the hospital charges- period- every state is different -
hosp fees for routine back surgery has gone from 19,000.00 in 2005 to 90,000.00 today - not including hardware- just hosp fees- this is outrageous- no caps- Ortho surgeons fees for the same surgery has goone from 2600.00 to 60,000.00 - yes there are caps on professional fees- but not hospitals --
when there is a lawsuit for wc the court address THE ORIGINAL BILL not fee scheduled amounts - life care plans are based on original bills not what is paid out per contract discounts- so HUGE awards are given out- WHICH THE ATTORNEY GETS 25-35 % OF-- and untimately guess who pays for this-- { and did you know a high percent of judges and politicians were plaintiff attorneys?}sniff sniff --smell a rat??
obama care is baloney - he is not making any effort to contain costs- more hot air from washington - both parties-
WE ARE ALL PAYING THIS it is NOT someone elses problem- Healthcare is bankrupting business {esp small business} and the working class insured-
Conelda, I'm sure you are more experienced with filing claims than I. Also, you wonder why LA is broke? My personal ins. premium is $600/mo for an individual policy, not family.
Most of our surgical patients are Medicare. I live in Alabama. Here, the patient pays the 20% of the allowed, not billed to the physician and hospital. Therefore, for cataract surgery they are responsible for $1400 per eye. If they have Medicare/Medicaid ie are in not great financial shape, the hospital accepts what Medicare pays. If they are financially fit, they pay their $200-$300 monthly premium for a secondary to cover the 20% not paid by Medicare or they drink their vodka and dine at the nice restaurants and bitch about there high hospital bills (I'm not directing this at you).
Again, it comes down to the lobbyists. I agree Obamacre is BS to the 10th degree. As Nancy said pass it and you can see what's in it, because she had no idea what was in it. It was written by the special interests and their lobbyists.
Anyone who thinks Congress is worried about their healthcare has been sold that "bridge". One of the first things they did was opt themselves out of it. Read the 28th amendment and explain to me how this will hold up in court.
Wishing you the best and I think we're on the same page. You insurance people are a different breed, you have my respect.
Borusa
No offense taken, just giving one view from inside one Docs office.
I also have some government insight to offer. Took a 2 year contract at a NASA facility, quit 15 years later. Worked as a chemist doing 20% chemistry and 80% paperwork. Got a new boss and he decided that we needed to do more documentation. Decided it was time to put the skates on while I could still function in the real world.
The government has little to offer in the realm of efficiency and I think that will also appear in their efforts towards healthcare.
Best to you.
Borusa, I couldn't agree more. In fact we do exactly that and often see patients for free. In fact our office policy is if you are uninsured, we charge the medicare allowable. Cataract surgery $500 which also includes about 2 hours of follow-up care in that fee.
Also have worked a deal with the local hospital where they accept $2500 if uninsured instead of the $7k allowed with insurance.
Most Docs typically aren't the arsholes (sic) that most folks think, however there are always exceptions.
I've got a great staff and Doc that I'm very proud to be a part of. All over the age of 40 and most 60 years old +.
Our big to do of the year is our annual Christmas Party. Doc treats us to a nice meal out and minimal present exchanges. Usually runs about $800 to $1200. Last year we forgave the party to pay for a new patient that needed a procedure and was impossible for them to ever have the funds to pay for it. Not saying this to pat ourselves on the back, only to let you know that all Docs are not the robber barrons everyone thinks.
One of the big administrations comment when pushing Obamacare was that the AMA (American Medical Assoc.) was all for it, they failed to mention as oft they do that only about 18% of Docs are members and that they are the liberal 18%. The doc I work for knows no docs that are members of the AMA.
Also there's always the caveat of "next time your having a heart attack, call a lawyer". I wonder how many times that's been put into practice with any success?
the problem is the hospitals and all health care providers have NO CAPS on what they can charge ! none - so they have raised their fess 50-100 % every yr with reckless abandon -- no one monitors it-- Obama does not address this-- no one does-- that is why your premiums go up and will continue to do so- they are grabbing all they can ! that 20% you are responsible for goes up as well!!!
Conelda, I think you don't understand how the current health system works. I've managed an Ophthalmic office for 14 years. You are correct that facilities and Doctors can charge whatever they want, however they will not be reimbursed that amount. The lobbyists write the bills and set the rates. A doctor has to be an insurance provider in order to stay in business. If you don't take insurance, you can't stay in business. As a provider, you agree to a set fee for a certain procedure. The doc can charge $4 million dollars and will only be paid the agreed amount-maybe $400.
Hospitals and drug companies seem to have the best lobbyists.
Surgeons were reimbursed $2000 per eye for cataract surgery 30 years ago. Today it is about $500. That's with no adjustment for inflation. 30 minutes in the outpatient surg suite and another hour and a half before you leave the hospital is about $7000 per eye bill from the hospital that they are paid in full. That's the agreed amount. Drugs used during the surgery (that don't fall under you drug plan as they are administered by the hospital) are charged at a rate of about 30 times over the counter price and paid that amount, the correct lobbyists again.
We in our office have had no raises in pay in 10 years as employees. Wait until they fix it, it's gonna be GREAT!!!!!!!
Not meant to put you down by this diatribe and won't get into a back and forth on it, just wanted to let folks know how it really works. Been there, still doing that.
Oh, and speaking of lobbyists what do you think about the medicare D plan cut by W- no negotiating on the allowable prices charged for drugs? WTF Give me millions of customers with the caveat that I can charge whatever I want to. No lobbying there I'm sure.
Just thought I'd enlighten those interested
Zab, time to buy a new mouse, buy a new mouse.LOL
Why don't you go to the source? Google IRS pub 510 and then go to page 29. It's all there. Not in a FAQ format. The actual IRS rules. Oh and by the way "no new taxes" How's that working out for you. I'm done. Not wasting anymore time. Apologies to the thread.
Again. Go to the IRS publication. Not some question and answer interpretation. Your argument holds no water.
Oh my little tinheaded one. You posted a link to a veterans affairs page. Did I mention the VA in my original post? No.
Let's make this easy. Google IRS publication 510, then go to chapter 5 and you will find the exact items I posted.
Tinner, don't watch what they say. Watch what they do. Have a nice day.
Look up the IRS publication online. It's right there.
Here's some more Tea Party Stuff for you, only you can look it up online and it's true.
I couldn't get the image of the Cabela receipt to display, but it breaks the tax down to ~$20 use tax and ~$5 medical use tax.
Medical Excise Tax on Retail Receipts Show How We’re Screwed.
An Infowars reader sent along an image of a sales receipt from Cabela’s, a popular sporting goods store.
The receipt spells out what Obama and the feds want to keep secret – the middle class is being heavily taxed despite all the fatuous rhetoric of Democrats who invariably play the class warfare card to sell their confiscatory taxation policies.
“The 2.3% Medical Excise Tax that began on January 1st is supposed to be ‘hidden’ from the consumer, but it’s been brought to the public’s attention by hunting and fishing store Cabela’s who have refused to hide it and are showing it as a separate line item tax on their receipts,” the email states.
Source
Now please hold on and bare with me before you say "OH, another Alex Jones article!" because I did some research and found directly from the IRS's website information that PROVES this to be true and an accurate portrayal of something hidden in Obamacare that I was not aware of!
Now being sceptical of this I went to the IRS website and found this!
Q1. What is the medical device excise tax?
A1. Section 4191 of the Internal Revenue Code imposes an excise tax on the sale of certain medical devices by the manufacturer or importer of the device.
Q2. When does the tax go into effect?
A2. The tax applies to sales of taxable medical devices after Dec. 31, 2012.
Q3. How much is the tax?
A3. The tax is 2.3 percent of the sale price of the taxable medical device. See Chapter 5 of IRS Publication 510, Excise Taxes, and Notice 2012-77 for additional information on the determination of sale price.
IRS.gov
So being more curious I clicked on "Chapter 5 of IRS Publication 510" And WALLAH! What do I find under "MEDICAL DEVICES" under "MANUFACTURERS TAXES"?
Manufacturers Taxes
The following discussion of manufacturers taxes applies to the tax on:
Sport fishing equipment;
Fishing rods and fishing poles;
Electric outboard motors;
Fishing tackle boxes;
Bows, quivers, broadheads, and points;
Arrow shafts;
Coal;
Taxable tires;
Gas guzzler automobiles; and
Vaccines.
IRS.gov
I think we have definately been fooled, if we believe that the Affordable Care Act is all about health
care. It truely does appear to be nothing more than a bill laden with a whole lot of taxes that we the
people have yet to be aware of!
Leaders are suppose to get the rest to follow.
Are you talking about the problems with the presidency or Boehner?
Not going to continue this, politics. Just wanted to point out that Boehner is more willing to compromise than the other Repubs or the Pres.
Boehner reminds me of the student who walk into his Professor's Office and tells him that his paper is not done, but the Professor reminds him of the assignment, and that it was given to him last summer, and instead of taking that six week holiday in September, until after the elections, he should of had it done, especially when he also told the Professor that he did have "Plan B," just in case.
Looks like Plan B was to punt.
Zab, FYI the problem Boehner is having is the fact that there are not enough Republicans willing to raise taxes on anyone, millionaires included. ie Boehner is being more willing to cut taxes than the rest of the Repubs.
Can't remember where I saw it, but in the last few days they were talking about when they raised the tax rate on millionaires in France- 2/3rds of them vanished. ie Moved out of the country and net tax revenues actually went down. Talk about unintended consequences.
Me, I'm gonna live forever. So far so good.
Hope you've got you're tin hat square on the left side of your head!!!
I'll suggest that we wait for the true version from the Benghazi commision a week after the election on the union doings. I'm sure there will be more in their report on the electrical workers than what actually happened in Libya, don't you think Basser?
I actually live in Alabama and loath unions, However if you go to al.com site they state this did not happen ie story is not true. One company from AL was union and the other company stated it did not happen. Just to set the record straight.
Ah yes basser, the old "idiot" error.
Ya think ?
Lee, pats looking good.
Brightness, Agree. Well said.
That's SIRI down .03, @ $2.56.
Lee, sorry. Didin't see your request to limit until after I posted. Remove if you like.
byankee- I think your confusing them with the folks from Georgia (I won't name the party). The congressman was concerned about Guam capsizing due to the weight of planes on one side of the island. Also his predecessor whom ran as an independent for president, same party, who had constituents whose sons were in the national guard in Louisiana who claimed that the govt. was killing prison inmates and throwing the bodies in the swamp after Katrina.
There's some water that needs to be tested. Sheesh!!!!!!!!!
This is not meant to be political.
Audit of the Federal Reserve Reveals $16 Trillion in Secret Bailouts
unelected.org
The first ever GAO(Government Accountability Office) audit of the Federal Reserve was carried out in the past few months due to the Ron Paul, Alan Grayson Amendment to the Dodd-Frank bill, which passed last year. Jim DeMint, a Republican Senator, and Bernie Sanders, an independent Senator, led the charge for a Federal Reserve audit in the Senate, but watered down the original language of the house bill(HR1207), so that a complete audit would not be carried out. Ben Bernanke(pictured to the right), Alan Greenspan, and various other bankers vehemently opposed the audit and lied to Congress about the effects an audit would have on markets. Nevertheless, the results of the first audit in the Federal Reserve’s nearly 100 year history were posted on Senator Sander’s webpage earlier this morning.
What was revealed in the audit was startling:
$16,000,000,000,000.00 had been secretly given out to US banks and corporations and foreign banks everywhere from France to Scotland. From the period between December 2007 and June 2010, the Federal Reserve had secretly bailed out many of the world’s banks, corporations, and governments. The Federal Reserve likes to refer to these secret bailouts as an all-inclusive loan program, but virtually none of the money has been returned and it was loaned out at 0% interest. Why the Federal Reserve had never been public about this or even informed the United States Congress about the $16 trillion dollar bailout is obvious - the American public would have been outraged to find out that the Federal Reserve bailed out foreign banks while Americans were struggling to find jobs.
To place $16 trillion into perspective, remember that GDP of the United States is only $14.12 trillion. The entire national debt of the United States government spanning its 200+ year history is "only" $14.5 trillion. The budget that is being debated so heavily in Congress and the Senate is "only" $3.5 trillion. Take all of the outrage and debate over the $1.5 trillion deficit into consideration, and swallow this Red pill: There was no debate about whether $16,000,000,000,000 would be given to failing banks and failing corporations around the world.
In late 2008, the TARP Bailout bill was passed and loans of $800 billion were given to failing banks and companies. That was a blatant lie considering the fact that Goldman Sachs alone received 814 billion dollars. As is turns out, the Federal Reserve donated $2.5 trillion to Citigroup, while Morgan Stanley received $2.04 trillion. The Royal Bank of Scotland and Deutsche Bank, a German bank, split about a trillion and numerous other banks received hefty chunks of the $16 trillion.
"This is a clear case of socialism for the rich and rugged, you’re-on-your-own individualism for everyone else." - Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
When you have conservative Republican stalwarts like Jim DeMint(R-SC) and Ron Paul(R-TX) as well as self identified Democratic socialists like Bernie Sanders all fighting against the Federal Reserve, you know that it is no longer an issue of Right versus Left. When you have every single member of the Republican Party in Congress and progressive Congressmen like Dennis Kucinich sponsoring a bill to audit the Federal Reserve, you realize that the Federal Reserve is an entity onto itself, which has no oversight and no accountability.
Americans should be swelled with anger and outrage at the abysmal state of affairs when an unelected group of bankers can create money out of thin air and give it out to megabanks and supercorporations like Halloween candy. If the Federal Reserve and the bankers who control it believe that they can continue to devalue the savings of Americans and continue to destroy the US economy, they will have to face the realization that their trillion dollar printing presses will eventually plunder the world economy.
The list of institutions that received the most money from the Federal Reserve can be found on page 131 of the GAO Audit and are as follows..
Citigroup: $2.5 trillion ($2,500,000,000,000)
Morgan Stanley: $2.04 trillion ($2,040,000,000,000)
Merrill Lynch: $1.949 trillion ($1,949,000,000,000)
Bank of America: $1.344 trillion ($1,344,000,000,000)
Barclays PLC (United Kingdom): $868 billion ($868,000,000,000)
Bear Sterns: $853 billion ($853,000,000,000)
Goldman Sachs:$814 billion ($814,000,000,000)
Royal Bank of Scotland (UK):$541 billion ($541,000,000,000)
JP Morgan Chase: $391 billion ($391,000,000,000)
Deutsche Bank (Germany): $354 billion ($354,000,000,000)
UBS (Switzerland): $287 billion ($287,000,000,000)
Credit Suisse (Switzerland): $262 billion ($262,000,000,000)
Lehman Brothers: $183 billion ($183,000,000,000)
Bank of Scotland (United Kingdom):$181 billion ($181,000,000,000)
BNP Paribas (France): $175 billion ($175,000,000,000)
and many many more including banks in Belgium of all places
View the 266-page GAO audit of the Federal Reserve(July 21st, 2011): http://www.scribd.com/doc/60553686/GAO-Fed-Investigation
Source: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-696
FULL PDF on GAO server: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11696.pdf
Senator Sander’s Article: http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=9e2a4ea8-6e73-4be2-a753-62060dcbb3c3
www.unelected.org
Lee, was in college in Birmingham in the mid to late 70's. Homecoming weekend in Tuscaloosa which was about an hour away and Lowell and band were playing on campus. We drove down about 2 hours early to get tickets. Place was closed, so we went and ate pizza. Bottom line, there were 25 people there. Felt sorry for the band, but it was great. Thank god for the Frat boys and there parties with babs!!
As an aside, my sister is an ophthalmologist. At the annual national meeting in Atlanta one year, her and a buddy went to an after party given by the guy that invented the laser used for lasik surgery. Turns out he was a big Feat fan. He rented the natural science museum as the venue and hired the band to play. According to her, old fart docs on one end and her and her buddy on the other end dancing with the band. Lowell was still around then.
Good memories.
I've always liked girls. They tend to be soft and nice.
Recomend for post of the month captain, not the week. New category.
Arggh
Mark. Ignored. Rant to yourself. Many were sympathetic, until you made a fool of yourself. Bye bye.
Viva. I have followed your dad for more than a decade. The most brilliant man that I have ever encountered. Einstein would be jealous. I'm in ,
,best to you. Thanks lee for carrying on the intent of zeev 's thread. Tim