Replies to post #95426 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

mthead, i worried when i bolded the quote initially whether you would take it personally, then decided
you wouldn't .. same the 2nd time with the anger bit .. it wasn't directed at you personally .. it's clear
you are not one of the ANGRY ones, but of the disappointed ones, everybody is for different reasons ..

Well, I don't hate Obama so I hope no one misinterprets my post. I'm just disappointed. I don't think the healthcare bill is anything to get excited about. It's certainly no victory for Americans. Whether it costs us all more or saves money remains to be seen. In any case it won't improve our health significantly.

Imo, one closer to the Australian way, with the universal levy, would have been better ..
"but what does the bill actually mean for the average American?" .. thanks to F6 for this list ..

1.An End To Pre-Existing Conditions .. children now .. adults, 2014.

2. Small Business Tax Credits .. fewer than 50 employees, tax credits covering up to 50% of employee premiums.

3. Seniors Get 'Donut Hole' Rebate .. from 50 percent of the donut hole will be filled.

4. More Young Adults Covered On Parents' Plans .. to age 27 ..

5. Lifetime caps on the amount of insurance an individual can have will be banned. Annual caps will be limited, and banned in 2014.

6. Adults With Pre-Existing Conditions Covered .. temporary high-risk pool .. program eliminated in exchanges in 2014.

7. New Insurance Plans Must Include Preventative Care .. no co-pays .. all plans affected by 2018.

8. The End Of 'Recissions'

9. More transparency In Insurance Companies, insurers must now reveal how much money is spent on overhead.

10. Any new plan must now implement an appeals process for coverage determinations and claims.

11. Indoor Tanning Services Tax .. ten percent tax on indoor tanning services .. replaces proposed tax on cosmetic surgery .. effective from July 1, 2010.

12. New screening procedures will be implemented to help eliminate health insurance fraud and waste.

13. Medicare Expansion To Rural Areas .. Medicare payment protections will be extended to small rural hospitals and other health care facilities that have a small number of Medicare patients.

14. Deductions For Blue Cross Blue Shield .. Non-profit Blue Cross organizations will be required to maintain a medical loss ratio -- money spent on procedures over money incoming -- of 85 percent or higher to take advantage of IRS tax benefits.

15. Nutrient Content Disclosure .. Chain restaurants will be required to provide a "nutrient content disclosure statement" alongside their items. Expect to see calories listed both on in-store and drive-through menus of fast-food restaurants sometime soon.

16. Better Coverage For Early Retirees .. The bill establishes a temporary program for companies that provide early retiree health benefits for those ages 55-64 in order to help reduce the often-expensive cost of that coverage.

17. Better Consumer Information On The Web .. The Secretary of Health and Human Services will set up a new Web site to make it easy for Americans in any state to seek out affordable health insurance options The site will also include helpful information for small businesses.

18. Encouraging Investment in New Therapies .. A two-year temporary credit (up to a maximum of $1 billion) is in the bill to encourage investment in new therapies for the prevention and treatment of diseases.

Seems to me the American healthcare situation is improved. Even, quite significantly, in a number of ways. :)

.. and see (items linked in) .. http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=48209461

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?Message_id=48227818&txt2find=immediate

[fuagf]

Yes, just now with the conservative extremist rhetoric and violent acts, the psychotic fear of government,
et al, there are serious problems in America, then again there have been times of worse violence before.

Yep, about everyone would agree totally with ..

that so many people have to struggle for survival in a world as rich in resources as ours.

as looking at history hasn't it always been? Yep, the belief .. hang on, the vast majority of people are basically good aren't they? .. so why has the world always been so unfair? .. i put it down, for many of us, to, lol, something like, 50+ years of cognitive dissonance.

The Fox and the Grapes by Aesop. When the fox fails to reach the grapes, he decides he doesn't want
them anyway, an example of adaptive preference formation designed to reduce cognitive dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, or by justifying or rationalizing them. It is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology.

Dissonance occurs when a person perceives a logical inconsistency
in his beliefs, when one idea implies the opposite of another.

LOL, YUP, it is bloody tiring, isn't it. Personally, anyway, .. grunt, dunno,
rationalize .. it does help to understand it will probably always be.

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

[fuagf]

mthead, oops, thought i had it somewhere in the other two, but .. to me, just the 3 facts ..

1. That millions more will gain health insurance.

2. That medical bankruptcies will dramatically decline if not disappear.

3. That the despicable health insurance practice of rescission will be illegal.

is significant change for the better in the American healthcare situation .. just those three, for me, is reason to celebrate.

Aside: it has just started raining in Sydney. Wonderful. LOL, it's been dry.