Sunday, January 27, 2013

SUNDAY TALK SHOW BLATHER

It was a rainy day, and forced to watch the Sunday talk shows, I actually saw Jim DeMint say OUT LOUD that He doesn't believe the election WAS an indication of what Americans want.  REALLY Seriously!
Jim,  and you think we should just drug test welfare people, we need to drug test you. Here is what the election showed: They think war should not be the first option, that healthcare should not be a privilege, that poor people are not lazy, that unions are not communists, that drill baby drill is not an energy policy, that homosexuality is not a sin, that the President is really who he is, an AMERICAN WHO BELIEVES WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
Dr. Jim before you go all nutsy, here is one of those pesky facts:  9 out of 10 of the poorest states in the nation voted for Romney. 8 of the 10 richest states voted for Obama.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Fist health care, then the economy at large. The left's master technique.

Health-insurance premiums have been rising—and consumers will experience another series of price shocks later this year when some see their premiums skyrocket thanks to the Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare.

The reason: The congressional Democrats who crafted the legislation ignored virtually every actuarial principle governing rational insurance pricing. Premiums will soon reflect that disregard—indeed, premiums are already reflecting it.

Central to ObamaCare are requirements that health insurers (1) accept everyone who applies (guaranteed issue), (2) cannot charge more based on serious medical conditions (modified community rating), and (3) include numerous coverage mandates that force insurance to pay for many often uncovered medical conditions.  (sounds like a good idea)

Guaranteed issue incentivizes people to forgo buying a policy until they get sick and need coverage (and then drop the policy after they get well). While ObamaCare imposes a financial penalty—or is it a tax?—to discourage people from gaming the system, it is too low to be a real disincentive. The result will be insurance pools that are smaller and sicker, and therefore more expensive.

How do we know these requirements will have such a negative impact on premiums? Eight states—New Jersey, New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Washington, Kentucky, Vermont and Massachusetts—enacted guaranteed issue and community rating in the mid-1990s and wrecked their individual (i.e., non-group) health-insurance markets. Premiums increased so much that Kentucky largely repealed its law in 2000 and some of the other states eventually modified their community-rating provisions.

States won't experience equal increases in their premiums under ObamaCare. Ironically, citizens in states that have acted responsibly over the years by adhering to standard actuarial principles and limiting the (often politically motivated) mandates will see the biggest increases, because their premiums have typically been the lowest.

Many actuaries, such as those in the international consulting firm Oliver Wyman, are now predicting an average increase of roughly 50% in premiums for some in the individual market for the same coverage. But that is an average. Large employer groups will be less affected, at least initially, because the law grandfathers in employers that self-insure. Small employers will likely see a significant increase, though not as large as the individual market, which will be the hardest hit.

We compared the average premiums in states that already have ObamaCare-like provisions in their laws and found that consumers in New Jersey, New York and Vermont already pay well over twice what citizens in many other states pay. Consumers in Maine and Massachusetts aren't far behind. Those states will likely see a small increase.

By contrast, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming and Virginia will likely see the largest increases—somewhere between 65% and 100%. Another 18 states, including Texas and Michigan, could see their rates rise between 35% and 65%.

While ObamaCare won't take full effect until 2014, health-insurance premiums in the individual market are already rising, and not just because of routine increases in medical costs. Insurers are adjusting premiums now in anticipation of the guaranteed-issue and community-rating mandates starting next year. There are newly imposed mandates, such as the coverage for children up to age 26, and what qualifies as coverage is much more comprehensive and expensive. Consolidation in the hospital system has been accelerated by ObamaCare and its push for Accountable Care Organizations. This means insurers must negotiate in a less competitive hospital market.

Although President Obama repeatedly claimed that health-insurance premiums for a family would be $2,500 lower by the end of his first term, they are actually about $3,000 higher—a spread of about $5,500 per family.

Health insurers have been understandably reluctant to discuss the coming price hikes that are driven by the Affordable Care Act. Mark Bertolini, CEO of Aetna, the country's third-largest health insurer, broke the silence on Dec. 12. "We're going to see some markets go up by as much as 100%," he told the company's annual investor conference in New York City.

Insurers know that the Obama administration will denounce the premium increases as the result of greedy health insurers, greedy doctors, greedy somebody. The Department of Health and Human Services will likely begin to threaten, arm-twist or investigate health insurers in an effort to force them into keeping their premiums more in line with Democratic promises—just as HHS bureaucrats have already started doing when insurers want premium increases larger than 10%.

But unlike the federal government, health insurers can't run perpetual deficits. Something will have to give, which will likely open the door to making health insurance a public utility completely regulated by the government, or the left's real goal: a single-payer system.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

GOP LEADERLESS AND LOST

The GOP just spent  60.4 billion on Sandy the money they fought so hard to get in deficit reduction, so what's the point? Fight for deficit reduction and then in 24 hours spend it on storm problems. That's like my children putting 2 dollars in their piggy bank and being proud they are saving and then head to the store and buy 2 dollars on candy? Where are the adults?
With no plan every road will not get you there, to change a phrase.  The President has taken the easy road let's bash the wealthy, but their are plenty of " rich Americans" who have worked hard, taken risk and should be rewarded for  their effort. It's disappointing the President doesn't have a bold plan that takes risk  but rewards all Americans. I think he might have made one with Boehner, but we will never know what transpired way back then but reported it was 3 dollars cut for every 1 tax revenue. This cut  deal is much worse and Republicans and the Tea Party nuts only have themselves to blame for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, months ago.  While Biden may be laughed at by the right at least he was willing to enter the fray and talk some sense into getting a solution unlike Obama.
It never ceases to amaze me when we talk of cuts which are needed we never seem to cut foreign aid. It's like your children are living under a bridge buts lets send money to St. Vincents DePaul. Really your own family (Americans) are hurting but let's send Egypt money. DAH. Getting to the point which is always a problem aimless cutting without a comprehensive plan, and aimless crisis spending without a plan is both idiotic. Who can put a plan together and have the economy humming is what we need.
 I laugh when I here these TEN YEAR plans I can balance my own budget if I go out enough years. Small can kicking plans might be political safe the real deal is let these other countries defend themselves. Let them build their own armies and navys, bring our people home and start building hospitals for the mentally ill, schools for children that want to learn, trade schools for those that want trades. Collect 100 clip magazines, from these gun crazy loonies, and realize their is something called the "greater good" than your " so called right". Can you own a tank? It's that simple 2nd Amendment people. Society is best served when love and kindness is shown to all, not just who we like.