SW, from what I saw yesterday, depending on the area, rates could be 26-30% higher. A law passed on a partisan basis, lies, deceit with all the Progressive mandates is surely into its death spiral as we all predicted 5 years ago.
The average family is sure to save $2,500 per year, right? Let the subsidies go by the wayside and see what happens. Also, if the carriers get into trouble and can’t pay all those claims from the chronically sick, they will have to be bailed out as they were promised.
This is hard to believe! Who would have thought that when you aren’t allowed to underwrite the cost for the risk you are insuring, that the government’s guestimate would be this far off?
So FFA, are you set up in Wisconsin for your business & home? I wish you all the best and success there. You were smart to get out of Illinois. It shows little promise since Rauner won’t be able to get much done to help.
By the way, I saw where the Obama Library is supposed to be built on the south side of Chicago. Are you going to be a visitor after it is completed? From news reports I see, the murders continue and between Chicago and Baltimore, it is almost anarchy. The good news is that the Cubs seem to be playing better this year and are at least competitive.
The Destruction of America…How to lie and get away with it…If you believe your own lies, others will, too!…How to divide a country in less than 8 years…The teleprompter is your friend…How to avoid being caught in a scandal (I didn’t know about this until I saw it on the news) – Part 1 and How to avoid being caught in a scandal (throwing others under the bus) – Part 2
Those same “books” could be found in George HW Bush’s library, or Clinton’s, or Nixon’s. Those topics are not solely attributable to Obama’s terms in office.
June 4, 2015 at 11:22 am
Agent says:
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Jack, I am sure it will contain the complete works of Cloward & Pivin and Bill Ayers, anything written by any Socialist author of the past century, anything written by Progressive Socialists of the past including Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, LBJ, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer etc.
And you are undoubtedly and surely proud of what a mess shrub left us in? Talk about lies and deceit and huge increase in deficit. Lies to get us into unjustified war, 5,000 American dead, tens of thousands wounded and impaired, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead and wounded. All based on what he, his despicable vp and others knew were lies.
Could Obama have screwed this up any more if he tried? Or perhaps that was his intent. On the way to a single payer system where EVERYBODY is dependent on the government for yet another entitlement.
Dave, in March, Obama said his signature legislation had exceeded his wildest dreams. What was he dreaming of, the demise of the United States of America?
And Obama said “If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums. That will be less.”
But what could go wrong?
This plan is designed on the DoD purchasing model – cost + 15%, and no controls on the cost.
To add to cost – the plan is by design creating provider monopolies – now called ACO’s, because of mergers of hospitals and Dr’s selling practices and going to work for hospitals.
It’s working exactly as any person who understood economics would say it would
“On the other hand, individuals can switch plans, limiting the effects of the increases as long as cheaper options are available.”
and you are willing to
change PCP doctors,
change specialists,
change your obgyn,
change hospitals,
get new step therapy,
get new diagnosis for exiting meds
and are not in mid treatment – or are willing to stop in mid treatment
In short – start over on health care
clearly this publicity release statement was not written by someone who uses health care
Pretty Simple Self Insure Now! Grab a hold of your program and Self Fund it. Stop listening to brokers who keep telling you, “well the market says 10% increase so consider yourself lucky.” then the same story repeats itself year after year. SELF INSURE NOW OR BE SCREWED BY COMMUNITY RATING!!!!!!!!!!! Wake up Brokers
Never ceases to amaze me how many people go bonkers over a news release. Most everyone here thinks they can predict the future. These are REQUESTS. Last year many big rate requests were amended under pressure from regulators.
Except, the insurers are requesting higher rates because they’re losing money. If the DOI doesn’t approve their rate increase, those insurers have no incentive to continue offering their products.
Unfortunately, KY, forcing the private insurers to discontinue offering their products is the ultimate goal of Obama and liberal socialists. That way they can say that the private market “dried up” and the gov’t “has” to be the backstop. This will usher in the single payer system.
Ignorant liberals like Comrade think we are trying to predict the future when, in fact, we are simply using common sense. We can see through the thinly veiled attempts by the left to socialize this great country. It is so sad that so many are too blind and are too gullible to believe the BS that the liberal (state run) media feeds them.
Integrity, back in the Libby days, she often criticized Conservatives for not liking this monstrocity and said- the law hadn’t even kicked in and we objected to it. Our criticism was well founded and has been true every step of the way. The lies have painted the liberals into a corner and they are as mad as hornets that their Progressive Dream didn’t pan out. What really ticks me off is that it is just another reason why we need Universal Healthcare administered by our lovely Federal Government who has yet to get anything right and is famous for wasting our tax dollars, getting their website hacked, IRS hacked and the liberals still say it should be a government solution. NOT!
June 4, 2015 at 8:38 am
integrity matters says:
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It never ceases to amaze me how foolish and ignorant the Obama sheep are.
Go back to sleep, Comrade, we are not a socialist country yet.
I will catch crap for this, but the reality is that the only solution is Universal Healthcare, where private companies administer healthcare and the government only collects and distributes premiums. It is the only thing that solves all of the problems.
How do we pay for it? Remove the deductions that have been allowing middle class people from paying little to no federal income tax, increase taxes on incomes above $1 million, lower the threshold for paying estate taxes with possible exceptions for family farms and small businesses, and levy a tax on businesses that is 80% of what they were paying in premiums for healthcare.
The net result will be more disposable income for most individuals and more profit for businesses who have been paying some or all of the healthcare premiums for their employees. This will allow them to increase wages, which will result in more consumer spending and help the economy.
I appreciate your suggestion. Unfortunately, there are a lot of details that impact the potential success of your plan.
First, why is it necessary for the gov’t to collect and distribute premiums? They are totally inefficient compared to the private sector and have been known to misappropriate the funds provided to them. This has been the downfall of Social Security and Medicare. one of the primary reasons for the enormous debt the govt has is because they keep borrowing from themselves and never pay it back. The same thing is going to happen with a universal healthcare system administered by the govt.
Second, removing the deductions for the middle class is reducing their disposable income and may or may not be offset by getting raises. Not all businesses can afford to give raises. Also, the math won’t work for most employers. For example, if an employer is paying $100K for the healthcare costs, they would only realize a $20K savings if they are taxed at 80% of that cost. $20K would provide a 3% increase on a salary base of $667,000. If an employer is paying a $100K for health insurance, their salary base is going to be a lot higher than $667K. Also, what about employers who are self insured? Would the deduction apply every year? If so, based on what healthcare cost?
My suggestion – Go back to the previous system and amend laws that (1) increase competition, (2) reduce the potential for litigation and (3) mitigates fraud. Additionally, we would need to reduce the amount of healtcare provided to illegal aliens by deporting them AND start sending the healthcare bills to their country of origin. If the bills are not paid, we reduce the amount of aid that we provide those countries by those amounts.
The govt backstop for those that cannot afford health insurance (aka..medicare) must be overhauled to mitigate fraud, waste and the pilfering of the taxes that are intended for this program.
If there are not enough funds after exhausting all measures, tax levies against the profits of healthcare (including drug companies)and healthcare insurance providers would be necessary.
I am sure there are additional steps that can be taken before increasing taxes on individuals and the business community at large.
First, thank you gfor the reasonable response. There are a few that could learn form you.
To address your concerns:
How can the private sector collect taxes? That is from where the premiums will come. While I agree the government is not the most efficient in administration, they are pretty good at collecting taxes, verifying records, and even distributing refunds at tax time. That is all they will be doing. Frankly, when there is a profit motive, I have more faith in private corporations than the government. There are plenty of examples of fraud and deception within the private sector.
The biggest issue regarding Social Security is that it was allowed to be raided, thanks to President Johnson’s War on Poverty. If left alone,it would be more than well-funded.
I agree that fraud will continue to be a concern, but that is not as big an issue as it is perceived, and can never be completely stopped. In addition, fraud will exist under any plan.
For nearly any middle class family paying even a portion of health insurance premiums, co-pays and deductibles, that savings will be more than the deductions they currently get on their taxes. Plus, they will not have to wait for tax time to access the money. The savings will be in each paycheck.
If they have not been paying due to no coverage, time to put some skin in the game.
If the business’s health care expenses decrease 20%, why could they not use aportion of that to provide raises? I do not understand your math. Here is my math: My employer spends `$15,000 annually for my health insurance. If they pay 80% as a tax, that leaves $3,000. They could still give me a $1,500 raise and net $1,500 each yaer. Assuming the costs of health insurance would increase each year, that number would, in theory increase. That $1,500 for me would be in addition to the $6,000 I would save in premiums. My deductions,mortgage interst, child credits, charitable contributions and student loan interest come to ~$6,500. That nets me ~$1,000 plus no deductibles or co-pays.
Self-insured employers would need to provide records regarding their health care costs. Good news for them,they will no longer have that additional administrative headasche and expense.
The concerns I have regarding your suggestion is that it does not address accessability for those who private companies would not accept and would need to go into a state pool with premiums that made the coverage nearly useless.
I like your idea for handling the illegalalien issue. Side note, more illegal aliens have been deported during President Obama’s administration than any other president before hm. Does he get credit for that?
Nobody has addressed overhauling Medicaid or Medicare to mitigate fraud. I wonder if there has ever been a cost-benefit analysis done to compare the costs to stop fraud and how much money is lost due to fraud.
I am under no dillusion that my plan would be perfect, or that it will go smoothly from the start. However, over the course of 5-7 years we would all begin to adjust and make appropriate adjustments and it will lead to longer, healthier lives and also spur economic growth by increasing demand for products and services.
I do not disagree with your last statement, but nobody has come up with one from either side. How much longer do we need to see American citizens suffer without healthcare or have to pay high premiums, co-pay and deductibles instead of putting that money into the economy?
Ron – thanks for your comments and response. A couple of rebuttals.
Having the govt collect the taxes/premiums is just adding another expense level to the equation.
Fraud is a big problem. It is a BILLION dollar industry and is committed by doctors, lawyers, hospitals and the public at large. I agree it will never be completely eradicated, but there are more steps that can be taken to reduce it that could impact insurance premiums.
Regarding the $1500 raise, I do not know what % that is for you, but it would be less than 3% for anyone making more than $50,000 a year. Additionally, your example of the tax impact might work for you, but others may be impacted greater or less than your situation.
Regarding the illegal alien issue, please note that Obama’s administration changed how they count deportations and are being deceptive about the actual numbers. They are now including the Border Patrol “catch and release/return” aliens, whereas, the other administrations did not. In fact, deportations as a whole are down because ICE is not tracking down people who have been here for a while. Read this report for an eye opener.
The bottomline is that the only way to potentially lower healthcare costs for everyone is by three ways. Lowering expenses, reducing losses and spreading the risk.
Lowering expenses might be able to be achieved by amending laws for competition and litigation.
Reducing losses is unlikely because of the our society and human nature. Those that want to get healthy will tak3e steps to be healthier and then there are those that don’t care.
Spreading the risk can be achieved by increased competition and more people paying into the system. The mandate is trying to accomplish that but is futile if subsidies are given. The money has to come from somewhere. (I am not saying that people will not or should not get assistance). If expenses can be lowered, it is possible premiums could come down to make coverage more affordable.
We will always have poor people in this world. Again, medicare could take care of them if administered properly, efficiently and without fraud.
I have nothing to add to this conversation, except to say I love being able to read your intelligent, thoughtful and non-insulting discussions on this topic right now! Thank you.
Remiums need to be collected by somebody, so you cannot avoid that expense.
Fraud existed under the old system, exists under the current system, and will exist under any other system. I agree that mitigating it is crititcal and would be part of Universal Healthcare as well.
The % is irrelevant. $1,500 more per year for most families may not be life altering, but it is far better than having lessmoney as health insurance premiums increase. Can we agree on that?
I can only use my example, but am confident most families are probably in a similar boat.
I agree with your assessmnet on how to lower healthcare costs. Problem is, we need to addressmore than just costs. Accessibility must also be considered. I beleive most people agree that someone having a pre-existing condition should not be a green light for health insurancecompanies todeny access or charge exhorbitant, prohibitive rates. How will you address that?
I am pro tort reform. I beleiev in caps on non-economic damages.Unfortunatley that would have a minimalimapct on premiums. I have seen studies that indicate medicalmalpractice premiums, awards in addition to premiums, and associated litigation costs, represent no more than 2% of health care costs. While it is something I would include in my plan, There is not a significant enough of an impact to think it would alter premiums noticeably.
If everyone is insured, how much more can you spread the risk?
What is your plan for increasing competition?
I beleive my plan would beneift 95% of the people directly in the short term and nearly everybody in the long term. The top 5% of income earners will be funding most of the premiums, but will ultimately benefit as the economy improves and demand increases for their products and services because people will have more disposable income, be healthier and happier, and bankruptcies go down.
What we had before was not working, which is why the country had an appetite for a change. And what we have now is probably worse for many people, even though many have benefitted.
You said,”We will always have poor people in this world. Again, medicare could take care of them if administered properly, efficiently and without fraud.” While I agree, how about we stop treating them differently and respect the fact that most poor people are busting their butts trying to make their and their children’s lives better.
Now you want to have faith in the government to run a program efficiently and without fraud? My plan would actually reduce the government’s involvement in health care administration by eliminating Medicaid and Medicare and putting everyone on the same plan, administered by private companies.
Much appreciation for the discussion
June 9, 2015 at 9:28 am
Dave says:
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Nice response integrity matters.
June 4, 2015 at 4:44 pm
Ellie says:
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Integrity Matters,
You are absolutely correct! Beautifully said.. We need to get you in charge of this, because you are the only one who is making sense of all this nonsense.
If we can start punishing the ones committing fraud, and I mean punish, not a slap on the wrist, then think of all the money that can be redirected back to its rightful places. The drug companies really need to be taxed..
I agree with you 100%. The estate (and all the income that was earned) has already been taxed while I was alive. There is no moral reason to tax it again.
Whether i want to give it to my kids or anybody else, it is mine to give away and not the govt’s to steal.
Estate taxes are far more moral than income taxes. Taxing income earned from labor disincentivizes and penalizes working for a living. Taxing estates disincentivizes hoarding and indolence. It’s bizarre that you would support penalizing work while at the same time encouraging hoarding and laziness.
If anything, income taxes should be reduced and offset by an expansion of the estate tax so that it affects more than just the top 0.2% of the country.
My children did not earn my money, I did. I’d be happy to pay an estate tax if it meant that I could keep more of my paycheck every year. They didn’t earn the money I’d be leaving them, so I’d have no problem with the government taking a cut and leaving the rest for them. I want my kids to be responsible and earn what they have, not wait for me to die so they can collect a free handout and not have to work.
Want to reduce medical costs by 80% and keep them down? It’s simple, just apply Federal Anti-trust law to the medical industry. Both the Republican and Democratic gangs get massive campaign contributions/bribes to make sure the law is not applied. All prices for medical procedures and services should be listed on the internet, so that price competition occurs instead of the price fixing that has been going on for years. All other schemes will continue to fail, unless the medical monopoly is broken up.
I could not agree more, V. There’s something very wrong with how the medical industry deals with prices when (for example) hospital #1 can charge $10,000 for an operation and hospital 2, twenty miles away, charges $500,000 for the same operation, but both will settle with the insurance carriers for $2,000 yet won’t negotiate the charges if they’re being paid by individuals instead.
Wrong Rosenblatt, Hospitals do negotiate with individuals for a lot less than the original bill. The now flooded Emergency Rooms are often filled with people who can’t pay anything or the new Obamacare patients who can’t afford the deductible or high out of pocket expense. They are also put on a pay plan.
Ron, thank you for living up to your reputation as the biggest Socialist on this blog. Perhaps you should consult with your doctor about getting a frontal lobotomy.
You said, “Ron, thank you for living up to your reputation as the biggest Socialist on this blog.” I guess that means there are absolutely zero Socialists on this blog. Good news, because Socialism does not work!
June 5, 2015 at 10:13 am
Agent says:
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Ron, there are several Progressive Socialists on this blog, but none hold a candle to you.
It is interesting that you admit that Socialism does not work. It actually has not worked in any country it has been tried in. If you admit it doesn’t work, why try to promote Universal Healthcare or admit that Obamacare was a Socialist experiment that has completely failed the American people? Why did you vote for the biggest Socialist President in history? You are contradicting yourself. Feel better now?
You are these Socialists? Be sure to provide evidence, citing the definition of Socialism to support your case.
Having Universal Healthcare does not make the entire country Socialist. In fact, my plan would not even be Socialist since the governemnt would not control the distribution of care.
We already have some Socialist programs, with themilitary being the largest. Doyou consider our military, and all of its history, a failure?
June 5, 2015 at 12:33 pm
Agent says:
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Ron, you really need to be psychoanalyzed. You were hoodwinked into believing all the leftist dogma promoted by Obama and all his minions about redistribution of wealth, taxing the rich more, spending enormous sums on social programs that are wasteful and ineffective, increasing entitlements galore, reducing the military, all pet projects of Socialists. That is why you are one.
Did you see the backand forth between intergrity matters and me? THAT is how you have a civil debate. Address the content, no name calling or disrespectful language, and support your position. Try it sometime.
more unanswered questions:
1. You are these Socialists?
2. Do you consider our military, and all of its history, a failure?
We are currently spending more on the military than the next 7 countries COMBINED. At what point is it enough?
I have advocated for reductions in social programs.
June 5, 2015 at 2:30 pm
bob says:
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Your usual crime:
False equivalency. You make the parameters, then suddenly all bad government control is good, as long as it isn’t socialist and something else is comparable.
You know what Agent means when he mentions a socialist nation.
Obama is mirroring Putin. Anyone could see that.
Putin is backing Russian rebels in Ukraine.
Obama is already making it clear there should be a Palestinian state. Regardless of the fact that you as a (supposed) religious person should look into and be concerned about that, it is absolutely the same as Putin. Putin has the same green movements, the same arguments for government control, the same paranoid public who supports him because anyone else would naturally be worse, the same attacks against corporations, and oil (Putin destroyed and took over the biggest oil corp in Russia) etc etc.
How is this related? It is a bunch of government control that started in the guise of not being “true socialism” and therefore not bad.
If you as a government decide to control a system of the economy, it is more or less socialism, or an attempt of it.
If you attempt to drive minimum wages it is more or less socialism. Social-ism is more than just what it’s definition is politically. Society makes a law against the business for society’s (supposed) benefit. I call that socialism. And just because a multitude of programs meet that definition, it does not make them all equal.
Your example of the military for example is a horrible example.
So everything is equal to the military because it is funded by the government. Got it.
June 5, 2015 at 3:03 pm
Confused - so stop confusing me bob!!! says:
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“Social-ism is more than just what it’s definition is politically.”
a) the word is Socialism
b) the word you wanted was “its”, not the contraction “it’s”
b) You can not possibly be typing your reply with a straight face, are you?
You negatively say Ron should not make his own parameters when talking to Agent, yet that’s EXACTLY what you did when you basically said “Socialism is not defined by its official definition, it means whatever I say it means.”
You talk about the need to discuss things fairly, and then turn into a hypocrite in the same post.
You are not discussing things fairly when you tell people not to make their own parameters yet in the same post you get to change the definition of a word to fit your parameters.
This is exactly why you and Aghent are complete failures in debates.
You cannot just re-define words.
How is the military not Socialist, based on the true, accepted definition of Socialism?
Minimum wage has been around for decades.
In addition, you both debate on emotion, not analytics. Everytime I request either of you to quantify someting you both provide anecdotal evidence, right-wing talking points, unjustifed fear, and insults.
Have you ever read the Preamble tothe Constitution? Well, here it is; “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Even the great Founding Fathers knew Welfare was important and it is the government’s job to promote it? If the 2nd Amendment is not to be messed with, neither is the Preamble.
June 4, 2015 at 2:06 pm
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I wrote “for example” there for a reason, Agent – I was not saying the scenario I wrote is how it plays out in 100% of the medical industry. For what it’s worth, I agree **SOME** hospitals negotiate with individuals, but I know for a fact that not **EVERY** hospital will.
So Rosenblatt, are hospitals refusing to treat people that cannot pay up front or have a high deductible plan and can’t pay those up front costs? Are they garnishing wages or suing people for their payment? What about the lazy entitlement people getting all their benefits? Are they going after those benefits to be paid? I hardly think so. The publicity would be very bad for business.
June 4, 2015 at 3:10 pm
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Agent – Yes. Hospitals are not taking reductions and they are suing people for payment. My own personal experience when I called on a charge that my insurance wouldn’t cover, I was advised that they no longer negiotate with patients because you are required to have insurance. They won’t take any reductions. It left me very frustrated because if my insurance would have paid, they would have received a third of the bill and instead I paid the whole thing, feeling like an idiot the whole time.
June 4, 2015 at 3:17 pm
Agent says:
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DW, you may be the exception to the rule. I know of several cases where the hospital does negotiate with patients and offer pay out arrangements on reduced charges. There is a saying that you can’t get blood out of a turnip. They prefer to get something instead of nothing. If some hospitals prefer to sue instead of negotiate and it is made public on local television, there would be a lot of picketing of hospitals on their unfair practices.
June 4, 2015 at 4:54 pm
Rosenblatt says:
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Agent – you seem to be missing the point – I was merely agreeing with V that the system is messed up due to various fees charged for similar services, and a hospital’s willingness or lack thereof to negotiate charges on a non-insurance invoice. Inconsistencies everywhere.
Unfortunately, I’ve had both experiences at the same hospital – one vision expense not covered by insurance that I was able to negotiate down, and one other test not covered by insurance that the hospital refused to negotiate. I talked to the same person both times, raised the same concerns and got different results. More inconsistencies.
There’s no way you can sit there and say you know which happens more: hospitals negotiating with patients or not. There is no consistency, and that is one of the problems.
Are hospitals refusing to treat people that cannot pay up front or have a high deductible plan and can’t pay those up front costs?
I’m talking about negotiating bills for services rendered. That comes after treatment is provided. They’ll treat you no matter what, but they’ll bill the hell out of you if they can.
Are they garnishing wages or suing people for their payment? YES. 100% YES. You may hardly think that’s true, but you would be wrong.
June 4, 2015 at 6:00 pm
Agent says:
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Rosenblatt, no sense in arguing about hospitals and what they do. Apparently, there is a big difference in how they deal with patients around the country. As you said, lot’s of inconsistencies. Perhaps your hospital has a lawyer on retainer to sue people who cannot pay their bills.
June 5, 2015 at 8:47 am
KY jw says:
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Actually, Agent, hospitals can and do send outstanding balances to collections. (I actually know this one because I was a billing manager for a hospital)
June 8, 2015 at 3:58 pm
Agent says:
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Ron, you are the complete failure in debates because you are taking the Socialist position in all debates, no matter what it is. Providing for the General Welfare to our founding fathers did not mean putting the nation on entitlements, giving them welfare, healthcare, free phone, free rent, disability. The main function of the federal government was to provide for the common defense and not much else. The founding fathers were afraid of big government and that is why they provided for limited government, checks and balances between Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. However, your two time vote for Obama has revealed that you agree with him. He is now trying to tell the Supreme Court how to rule on the subsidy issue on Obamacare. A Progressive always tries to intimidate, coerce to get their way. By the way, we have a Constitutional Republic, not a Democracy as some Democrats like Hillary like to say.
Taking a stand does not make someone a failure in a debate, failing to support your position with actual facts does.
Then, please tell the class, what did the Founding Fathers mean? You should know, you were probably there.
You said, “The main function of the federal government was to provide for the common defense and not much else.” Then why did they not state that?
I do not always agree with President Obama and you have yet to prove he is a Socialist. Do you agree with EVERYTHING every president for whom you voted said and did? If yes,I can prove that you are just as Socialist as I am.
You said, “A Progressive always tries to intimidate, coerce to get their way.” And a Conservative just sits around, does nothing but complain, and avoids accountability.
June 5, 2015 at 10:17 am
Agent says:
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KY, since you were a billing manager, did you arrange pay plans for people to pay out their balances or did you just sue for the entire amount? I would think those collections would be difficult for poor people and the rate of collection would be minimal.
KY, you can’t get blood out of a turnip. If collection agencies are better equipped to collect past due amounts, I would bet they even work out pay plans for people that cannot pay entire amounts.
June 8, 2015 at 5:51 pm
Agent says:
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So Ron, you are wanting some actual facts about your President and his shortcomings and confirmation that he is a Socialist. It is pretty hard to get them all in a blog post since there are so many. Following are firsts for a President.
1. First to be photographed smoking a joint.
2. First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner.
3. First President to have a Social Security number from a state he never resided in.
4. First President to preside over a cut to the credit rating of the United States.
5. First President to violate the War Powers Act.
6. First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
7. First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third party.
8. First President to spend a trillion dollars on a Stimulous that did not create “shovel ready jobs”.
9. First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of companies to his union supporters.
10. First President to bypass Congress and implement the Dream Act through Executive fiat.
11. First President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped the deportation of illegal immigrants across the US, including those with criminal convictions.
12. First President to tell a CEO of a major corporation (GM& Chrysler) to resign.
13. First President to terminate America’s ability to put a man in space.
14. First President to cancel the National Day of Prayer and to say that America is no longer a Christian nation.
15. First President to have a law signed by an auto pen without being present.
16. First President to arbitrarily declare an existing law unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it.
17. First President to threaten insurance companies if they publicly spoke out on the reasons for their rate increases.
18. First President to file lawsuits against the states he swore and oath to protect.
19. First President to actively try to bankrupt an American Industry (coal).
20. First President to appoint 45 Czars to replace elected officials in his office.
You are trying to write a list of all the ways Obama is a Socialist and you lead off with “he was photographed smoking a joint.”
Are you daft? I stopped reading after that. How is having a picture of someone smoking a joint make that person a Socialist?
SOCIAL maybe, but SOCIALIST? Hardly.
By your logic, Bob Marley is a socialist. As is Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Janis Joplin, everyone from The Beatles and this list could never end….see how absurd your statement is?
Care to explain how you think having a picture of someone smoking weed automatically makes them a Socialist?
All this does is support my position that you have no idea what is Socialism.
Not one of these things have lead or will lead to government control of the means of production and distribution of any industry, let alone all industries.
Second installment on your President Ron and how bad he has been and is.
21. First President to surround himself with left wing anarchists. See next post for list of them.
22. First President to hide his birth, medical, educational and travel records.
23. First President to win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing nothing to earn it.
24. First President to go on multiple “global apology tours” and concurrent “insult our friends” tours.
25. First President to have personal servants (taxpayer funded) for his wife.
26. First President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000 a year at taxpayer expense.
27. First President to fly in a personal trainer from Chicago at least once a week at taxpayer expense.
28. First President to fly in Butch Harmon from Las Vegas to Florida at taxpayer expense for private golf lessons.
29. First President to quote the Quran and say the most beautiful sound he has ever heard was the Islamic call to worship.
30. First President to side with a foreign country over one of the 50 states (Mexico vs Arizona)
31. First President to tell Military men and women that they should pay for their own private insurance because they volunteered to go to war and knew the consequences.
32.First President to tell the members of the military that they were unpatriotic for balking at the last suggestion. Stay tuned Ron. I will have more to say about your Socialist President and his appointments and friends.
If I were to concede that President Obama is an incompetent, inexperienced, unqualified leader who associates with undesirables, will you concede that those things do not equate to being a Socialist?
It is time for you to concede that President Obama is not a Socialist and move on.
June 9, 2015 at 11:36 am
Agent says:
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Hey Ron, when you were researching, evaluating candidates to vote for, do you remember Obama saying that we would know him by the company he keeps and who he associates with? Below is a partial list of friends, acquaintenances, appointments which pretty much closes the door on your assertion he is not a Socialist.
1. Bill Ayers
2. Rev Jerimiah Wright – GD America
3. Cass Sunstein – Regulatory Czar
4. Todd Stern – Climate Czar
5. Science Czar – John Holdren
6. Chief Diversity Officer, Federal Communication Commission – Mark Lloyd
7. Attorney General – Eric Holder
8. Deputy Attorney General – David Ogden
9. Solicitor General – Elena Kagan – Now on Supreme Court
10.Assistant Attorney General for Office of Legal Counsel – Dawn Johnson
11. Secretary, Department of Education – Arne Duncan
12. Assistant Deputy Secretary, Dept of Education – Kevin Jennings
13. United States Ambassador to United Nations – Susan Rice – now National Security Advisor to White House. We know all about Susan.
14.Counsel, State Dept – Harold Koh
15. National Security Counsel – Samantha Power
16. Advisor, Under-Secretary of Defense for Policy – Rosa Brooks
17. White House Staff – Senior advisor – Valerie Jarrett- the queen bee of all things bad coming out of the White House.
18. Director of White House office for Energy & Climate Change – Carol Browner
19. General Counsel, Policy advisor – Preeta Bansal, a lunatic of the highest order
20. Director of Intergovernmental Affairs – Cecilia Munoz – Open borders advocate
21. Director, Domestic Policy Council – Another far left wacko.
I could go on and on. This list is a “Who’s Who” for the far left who are shaping policy in this country. If anyone doubts, I invite them to google any of these individuals and see what they advocate. Your eyes will pop out with the truth.
Ron asked you to provide examples of Obama being a Socialist. None of these affiliations nor any of your other 32 points come close to proviing that Obama is a Socialist (I may give you #7 for arguments sake).
I did not vote for Obama, and I am not defending him, but I fail to see anything in your very long posts that touches on what Ron was asking you to provide: some proof that supports your belief that Obama is a Socialist.
Rosenblatt, I didn’t think you would be so hard headed on this issue. Ron will never be convinced no matter how much evidence is presented. Do you subscribe to the opinion that the far left in this country and particularly all Obama’s minions are not died in the wool Socialists? If they are not, what are they, Communists? Google some of these people please and read what they stand for. How could a President nominate, appoint such a group of individuals like these if they didn’t share his Socialist beliefs?
Rosenblatt, how about shifting your focus and recognize that radical Progressive Socialists running this government currently defines the President’s agenda and his political beliefs?
If you are trying to convince me that President Obama has been a mediocre president at best, has made mistakes, and associates with less than desirable people, you have succeeded. If you are trying to convince me that President Obama is a Socialist, you have failed.
Hey Ron, your favorite Socialist economist, Paul Krugman is at it again. As reported by Town Hall, the title of the article is – How much does Paul Krugman want to tax Lebron James? He agreed with two other leftists who advocates taxing the highest 1% at a rate of 85% -90% marginal rate. He commented that what you want to do is soak the rich as much as possible… so the top tax rates should be whatever collects the most revenue, and now the question is, how high is that? Lebron makes $22 million per year. At 90%, that is almost $20 million confiscated by the Federal Government. I don’t think they will be best friends with LeBron anytime soon.
This is the problem.I cited ONE article he wrote and that makes him my favorite economist?
I totally disagree with his idea. Does that make you happy?
The only tax increase I would propose on the top 5% would be to pay for health insurance for all citizens. Where do you think the top 5% get all of their wealth? Each other? It is time to give back a little, maybe an additional 10% on income over $1 million, to benefit all of society. If they do not like it, they can move to another country or reduce their income. Simple.
June 10, 2015 at 2:20 pm
Agent says:
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Ron, how about you move to Canada so you can enjoy all their benefits? After all, it is not far from Buffalo. By the way, redistribution of wealth is one of the biggest Socialist schemes around and you claim not to be a Socialist. What a joke!
Obviously, I didn’t make an impression on you Rosenblatt or you would have checked further into the Socialist Administration of Obama. I didn’t expect to make any headway with Ron. Obama could stop by his office and tell him he was a Socialist and advocated every Socialist idea known to man and Ron would look at him and say – I don’t believe that. You are a great guy, look after the country and that is why I voted for you twice. Obama would look at him and say, thank you low information voter. I really put it over on you, didn’t I?
I will move to Somalia after you move to Iraq Ron. Soon, you can live under ISIS who is about to take over and you know what they do to Americans over there. By the way, give Obama another year to study about how to fight and he may have the entire Middle East under the terrorists rule.
What the hell are you talking about? I suggested you stop beating a dead horse by continuing to talk to Ron about Obama The Socialist or Ron The Socialist. You didn’t put anything over on me.
Rosenblatt, do me a favor and Google Carol Browner if you want some evidence of Socialists in this administration and carrying out orders from on high.
If you like your rate level, you can keep your rate level.
This is really starting to melt down now. I fear what I’ll be paying for healthcare in 5-10yrs.
SW, from what I saw yesterday, depending on the area, rates could be 26-30% higher. A law passed on a partisan basis, lies, deceit with all the Progressive mandates is surely into its death spiral as we all predicted 5 years ago.
I fear about the solvency of the Federal Government in 5-10 years.
The average family is sure to save $2,500 per year, right? Let the subsidies go by the wayside and see what happens. Also, if the carriers get into trouble and can’t pay all those claims from the chronically sick, they will have to be bailed out as they were promised.
Un-Affordable Care Act – Part II. Fasten your seatbelt, folks, it’s going to get even bumpier as time goes on, as predicted.
Yep, we told you so!
This is hard to believe! Who would have thought that when you aren’t allowed to underwrite the cost for the risk you are insuring, that the government’s guestimate would be this far off?
Just adding to OBamas legacy that already includes Lies Deception Deceit. Why not add on large increase in Health Care???
Of Course, what do you expect from an IL Politician (see Dennis Hastart, the latest IL crook).
Tomorrow…. I am out of IL for good…..
So FFA, are you set up in Wisconsin for your business & home? I wish you all the best and success there. You were smart to get out of Illinois. It shows little promise since Rauner won’t be able to get much done to help.
By the way, I saw where the Obama Library is supposed to be built on the south side of Chicago. Are you going to be a visitor after it is completed? From news reports I see, the murders continue and between Chicago and Baltimore, it is almost anarchy. The good news is that the Cubs seem to be playing better this year and are at least competitive.
I am wondering what will go in the Obama library? Archie comic books?
The Destruction of America…How to lie and get away with it…If you believe your own lies, others will, too!…How to divide a country in less than 8 years…The teleprompter is your friend…How to avoid being caught in a scandal (I didn’t know about this until I saw it on the news) – Part 1 and How to avoid being caught in a scandal (throwing others under the bus) – Part 2
Those same “books” could be found in George HW Bush’s library, or Clinton’s, or Nixon’s. Those topics are not solely attributable to Obama’s terms in office.
Jack, I am sure it will contain the complete works of Cloward & Pivin and Bill Ayers, anything written by any Socialist author of the past century, anything written by Progressive Socialists of the past including Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, LBJ, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer etc.
Congrats, FFA!
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Could Obama have screwed this up any more if he tried? Or perhaps that was his intent. On the way to a single payer system where EVERYBODY is dependent on the government for yet another entitlement.
Dave, in March, Obama said his signature legislation had exceeded his wildest dreams. What was he dreaming of, the demise of the United States of America?
And Obama said “If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums. That will be less.”
But what could go wrong?
This plan is designed on the DoD purchasing model – cost + 15%, and no controls on the cost.
To add to cost – the plan is by design creating provider monopolies – now called ACO’s, because of mergers of hospitals and Dr’s selling practices and going to work for hospitals.
It’s working exactly as any person who understood economics would say it would
“On the other hand, individuals can switch plans, limiting the effects of the increases as long as cheaper options are available.”
and you are willing to
change PCP doctors,
change specialists,
change your obgyn,
change hospitals,
get new step therapy,
get new diagnosis for exiting meds
and are not in mid treatment – or are willing to stop in mid treatment
In short – start over on health care
clearly this publicity release statement was not written by someone who uses health care
Pretty Simple Self Insure Now! Grab a hold of your program and Self Fund it. Stop listening to brokers who keep telling you, “well the market says 10% increase so consider yourself lucky.” then the same story repeats itself year after year. SELF INSURE NOW OR BE SCREWED BY COMMUNITY RATING!!!!!!!!!!! Wake up Brokers
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Except, the insurers are requesting higher rates because they’re losing money. If the DOI doesn’t approve their rate increase, those insurers have no incentive to continue offering their products.
Unfortunately, KY, forcing the private insurers to discontinue offering their products is the ultimate goal of Obama and liberal socialists. That way they can say that the private market “dried up” and the gov’t “has” to be the backstop. This will usher in the single payer system.
Ignorant liberals like Comrade think we are trying to predict the future when, in fact, we are simply using common sense. We can see through the thinly veiled attempts by the left to socialize this great country. It is so sad that so many are too blind and are too gullible to believe the BS that the liberal (state run) media feeds them.
It never ceases to amaze me how the right can make every comment a political one while insulting half of the country at the same time.
Integrity, back in the Libby days, she often criticized Conservatives for not liking this monstrocity and said- the law hadn’t even kicked in and we objected to it. Our criticism was well founded and has been true every step of the way. The lies have painted the liberals into a corner and they are as mad as hornets that their Progressive Dream didn’t pan out. What really ticks me off is that it is just another reason why we need Universal Healthcare administered by our lovely Federal Government who has yet to get anything right and is famous for wasting our tax dollars, getting their website hacked, IRS hacked and the liberals still say it should be a government solution. NOT!
It never ceases to amaze me how foolish and ignorant the Obama sheep are.
Go back to sleep, Comrade, we are not a socialist country yet.
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Ron,
I appreciate your suggestion. Unfortunately, there are a lot of details that impact the potential success of your plan.
First, why is it necessary for the gov’t to collect and distribute premiums? They are totally inefficient compared to the private sector and have been known to misappropriate the funds provided to them. This has been the downfall of Social Security and Medicare. one of the primary reasons for the enormous debt the govt has is because they keep borrowing from themselves and never pay it back. The same thing is going to happen with a universal healthcare system administered by the govt.
Second, removing the deductions for the middle class is reducing their disposable income and may or may not be offset by getting raises. Not all businesses can afford to give raises. Also, the math won’t work for most employers. For example, if an employer is paying $100K for the healthcare costs, they would only realize a $20K savings if they are taxed at 80% of that cost. $20K would provide a 3% increase on a salary base of $667,000. If an employer is paying a $100K for health insurance, their salary base is going to be a lot higher than $667K. Also, what about employers who are self insured? Would the deduction apply every year? If so, based on what healthcare cost?
My suggestion – Go back to the previous system and amend laws that (1) increase competition, (2) reduce the potential for litigation and (3) mitigates fraud. Additionally, we would need to reduce the amount of healtcare provided to illegal aliens by deporting them AND start sending the healthcare bills to their country of origin. If the bills are not paid, we reduce the amount of aid that we provide those countries by those amounts.
The govt backstop for those that cannot afford health insurance (aka..medicare) must be overhauled to mitigate fraud, waste and the pilfering of the taxes that are intended for this program.
If there are not enough funds after exhausting all measures, tax levies against the profits of healthcare (including drug companies)and healthcare insurance providers would be necessary.
I am sure there are additional steps that can be taken before increasing taxes on individuals and the business community at large.
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Ron – thanks for your comments and response. A couple of rebuttals.
Having the govt collect the taxes/premiums is just adding another expense level to the equation.
Fraud is a big problem. It is a BILLION dollar industry and is committed by doctors, lawyers, hospitals and the public at large. I agree it will never be completely eradicated, but there are more steps that can be taken to reduce it that could impact insurance premiums.
Regarding the $1500 raise, I do not know what % that is for you, but it would be less than 3% for anyone making more than $50,000 a year. Additionally, your example of the tax impact might work for you, but others may be impacted greater or less than your situation.
Regarding the illegal alien issue, please note that Obama’s administration changed how they count deportations and are being deceptive about the actual numbers. They are now including the Border Patrol “catch and release/return” aliens, whereas, the other administrations did not. In fact, deportations as a whole are down because ICE is not tracking down people who have been here for a while. Read this report for an eye opener.
http://www.cis.org/ICE-Illegal-Immigrant-Deportations
The bottomline is that the only way to potentially lower healthcare costs for everyone is by three ways. Lowering expenses, reducing losses and spreading the risk.
Lowering expenses might be able to be achieved by amending laws for competition and litigation.
Reducing losses is unlikely because of the our society and human nature. Those that want to get healthy will tak3e steps to be healthier and then there are those that don’t care.
Spreading the risk can be achieved by increased competition and more people paying into the system. The mandate is trying to accomplish that but is futile if subsidies are given. The money has to come from somewhere. (I am not saying that people will not or should not get assistance). If expenses can be lowered, it is possible premiums could come down to make coverage more affordable.
We will always have poor people in this world. Again, medicare could take care of them if administered properly, efficiently and without fraud.
Thanks for the civil conversation.
I have nothing to add to this conversation, except to say I love being able to read your intelligent, thoughtful and non-insulting discussions on this topic right now! Thank you.
Thanks Rosenblatt.
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Nice response integrity matters.
Integrity Matters,
You are absolutely correct! Beautifully said.. We need to get you in charge of this, because you are the only one who is making sense of all this nonsense.
If we can start punishing the ones committing fraud, and I mean punish, not a slap on the wrist, then think of all the money that can be redirected back to its rightful places. The drug companies really need to be taxed..
Estate taxes are immoral, period. You don’t tax someone’s owned items.
If you want to tax income, fine, but you cannot just steal what a parent owned and state they can’t give it to their kids.
My kids are getting 100% of my passed on estate, and I hold the same standard. Even Bill Gates. No one should touch that.
He gets to decide what to do with his owned belongings. Period.
Get your hands off of things you don’t own Ron.
Moving off of that, the most generous estimates brought in from that are extremely minimal and would not pay for what you are looking for.
Bob
I agree with you 100%. The estate (and all the income that was earned) has already been taxed while I was alive. There is no moral reason to tax it again.
Whether i want to give it to my kids or anybody else, it is mine to give away and not the govt’s to steal.
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Want to reduce medical costs by 80% and keep them down? It’s simple, just apply Federal Anti-trust law to the medical industry. Both the Republican and Democratic gangs get massive campaign contributions/bribes to make sure the law is not applied. All prices for medical procedures and services should be listed on the internet, so that price competition occurs instead of the price fixing that has been going on for years. All other schemes will continue to fail, unless the medical monopoly is broken up.
I could not agree more, V. There’s something very wrong with how the medical industry deals with prices when (for example) hospital #1 can charge $10,000 for an operation and hospital 2, twenty miles away, charges $500,000 for the same operation, but both will settle with the insurance carriers for $2,000 yet won’t negotiate the charges if they’re being paid by individuals instead.
Wrong Rosenblatt, Hospitals do negotiate with individuals for a lot less than the original bill. The now flooded Emergency Rooms are often filled with people who can’t pay anything or the new Obamacare patients who can’t afford the deductible or high out of pocket expense. They are also put on a pay plan.
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Ron, thank you for living up to your reputation as the biggest Socialist on this blog. Perhaps you should consult with your doctor about getting a frontal lobotomy.
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Ron, there are several Progressive Socialists on this blog, but none hold a candle to you.
It is interesting that you admit that Socialism does not work. It actually has not worked in any country it has been tried in. If you admit it doesn’t work, why try to promote Universal Healthcare or admit that Obamacare was a Socialist experiment that has completely failed the American people? Why did you vote for the biggest Socialist President in history? You are contradicting yourself. Feel better now?
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Ron, you really need to be psychoanalyzed. You were hoodwinked into believing all the leftist dogma promoted by Obama and all his minions about redistribution of wealth, taxing the rich more, spending enormous sums on social programs that are wasteful and ineffective, increasing entitlements galore, reducing the military, all pet projects of Socialists. That is why you are one.
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Your usual crime:
False equivalency. You make the parameters, then suddenly all bad government control is good, as long as it isn’t socialist and something else is comparable.
You know what Agent means when he mentions a socialist nation.
Obama is mirroring Putin. Anyone could see that.
Putin is backing Russian rebels in Ukraine.
Obama is already making it clear there should be a Palestinian state. Regardless of the fact that you as a (supposed) religious person should look into and be concerned about that, it is absolutely the same as Putin. Putin has the same green movements, the same arguments for government control, the same paranoid public who supports him because anyone else would naturally be worse, the same attacks against corporations, and oil (Putin destroyed and took over the biggest oil corp in Russia) etc etc.
How is this related? It is a bunch of government control that started in the guise of not being “true socialism” and therefore not bad.
If you as a government decide to control a system of the economy, it is more or less socialism, or an attempt of it.
If you attempt to drive minimum wages it is more or less socialism. Social-ism is more than just what it’s definition is politically. Society makes a law against the business for society’s (supposed) benefit. I call that socialism. And just because a multitude of programs meet that definition, it does not make them all equal.
Your example of the military for example is a horrible example.
So everything is equal to the military because it is funded by the government. Got it.
“Social-ism is more than just what it’s definition is politically.”
a) the word is Socialism
b) the word you wanted was “its”, not the contraction “it’s”
b) You can not possibly be typing your reply with a straight face, are you?
You negatively say Ron should not make his own parameters when talking to Agent, yet that’s EXACTLY what you did when you basically said “Socialism is not defined by its official definition, it means whatever I say it means.”
You talk about the need to discuss things fairly, and then turn into a hypocrite in the same post.
You are not discussing things fairly when you tell people not to make their own parameters yet in the same post you get to change the definition of a word to fit your parameters.
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I wrote “for example” there for a reason, Agent – I was not saying the scenario I wrote is how it plays out in 100% of the medical industry. For what it’s worth, I agree **SOME** hospitals negotiate with individuals, but I know for a fact that not **EVERY** hospital will.
So Rosenblatt, are hospitals refusing to treat people that cannot pay up front or have a high deductible plan and can’t pay those up front costs? Are they garnishing wages or suing people for their payment? What about the lazy entitlement people getting all their benefits? Are they going after those benefits to be paid? I hardly think so. The publicity would be very bad for business.
Agent – Yes. Hospitals are not taking reductions and they are suing people for payment. My own personal experience when I called on a charge that my insurance wouldn’t cover, I was advised that they no longer negiotate with patients because you are required to have insurance. They won’t take any reductions. It left me very frustrated because if my insurance would have paid, they would have received a third of the bill and instead I paid the whole thing, feeling like an idiot the whole time.
DW, you may be the exception to the rule. I know of several cases where the hospital does negotiate with patients and offer pay out arrangements on reduced charges. There is a saying that you can’t get blood out of a turnip. They prefer to get something instead of nothing. If some hospitals prefer to sue instead of negotiate and it is made public on local television, there would be a lot of picketing of hospitals on their unfair practices.
Agent – you seem to be missing the point – I was merely agreeing with V that the system is messed up due to various fees charged for similar services, and a hospital’s willingness or lack thereof to negotiate charges on a non-insurance invoice. Inconsistencies everywhere.
Unfortunately, I’ve had both experiences at the same hospital – one vision expense not covered by insurance that I was able to negotiate down, and one other test not covered by insurance that the hospital refused to negotiate. I talked to the same person both times, raised the same concerns and got different results. More inconsistencies.
There’s no way you can sit there and say you know which happens more: hospitals negotiating with patients or not. There is no consistency, and that is one of the problems.
Are hospitals refusing to treat people that cannot pay up front or have a high deductible plan and can’t pay those up front costs?
I’m talking about negotiating bills for services rendered. That comes after treatment is provided. They’ll treat you no matter what, but they’ll bill the hell out of you if they can.
Are they garnishing wages or suing people for their payment? YES. 100% YES. You may hardly think that’s true, but you would be wrong.
Rosenblatt, no sense in arguing about hospitals and what they do. Apparently, there is a big difference in how they deal with patients around the country. As you said, lot’s of inconsistencies. Perhaps your hospital has a lawyer on retainer to sue people who cannot pay their bills.
Actually, Agent, hospitals can and do send outstanding balances to collections. (I actually know this one because I was a billing manager for a hospital)
Ron, you are the complete failure in debates because you are taking the Socialist position in all debates, no matter what it is. Providing for the General Welfare to our founding fathers did not mean putting the nation on entitlements, giving them welfare, healthcare, free phone, free rent, disability. The main function of the federal government was to provide for the common defense and not much else. The founding fathers were afraid of big government and that is why they provided for limited government, checks and balances between Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. However, your two time vote for Obama has revealed that you agree with him. He is now trying to tell the Supreme Court how to rule on the subsidy issue on Obamacare. A Progressive always tries to intimidate, coerce to get their way. By the way, we have a Constitutional Republic, not a Democracy as some Democrats like Hillary like to say.
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KY, since you were a billing manager, did you arrange pay plans for people to pay out their balances or did you just sue for the entire amount? I would think those collections would be difficult for poor people and the rate of collection would be minimal.
Yes, payment plans were available.
Thank you KY. I believe that is a more reasonable alternative than suing people that cannot pay entire amounts for treatment.
We still sent many people to collection agencies. The theory was agencies were better equipped/trained to collect past due payments.
KY, you can’t get blood out of a turnip. If collection agencies are better equipped to collect past due amounts, I would bet they even work out pay plans for people that cannot pay entire amounts.
So Ron, you are wanting some actual facts about your President and his shortcomings and confirmation that he is a Socialist. It is pretty hard to get them all in a blog post since there are so many. Following are firsts for a President.
1. First to be photographed smoking a joint.
2. First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner.
3. First President to have a Social Security number from a state he never resided in.
4. First President to preside over a cut to the credit rating of the United States.
5. First President to violate the War Powers Act.
6. First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
7. First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third party.
8. First President to spend a trillion dollars on a Stimulous that did not create “shovel ready jobs”.
9. First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of companies to his union supporters.
10. First President to bypass Congress and implement the Dream Act through Executive fiat.
11. First President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped the deportation of illegal immigrants across the US, including those with criminal convictions.
12. First President to tell a CEO of a major corporation (GM& Chrysler) to resign.
13. First President to terminate America’s ability to put a man in space.
14. First President to cancel the National Day of Prayer and to say that America is no longer a Christian nation.
15. First President to have a law signed by an auto pen without being present.
16. First President to arbitrarily declare an existing law unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it.
17. First President to threaten insurance companies if they publicly spoke out on the reasons for their rate increases.
18. First President to file lawsuits against the states he swore and oath to protect.
19. First President to actively try to bankrupt an American Industry (coal).
20. First President to appoint 45 Czars to replace elected officials in his office.
I am just getting warmed up. Do you need more?
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Second installment on your President Ron and how bad he has been and is.
21. First President to surround himself with left wing anarchists. See next post for list of them.
22. First President to hide his birth, medical, educational and travel records.
23. First President to win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing nothing to earn it.
24. First President to go on multiple “global apology tours” and concurrent “insult our friends” tours.
25. First President to have personal servants (taxpayer funded) for his wife.
26. First President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000 a year at taxpayer expense.
27. First President to fly in a personal trainer from Chicago at least once a week at taxpayer expense.
28. First President to fly in Butch Harmon from Las Vegas to Florida at taxpayer expense for private golf lessons.
29. First President to quote the Quran and say the most beautiful sound he has ever heard was the Islamic call to worship.
30. First President to side with a foreign country over one of the 50 states (Mexico vs Arizona)
31. First President to tell Military men and women that they should pay for their own private insurance because they volunteered to go to war and knew the consequences.
32.First President to tell the members of the military that they were unpatriotic for balking at the last suggestion. Stay tuned Ron. I will have more to say about your Socialist President and his appointments and friends.
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Hey Ron, when you were researching, evaluating candidates to vote for, do you remember Obama saying that we would know him by the company he keeps and who he associates with? Below is a partial list of friends, acquaintenances, appointments which pretty much closes the door on your assertion he is not a Socialist.
1. Bill Ayers
2. Rev Jerimiah Wright – GD America
3. Cass Sunstein – Regulatory Czar
4. Todd Stern – Climate Czar
5. Science Czar – John Holdren
6. Chief Diversity Officer, Federal Communication Commission – Mark Lloyd
7. Attorney General – Eric Holder
8. Deputy Attorney General – David Ogden
9. Solicitor General – Elena Kagan – Now on Supreme Court
10.Assistant Attorney General for Office of Legal Counsel – Dawn Johnson
11. Secretary, Department of Education – Arne Duncan
12. Assistant Deputy Secretary, Dept of Education – Kevin Jennings
13. United States Ambassador to United Nations – Susan Rice – now National Security Advisor to White House. We know all about Susan.
14.Counsel, State Dept – Harold Koh
15. National Security Counsel – Samantha Power
16. Advisor, Under-Secretary of Defense for Policy – Rosa Brooks
17. White House Staff – Senior advisor – Valerie Jarrett- the queen bee of all things bad coming out of the White House.
18. Director of White House office for Energy & Climate Change – Carol Browner
19. General Counsel, Policy advisor – Preeta Bansal, a lunatic of the highest order
20. Director of Intergovernmental Affairs – Cecilia Munoz – Open borders advocate
21. Director, Domestic Policy Council – Another far left wacko.
I could go on and on. This list is a “Who’s Who” for the far left who are shaping policy in this country. If anyone doubts, I invite them to google any of these individuals and see what they advocate. Your eyes will pop out with the truth.
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*proving, not proviing
Rosenblatt, I didn’t think you would be so hard headed on this issue. Ron will never be convinced no matter how much evidence is presented. Do you subscribe to the opinion that the far left in this country and particularly all Obama’s minions are not died in the wool Socialists? If they are not, what are they, Communists? Google some of these people please and read what they stand for. How could a President nominate, appoint such a group of individuals like these if they didn’t share his Socialist beliefs?
I’m not being hard headed, Agent. I’m just trying to re-shift the focus of your posts back to the actual question that was asked of you.
Rosenblatt, how about shifting your focus and recognize that radical Progressive Socialists running this government currently defines the President’s agenda and his political beliefs?
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Hey Ron, your favorite Socialist economist, Paul Krugman is at it again. As reported by Town Hall, the title of the article is – How much does Paul Krugman want to tax Lebron James? He agreed with two other leftists who advocates taxing the highest 1% at a rate of 85% -90% marginal rate. He commented that what you want to do is soak the rich as much as possible… so the top tax rates should be whatever collects the most revenue, and now the question is, how high is that? Lebron makes $22 million per year. At 90%, that is almost $20 million confiscated by the Federal Government. I don’t think they will be best friends with LeBron anytime soon.
Well said, Ron.
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Ron, how about you move to Canada so you can enjoy all their benefits? After all, it is not far from Buffalo. By the way, redistribution of wealth is one of the biggest Socialist schemes around and you claim not to be a Socialist. What a joke!
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Obviously, I didn’t make an impression on you Rosenblatt or you would have checked further into the Socialist Administration of Obama. I didn’t expect to make any headway with Ron. Obama could stop by his office and tell him he was a Socialist and advocated every Socialist idea known to man and Ron would look at him and say – I don’t believe that. You are a great guy, look after the country and that is why I voted for you twice. Obama would look at him and say, thank you low information voter. I really put it over on you, didn’t I?
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I will move to Somalia after you move to Iraq Ron. Soon, you can live under ISIS who is about to take over and you know what they do to Americans over there. By the way, give Obama another year to study about how to fight and he may have the entire Middle East under the terrorists rule.
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Rosenblatt, do me a favor and Google Carol Browner if you want some evidence of Socialists in this administration and carrying out orders from on high.