It would be interesting to see a comparison of how much it was costing taxpayers to pay for uninsured health care services before obamacare took place.
I doubt the 25% increase is a one time market correction since medical insurance premiums have been going up almost every year.
FFA, yes I get this treatment no matter what the subject is. Sorry about your Bears. Thought they had the win or at least a tie until the hail Mary pass was caught.
Amazing that the media was ragging on Prescott unmercifully after the team lost only the second game of the season. He should have gone into the press room and said – any more questions? Elliott will easily win the rushing title. He is that good. We also had another hero on defensive end from a practice squad pick up. That Irving gave Tampa fits. He has the quickest first step I have seen from a lineman in some time. Hope he keeps it up.
I hope you noticed who chimed in to the blog right under me after down voting me 94 times. He must be robbing his employer from work time.
Im not sure of the name, but #11 on the Bears been dropping balls in every game I have seen. The new QB looks to be a find off a practice squad and should be given every chance to win the job next year. His throws are generally on target and the picks yesterday were not the norm for him. Would have been nice to hurt the Pack yesterday but that RB they found on their WR roster looks to be the future at that position. Of course Nelson is Nelson and just gets the job done.
December 20, 2016 at 9:32 am
Dave says:
Like or Dislike:
1
1
Go Packers!
December 19, 2016 at 3:29 pm
UW says:
Like or Dislike:
3
7
Insurance costs have increased by less than projected without Obamacare before it was implemented.
I understand it was about 9 degrees at your game yesterday. That Global Warming is really a bitch, isn’t it? The Polar ice cap will be about 10 feet thicker when this latest spell ends. That will really freak them out, won’t it. I understand the Polar bears really like it.
Yeah – one day of cold weather in one place totally proves temp’s across the globe are not going up. And those ice caps are doing juuuust fine (sarcasm). You keep believing that nonsense…
The Arctic has continued to warm at twice the rate of the planet as a whole, and 2016 reinforced that trend. The annual average temperature (from October 2015 to September 2016) was 3.5° Fahrenheit (2°Celsius) above the 1981-2010 average, the highest in records that go back to 1900. Since that time, the Arctic has warmed 6.3° Fahrenheit (3.5° Celsius).
Those warm temperatures contributed to extremely low sea ice coverage, which has been on a downward spiral for several decades. The end-of-summer minimum is now half of what it was just three decades ago.
Cooler and cloudier summer weather helped dampen melt for much of the season, but the summer minimum still tied 2007 as the second-lowest on record. All 10 of the lowest sea ice extents on record have happened since 2005.
But the ice isn’t just decreasing in area, it is also thinning, with a larger proportion of the ice cap made up of the youngest, thinnest ice. In March 2016, multi-year ice (or ice that has survived at least one melt season) made up only 22 percent of Arctic sea ice, compared to 45 percent in 1985.
PS: are you going to email me so I can give you my address for the coloring book and crayons? You posted twice that you offered to send them to me, and I’ve now posted 3 times I’m willing to accept your offer (presuming you’re a man of your word and will actually follow through on what you said, which I highly doubt you will, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt for now.)
December 23, 2016 at 7:53 pm
DePolarBearables says:
Like or Dislike:
1
0
I love attending football games in arctic weather conditions. My ice cream sandwich doesn’t melt in my paws before I finish eating it.
December 20, 2016 at 9:37 am
Dave says:
Like or Dislike:
7
2
How could you even know that? What a line of BS. Obamacare was never implemented to reduce the cost of healthcare (although it was sold that way). It was implemented to make others pay for it. If they were serious about reducing the cost of healthcare, they would have included tort reform. Listen to “libreral” Howard Dean talk about that.
Here’s a question; if the asserted cost is about $32BB to $42BB what is the true net effect to the economy? Increased mobility of citizens and willingness to start small businesses, lower tax writeoffs by hospitals and medical providers charging off uncollectable service, improved productivity assuming that better healthcare results in more productive citizens, reduced Medicaid (welfare medical) and Medicare (SSDI applications) and so on. In order to truly judge this program it would seem that perhaps GAO, or a respected independent entity needs to do an analysis. Then perhaps our legislative and executive branch will be in a position to determine if they should modify the program and if so, where and how.
Its needs to be scrapped or modified as this constant year to year head ach needs to be done with. People need the local guy – someone who knows Main St USA – to help them best chose – not someone on a phone in Pakistan.
You do bring up interesting points. Perhaps we will never know the true “Economic” impact as some of them points cant not be verified or dis proved.
Good thoughts/questions Bob. Hard to know the impact on all those areas but we do know that there are no meaningful provisions in the ACA to reduce costs and medical providers have reaped the benefits of having more “paying customers”.
You think this has created a willingness to start a small business? Seriously? Small business owners are being crushed by this because they don’t get these subsidies. Our agency is paying about $3000 a month for our group health policy, a bronze plan, for 3 employees. So, you’re joking, right? The also EXPANDED medicaid, and because we’ve seen substantial increase in deductibles for the majority of us that don’t qualify for these subsidies, I doubt hospitals are seeing less writeoffs. People can’t afford the deductibles.
The ACA needs to be repealed or major changes need to be made. Yes, some people got health insurance but many more people that had good health insurance are paying more for less coverage. It doesn’t help to get coverage for the uninsured if you destroy the coverage for the people that have good coverage. Bob’s statement that there will be increased mobility of citizens and willingness to start small businesses, lower tax writeoffs by hospitals and medical providers charging off uncollectable service, improved productivity assuming that better healthcare results in more productive citizens,etc is la la land thinking. I have a small agency. My wife, son and I run the agency. In 2014 my wife and I purchased coverage through the exchange with BCBS. We had to take a $5,000 deductible to afford coverage. I had a kidney stone and the bill was $18,000 but BCBS only allowed $6,000. I owed the doctor $5,000. In 2015 the deductible went to $6,300 and the rate doubled. I had a back problem and needed a shot in my back and the insurance clerk said she talked to BCBS to authorize the treatment and they said I had a $12,600 deductible. I told her that wasn’t true and showed her my insurance card with BCBS. It states, deductible ind $6,300/family $12,600 so I only have a $6,300 ded. Not so. The ACA changed the coverage and it is now a $12,600 ded whether individual or family. I have sold health insurance for over 40 years and never ever have seen this to be the case. So after two health problems I own over $7,000 to doctors. In 2016 the rate for this coverage was going to be over $1,800 per month. How is this going to make people willing to start a small business? And lower writeoffs by hospitals and medical providers? How is ACA going to help with that? Better health care results in more productive citizens. I’m sure it does but how does ACA give better health care when you have a deductible so high you can’t afford to go to the doctor and you can’t afford the insurance? Of course you have to pass it before you know what’s in it. Bob you need to keep drinking your cool aid and keep fantasizing.
Excellent point. My wife had several Doc visits last year including ER visits. I now have three bills in a collection agency even though I have been sending money to them monthly. Not exactly an incentive to reinvest in my business. By all common sense, I should lay off one employee so I can get them paid down faster. But that would require me working every Sat and on Sundays to keep pace with the work flow.
That all leads to a lower quality of life. Instead of it benefiting society, it has that added cost that just cant be quantified in Dollars and Cents. .
The key stat here is the $18k for a kidney stone. Why does it cost so much? Plus if BCBS paid $6k and you paid $5k for a total of $11k, then why bill $18k? I guess you (and we) should be glad that the insurance company will draw a line in the sand on medical billing. As a customer, you can’t. Can you imagine having to fight/dispute the billing with the doctors on your own. Oh, if we only could apply “free market” principles to medical care and eliminate gubment interference, we could really drive down medical costs. Of course doctors and hospitals would have to drop their fees to serve their customers based on their ability to pay. That’s how “businesses” operate don’t they?
That’s SWFL’s point. The actual cost of medical care is what the problem is. If the medical provider is accepting $6,000 as the payment from BCBS and they are profitable on that, then that should be the cost of the service, NOT the $18000 that was billed. We need to regulate the cost of medical care services. The cost of medical care service should be cased on the cost to provide that service, period. Insurance rates are regulated, utility rates are regulated, and medical care costs should be regulated, too.
How long will it be before Jill Franken Stein asks for a recount of the Electoral College vote? Would Clinton lose MORE than the 4 votes she lost to unfaithful EC voters yesterday?
It would be interesting to see a comparison of how much it was costing taxpayers to pay for uninsured health care services before obamacare took place.
I doubt the 25% increase is a one time market correction since medical insurance premiums have been going up almost every year.
Wow Jack, Obamacare, the gift that keeps on giving. Perhaps this national nightmare will be over soon.
Good golly agent… You get this treatment because your a Cowboy fan?
They just keep on rockin. Too bad they are gong to split rookie of the years votes and neither of them will win.
FFA, yes I get this treatment no matter what the subject is. Sorry about your Bears. Thought they had the win or at least a tie until the hail Mary pass was caught.
Amazing that the media was ragging on Prescott unmercifully after the team lost only the second game of the season. He should have gone into the press room and said – any more questions? Elliott will easily win the rushing title. He is that good. We also had another hero on defensive end from a practice squad pick up. That Irving gave Tampa fits. He has the quickest first step I have seen from a lineman in some time. Hope he keeps it up.
I hope you noticed who chimed in to the blog right under me after down voting me 94 times. He must be robbing his employer from work time.
Im not sure of the name, but #11 on the Bears been dropping balls in every game I have seen. The new QB looks to be a find off a practice squad and should be given every chance to win the job next year. His throws are generally on target and the picks yesterday were not the norm for him. Would have been nice to hurt the Pack yesterday but that RB they found on their WR roster looks to be the future at that position. Of course Nelson is Nelson and just gets the job done.
Go Packers!
Insurance costs have increased by less than projected without Obamacare before it was implemented.
I believe them projections to be as reliable as the weather predictions.
Maybe it will, maybe it wont…
I understand it was about 9 degrees at your game yesterday. That Global Warming is really a bitch, isn’t it? The Polar ice cap will be about 10 feet thicker when this latest spell ends. That will really freak them out, won’t it. I understand the Polar bears really like it.
Yeah – one day of cold weather in one place totally proves temp’s across the globe are not going up. And those ice caps are doing juuuust fine (sarcasm). You keep believing that nonsense…
The Arctic has continued to warm at twice the rate of the planet as a whole, and 2016 reinforced that trend. The annual average temperature (from October 2015 to September 2016) was 3.5° Fahrenheit (2°Celsius) above the 1981-2010 average, the highest in records that go back to 1900. Since that time, the Arctic has warmed 6.3° Fahrenheit (3.5° Celsius).
Those warm temperatures contributed to extremely low sea ice coverage, which has been on a downward spiral for several decades. The end-of-summer minimum is now half of what it was just three decades ago.
Cooler and cloudier summer weather helped dampen melt for much of the season, but the summer minimum still tied 2007 as the second-lowest on record. All 10 of the lowest sea ice extents on record have happened since 2005.
But the ice isn’t just decreasing in area, it is also thinning, with a larger proportion of the ice cap made up of the youngest, thinnest ice. In March 2016, multi-year ice (or ice that has survived at least one melt season) made up only 22 percent of Arctic sea ice, compared to 45 percent in 1985.
PS: are you going to email me so I can give you my address for the coloring book and crayons? You posted twice that you offered to send them to me, and I’ve now posted 3 times I’m willing to accept your offer (presuming you’re a man of your word and will actually follow through on what you said, which I highly doubt you will, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt for now.)
I love attending football games in arctic weather conditions. My ice cream sandwich doesn’t melt in my paws before I finish eating it.
How could you even know that? What a line of BS. Obamacare was never implemented to reduce the cost of healthcare (although it was sold that way). It was implemented to make others pay for it. If they were serious about reducing the cost of healthcare, they would have included tort reform. Listen to “libreral” Howard Dean talk about that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9HcWd5ifBA&t=7s&list=FL9lJuRBjktDPY_TeM76IBSw&index=79
I seriously doubt that, UW. The pool of insureds is of worse quality as a result of the ACA
Who would have thunk it? Any one with business smarts??
I also wonder just how many tax payers there will be.
Does this include the cost of the Web Site? Does it include the cost of the failures?
What exactly is the actual cost to each HH that actually pays taxxes?
Here’s a question; if the asserted cost is about $32BB to $42BB what is the true net effect to the economy? Increased mobility of citizens and willingness to start small businesses, lower tax writeoffs by hospitals and medical providers charging off uncollectable service, improved productivity assuming that better healthcare results in more productive citizens, reduced Medicaid (welfare medical) and Medicare (SSDI applications) and so on. In order to truly judge this program it would seem that perhaps GAO, or a respected independent entity needs to do an analysis. Then perhaps our legislative and executive branch will be in a position to determine if they should modify the program and if so, where and how.
Its needs to be scrapped or modified as this constant year to year head ach needs to be done with. People need the local guy – someone who knows Main St USA – to help them best chose – not someone on a phone in Pakistan.
You do bring up interesting points. Perhaps we will never know the true “Economic” impact as some of them points cant not be verified or dis proved.
Good thoughts/questions Bob. Hard to know the impact on all those areas but we do know that there are no meaningful provisions in the ACA to reduce costs and medical providers have reaped the benefits of having more “paying customers”.
You think this has created a willingness to start a small business? Seriously? Small business owners are being crushed by this because they don’t get these subsidies. Our agency is paying about $3000 a month for our group health policy, a bronze plan, for 3 employees. So, you’re joking, right? The also EXPANDED medicaid, and because we’ve seen substantial increase in deductibles for the majority of us that don’t qualify for these subsidies, I doubt hospitals are seeing less writeoffs. People can’t afford the deductibles.
The ACA needs to be repealed or major changes need to be made. Yes, some people got health insurance but many more people that had good health insurance are paying more for less coverage. It doesn’t help to get coverage for the uninsured if you destroy the coverage for the people that have good coverage. Bob’s statement that there will be increased mobility of citizens and willingness to start small businesses, lower tax writeoffs by hospitals and medical providers charging off uncollectable service, improved productivity assuming that better healthcare results in more productive citizens,etc is la la land thinking. I have a small agency. My wife, son and I run the agency. In 2014 my wife and I purchased coverage through the exchange with BCBS. We had to take a $5,000 deductible to afford coverage. I had a kidney stone and the bill was $18,000 but BCBS only allowed $6,000. I owed the doctor $5,000. In 2015 the deductible went to $6,300 and the rate doubled. I had a back problem and needed a shot in my back and the insurance clerk said she talked to BCBS to authorize the treatment and they said I had a $12,600 deductible. I told her that wasn’t true and showed her my insurance card with BCBS. It states, deductible ind $6,300/family $12,600 so I only have a $6,300 ded. Not so. The ACA changed the coverage and it is now a $12,600 ded whether individual or family. I have sold health insurance for over 40 years and never ever have seen this to be the case. So after two health problems I own over $7,000 to doctors. In 2016 the rate for this coverage was going to be over $1,800 per month. How is this going to make people willing to start a small business? And lower writeoffs by hospitals and medical providers? How is ACA going to help with that? Better health care results in more productive citizens. I’m sure it does but how does ACA give better health care when you have a deductible so high you can’t afford to go to the doctor and you can’t afford the insurance? Of course you have to pass it before you know what’s in it. Bob you need to keep drinking your cool aid and keep fantasizing.
Excellent point. My wife had several Doc visits last year including ER visits. I now have three bills in a collection agency even though I have been sending money to them monthly. Not exactly an incentive to reinvest in my business. By all common sense, I should lay off one employee so I can get them paid down faster. But that would require me working every Sat and on Sundays to keep pace with the work flow.
That all leads to a lower quality of life. Instead of it benefiting society, it has that added cost that just cant be quantified in Dollars and Cents. .
The key stat here is the $18k for a kidney stone. Why does it cost so much? Plus if BCBS paid $6k and you paid $5k for a total of $11k, then why bill $18k? I guess you (and we) should be glad that the insurance company will draw a line in the sand on medical billing. As a customer, you can’t. Can you imagine having to fight/dispute the billing with the doctors on your own. Oh, if we only could apply “free market” principles to medical care and eliminate gubment interference, we could really drive down medical costs. Of course doctors and hospitals would have to drop their fees to serve their customers based on their ability to pay. That’s how “businesses” operate don’t they?
BCBS allowed only $6,000 of the $18,000. After BCBS paid I owe $5,000 which was my deductible.
That’s SWFL’s point. The actual cost of medical care is what the problem is. If the medical provider is accepting $6,000 as the payment from BCBS and they are profitable on that, then that should be the cost of the service, NOT the $18000 that was billed. We need to regulate the cost of medical care services. The cost of medical care service should be cased on the cost to provide that service, period. Insurance rates are regulated, utility rates are regulated, and medical care costs should be regulated, too.
BREAKING NEWS: (as if it were uncertain):
BREAKING: Trump hits 270 votes to formally win the presidency.
How long will it be before Jill Franken Stein asks for a recount of the Electoral College vote? Would Clinton lose MORE than the 4 votes she lost to unfaithful EC voters yesterday?