See this non partisan, independent look at the media coverage for yourself ans tell me the media isn’t in the wrong!
Except FOX. They were down the line fair.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OymBXeaLp2g&feature=related
That clip was from a fox show. What do expect them to say? Why not call up Mercedes Benz for the latest surveys on the best car manufacturers?
Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) — The Congressional Budget Office challenged claims by health-care overhaul proponents that Medicare savings in Senate legislation would help finance expanded coverage and postpone the bankruptcy of the medical program for the elderly.
The nonpartisan agency said the $246 billion it projected the legislation would save Medicare can’t both finance new programs and help pay future expenses for elderly covered under the federal program.
Nor could those savings be used to extend the solvency of Medicare, set to run out of money in 2017, the budget office said in a letter to Senate Republicans.
“What we’ve seen is a colossal manipulation” by Democrats “of the accounting scores of CBO” and the independent actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, said Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, the Republican who requested the analysis from CBO. He called the letter “a potential game-changer.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ackCRQU57HhY&pos=9
The CBO also said that the bill spends the so-called Medicare cuts/savings TWICE. I think they should all go on Iron Chef – they cook the books better than anyone else.
Maybe we should start over and find a smaller baby step that 2/3rds of this country believe in?
What about decoupling insurance from employment—give people the tax break that employers get?
What about limiting mandate to cheaper catastrophic care—-maybe even add some catastrophic coverage for chronic conditions, such that the catastrophic payout is paid over time for care of chronic conditions?
It seems the way the bill is developing is horribly distorted—-in a duplicitous effort to get single-payer through the backdoor, the American people are being forced to accept the worst of all worlds.
I am a Republican who abhors allowing the government to play any part in my families healthcare. I’d prefer to pay for my own healthcare as I have been doing. I’d be willing to allow general tax money to help the poor to have access to good healthcare so long as it doesn’t change the structure of my independent autonomy over my own healthcare. I abhor the healthcare in countries like the UK where government simply has been given too much power over the lives and the well-being of the majority of middle class families in the name of fairness. It is truly one of the most horrible things the "free" world has ever had to suffer with….
Health insurance is only evil to liberals when private insurers are selling the plans; if the Federal Government is selling health insurance then liberals will call it "good".
If you want to help improve many things all at once, then quit requiring employers to buy group policy plans, end Social Security as it currently exists, and encourage people to put money into "health care savings plans" that are like 401(k)s or FSA but the accrued balances roll over from year to year. This will help people pay for small office visits out of pocket and they can buy only catastrophic insurance. Also, allow interstate competition of health insurance providers and the costs will go down–in case anyone missed this, competition in a capitalist environment tends to drive prices down.
Im 24 and will be 25 next week. I use tobacco unfortunately. No prior or current health problems and non know in my family. I am an independent contractor, don’t know if this matters. I currently pay $125 a month with a 5k deductible. I prefer somthing under $120 a month with better benefits. Recently I saw the doctor and was charged $220 my insurance covered $20, just to remove a wart. I was better off paying cash. Any suggestions on where to find better health coverage? My insurance agent wasn’t much help.
Please don’t send any websites for jobs. I have a job. Please list any accredited insurance companies and any other suggestions
Yes you would have been better off paying cash, but that $220 was applied to your $5K deductible. Now say for instance, you get really sick and has to be hospitalized for a week. Then after the bill reaches $5K, which it most likely would after 1 day or 2, your insurance would pay the balance.
Health insurance is like auto insurance, in that you have a deductible to pay before insurance pays. This is stop you from going to the doctor for a wart, sniffles, or other small things but maybe once a year for say a yearly exam.
You could call another agent to see if you can find cheaper insurance with a lower deductible, but most likely you wont find. If you want your insurance company to pay the $220 and only a $20 copay, you will most likely pay at least $400 or more a month for that coverage. Since you are an independent contractor, you are forced to find "private insurance" vs a "group policy" with a employer.
good luck
-Increase the Medicaid threshold to insure the uninsurable with pre-existing conditions and the lower middle class who are currently not eligible for Medicaid but unable to afford private insurance.
-Tax credits to lower and middle income households to purchase private health insurance plans.
-Regulatory reform to reduce instances of denial of coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
-Creating an independent agency to audit and investigate cases of fraud on the Medicare/Medicaid rolls.
-Tort reform, allowing private insurers/HMO’s, hospitals, clinics and drug companies to lower operating costs from frivolous lawsuits.
-Allowing insurers to sell across state lines with portable insurance policies that allow people to move from state-to-state and keep their policies. It will also allow insurers to relocate to states with lower taxes and lower operating costs. These lowered operating costs would then conceivably be passed on to the insured.
-Employer regulations to insure that recently laid-off workers can keep their current policies for a suitable period of time (maybe 6 months) until they can find other means of employment or health insurance.
-No Public Option, and thus no multiple-trillions of dollars spent and no attrition of private insurers.
If we can achieve those goals, not only will we have near-universal healthcare, but we will also continue to have private insurers operating in a reduced-cost environment.
Also, the United States has some of the greatest hospitals (JHH and Mayo) and the best Medical Schools (Harvard and Johns Hopkins) in the world. Just thought that needed to be said.
At A.E. Moreira, that’s why we allow insurers to sell beyond state lines, so that they can relocate or incorporate in states that already have tort reform.
But the "bottom-line" question IS, Why does the Government WANT to "control" Health Care?
What qualifies THEM to make Your decisions? Giving them control of THIS aspect of OUR lives, gives them access to control MORE of OUR choices, about how we live.
It is not the job, or responsibility, of Government to manage OUR lives. Name ONE Government Administrated Program that has NOT been inundated by fraud, mismanagement, budget problems, and all the other garbage that comes with "Government Involvement".
Constitutionally speaking, THIS is not in their "job description", nor should it be!
IF we are foolish enough to allow this, what will be the next aspect of Your Life that you will be ready to give them control of? How long until WE realize that we cannot crap, without the approval of Government? In other words, where will Government Involvement STOP?
Please, do not become a bunch of Sheep, being led to the slaughter!
That is how this Bozo got elected! A bunch of brain-dead idiots did not have enough intelligence to make an "informed decision"!
Foolish Drones!
I’m 19 and I’m pretty much independent from my parents. I live with my Grandmother and I pay my part of the utilities, my own phone bill, my own car insurance, and the only financial tie to my mom is health insurance which I give her money for because she would ride my ass non stop if I didn’t have coverage. I’m taking classes at a community college and am planning to find an apartment with my girlfriend next fall semester, in a few years transfer to a university and get engaged. I respect my grandmother and tell her where I’m going, when I think I’ll be back and try to call her if anything changes… but my mom who I’ve had problems with for a long time flips out if i don’t tell her every tiny detail of my life… she’ll call everyone she can if for some reason Grandma say she doesn’t know exactly what I’m doing at the moment she calls her.
I haven’t lived under my moms roof since I graduated from high school, and I don’t ask any thing from her except to let me live my own life, what can I do to either make her understand I’m going to live my life myself and I don’t need to be babied and controlled like my younger brother?
Tell your mom that you need to live your life and she cant live it for you. You are a legal adult and she doesn’t need to know every waking moment of your life. But you really need to set this straight before you go get an apartment otherwise shell be at your door 24/7 wanting to know what your doing. Have a nice little chat with her and say what you feel man. Good luck and hope for the best
I am 6 months pregnant and 21 years old. I am still on my parents’ health insurance, as I am an unemployed student. My boyfriend, who is an independent, is an unemployed student as well. He is currently uninsured and, as we have found, is uninsurable due to the fact that I am pregnant. My parents’ health insurance WILL NOT cover grandchildren (dependents of dependents) and so my baby will not be covered on their plan. Individual health insurance plans will not cover my infant until up to 30 days AFTER he is born (and we can apply for medical insurance for him). How do I secure health care coverage for him BEFORE he comes so he can start going to the pediatrician immediately?
Go to your local clinic and get yourself on medical(you automatically qualify b/c u are pregnant). They will do everything for you at the clinic and automatically qualifies your baby when it is born. I strongly urge you to do this due to the fact that you probablly won’t have money to be paying for insurance and you and your baby can get great doctors on medical and dental for your child.
I am currently investigating my options for providing health insurance coverage for my family. I am self-employed and planning to register an LLC for my work as an independent contractor and my wife’s employer dropped their health care benefits earlier this year. I have several questions if anyone has experience in the area of small business and/or private health insurance.
1. Is it correct that if both my wife and I are paid employees of my LLC I would be able to qualify for a group health insurance policy for the 2 employees – even if it is just me and my wife?
2. Will we be more likely to secure better health coverage (i.e. maternity, lower deductibles, etc) with a group policy than an independent family plan?
3. Are there any prohibitive costs which would make this approach unreasonable compared to private health insurance?
Any other suggestions are welcome, I want to begin comparing rates but need some guidance first. Thanks in advance.
Thank you for the information, I will investigate this further with an agent next week. Indeed I do not know the policies in my state (Ohio) but the individual who recommended this approach to me found great benefits in Connecticut.
As a new family we can’t take the chances of not having adequate health coverage. All the private plans that I investigated required riders for maternity coverage so it would be nice to get an expert opinion.
Thank you for the new responses. The purpose of forming the LLC is to protect my personal liability in the event that a future client would take legal action against me for whatever reason. I was curious about this approach since it was suggested by someone I trust, though I was not sure it would hold up in an audit.
It seems that it might be better to just buy a private plan and then take the deduction for self employment health insurance, as long as my wife’s employer does not provide health insurance benefits. Is that a better approach?
Most companies will offer group coverage for 2 employees. It is worth looking into but don’t expect that a group plan will be any less expensive. Depending on your state regulations groups are mandated to cover certain procedures, such as mental health, that you may not want or need, which will increase the premium. Contact a local agent that can do quotes for both group and individual from a number of companies.
Group policies of fewer than 10 employees are individually underwritten and the premium is based on those results, just like with individual policies. Companies can decline to offer group policies based on those results as well. Group policies choices are limited compared to what is available with individual policies. You will not be more likely to secure better coverage because of those limitations.
You can deduct the premiums of either type on your taxes.