Wednesday, March 24, 2010
On What Just Happened
Some analysis of What Just Happened.
Some things to remember - like Cenk says, the bill addresses some of the worst aspects of Healthcare Insurance Coverage, but does precious little about the root causes. One thing Cenk doesn't mention is that if you attack Big Insurance and Big Pharma and Big BioMed, then you're attacking the people who work for those companies. The suits in the executive suites aren't going to sacrifice themselves in this battle. They're gonna put their workers on the line first; workers who have hopes and dreams and kids and mortgages and Voter Registration Cards.
Also, Dems who wanna gloat need to be ever-mindful of the simple fact that SCOTUS gave the hammer to Big Corporate in the Citizens United decision. I'd like to believe the current meme - that Repubs are in deep denial mode; they're in total disarray; that they're indulging in wishful thinking, probably just to put on a brave face for the party faithful; but I know for a stone fact that it's always a bad idea to underestimate the opponent.
Some things to remember - like Cenk says, the bill addresses some of the worst aspects of Healthcare Insurance Coverage, but does precious little about the root causes. One thing Cenk doesn't mention is that if you attack Big Insurance and Big Pharma and Big BioMed, then you're attacking the people who work for those companies. The suits in the executive suites aren't going to sacrifice themselves in this battle. They're gonna put their workers on the line first; workers who have hopes and dreams and kids and mortgages and Voter Registration Cards.
Also, Dems who wanna gloat need to be ever-mindful of the simple fact that SCOTUS gave the hammer to Big Corporate in the Citizens United decision. I'd like to believe the current meme - that Repubs are in deep denial mode; they're in total disarray; that they're indulging in wishful thinking, probably just to put on a brave face for the party faithful; but I know for a stone fact that it's always a bad idea to underestimate the opponent.
What Just Happened
1) Children cannot be denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions. (adults included starting in 2014)
2) Businesses with fewer than 50 employees will get tax credits covering up to 50% of employee premiums.
3) Seniors will get a rebate to fill the so-called "donut hole" in Medicare drug coverage, which severely limits prescription medication coverage expenditures over $2,700. As of next year, 50 percent of the donut hole will be filled.
4) Children can stay on their parents' plan until they turn 27.
5) Lifetime caps on the amount of insurance an individual can have will be banned. (Annual caps will be limited, and banned in 2014)
6) A temporary high-risk pool will be set up to cover adults with pre-existing conditions. Healthcare Exchanges will eliminate the need for that program in 2014.
7) New plans must cover checkups and other preventative care without co-pays. All plans will be affected by 2018.
8) Insurance companies can no longer cut someone when he or she gets sick.
9) Insurers must now reveal how much money is spent on overhead.
10) Any new plan must now implement an appeals process for coverage determinations and claims.
11) Tanning Salon Tax - this tax will impose a ten percent tax on indoor tanning services. This tax, which replaced the proposed tax on cosmetic surgery, would be effective for services on or after July 1, 2010.
12) New screening procedures will be implemented to help eliminate health insurance fraud and waste.
13) Medicare payment protections will be extended to small rural hospitals and other health care facilities that have a small number of Medicare patients.
14) Non-profit Blue Cross organizations will be required to maintain a medical loss ratio -- money spent on procedures versus money coming in -- of 85 percent or higher to take advantage of IRS tax benefits.
15) Chain restaurants will be required to provide a "nutrient content disclosure statement" alongside their items. Expect to see calories listed both on in-store and drive-through menus of fast-food restaurants sometime soon.
16) The bill establishes a temporary program for companies that provide early retiree health benefits for those ages 55‐64 in order to help reduce the often-expensive cost of that coverage.
17) The Secretary of Health and Human Services will set up a new Web site to make it easy for Americans in any state to seek out affordable health insurance options The site will also include helpful information for small businesses.
18) A two‐year temporary credit (up to a maximum of $1 billion) is in the bill to encourage investment in new therapies for the prevention and treatement of diseases.
2) Businesses with fewer than 50 employees will get tax credits covering up to 50% of employee premiums.
3) Seniors will get a rebate to fill the so-called "donut hole" in Medicare drug coverage, which severely limits prescription medication coverage expenditures over $2,700. As of next year, 50 percent of the donut hole will be filled.
4) Children can stay on their parents' plan until they turn 27.
5) Lifetime caps on the amount of insurance an individual can have will be banned. (Annual caps will be limited, and banned in 2014)
6) A temporary high-risk pool will be set up to cover adults with pre-existing conditions. Healthcare Exchanges will eliminate the need for that program in 2014.
7) New plans must cover checkups and other preventative care without co-pays. All plans will be affected by 2018.
8) Insurance companies can no longer cut someone when he or she gets sick.
9) Insurers must now reveal how much money is spent on overhead.
10) Any new plan must now implement an appeals process for coverage determinations and claims.
11) Tanning Salon Tax - this tax will impose a ten percent tax on indoor tanning services. This tax, which replaced the proposed tax on cosmetic surgery, would be effective for services on or after July 1, 2010.
12) New screening procedures will be implemented to help eliminate health insurance fraud and waste.
13) Medicare payment protections will be extended to small rural hospitals and other health care facilities that have a small number of Medicare patients.
14) Non-profit Blue Cross organizations will be required to maintain a medical loss ratio -- money spent on procedures versus money coming in -- of 85 percent or higher to take advantage of IRS tax benefits.
15) Chain restaurants will be required to provide a "nutrient content disclosure statement" alongside their items. Expect to see calories listed both on in-store and drive-through menus of fast-food restaurants sometime soon.
16) The bill establishes a temporary program for companies that provide early retiree health benefits for those ages 55‐64 in order to help reduce the often-expensive cost of that coverage.
17) The Secretary of Health and Human Services will set up a new Web site to make it easy for Americans in any state to seek out affordable health insurance options The site will also include helpful information for small businesses.
18) A two‐year temporary credit (up to a maximum of $1 billion) is in the bill to encourage investment in new therapies for the prevention and treatement of diseases.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Whatever Will We Do?
The handwringing over at RedState.com is really fun to watch right now. This post is classic. And there's quite a little spat that breaks out in the comments. It gets to be a real hoot about 1/3 of the way down when the poster (Neil Stevens) gets into it with a reader AKA'd as eastbaylarry.
It could be interesting - especially so if Erick Erickson continues what looks like an attempt to widen the Republicans' appeal (I assume to attract the ever-elusive Independent Voter), while at the some time narrowing the party's identity by chasing out The Birthers and The Nullifiers, etc.
It could be interesting - especially so if Erick Erickson continues what looks like an attempt to widen the Republicans' appeal (I assume to attract the ever-elusive Independent Voter), while at the some time narrowing the party's identity by chasing out The Birthers and The Nullifiers, etc.
David Frum
The guy pretzles himself in a big way. From his blog.
This is a guy who's done his share of throwing fuel on the partisan fire - going as far towards the logical extreme as anybody else - and here he is saying, "Gosh, why's everybody so pissed off all the time?"
But just when I think he's gonna say something reasonable (like, maybe this won't be so bad - maybe we should wait and see), he goes back over the top and jumps straight into Blame-The-Media-No-Matter-What mode. Except, now, he's blaming the Conservative Bias of The Media(?) WTF? I'm having a hard time remembering the last time I heard any of these guys even acknowledge the existence of Conservative Media.
I’ve been on a soapbox for months now about the harm that our overheated talk is doing to us. Yes it mobilizes supporters – but by mobilizing them with hysterical accusations and pseudo-information, overheated talk has made it impossible for representatives to represent and elected leaders to lead. The real leaders are on TV and radio, and they have very different imperatives from people in government. Talk radio thrives on confrontation and recrimination. When Rush Limbaugh said that he wanted President Obama to fail, he was intelligently explaining his own interests. What he omitted to say – but what is equally true – is that he also wants Republicans to fail. If Republicans succeed – if they govern successfully in office and negotiate attractive compromises out of office – Rush’s listeners get less angry. And if they are less angry, they listen to the radio less, and hear fewer ads for Sleepnumber beds.
This is a guy who's done his share of throwing fuel on the partisan fire - going as far towards the logical extreme as anybody else - and here he is saying, "Gosh, why's everybody so pissed off all the time?"
But just when I think he's gonna say something reasonable (like, maybe this won't be so bad - maybe we should wait and see), he goes back over the top and jumps straight into Blame-The-Media-No-Matter-What mode. Except, now, he's blaming the Conservative Bias of The Media(?) WTF? I'm having a hard time remembering the last time I heard any of these guys even acknowledge the existence of Conservative Media.
I’ve been on a soapbox for months now about the harm that our overheated talk is doing to us. Yes it mobilizes supporters – but by mobilizing them with hysterical accusations and pseudo-information, overheated talk has made it impossible for representatives to represent and elected leaders to lead. The real leaders are on TV and radio, and they have very different imperatives from people in government. Talk radio thrives on confrontation and recrimination. When Rush Limbaugh said that he wanted President Obama to fail, he was intelligently explaining his own interests. What he omitted to say – but what is equally true – is that he also wants Republicans to fail. If Republicans succeed – if they govern successfully in office and negotiate attractive compromises out of office – Rush’s listeners get less angry. And if they are less angry, they listen to the radio less, and hear fewer ads for Sleepnumber beds.
I'd sure like to see somebody pick up on this. It's just possible we're seeing a Bill Buckley moment here.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Break Free
The more we spend on oil, the more money the bad guys get to spend on attacking us.
If you oppose efforts to move away from fossil fuels (ie: clean energy legislation, carbon tax/cap-and-trade, etc), then you're supporting a status quo that makes it more probable that we will be attacked.
If we take more steps that dry up some more of their sources of funding (like NOT sending so much money to the Saudis), then assholes like al-Qaeda get fewer dollars they can use to buy things to blow shit up. Get it?
If you oppose efforts to move away from fossil fuels (ie: clean energy legislation, carbon tax/cap-and-trade, etc), then you're supporting a status quo that makes it more probable that we will be attacked.
If we take more steps that dry up some more of their sources of funding (like NOT sending so much money to the Saudis), then assholes like al-Qaeda get fewer dollars they can use to buy things to blow shit up. Get it?
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Happy Vernal Equinox, Everybody!
Just a great tune for any random Saturday, but on a day when the year seems to teeter between falling back into winter or stumbling forward into spring, there's a nice bitter sweet vibe to this.
Gaming The System
It's hard for me to imagine they're not teaching this in Business School now. This looks like a near-classic example of a 'turnaround' - taking a negative and selling it as a positive; or in this case, defining your competitor's action as a negative and using it to bolster your own image by portraying yourself as the underdog.
This really looks like UPS is trying to level out the playing field by lobbying for a change in regulations so that all the package delivery entities come under the same set of labor laws. But we've got this website (brownbailout.com) complete with a parody of UPS's white board guy using all the negative buzzwords - bailout, monopoly, etc - trying to whip up a little counter-frenzy against UPS's efforts. BTW: who owns brownbailout.com? Why, FedX of course.
They all talk about healthy competition and fairness, but when it comes time to nut up or shut up, they're looking for cover behind whatever politician they can get at a discount.
These people have no soul and no honor.
Xspot by Mixpo
This really looks like UPS is trying to level out the playing field by lobbying for a change in regulations so that all the package delivery entities come under the same set of labor laws. But we've got this website (brownbailout.com) complete with a parody of UPS's white board guy using all the negative buzzwords - bailout, monopoly, etc - trying to whip up a little counter-frenzy against UPS's efforts. BTW: who owns brownbailout.com? Why, FedX of course.
They all talk about healthy competition and fairness, but when it comes time to nut up or shut up, they're looking for cover behind whatever politician they can get at a discount.
These people have no soul and no honor.
Xspot by Mixpo
Friday, March 19, 2010
Majority Now
Caveat: It's a little semantic, but I've never liked the popular notion of "Majority Rules". In a democracy the majority decides the question at hand; the decision of the majority carries the day. But in a democracy, nobody 'rules' anything or anybody at any time.
Also, I think it's important to remember that we've seen some bad shit going on because of Majority Rules. Jim Crow for one example. And let's not forget that the most popular car in the world in 1971 was the Ford Pinto.
Just because you can get 51% to go along with your idea doesn't necessarily mean your idea is a good one.
That said, here's a pretty good one from Mark Fiore:
Also, I think it's important to remember that we've seen some bad shit going on because of Majority Rules. Jim Crow for one example. And let's not forget that the most popular car in the world in 1971 was the Ford Pinto.
Just because you can get 51% to go along with your idea doesn't necessarily mean your idea is a good one.
That said, here's a pretty good one from Mark Fiore:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)