tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post1876021015070228271..comments2024-03-28T09:32:00.337-05:00Comments on Althouse: When it comes to the Obamacare case, you just can't lose.Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger131125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-25501270014303330652012-03-29T10:38:01.539-05:002012-03-29T10:38:01.539-05:00Create a refundable tax credit that would be enoug...<i>Create a refundable tax credit that would be enough to cover a minimum high deductible insurance policy. <br /><br />The credit can only be used to offset the purchase of insurance. If someone wants a better policy they can use the credit to offset the cost of the better policy on their tax return.</i><br /><br />The problem is that the bottom half of citizens don't pay income taxes, so a tax credit is meaningless and useless for funding insurance.<br /><br />The insurance model is broken, anyways.SGT Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00184808889760136366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-17409587614600789522012-03-29T01:49:46.933-05:002012-03-29T01:49:46.933-05:00Still haven't shown evidence how Obamacare is ...<i>Still haven't shown evidence how Obamacare is going to reduce these costs</i>.<br /><br />The only way to reduce costs with ObamaCare is through rationing. Without that, it is guaranteed to drive costs up. First, all of those mandatory coverages drive up costs. Secondly, by requiring lower co-pays and deductibles, the out-of-pocket costs for utilizing health care will drop, increasing demand and usage (absent rationing). Basic supply and demand. Third, by mandating insurance, more people will presumably be insured, and, thus, more people will be desiring to utilize the health care insurance that they pay so much money for.Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-26479160195863172532012-03-29T01:43:47.911-05:002012-03-29T01:43:47.911-05:00Obamacare specifically allows people to opt out, a...<i>Obamacare specifically allows people to opt out, and does not solve your problem of people too poor to opt in. In fact, it allows the poor an exception from having to get insurance!</i><br /><br />Not sure if I understand what you mean by "opt out". Are you talking about the religious exemption? Or that you can opt out by paying the IM penalty? aBruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-24231353727720893132012-03-28T21:23:47.776-05:002012-03-28T21:23:47.776-05:00Been away all day, so I'm late in commenting b...Been away all day, so I'm late in commenting but if "LOVE" doesn't get the Nixon reference, that's all the clues you need to judge her acumen about important sociological issues.Carnifexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12561390087899686588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-53034136016663598122012-03-28T19:51:08.835-05:002012-03-28T19:51:08.835-05:00Funny though Bender, because Romney has already sa...Funny though Bender, because Romney has already said that he doesn't think its the job of teh Federal Government to takeover healthcare. I think he said he supports Ryans plan, which is Medicare ands SS reform. I am also thinking that if a Tea Party rally showed up to oppose Romney care, that he would listen.<br /><br />So, no not worth the drama queenery and denuciations.SGT Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00184808889760136366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-35905600868686831242012-03-28T17:04:29.514-05:002012-03-28T17:04:29.514-05:00The very fact that he thinks that it is not only c...The very fact that he thinks that it is not only constitutionally permissible, but a good idea, for <i>Governor</i> Romney to impose an individual mandate (even if a <i>President</i> Romney would not have that power) is exactly the reason why he is completely <b>disqualified</b> from any serious consideration for being president.<br /><br />Romney just does not get it. Tyrants and despots are <i>not</i> OK so long as they are in the state house, rather than the White House.<br /><br />And if ObamaCare is struck down, and Romney does get elected, be sure to look for him to seek to work with Democrats to rework and come up with another comprehensive health care finance reform plan. Look for him to try to implement RomneyCare 2.0, Federal Version. <br /><br />Make no mistake, if you listen to him carefully, all too often Romney is merely saying that Obama is not competent. That is, that Obama might have the right intentions, but his failure is in the execution, however Romney would be a better manager and implementer.<br /><br />Look for a President Romney to say, "Yes, let's have healthcare reform, and I'm going to show you how to do it the right way." And we'll go right down this very same road again.Benderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09322135500288738561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-65011914779203982012-03-28T16:04:49.039-05:002012-03-28T16:04:49.039-05:00Call you doctor and tell them you want an MRI...no...<i>Call you doctor and tell them you want an MRI...not an emergency...TODAY...and see what they say.</i><br /><br />Still waiting for Jeremy to illustrate why he would be able to secure a same day, non-emergency MRI with a few phone calls around town. Also still waiting to see if Jeremy can operate a phone.Scott Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02459388007426664813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-66953222428432482902012-03-28T14:41:58.537-05:002012-03-28T14:41:58.537-05:00What the hell do you pay for your own coverage and...<b>What the hell do you pay for your own coverage and do you actually think it's a good deal?</b><br /><br />I pay too much. Increased 25% in the last 2 years.<br /><br />No idea why, though. <br /><br />It's baffling.<br /><br /><b>*Because of that specific "hole" in coverage, in my mother's last five years of life, we spent over $17,000 on drugs that would have been otherwise covered by the program.</b><br /><br />So, you're asking ME to pay for your mom's drugs?<br /><br />Can you explain why it's my concern?<br /><br /><b>You really think $13,500 a year for a healthy family of four is good??</b><br /><br />Obamacare reduces that...how?damikeschttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02133230009952160269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-72486709427200761282012-03-28T14:31:59.759-05:002012-03-28T14:31:59.759-05:00The charges: $1,300 for the ultrasound, $1,250 for...<b>The charges: $1,300 for the ultrasound, $1,250 for a blood test (that costs about $40), $500 for a saline drip (that he said he didn't want or felt necessary...that they charged for anyway), $1,300 to walk in the door, and a few more administrative charges that were tacked on.</b><br /><br />A bad law passed in 1986 forced ERs to treat anybody, regardless o ability to pay.<br /><br />That led to the problem you're complaining about.<br /><br />If a law caused the problem, it is silly to assume ANOTHER law will be the magic pill to fix it.<br /><br />Especially given that every assumption of the supporters has been shown to be wrong while the detractors have a really solid average of being accurate on all of the problems.<br /><br /><b>What the hell do you pay for your own coverage and do you actually think it's a good deal?</b><br /><br />25% more than I did 2 years ago.<br /><br />It's a bad deal --- but, hopefully, this decision will fix that.<br /><br /><b>You really think $13,500 a year for a healthy family of four is good??</b><br /><br />Obamacare DOES NOT FIX THAT. You aren't grasping basic things here.damikeschttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02133230009952160269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-10675243290245154632012-03-28T14:15:37.684-05:002012-03-28T14:15:37.684-05:00"... You really think $13,500 a year for a he..."... You really think $13,500 a year for a healthy family of four is good??"<br /><br />Still haven't shown evidence how Obamacare is going to reduce these costs.Hoosier Daddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12872965118921894534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-91857314935586647152012-03-28T14:13:43.263-05:002012-03-28T14:13:43.263-05:00Nationalized health care is like an HMO. Remember ...Nationalized health care is like an HMO. Remember them? They were going to cut down on costs, unnecessary procedures and waits, etc. Then some people got sick and needed care, and the system more or less failed. So, as long as you don't really need it, nat'l health care is great! In theory, like socialism, it's a great success.<br /><br />For a lefty view of what happens when you need care in Canada, watch this movie: <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338135/>The Barbarian Invasions</a>PatCAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08920623662477828662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-92111589649789534702012-03-28T14:13:05.395-05:002012-03-28T14:13:05.395-05:00Here is one way to offer insurance to all... (if t...Here is one way to offer insurance to all... (if that is desirable0.<br /><br />Create a refundable tax credit that would be enough to cover a minimum high deductible insurance policy. <br /><br />The credit can only be used to offset the purchase of insurance. If someone wants a better policy they can use the credit to offset the cost of the better policy on their tax return.<br /><br />If someone doesn't purchase the insurance then their credit amount would go into a pool that would be paid to insurance companies who cover the "uninsured".<br /><br />Pay for the refundable credit with some sort of excise tax that is applied to activities in the marketplace. Make the excise tax higher for goods and services that result in higher health costs (such as hang glider equipment or junk food.)Sloanasaurushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15787488302564761993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-55916861999544809862012-03-28T14:05:54.575-05:002012-03-28T14:05:54.575-05:00Was closing a deal in Vancouver a few years ago an...Was closing a deal in Vancouver a few years ago and the CFO of the seller had a child with a health problem. Serious health problem. Every day the CFO and his wife and his child went to the hospital and waited. Every day for two weeks. The child's condition was serious enough that they needed to get her into surgery but not so serious that she was going to die at any second. Or probably not going to die. Thus every day they trudged to the hospital and waited. On the tenth or eleventh day the child was admitted and the surgery was successful We closed our deal. I spent two extra weeks in lovely Vancouver and I learned a lot about the Canadian medical system. The father of the child, by the way, came to the US for surgery that he needed a year of so later.<br /><br />So my anecdotal "evidence" is contrary to that of Love's. I never heard a Canadian say a nice thing about their system.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08258681007386089907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-37654333599185187022012-03-28T14:04:05.980-05:002012-03-28T14:04:05.980-05:002) The old liberal solution-have government run he...<i>2) The old liberal solution-have government run health care.</i><br /><br />"The old liberal solution" only appeals to the stupid. No intelligent person wants to hand over their health insurance to people who can't make a budget, can't do things on time, and couldn't give a damn if people die while filling out the reams of paperwork that is a component of all govt. bureaucracies.Carolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11577584676839171856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-27881008941798671032012-03-28T13:55:48.362-05:002012-03-28T13:55:48.362-05:00It's a lose/ lose for Obama. If the bill is no...It's a lose/ lose for Obama. If the bill is not struck down, those opposed are fired up to vote him out of office- a la the 2010 election.<br /><br />If it is struck down, he is seen as a loser. And after this stinker, the Dems. will not be trusted to construct a health care bill for a long time.Carolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11577584676839171856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1505265736401666432012-03-28T13:48:49.745-05:002012-03-28T13:48:49.745-05:00Obama's base,
1. saw Obamacare as a poor com...Obama's base, <br /><br />1. saw Obamacare as a poor compromise that empowered the insurance industry rather than what they wanted, public hangings. <br /><br />2. are disgusted and dismayed by the perception that Obama's SG was unprepared and did a lousy job. <br /><br />So I don't think the base is going to go all "Redeem Obamacare!" They weren't prepared for the possibility of the mandate being unconstitutional. They bought Obama's sophistry about it being the same thing as a state requiring car insurance. I think it will depress his base, and its turnout in much the same way Geo. HW Bush's tax increase depressed his base. <br /><br />I do think Americans want health care reform. But they don't necessarily want left-wing Democratic health care reform. They might be more comfortable with the notion of RINO health care reform. <br /><br />So, what I think a defeat will do is put the onus on both Obama and the GOP candidate to talk more specifically about what they would do to reform health care now that the guard rails have finally been erected. And that argument -- who knows? Maybe Romney gets the upper hand by saying it's a state matter. If you want liberal health care reform, go live in a liberal state. Obama -- does he have the energy to build another Rube Goldberg machine, this time with the constitution in mind? Maybe. But I doubt it, not in time for the election. I think he's such a narcissist, he like many on the left, didn't think he had anything to worry about.John Stodderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14185881995621265497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-62296229883175604782012-03-28T13:32:46.088-05:002012-03-28T13:32:46.088-05:00Jay Retread said...
edutcher, let the current sys...Jay Retread said...<br /><br /><i>edutcher, let the current system continue to spiral out of control and you might regret that the individual mandate has been taken off the table.</i><br /><br />Because the Feds do things so well.<br /><br />Try to order anything lately by mail?<br /><br />Love said...<br /><br /><i>Doesn't appear to be hurting our President's future:<br /><br />Quinnipiac swing state poll of registered voters:</i><br /><br />Lefties must be worried - here come the trolls.<br /><br />Love needs to remember <a href="http://virginiavirtucon.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/quinnipiac-continues-to-spew-garbage-in-garbage-out-polls/" rel="nofollow">skewing the sample</a> (26% Republican voters, 31% Democrat voters and 37% independent voters) kills the FUD.edutcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15033144261502435196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-25663495918106121602012-03-28T13:30:16.592-05:002012-03-28T13:30:16.592-05:00It's the same here.
Call you doctor and tell ...<i>It's the same here.<br /><br />Call you doctor and tell them you want an MRI...not an emergency...TODAY...and see what they say.</i><br /><br />Shark effectively jumped.<br /><br />Just recently, as in the past couple of weeks, I went to see an ear/nose/throat guy for a ringing in my left ear. He looked at the hearing test results and mentioned the word "tumor", though he tried to downplay it and admitted that everyone gets understandably upset when they hear that in reference to their own head.<br /><br />He wanted me to get an MRI but the soonest the MRI company he uses could get me in was five days from then. I spent exactly fifteen minutes on a smartphone and found an MRI company nearby that had an opening later that afternoon. Another ten minutes of phone tree fun saw me with a confirmation number that said my insurance covered it.<br /><br />We pay roughly what you do, Jeremy. Why is it that my insurance is so much more effective than yours? Do you know how to operate a phone?Scott Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02459388007426664813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-21799572314228383732012-03-28T13:20:04.744-05:002012-03-28T13:20:04.744-05:00*Because of that specific "hole" in cove...*Because of that specific "hole" in coverage, in my mother's last five years of life, we spent over $17,000 on drugs that would have been otherwise covered by the program.<br /><br />We don't think that's a "good" thing." Love<br /><br />Thats around $3400 a year.<br /><br />I used to spend that on my deductibles every year. Add another 1500 for medicine. My wife is severely disabled. <br /><br />I have better insurance now. But I still pay alot each year.<br /><br />And your moms bills became my responsibility to fund how? In what way? How does that work exactly? <br /><br />See, I don't accept the premise, which boils down to this: "I got a big bill that I am going to struggle to pay. You guys all need to kick in and pay it." <br /><br />Why is that different than asking people to buy you a car so you can save money out of pocket?<br /><br />How come the statement doesn't say. My mom only paid 17,000 on a bill that was hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars in charges overall. Because that happened too I bet.<br /><br />Yea, sobs stories don't work on me. I have callouses on that part.<br /><br />I can tell you some stories of folks that wish they had shoes. Or the tongue that was cut out of their heads. OR the mass graves we guarded for the UN forensic teams.<br /><br />Those are much better sob stories.<br /><br />And getting my bills paid isn't a good trade off for my rights.SGT Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00184808889760136366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-86649037002695421902012-03-28T13:14:28.808-05:002012-03-28T13:14:28.808-05:00cubanbob "Try getting a same day MRI in Canad...cubanbob "Try getting a same day MRI in Canada unless you are actually in a life critical situation."<br /><br />I recently had that exact type of conversation with two visting Canadians and they said that if necessary (emergency, etc.), you get immediate attention, but if not...you wait for availablity.<br /><br />It's the same here.<br /><br />Call you doctor and tell them you want an MRI...not an emergency...TODAY...and see what they say.Lovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01029205048974050106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-75454799002710455932012-03-28T13:07:33.820-05:002012-03-28T13:07:33.820-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Lovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01029205048974050106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-46390152879515699862012-03-28T13:05:59.764-05:002012-03-28T13:05:59.764-05:00My mechanic said I needed a new car, so he referre...My mechanic said I needed a new car, so he referred me to an expensive auto dealer. I am incapable of shopping for a cheaper dealer, so I went to the expensive one and boy, did it cost me!<br /><br />You guys need to pay up for my choice!SGT Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00184808889760136366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-33666732344469805712012-03-28T13:03:18.946-05:002012-03-28T13:03:18.946-05:00"Or how about that Medicare/Medicaid "do..."Or how about that Medicare/Medicaid "donut hole" that was closed by the Affordable Health Care program...and saved billions for the elderly? You think it's good to eliminate that coverage and savings??"<br /><br />-- That could pass and stand alone and has no relation to the law. Omni-bus laws should be broken up whenever possible.Matt Sablanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15885240752820005149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-11854661883734201712012-03-28T13:01:51.429-05:002012-03-28T13:01:51.429-05:00"You really think $13,500 a year for a health..."You really think $13,500 a year for a healthy family of four is good??"<br /><br />-- No. So why are we supporting a law that has been acknowledged by all sides to raise costs?Matt Sablanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15885240752820005149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-27972565733090620012012-03-28T13:00:06.241-05:002012-03-28T13:00:06.241-05:00Love all your comments be selectivly picking facts...Love all your comments be selectivly picking facts without contect are bullshit. Try getting a same day MRI in Canada unless you are actually in a life critical situation. Here you can walk in, pay cash and have one done same day. I know, having had several this way. Now if you need to have elective surgery in Canada prpare to wait a long time, rationing by another name. Same for the UK NHS. I know I have friends and family in both countries. Except that in Canada unless you are connected you have to wait or go out of the country. I have afriend in Canada who is a doctor, he had a tumor, was told he had to wait three months for an MRI. Flew to Boston for a same day MRI. The Canadian system is so wonderful that there suits filed in their courts to again allow fee for service. But facts that get in the way of your narative have to be disregarded. Anyway, the bill will be overturned in part or in whole and come November Obama and the democrat majority will be gone.cubanbobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09975770246909510412noreply@blogger.com