November 10, 2009 As we all know, our House of Representatives passed their version of what they think is the real ‘fix’ to America’s rising healthcare costs. Upon announcing the bill’s passage, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, stated … “the bill will reduce drug costs for seniors, prevent insurance companies from charging women more than men for the same coverage, and allow young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance until their 27th birthdays”. She went on to emphatically ‘promise’… “the bill will add not one dime to the deficit”! The bill provides for low- and middle-income families to receive government subsidies to purchase insurance. These subsidies are to be paid for through tax increases on individuals making more than $500,000 per year, as well as new fees on medical providers. (More)
November 2, 2009 If you read my last blog titled “How and Why Tort Reform Specifically Affects You”, you could not possibly have gotten as confused as a couple of the responders got in their criticisms. One accused my writing as an urging for abolishing citizens’ rights to a civil jury trial as established in the seventh amendment of the Constitution. Another thought it was horrible that I seemed to be for “preemption” against law suits in two Congressional laws that I used as examples. Both couldn’t have been farther off subject or further from the truth. I am ‘for’ the rights established for all citizens as stated in the seventh amendment and wish them to be carried out with the intent with which our founders had written them. Secondly, ‘preemption’ of any citizen to address grievances through jury trial should never be a part of any Congressional law and is totally unconstitutional. Perhaps you should take time to read my last blog, if you haven’t already, and you’ll see what I reported. (More)
October 30, 2009 (Revised 10/31/09) First off, far too many of us seem to believe that this subject is a problem of lawyers coupled with ‘greedy’ overcharges by medical professionals and facilities. Others tend to believe that insurance companies are a main cause of rising insurance rates for healthcare insurance premiums. All these assumptions, for the most part, are far from the truth. Of course, just as in any capitalistic business, you have a bunch of scoundrels who will ignore moral and ethical principles for personal gains. They will throw their personal integrity right out of mind. So, let’s get the lawyer part out of the way. (More)
October 21, 2009 Ironically, the major item that needs to be addressed, honestly and once-and-for-all, is the extent to which both federal and state governments have ‘interfered’ with the free market system to operate at its best. Government programs and mandates are the biggest obstacles in permitting insurance companies, healthcare providers, and medical facilities to operate effectively under the very economic system that brought this nation to its prominence, world stature, and ‘envied’ affluence we enjoy today. I’m not saying there is no role for government, but not in the restrictive programs, mandates, and policies they insist on at present. For example, thousands of doctors are simply refusing to serve Medicare and Medicaid patients in their practices due to monetary losses in their businesses they can no longer suffer. They simply aren’t paid enough to manage those patients and remain in private practice without eventually having to possibly declare bankruptcy. Additionally, federal and state governments now control what insurance companies can charge for their policies then tell them what they must cover. That’s mostly the role of state insurance commissions and their departments for rate approval, ect. What is it we expect free enterprise insurance companies to do in order to stay in business? Right. They design their policies around the government programs and mandates, review all their actuarial studies, and determine what they can reasonable afford to cover under the rates currently established without jeopardizing the stock holders or the very survival of their companies as profitable enterprises in general. (More)
June 1, 2009 In September of 2008 I wrote a blog entitled “Are We Witnessing the Demise of an Empire”. It was based on an historical analogy of how Hitler formed the Third Reich and where we were headed based on the actual events occurring, or forming, at the time. We had not yet elected our current president. Before we voted for any person as new president, I believed we should all at least become informed on proposals and programs that were being thrown out to us by both campaigns, but particularly by the Obama campaign. This writing will be a series beginning with the judiciary branch of government. (More)
April 6, 2009 Does the title of this blog describe your thoughts and views on the current ‘fast track’ direction of ‘change you can believe in’ rapidly ensconcing our nation today? Or, are you still insisting on wandering around in some mystical, ideological fairyland of denial? Only you can honestly answer this question. (More)
March 30, 2009 On February 4, 2009, a bill was introduced in the U.S. House Representatives, 1st Session, of the 111th Congress. It was a bill for consideration presented to the House by Representative Rosa Delauro, a democrat representative from the State of Connecticut. It’s was labeled as H.R. 875, and to be considered as The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. This particular ‘socialist’ bill, if passed into law, will affect each and every one of us in rural counties in states throughout our entire nation. So, you’d be wise to listen up and take notice! (More)
March 26, 2009 I have to give Mr. Obama an enormous amount of credit on his eloquent ability in using his finely honed oratory skills to make horrendous social policies and programs sound as though they are exactly what you have demanded and need. A change you can believe in! Cap and Trade is just one more in a number of ‘bait and switch’ programs he has presented to the uninformed, fearful citizens of our nation … another incremental step toward socialism and government control over all facets of peoples’ lives. (More)
