Getting Sick In Massachusetts
Having worked in healthcare for over 5 years, I’ve never seen a health insurance company that isn’t fraudulent; this proposed “law” is playing right into their scam!
Still smells like socialism to me! In Britain the amount of money pumped into the national health system by our socialist government has tripled since they came into office. The result? It’s even worse than before. All that money has gone into paying useless administrators and other non jobs.
I agree with you OCM it may take a total reform. I have friends in the US who don’t have health care insurance because they can’t afford it. I don’t think this is acceptable in a civilised country. However I think we need to tread carefully otherwise you end up with a black hole that sucks in endless amounts of cash.
Skipper a case of synchronicity as well. The Serious Fraud Office in Britain has found that a cartel of drug companies have been fixing the price of generic medicines that the were sold to the NHS. They have ripped off the government to the tune of £150 million ($260 million)...bastards.
Mass has kicked out all insurance companies in the state to create a giant monopoly for Blue Cross of Mass. Look at the cost these Beantonion are talking about:
“Those earning between that amount and three times the poverty-level amount would be able to buy subsidized policies with premiums based on their ability to pay. Though no maximum premium is set in the bill, legislators’ intent seems to be for it to top out at about $200 to $250 per month.
All residents will have to provide details about their health insurance policy on their state income tax returns in 2008. Those who do not have insurance would first lose their personal state tax exemption, perhaps worth $150, and later face penalties equal to half the cost of the cheapest policy they should have bought. That might work out to $1,200 per year, officials said.”
Governor Mitt RINO Romney never considered letting in competition to Blue Cross. Mitt says this will make Republicans love him. What an asswipe.
A 30 year old male can get HSA health insurance in Ames, IA, for $30 a month in the free and open market with competition. Message to Mitt: Don’t even show up in Ames at the first debate for the ‘08 Presidential Campaign. If Mitt does go he can stay at my Mother’s house or one of my brothers.
Mitt Romney and Ted Kennedy and John Kerry can pound gravel up their butts.
Posted by Z Woof
04/05/2006 at 11:25 AM
We changed from a regular plan to a catastrophic plan in order to save money. $150 per month (our portion, who knows what the employer pays) vs. $335. Of course the deductibles are higher, but after I figured out how much we actually had spent on medical, I am better off with the higher deductible. I figured a major claim would actually come out ahead on the catastrophic simply because of the percentages.
Requiring people to have medical insurance just proves to me that insurance companies are in bed with the legislators in question. I have long thought that about the auto insurance industry. Is it a good idea to have insurance? Yes. Is it their job to require it? Absolutely not."Z” ... if your math worked half as well as your mouth, you may have something. I live in Messoftwoshits and guess what, ... I do not have BCBS insurance. I have one of the top rated HMO’s in the country and it costs me $183/mo thru my company. How about checking your facts before opening your mouth from now on. ... or at least make sure that no one who knows the subject is listening!
I’m not yet sold on the new law, but I’m willing to watch and learn.Carguy, don’t know what I’m talking about huh?
I’m talking about the Individual Medical market and you are talking about a dangerous over-priced Employer-Based health insurance that you only pay a fraction of the cost. I just bet you don’t even know the cost of your COBRA if you were to be rightsized. The reason you don’t know the cost of your COBRA is because your employer SOLD you health insurance with non-licensed HR FruitCakes without Full and Proper Discloser, which is a serious Ethics Violation, you bozo.
Smart people don’t let their employer or the government choose the health insurance on their children because neither will offer a dependent conversion priviledge, and if the child becomes hurt or diagnosed as a minor, they’re screwed. I know, I know, Mass has automatic underwriting with Blue Cross, the giant MONOPOLY, but it costs too much and your children could be DOOMED to living in MASS FOREVER. That would be the dugeon of dispare. Some of the Republicans there are a little slow, like Mitt Romney, the Socialist.
Wake Up Carguy, I think you have been had. Tell us the name of your itty bitty HMO. Tell us what your COBRA cost would be. And I was correct about $30 a month in Ames, Iowa for HSA health insurance. Carguy, you are already paying 6 X more and not going tax free with an HSA. Don’t ever think that the stuff you say means as much as someone who actually knows what they are talking about. You don’t let your employer choose the health insurance on your children do you? Lucky they don’t give tests to be parents, you wouldn’t of passed Carguy. Paying 6 times more for an HMO and thinks hez smart, geeesh.
OCM: You say Blue Cross is NOT a Monopoly. The Blues have 80 (m) million Americans insured. How many Americans are there at last count?
President Bush said, “Become EMPOWERED with a Tax Free HSA.”
Posted by Z Woof
04/05/2006 at 05:19 PM
Ha Ha, Carguy. I see you have a Blue Cross HMO, figures. I read the Blue Cross of Mass employer-based health at MIT. It’s all online. They are charging over $400/mo for single coverage and over $1,100/mo for family coverage for MIT’s 10,000 employees. Read the plan, it sucks. The high cost is pathetic. Hubbard, President Bush’s HSA point man said in the NY Times this week, that a 40 year old couple in Akron, OH, with 2 children can get HSA insurance in the free and open markets for $250 a month.
Carguy, which costs more per family, the Mass taxpayers paying $1,100 a month per family to Blue Cross or $250 a month in the free markets? Maybe Hubbard’s math is wrong too. Just suggesting that your employer is paying your premiums means nothing except that if you get too sick to work they will cut you from the herd and put you to COBRA for insurance termination, not smart.
How could you know more about health insurance carguy than the person who wrote the USA’s 1st HSA? It’s obvious you have been BrainWashed into insanity.
Posted by Z Woof
04/05/2006 at 05:39 PM
George Weeks in Detroit must be reading BMEWS because now hez saying Debbie Stabenow is the biggest hoarder of Blue Cross political cash. If you are reading this George, good job…
Stabenow wearing big target
By George WeeksDETROIT — When Democrat Debbie Stabe-now first ran for the U.S. Senate in 2000 against Spencer Abraham, the Michigan GOP labeled her “Liberal Debbie,” playing off advertising for the “Little Debbie” food products. That obviously didn’t scare off voters.
Against her 2006 reelection campaign, state Republicans now dub her “Dangerous Debbie,” playing off a recent photo of her standing next to a “Dangerously Incompetent” sign on the Senate floor that was designed to rap President George W. Bush on the federal response to Katrina — but there was nothing in the photo tying it to Bush.
So Republican State Chairman Saul Anuzis capitalized on the inept staging and cleverly crafted a web ad (on http://www.dangerousdebbie.com), which, he says, “uses humor to draw attention to Sen. Stabenow’s dangerous record, a record that puts politics and Washington powerbrokers ahead of Michigan families and seniors.”
Last week, Brian Walton of the National Republican Senatorial Committee weighed in with a more specifically targeted “D” word attack, contending that Stabenow “is raising money through blatant distortion of the truth. She has no shame — claiming she has ‘stood up’ to the insurance industry, yet Blue Cross Blue Shield is currently her largest contributor. Is that ‘standing up’?”
Walton said she was the Blues’ No. 2 recipient of contributions ($41,250) for the current election cycle and the top senatorial recipient so far for 2005-06. The Stabenow camp shrugged off the attack,
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Plus, there is a War of the Pro-Lifers in Michigan.Published March 31, 2006
[ From the Lansing State Journal ]
Tim Skubick: Abortion issue is roiling Repubs“The withdrawing of my endorsement has contributed to a civil war” within the Right to Life movement in this state.
“There is a rebellion going on within the movement.”
The first quote is from Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jerry Zandstra. The second is from a major player within the established anti-abortion movement.
Call it a rebellion or a civil war, either way you have a fascinating political time bomb ticking away. It could tick into oblivion or it could explode and impact not only the race for governor, but other races as well.
Zandstra got a call from Barb Listing, who runs Right to Life of Michigan. She advised Zandstra that if he endorsed a statewide petition drive for a “life begins at conception” amendment he could lose his RTL blessing. That drive is pushed by two competing factions within the anti-abortion movement, but Listing believes it is not needed.
Zandstra subsequently not only signed one of the petitions, he told everybody he did it. So, on March 27, Zandstra got a letter from Listing saying, “you no longer meet the endorsement criteria of the RLM-PAC.” That’s the group that helps folks get elected. And she blamed him for trying to “discredit” her group.
Zandstra calls this a “cat fight”, a political “power struggle” and he concludes, “It appears RTL wants a monopoly on this issue.”
“I will not back down,” Zandstra said, as he’s turned the battle cry into an 11th hour plea for money to salvage his uphill battle against Mike Bouchard and Keith Butler for the GOP Senate nod.Next comes a harshly worded letter from 8th Congressional district Republican candidate Patrick Flynn, who is upset with the withdrawal of the Zandstra endorsement. He argues RTL “has rendered its own endorsement invalid and intrinsically worthless.”
He urges those who are upset with the parent organization to “consider instead supporting organizations such as the new Michigan Chooses Life and others that would not compromise their very foundation.”
Does that sound like peace is at hand?
And to add even more spice to the story, GOP U.S. Senate candidate Keith Butler has also signed the “conception” petition. Does RTL yank its endorsement of him, too?
Democrats clearly love this. One Democratic insider said you could write a scenario whereby a split in the anti-abortion factions could impact the race for governor. Another said even a small percentage of defections could decide the race for governor. Here’s why:
Republican Dick DeVos is pinning his hopes on mobilizing the pro-life movement to get out the vote for him, as it did so successfully for John Engler. But one member of the Michigan Chooses Life coalition has suggested DeVos is not “pure” on the life issue. So theoretically, the Democrats pray, some may decide not to vote for DeVos, which amounts to a vote for Jennifer Granholm by default.
State GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis dismisses this as a dispute over tactics, not philosophy. He doesn’t expect it too last.Also caught in the crossfire is the Catholic Church, which has told its parishes not to get involved in the counterinsurgency petition drive, even though the effort has its roots in other religious groups.
My, my this is getting interesting.
What do you think? Tim Skubick is a local television correspondent who writes a column for the State Journal on Fridays. Write him c/o Lansing State Journal, 120 E. Lenawee St., Lansing, MI 48919.Posted by Z Woof
04/05/2006 at 06:07 PM
And the moral of the story is: Never, ever, under any circumstances make a comment about ZWoof’s mouth.
Jester: That’s because I got a great big zombie fang which is my zombie tooth.
My left foot is bigger than my other one is like a regular zombie hoof.
If I raid your dormatorium, don’t try and remain aloof. I might snatch up screamin’ through the window all naked and do it to you up on the roof
Posted by Z Woof
04/06/2006 at 04:20 AM
Jester, someone had to! The guy’s a blithering idiot with a one track mind and visions of grandeur! I’m gone from this post!
OCM: The sick people have to convert to COBRA. The law says they must “EXHAUST” their COBRA to QUALIFY for no pre-existing on their state’s over-priced Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool or CHIP, if your state has one. Florida has one but enrollments have been terminated since 1993.
What is so blithering about MATH, Carguy? Why are taxpayers paying $1,500 a month for Oakland County school teachers with family coverage when in the free and open market HSA health insurance is available for $288 per month for a 40 year old couple and 2 children in Lansing, MI?
Please tell us Carguy why employer-based health insurance, like you personally have and is supported by 100% of all Democratic Senators, is better than Individual Health insurance that is portable and supported by President Bush.
Carguy, you better just slip away with your insults because you can’t defend your uninformed stoopid liberal opinion. Like I said, you’re a FruitCake.
Carguy, Hillary and Red Ted Kennedy all love employer-based health insurance. Bunch of schmucks.
Posted by Z Woof
04/06/2006 at 09:22 AM
OCM: If you have cancer and you get your COBRA notice and it’s $1,230 a month, you will pay the premium and keep it unless you are homeless.
If your not sick you probably won’t pay $1,230 a month for COBRA. If I were to guess I would say that 10% of people keep their COBRA. But of course my clients NEVER go to COBRA so it’s just a guess on my part.
Also carguy, under ERISA you have deminished legal rights to sue you employer-based health insurance company. But that’s probably OK for a guy like you from Mass. Let’s face it, you don’t really want legal rights do you? You’re a hoot carguy.
Carguy says, “Someone had to do it.” Well anybody could have had a better arguement than you. Then you imply that you actually know something. Nothing could be further from the truth than your knowledge on American health insurance law. That’s one thing we can all agree on.
Posted by Z Woof
04/06/2006 at 12:37 PM
OCM: Let’s see, I said 10% get COBRA. If that doesn’t answer your question please inform me what answer you will accept. I think your mind is a little crusty.
Post 17 didn’t mention the HSA. 1) It answered your question: 10% get COBRA, 2) It explained carman’s diminished legal rights under ERISA, 3) It explained my thoughts about carman’s bold statement that he knew something.
One of the nation’s big problems with health care costs is the hospitals’ billing systems. If someone doesn’t have insurance the hospitals triple up their $50,000 hospital bill to $150,000!!!! Hubbard, the President’s guy, just had a big fight with the head of some American hospital association over this very issue. Hospitals should list their charges online so the consumer may be better informed. I emailed the Skipper a story on it but the President’s agenda is a little toooo boring around here. The President get’s no respect. You are the worst of all OCM. I pray John Kerry runs again just so he will get beat again, even if you vote for him again, OCM.
All I can smell is your crusty mind repeating the same question even after I answer you, pathetic.
I don’t blame you OCM. I blame your education. You were probably smarter once before you went so Liberal.
Posted by Z Woof
04/06/2006 at 03:08 PM
I never pretended to know anything except my situation. What I said was that ZWOOF doesn’t know his ass from his elbow! about Massachusetts healthcare.
I know your state follows Federal law, too simple. But I have also been reading about this for months in the Boston newspapers. Mitt was blaming 19 - 26 year old men for not buying insurance. I know that MIT’s Dr. Gruber is the one being quoted by the liberal media against HSAs and President Bush. I know that the Commonwealth Fund is also from your state and also leads the fight against the HSA. I have followed your Senators for years. Red Ted Kennedy boasts he is the biggest opponent of the HSA. I know that your state has guarenteed issue requirements on their Individual medical market and only a couple of companies do business there. It’s a government controlled monopoly, exactly like I said.
Your state just mandated all citizens must pay Blue Cross money and you seem to love it.
Just read the story again. It amazes me that your citizens don’t even put up a fight. -----SOCIALISM
Posted by Z Woof
04/06/2006 at 03:56 PM
carguy: I wouldn’t get to excited about SmellyOldCatMan wanting to be your friend, hez liberal slime.
Posted by Z Woof
04/06/2006 at 04:02 PM
Excuse me Carguy, [[[I’ve always liked you]]]. I’m sorry. Sometimes when people give aid to the Socialists I can’t help myself. I know you didn’t know what you were doing, being a fruitcake and all. Trust me, Mass is the hell---hole in America for Liberal Socialist health care thoughts, barr none. So let’s just shake hands and be best friends and make fun of OCM, the screaming Howard Dean liberal.
OCM: Now that you sued State Farm and are sooo rich, why are you still such a tightwad
Tax the young and give lazy OldSmellyCatMan FREE drugs so he can save his money for expensive weed
OCM’s Habit: $250 a week
Posted by Z Woof
04/06/2006 at 04:58 PM
Finally the CATO fights back
Apr 6, 2006 11:15 pm US/Mountain
Mass. Health Care Plan Riles Some Liberals
(AP) BOSTON The most radical portion of Massachusetts’ move toward universal health care—a requirement that all residents carry insurance—is giving indigestion to some who view it as a breathtaking expansion of government power.
“This is the first time in the country’s history where simply by virtue of living somewhere you are mandated to purchase a product,” said Michael Tanner, of the libertarian Cato Institute, based in Washington, D.C.Supporters of the idea, including Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, cite the mandate as a pillar of the health plan because it forces individuals to take responsibility for their health care.
Many conservatives are embracing the so-called individual mandate, but some liberals and unions are suspicious. They typically prefer assessments on employers, which the Massachusetts plan also includes.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney called the mandate “unconscionable” and accused Massachusetts of taking “a page out of the Newt Gingrich playbook.”
“Forcing uninsured workers to purchase health care coverage or face higher taxes and fines is the cornerstone of Mr. Gingrich’s health care reform proposals,” Sweeney said.Romney and other supporters of the mandate say it spreads the burden of covering the uninsured among ordinary citizens, business and government. Romney is expected to sign the bill, though he may veto a $295-an-employee fee for businesses that don’t offer insurance.
Romney, a possible candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, has compared the individual mandate to car insurance, which the state requires for everyone who owns a car. Massachusetts, under the bill, will also require everyone to have health insurance.
According to Tanner, that’s a false comparison.
“Driving has always been seen as a privilege that can be revoked,” he said. “This is making me buy a product simply by virtue of breathing.”
What no one can say for sure is how many of the estimated 500,000 uninsured people in Massachusetts would be subject to the individual mandate—in effect, how many earn enough to buy insurance but don’t.That, according to John McDonough of Health Care for All, a state advocacy group, is one of the complex bill’s many unanswered questions.
“Whether it will work out or not, we don’t know,” McDonough said. “No state has ever gone down this road.”
The bill, a dense 145 pages, is still in the works. Some of the grittier details, such as exactly what it means to be able to afford insurance, will be sorted out when the actual regulations are drafted.
Still, there are enough details to win over supporters and perturb opponents.
Under the plan, which would take effect in July 2007, everyone who files a state tax return, beginning in 2008, will have to indicate if they have health insurance.
The bill also requires Medicaid and private insurers to turn over to the state lists of their enrollees each month.
Anyone deemed able to buy insurance, but who is still uninsured, will face increasing penalties.
For example, during the year they would lose the ability to claim a personal exemption on their state tax returns. That would cost an individual about $189 and a couple filing jointly about $378.
The poorest residents—single adults making about $9,800 or less—will get access to insurance with no premiums and no deductibles.
The bill also includes an appeals process.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
You would think a bunch of people would be screaming Socialized Medicine. But no, the American public has become so BrainWashed it’s worse than NAZI Germany in 1942.
Somebody should put up a list of all the individual health insurance choices in Boston. It’s not a long list I don’t care what any Fruitcake says from a Blue State.
Don’t worry, there are only 7 states where Blue Cross has or had total control. These states are the Blue States of the North East, WA and HI. They distroyed their markets and they will pay the price.
Hell, I sell individual insurance. I should shut up and let the Government make you buy what I sell.
If I find out you don’t have health insurance I will call the IRS and get the Health Insurance Police on your ass.
Posted by Z Woof
04/07/2006 at 08:49 AM
[DELETED]
Posted by Z Woof
04/07/2006 at 11:50 AM
04/05/2006 at 11:16 AM
