GOVERNACIDE: Shouldn’t we examine the system that enabled this to happen?

Sunday, April 17, 2011

http://www.8newsnow.com/story/14422802/breaking-news-woman-dead-after-undergoing-butt-enhancement

Arrest Report: Woman Died After Undergoing Buttocks Enhancement
POSTED: APR 11, 2011 12:58 PM
UPDATED: APR 11, 2011 6:55 PM
By Melissa Duran, Reporter – email

*** begin quote ***

LAS VEGAS — A woman died Saturday night after undergoing a medical procedure from two people who are now facing murder charges.

Police say the incident took place at a small office near east Charleston Boulevard and Palm Street. The victim, 42-year-old Elena Caro, arrived Saturday for a buttocks enhancement, but was pronounced dead at a hospital hours later.

*** end quote ***

So much for the vaunted Gooferment protection.

All the regulations, all the inspectors, and all the laws couldn’t save this poor woman from her own bad decision.

Now, I am sure, that everyone will “blame the victim”.

And, there is some blame for her in this incident.

But, shouldn’t we examine the system that enabled it to happen?

The Gooferment controlled by the AMA, Big Insurance, and Big Pharma, keeps prices high by restricting supply. So what are poor people, without insurance, without money, supposed to do?

Go to the “shade tree mechanics”. The back alley doctors. The con artists.

Could she have been fooled by the illusion of respectability?

And, what did the Gooferment do to prevent this from happening? I bet there were all sorts of tell taale warning signs. I bet various agencies have “inspectors” on the payroll “vigorously” “Inspecting”.

Deregulate healthcare and train the Sheeple to do their own “inspecting”!

It’ll be cheaper and we’ll all be better off.

Gooferment is truly the meme that kills.

# # # # #

Comments Off | GOVERNACIDE | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Obamacare will make us worse off

Saturday, January 1, 2011

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/articles/2010/12/24/beth_israel_deaconess_admits_mishandling_three_spine_operations/

Beth Israel erred in 3 spinal operations

Vertebrae mix-ups spur new procedures

By Liz Kowalczyk

Globe Staff / December 24, 2010

*** begin quote ***

Surgeons at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center operated on the wrong location on three patients who underwent spine surgery since September, despite taking recommended steps to prevent such errors, prompting federal and state health inspectors to cite the hospital for problems in its surgical service.

In all three cases, the surgeons apparently miscounted the patient’s vertebrae and operated on a vertebra directly above or below the diseased segment, said Dr. Kenneth Sands, senior vice president of health care quality at the Boston hospital.

*** end quote ***

Surprising. But mistakes do happen. While they didn’t kill anyone, clearly they “harmed” the patients involved.

I wonder with Obamacare: (1) How many good docs will stop working leaving us worse off. (2) I’d expect medical “blunders” to increase as the profit motive shifts. (3) And, now that the Gooferment is “in the game”, who will keep “honest stats”?

“We, The Sheeple” have been fooled again.

# # # # #

Comments Off | Political | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: End “benefits” now

Monday, August 30, 2010

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/08/one_payoff_to_pass_obamacare_n.html

August 29, 2010
One payoff to pass Obamacare not paying off
Ed Lasky

*** begin quote ***

We know about the backroom deals made to get Congressmen to vote for ObamaCare but there were also favors cut out for unions, drug makers, and even small business to get them to support the program.

Guess what? The “credit” offered to small business to help them pay for the increased health care costs-due to ObamaCare mandates- turns out to be not much help at all.

*** end quote ***

Make a deal with the devil and don’t be surprised when you get cheated.

Not much to say, but dealing with the Gooferment for “special favors” isn’t what business is supposed to be all about.

Remember this whole benefits mess was created by FDR’s wage and price control in WW2. And, generations later we are still screwed by it.

Time to take some bitter medicine.

Phase out “benefits”.

Businesses should pay their workers their full wage. Allow people to buy “health insurance” like car insurance. THen it would be “portable”.

Perhaps then credit unions to offer group insurance to its members?

Argh!

# # # # #

Comments Off | Political | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Client satisfaction calls

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Day before yesterday, I received two phone calls. Both wanting to speak to Frau, who was sleeping. Caught them on the first ring. And told them BOTH to call back tomorrow between 4 and 6 PM.

(On Saturday? You expect us to work on Saturday. Yeah, if this is so important. Otherwise don’t bother us. You have the need for this dumb call; not us.)

Yesterday morning, Frau was sleeping on the couch. She’s had a rough few weeks so it was good. Sure enough, the insurance called to “follow up on her care”.

Woke her up!

<Expletive Deleted>

Told the lady: “Thanks for waking her up and disturbing her. Some Customer Satisfaction.”

Frau took the call. Answered a few dumb questions. Like her birthdate, and when she got out of the hospital.

I’m “with out urine”. Polite way of saying <Expletive Deleted> <Expletive Deleted> off!

Can’t wait until Monday, when I plan to call the insurance company, and try to chat with the honcho in charge of follow up!

The hospital satisfaction surveyor never called back; fine with me.

Argh!

Who designs this nonsense?

(Glad you’re reading this spleen venting.)

# # # # #

Comments Off | Ranting | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

RANT: The fall out from Obamacare begins

Sunday, July 25, 2010

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Some-insurers-stop-writing-apf-1129458619.html?x=0&.v=1

Some insurers stop writing new coverage for kids
Ahead of requirement to cover kids with medical problems, some insurers drop out
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press Writer, On Friday July 23, 2010, 8:03 pm EDT

*** begin quote ***

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida issues about 9,000 to 10,000 new policies a year that only cover children. Vice president Randy Kammer said the company’s experts calculated that guaranteeing coverage for children could raise premiums for other individual policy holders by as much as 20 percent.

“We believe that the majority of people who would buy this policy were going to use it immediately, probably for high cost claims,” said Kammer. “Guaranteed issue means you could technically buy it on the way to the hospital.”

*** end quote ***

Romney care, Obama care, any kind of care … politicians and bureaucrats always make the same mistake — static analysis.

As a fat old white guy injineer, one of the first classes I took was “Static Analysis”. OK tough enough. Immediately followed by “Dynamic Analysis”. Now we let things move. Way way way more difficult.

So to in economics, people react to what is done, or not done, or even what is threatened to be done, and begin to act in their own self-interest. As any reasonable person would do!

That’s why, after the politicians raised the millionaires’ tax in Maryland, suddenly the next year there are a lot less millionaires in Maryland.

Do these politicians and bureaucrats think that they are the only ones who can read the tea eaves, make a plan, and carry it out?

Every beginning hunter learns quickly to lead the target.

# # # # #

Comments Off | Ranting | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

MONEY: The Gooferment’s Long Term Care Insurance in Obamacare

Friday, July 23, 2010

http://www.ricedelman.com/cs/pressroom/pressroom_detail?pressrelease.id=1432

*** begin quote ***

Comparing CLASS to private sector LTC coverage. We’re pleased that the government is attempting to offer long-term care insurance, but CLASS doesn’t eliminate the need for you to buy a policy from private health insurers. First, CLASS’s daily benefit of $50 or $75 is woefully insufficient, considering that the average daily cost of a nursing home is $206, according to the 2010 Genworth Cost of Care survey, and that licensed in-home health aides today cost an average of $19/hour. Making these figures even worse is the fact that they are projected to be $268 and $21, respectively, when CLASS benefits become available in 2016. And unlike long-term care insurance you purchase, the government’s program is not a contract; benefits and costs can change.

*** and ***

In the meantime, do not let the notion of the CLASS program cause you to delay getting your own LTC insurance if your planner has recommended it for you. It’s unlikely that CLASS will meet all your LTC insurance needs, but even if it does, you should buy LTC insurance today to get the protection you need; you can always cancel the policy later, after you sign up for CLASS.

*** end quote ***

IMHO, getting old sucks. Pattie wiped out her little bit of lifetime savings in under a year. My Mom was forking out 10k$/month for “help” as she struggled to stay in her apartment. Anyone listening should have sufficient appropriate insurance.

It’s a funny peculiar calculation. If you have nothing, you need nothing; you get Medicaid. If you have 10M$, you need nothing; you’ll self-insure. Anything in the middle, you HAVE to have insurance. Where the middle starts and ends is arts not science. Argh!  

# # # # #

Comments Off | MONEY | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

RANT: It’s always about the “something else”

Monday, July 5, 2010

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/106887-health-law-risks-turning-away-sick

Health law risks turning away sick
By Julian Pecquet – 07/01/10 07:13 PM ET

*** begin quote ***

The Obama administration has not ruled out turning sick people away from an insurance program created by the new healthcare law to provide coverage for the uninsured.

Critics of the $5 billion high-risk pool program insist it will run out of money before Jan. 1, 2014. That’s when the program sunsets and health plans can no longer discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions.

*** and ***

“Along with that, we can work with the states to adjust their benefit structure, the deductibles, the co-pays, the overall plan structure to address some of those cost drivers, again to help the plan make it to 2014, when it will no longer be needed.”

In addition, Popper said, many people won’t be able to afford to participate in the program since premiums will range between about $140 and $900 a month, depending on applicants’ age and where they live. HHS estimates that at least 200,000 people will be in the program at any one time. To be eligible, applicants have to be citizens or nationals of the United States or be lawfully present; have a pre-existing medical condition; and have been uninsured for at least six months before applying for the high-risk pool plan.

*** and ***

If it looks like too many people are signing up — states will get monthly updates on how many people they can cover with the money they have left — there’s always the option of turning people down.

The bill “does give the secretary authority to limit enrollment in the plan … nationally or on a state-by-state basis,” Popper said. “So that is present, but at this point, we’re starting with no one in the plan as of today … so we don’t see that happening anytime soon.”

*** end quote ***

One giant criticism of BHO44 and his Obamacare is that it had muddled objectives. Was it about “health”, “health care”, “health care insurance”, or something else. Us, tin foil hats, believe it’s the “something else”.

By not being specific about their objectives, they don’t have to be specific about their results. We, The People have allowed our elected representatives to get away with this muddled thinking. And, as such, we once again find ourselves faced with a confused mess. Argh!

I believe this is all about “control”. By centralizing one seventh of the economy, the politicians and bureaucrats are in control of our lives. By controlling “health care” and “health care insurance”, they control us.

Remember the three “laws” of political motivation: (1) reward your friends; (2) punish your enemies; and (3) feather your own nest. Clearly, this wins on all three fronts.

By controlling “health care” and “health care insurance”, they create a voting block. Look what Social Security and Medicare has done to create a “senior citizen” voting block for the Democratic Party. Look at Florida. Created by Social Security. That’s the power to reward yor friends — the incumbent politicians. Never mind the endless opportunities for graft, corruption and outright theft for the .

By controlling “health care” and “health care insurance”, they have won a war with the Catholic Church and Right To Life groups over abortion. The “sacrament” of the modern liberal feminist, enshrined by Roe v Wade, will now be fully funded to the abhorrence of Right To Life taxpaying advocates. That’s punishing your enemy — the Religious Right.

By controlling “health care” and “health care insurance”, they have created endless bureaucratic positions. Of course, to be filled by “them”, their friends ‘n’ family, and their supporters. And, created countless opportunities for lobbyists to fill their pockets as they create loopholes, exceptions, and prohibitions. That’s feathering, with some pretty comfortable feathers.

Silly Taxpayer, you didn’t think this was about anything as trivial as helping sick people now did you?

By pulling the Sheeple’s own wool over the Sheeple’s eyes, they are able to sheer the Sheeple some more.

See if the objective was “health”, “health care”, or “health care insurance”, then it would be relatively easy and cheap to address the issue. For “health”, address the root cause of poor health — we have to make it a national priority to find out what that was. (I’d say “gooferment skrules”, but that’s another story.) If it was “health care”, then perhaps better records, uniform forms, or — shocked hush — eliminating medical licensing. If it is was “health care insurance” slash cost, then we could change the tax law to make everyone their own subchapter S copr and make cost of earning a living deductible to all. If it is was “health care insurance” slash cost, then the gooferment could just buy poor people health insurance as part of the federal health insurance system. (Whoopi Goldberg had it right: “What the hell! I just want what you <Congressmen> got. <for health insurance>. Way to nail the issue, Whoopster!)

See it’s always about something else!

# # # # #

Comments Off | LIBERTY, Ranting | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

NATIONAL: One uniform form for all health billing?

Monday, June 28, 2010

http://www.docuticker.com/?p=35251

Saving Billions Of Dollars—And Physicians’ Time—By Streamlining Billing Practices

Source: Health Affairs

*** begin quote ***

The U.S. system of billing third parties for health care services is complex, expensive, and inefficient. Physicians end up using nearly 12 percent of their net patient service revenue to cover the costs of excessive administrative complexity. A single transparent set of payment rules for multiple payers, a single claim form, and standard rules of submission, among other innovations, would reduce the burden on the billing offices of physician organizations. On a national scale, our hypothetical modeling of these changes would translate into $7 billion of savings annually for physician and clinical services. Four hours of professional time per physician and five hours of practice support staff time could be saved each week.

*** end quote ***

A uniform billing process. Now that’s a good idea. Even statewide that could be a winner. But why does it have to be imposed. Surely all involved can see how this would benefit the industry. I smell the government with politicians and bureaucrats all wanting to claim credit.

Doesn’t medicare have such a thing?

Seems like Frodo’s ring. One ring to rule them all?

# – # – #

# # # # #

Comments Off | NATIONAL | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: I’d prefer USP, UL, Consumers Reports, doctors, and WalMart over the FDA

Friday, June 18, 2010

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/catholic-businessman-battles-als-prepares-for-eternity/

Catholic businessman battles ALS, prepares for eternity

By Spencer S. Busby

*** begin quote ***

San Diego, Calif., Jun 6, 2010 / 01:19 pm (CNA).- Three years ago, Shane FitzMaurice was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The rare neurological disorder is typically fatal within five years of diagnosis.

*** and ***

Initially, the diagnosis felt like a death sentence. “At first, I was in denial,” FitzMaurice said, “feeling all doom and gloom and ‘why me’?”

But then he decided to fight back. Last August, he traveled with his wife to Monterrey, Mexico, to undergo an experimental procedure that implanted his own body’s stem cells into his brain. While FitzMaurice was pleased that he took action by undergoing the procedure, he admits that it has resulted in only limited improvement.

Still, FitzMaurice believes such therapies should be more freely available in the United States. “People with a terminal diagnosis should be able to sign a waiver with FDA to be guinea pigs, because we do not have the time to wait.”

*** end quote ***

We know so little about our own bodies.

And it’s a terrible disease.

That being said, the man has a great point. Why should the FDA keep interfering? Are they protecting him from something worse? What could that be?

TIme to nuke the FDA!

They are just a bunch of bureaucrats captured by Big Pharma.

What’s the worst that could happen?

Thalidomide? That happened with the FDA. And they used it to slow the process and make it more expensive. It’s not like we don’t have drug disasters anyway. And, what good drugs have they prevented by making it too slow and too costly.

I’ll take faster and cheaper. USP, UL, Consumers Reports, doctors, and WalMart will do a much better job of keeping us safe.

Argh!

# # # # #

Comments Off | Political | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

RANT: You ain’t keeping your employer provided healthcare say the gooferment’s own document

Sunday, June 13, 2010

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/537208/201006111923/
Keep-Your-Health-Plan-Under-Overhaul-Probably-Not-Govt-Analysis-Concludes.aspx

http://goo.gl/49aO

Keep Your Health Plan Under Overhaul? Probably Not, Gov’t Analysis Concludes
By DAVID HOGBERG AND SEAN HIGGINS, INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 06/11/2010 07:32 PM ET

*** begin quote ***

Internal administration documents reveal that up to 51% of employers may have to relinquish their current health care coverage because of ObamaCare.

*** and ***

A White House official told IBD: “This is a draft document, and we will be releasing the final regulation when it is complete. The president made a promise to the American people that if they liked their health care plan, they can keep it. The regulation, when finalized, will uphold that promise.”

*** end quote ***

Yeah, take a politician’s promise to the bank.

Here we have an example of the deceit of the political class!

# # # # #

Comments Off | Ranting | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Obamacare

Friday, June 11, 2010

This morning, in my email box, was one from a high school classmate of mine. I went nuts.

*** begin quote ***

Fwd: Help Fight Back for our Seniors
Posted by: XXXXXX XXXXXX
Thu Jun 10, 2010 10:55 am (PDT)

Please look this over and think about it.

XXXXXX

# – # – #

Friend:

Hoping none of you minds this but I received the below email today and thought you might find it interesting. Also you can download a great brochure on how the new health care law affects seniors here:

http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/11464.pdf.<http://healthcareforamericanow.org/page/ic/qxuldywfvvd9gc/SjVDVw8NBVURWl9bQkpjFAFKH0JQUUoCUw0EVxhEUQJL>

Thank you and share this message with anyone else you think would like to learn the facts.

# – # – #

Dear Supporter:

The Republicans in Congress are attacking the new health care law and their key strategy is to lie about it.[1] How do we fight back? By telling the truth about the concrete ways the new law improves people’s lives.

Yesterday thousands of seniors gathered with President Obama to participate in a national tele-townhall in Wheaton, Maryland to combat the fraud and misinformation being spread about health reform.[2]

Click here to forward this email to 5 people you know so they can learn the facts.

http://healthcareforamericanow.org/fightforseniors<http://healthcareforamericanow.org/page/ic/qxuldywfvvd9gc/SgNfUgsQAFsXQFVbWApBEg>

The truth is that the new law strengthens the financial health of Medicare and reduces unwarranted subsidies that have lined the pockets of insurance company CEOs and Wall Street big wigs. The truth is that it gives seniors more control over their health care and they will save thousands of dollars by closing the Medicare “donut hole,” including the $250 rebate checks mailed this month.[3]

Click here to download a great fact sheet about closing the prescription drug coverage gap and to send it to 5 people you know.

http://healthcareforamericanow.org/fightforseniors<http://healthcareforamericanow.org/page/ic/qxuldywfvvd9gc/SgNfUgsQAFsXQFVbWApBEg>

The insurance industry lobbyists and their Republican lackeys are spreading lies about reform to hijack it and interfere with its implementation.[4] We can never let that happen.

We must fight back! Click here to forward this email to 5 seniors so they can know the truth.

http://healthcareforamericanow.org/fightforseniors<http://healthcareforamericanow.org/page/ic/qxuldywfvvd9gc/SgNfUgsQAFsXQFVbWApBEg>

In Solidarity,

Melinda Gibson

Health Care for America Now

# – # – #

1. Boehner Ridicules Obama’s Healthcare Town Hall as PR Gimmick –

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/101933-boehner-ridicules-obamas-healthcare-town-hall-as-pr-gimmick<http://healthcareforamericanow.org/page/ic/qxuldywfvvd9gc/SgdaWgQXSVYJXFcYUxdaBAVQXlUZRQpcDxZcBkFHGlVVVA8GUEkEWwBbXlBDSEEIB1BTR1hSFh4NW1MOV0cYDAAEWkELBwdGAB5EWkYLHgkCVVwfVURIQxAUVQpbWVwHDg>

2. The Affordable Care Act: Strengthening Medicare, Combating Misinformation and Protecting America’s Senior –

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/affordable-care-act-strengthening-medicare-combating-misinformation-and-protecting-<http://healthcareforamericanow.org/page/ic/qxuldywfvvd9gc/ShFeUE4UFFEWQB1aVwNaAgYWUVRSWBdXA1teBhtXVBYASFdWF0kVQBdWXlJFDVYPCldXH1lSAVoBWEAGG1daCQcEQlwNA0tZDEBZW1cKQQwCTVldWhoEXQYUQhFZQFAHEQxYUk4>

3. HealthReform.gov: Answers for Families, Seniors and Small Businesses –

http://www.healthreform.gov/about/answers.html#seniors<http://healthcareforamericanow.org/page/ic/qxuldywfvvd9gc/SgRUWhYQSVULQEdQQxYdCRdUXBFHUgtaDUtB>

4. Health Insurance Companies Spent Millions to Fight Reform in First Quarter –

http://healthcareforamericanow.org/site/content/insurance_companies_spent_millions_to_fight_reform<http://healthcareforamericanow.org/page/ic/qxuldywfvvd9gc/ShZfQQZLBVsLR1VbRUpaDxBMQlNaVABsAVZfE1daXAEWOkVFBgoSawhaXFlYCl0SPE1fbVJeAlsWZkAGUFtHCQ>

–

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “By and Large” group.

# # # # #

Dear XXXXXX,

At the risk of infuriating you and injecting politics in our relatively sedate Yahoo Group, I’d like to respond to the “Obamacare” facing all of us.

The crap that has passed as “law” is imho immoral, ineffective, and inefficient.

Let me be very specific!

(1) Immoral because it:

(1a) Moves the country further from the free market in healthcare. Markets allow humans to cooperate peacefully operating in their own best interest. It’s immoral to institute Socialism in “Medical Care”. I should pay for my needs as you should for you. It’s not fair to force me to pay for yours at the detriment of my needs.

(1b) It further disconnects the consumer from the decision. As we learned in Economics class, medical care is an excellent example of an inelastic demand curve. Demand is nearly infinite at all prices. So it must be “rationed”. For all it’s flaws, price (or cost) is an excellent damper on demand. One can decry the fact that millionaires get better health care than paupers, but that’s life. And even in the worker’s paradise of the USSR or China that is still true.

(1c) Abortion! It forces the pro-life taxpayer like me to fund a morally abhorrent practice of killing babies. There is no moral basis for the State to have any role in killing its citizens. In fact, the DoI says “All men have an inalienable right to life, liberty, and property”. (I like the early Jeffersonian formulation better.) Following that line, the Gooferment has a small role in ensuring the protection of babies after conception and a larger role in protecting them as they get more mature. We never decided when that inalienable right inures.

(1d) Obamacare is immoral because it is knowingly built on several lies. A deliberate deception of the People was perpetrated in the scope, cost, and impact. Scope in that the crafters knew that this was a fundamental change and covered it up with “you can keep your insurance”, “you can keep your doc”, and “business as usual”. They know this is NOT true. Cost was papered over with phony estimates that they knew were not true and they know that political estimates are always off by a factor of 10 to 100. Impact in they knew there would be rationing of care for seniors as in Britain and Canada with NICE panels, reducing Medicare by 500M$ while the number of insured increases by a third, and the Doctor fix would NEVER be passed later. Never mind that the taxes start before benefits. Taxes go for ten years and benefits for five. Start up hides the true cost.

(1e) It’s immoral because like “Social Security” it will be impossible to repeal. We can’t go back when The People recognize it is a mistake. Once people begin to plan it into their lives, it can not be ripped out. There’s no going back. And, even today, the invisible hand of the marketplace is adapting: Employers are planning to drop benefits; Employers are delaying hiring because of uncertainty; People are trying to figure out how their health will change; Doctors are planing retirement; and Student are taking other career choices.

(2) Obamacare is ineffective.

(2a) What is it? Is it about “health”, “heath care”, “health care insurance”, “health care financing”, “health care accessibility”, or something else. One sign of ineffectiveness is when folks can’t define what they are doing and why. The debate on this as well as the labeling shifted all over the lot as politicians sought to whizz one by. It’s ineffective because depending upon what the objective being considered, it by the proponent’s own argument does NOT accomplish it. Let’s take a few! “Lower costs”, no. “Cover everyone”, no. “Single payer”, no. “Reign in insurers”, no. And, on and on.

(2b) Economists have long pointed out that the disconnect between the consumer and the cost leads to bad behavior. Medicare is a classic example. People get “care” without regard to cost. Think old folks would be buying all those “Hover-rounds” if they were footing the bill? We grew up in the old free market. My Mom scrutinized the bill for my appendix operation that she had to pay. She had insurance. But she paid and was reimbursed 80%. My wife was in the hospital for 35 days to the tune of a million bucks. The bill was a foot thick. We had two “insurances” so we didn’t even have to look at it. The old “insurance system” was bad; this will be worse. (It’s not “one old system” since it silently morphs, but for sake of argument let’s consider it one “old” versus “new”.)

(2c) Obamacare does NOTHING to even begin to measure effectiveness. It doesn’t even pretend to try to. How much does “medical care” improve our lives and how will we as a nation measure it. Live births, infant mortality, quality of life, quantity of life. It’s ineffective because we don’t know what effect will look like.

(2d) Obamacare suffers from what the Austrian School of Economics identifies as the “lack of a market”. Like tax policy, it very nebulous how much will “we” spend on Obamacare. The Socialists don’t have market costs to determine how much is enough. If I earn 10K$, 100K$, or 1M$, I know I can’t afford a 10M$ medical bill without help. Each year, there will be a political battle to fund Obamacare. How much is enough? Who gets screwed? What will we cover? How do we cut costs? All because we don’t have individuals deciding how much can I afford, how much do I want to pay, and what are my alternatives. It’s Socialisms unsolvable problems because everything becomes political and different “sides” fight over “the commons”. Politicans love it because they are in the driver’s seat. Essential to this fight.

(3) Obamacare is inefficient!

(3a) It introduces some 300 gooferment entities into healthcare. That’s just what’s on the drawing board. Someone has to pay for all of that. Who? Yup, the taxpayer. And, those dollars won’t go to healing people.

(3b) It replicates the VA Healthcare System, Native American Indian System, Medicaid Heathcare System, and (my personal favorite) the Medicare Healthcare System. These are all models of efficiency! Really, they are perfect models of what we can expect from Obamacare. Fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare is estimated by the Gooferment itself to be a third to a half of all money spent. Private estimates are higher.

(3c) Massachusetts’ Healthcare System is Obamacare in microcosm. It is already plagues with cost, coverage, delivery, and administrative problems. In the beginning years.

(3d) England, Canada, and most places that have some version of Obamacare are font of illustration of what the problems are. My personal favorite example is the 24 hour MRI billboard at Niagara Falls; for Canadians seeking a life saving MRI before it’s too late. Did you know that a map of GE’s fastest most-expensive newest MRI machines are all along the Canadian border; why is that?

(3e) Obamacare muddies the line between participant and referee. In pre-Obamacare days, “The Serf” (insured) fought with “The Nobel” (insurer) over coverage and could appeal to “The King” (the government) for relief. When in Obamacare, and the gooferment death panel denies you some needed or life-saving medical miracle, to who will you appeal? The Gooferment’s Courts? You’ll die before you get help. But then that is the idea. It’s eugenics all over again. Medical care for those who serve the State. Everyone else can go to hell.

(3f) It takes over charity. It dehumanizes society. It makes the gooferment the arbiter of who lives and die.

Sorry but this fat old white guy injineer thinks that Obamacare is a disaster of our own causing. There ain’t no such thing as free lunch.

I am passionately involved in this because my wife needs her medical care to stay alive for as long as she can. Obamacare, when it rations care, will deliberately deprive her of her life. Silently, in a very academic fashion, it will decide who is worth saving based on “adjusted quality years” (i.e., can you still work and pay taxes or are you collecting Social Security). It’s not going to be pretty. And this may just start the revolution that these Socialists want. They may not be happy with the outcome. Remember what happened in France as the “upper class” went to the guillotine?

Pf-reinke-nstein

# # # # #

I think the revolution will come. The question is: “Is it too late?”.

# # # # #

I left out about the Corn Husker Kickback, the Louisiana Purchase, and the various and sundry backroom deals to buy the votes to pass it.

I left out about how it elevates “The King” Gooferment to new levels of power.

I left out how Unconstitutional it is and how right Lysander Spooner was.

I left out how the elite (i.e., the Politicians and Bureaucrats) excluded themselves.

I left out how pissed I am at the whole damned thing! Where’s my pitchfork? Where’s the tar ‘n’ feathers? Where’s the torches? Where’s the Bastille?

# # # # #

Comments Off | Ranting | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

GOVERNACIDE: Turning over health care to the blob

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

http://www.forbes.com/2010/05/19/internet-ibm-cities-technology-breakthroughs-healthcare.html

Health Care
Staying Healthy In Big Cities
Rob Merkel, 05.20.10, 06:00 AM EDT
Why urban centers are the perfect place for ”smart health care.”

*** begin quote ***

This smarter approach is already beginning to take hold. In October 2009, during the height of the H1N1 flu outbreak, Duke University Health System used analytics tools to cull through 20 million electronic patient records for insights into chronic illness and medical history. High-risk patients, such as children with respiratory distress, were prioritized to receive the H1N1 vaccine. Via e-mail, Duke was able to update its patients on vaccine availability. It also used its system to contact more than 250,000 patients and provide education on how to avoid getting the flu and spreading it to others.

In the U.S. alone, an estimated $59 billion has been allocated for health care stimulus spending under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). With recent advances in technology and the improvements made possible by ARRA funding, we have the potential to infuse our existing health care systems with new intelligence. Technology alone can’t cure what ails us. But it can provide new ways to help those who treat our illnesses and battle major outbreaks do their jobs even better.

Rob Merkel is the Global HealthCare Service Line Leader for IBM Global Business Services. For 19 years he has helped many of the world’s leading health care brands, governments and institutions tackle their complex challenges.

*** end quote ***

Sorry, but your vision for elites deciding what’s best is communism. The recent swine flu with the gooferment in charge was a disaster. Immoral, ineffective, and inefficient. Immoral because the gooferment robs wealth at gunpoint to provide “services” that folks don’t want, don’t need, and can’t afford. This is but one example. Ineffective because the shots were late to the marketplace, misdirected, poorly prioritized. But, rest assured, all the elite, politicians, and bureaucrats got theirs first. Argh! Finally inefficient because the cost was absurd, the doses were late, delivered long after the need, and they expired unused.

No, we need to shoot the FDA and put Walmart in charge of health care. It’ll be good, cheap, and available.

Freedom for those cranky individuals to buy what they need when they need it will motivate greedy drug makers to get what we want to buy to us in plenty of time.

# – # – #

Don’t overlook the bias of the author. IBM will make big buxs off of this particular form of “corporate welfare”.

# – # – #

How many people died from the swine flu? And, after the vaccine was delayed by red tape?

None of the elite, politicians, or bureaucrats, I’m sure.

# # # # #

Comments Off | GOVERNACIDE | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Obamacare will go broke; only question how fast

Friday, May 14, 2010

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/05/early_harbingers_of_the_health.html

May 04, 2010
Early harbingers of the health care fiasco
Walt Elgin

*** begin quote ***

Speaking of which, nobody knows what it will cost or who covers overruns. Well, that will ultimately be us whether state or federal shortfalls, or both. Last month, dozens of states asked who pays when federal funding runs dry . “You could have a handful of people that could literally bankrupt the high-risk pool,” said Sumi Sousa, special assistant to Democratic California Assembly Speaker John Perez. “What do we do then? The state’s broke.”

*** and ***

And the feds have finally owned up to the real state of affairs; HHS spokeswoman Jenny Backus declined to say who pays when the program runs out of money. “I think we need to get the programs up and running before we start speculating,” she said.

*** end quote ***

All I can do it quote Margaret Thatcher.

“The trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”

Some programs run out faster. Like Indian Health Care. Like Obamacare.

# # # # #

Comments Off | Political | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INSPIRATIONAL: Hero has a heroine for a wife; shame on the VA

Friday, April 16, 2010

http://formerspook.blogspot.com/2010/04/remembering-hero.html

Thursday, April 15, 2010
Remembering a Hero

*** begin quote ***

Almost everyone knows about Audie Murphy, the most decorated American soldier in World War II. For his combat actions in the European Theater, Murphy received the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars and three Purple Hearts.

But fewer know the story of his widow, Pam. After her husband’s death in a 1971 plane crash, Pam Murphy went to work as a clerk at the Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center, a VA facility in North Hills, California.

*** end quote ***

Sounds like a heroic woman married to bona fide war hero.

Argh!

Never heard this story when she was alive; too bad. She deserved her own medals from the VA.

We’ll get VA level service from Obamacare andwe’ll wish she was still around.

# # # # #

# # # # #

Comments Off | INSPIRATIONAL, VETERANS | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Rush today; Obamcare will take over meded

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

On today’s show, Rush had a doctor caller, who pointed out sections of the Healthcare Law that allows the gooferment virtually complete control over medical education.

What a disaster!

# # # # #

Comments Off | Ranting | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Is this in the future of Obamacare?

Thursday, April 8, 2010

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7560059/Christian-nurse-who-refused-to-remove-crucifix-loses-tribunal.html

A Christian nurse who was moved to a desk job after refusing to remove her crucifix has lost a claim for discrimination.
Published: 3:17PM BST 06 Apr 2010

*** begin quote ***

Shirley Chaplin, 54, took the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust Hospital to an employment tribunal, claiming that taking off a necklace bearing a crucifix would ”violate her faith”.

The trust said the move was not specifically about the crucifix, but about health and safety concerns about patients grabbing necklaces.

*** end quote ***

Sorry, but this doesn’t wash.

Are all necklaces banned for all staff?

And, how do they explain that she been wearing it for 30 years?

How do they treat Orthodox Jews with their garments. Sikhs with their daggers.

You see the “King” aka the gooferment is a natural rival for the loyalty of the people with the “Church”. Been that way since forever when the serfs would seek the protection of the church. And the gooferment, a green eyed monster, can stand no competition.

So look for Obamacare to seek to cripple its rival here. Just like there.

Argh!

# # # # #

Comments Off | Political | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: The consequences of Obamacare

Monday, March 29, 2010

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/03/pelosi_proud_to_place_healthca.html

March 28, 2010
Pelosi proud to place healthcare reform beside two failed government programs
Anthony W. Hager

*** begin quote ***

One has to wonder if Speaker Pelosi realized what she was saying when she beamed about joining the creators of Social Security and Medicare. According to her own analogy Congress and the Obama administration have imposed upon America a program destined for high taxation, inadequate service, saucy bureaucrats, fraud, waste and future insolvency. If she was trying to boost public confidence in the healthcare bill she should’ve exercised greater care in picking her comparisons.

*** end quote ***

Interesting how economically unsound these programs — Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare — are.

Unfunded liabilities are a way of life for the congresscritters. By the time that the excrement hits the proverbial fan, the particular congresscritters who passed it are long on their way to a very comfortable retirement. Or their just rewards! And we are left holding the proverbial bag!!

To any one who was economically literate, the problem was almost immediately obvious:

http://www.ssa.gov/history/briefhistory3.html#idamay

*** begin quote ***

On January 31, 1940, the first monthly retirement check was issued to Ida May Fuller of Ludlow, Vermont, in the amount of $22.54. Miss Fuller, a Legal Secretary, retired in November 1939. She started collecting benefits in January 1940 at age 65 and lived to be 100 years old, dying in 1975.

Ida May Fuller worked for three years under the Social Security program. The accumulated taxes on her salary during those three years was a total of $24.75. Her initial monthly check was $22.54. During her lifetime she collected a total of $22,888.92 in Social Security benefits.

*** end quote ***

So it’s an intergenerational theft. A welfare program in disguise. An a wealth transfer, due to disparities in lifespan, from poor minority men to rich white women.

And, probably unintended, but could be a tin foil hat conspiracy, it destroyed the American family. Grandparents, now enriched with Social Security “retirement” checks, could abscond to Florida and abandon their families. Generations of grandchildren would be deprived of their grandparents thanks to this terrible law. This, combined with the high taxes that force housewives back into the work force, forced those grandchildren into childcare. It turns the schools into de facto all day daycare centers where the family bonds are destroyed. Which makes the uber-State very happy; remember the Prussian school model was to make soldiers for the army and factory workers to be led by “the elite”.

So what are the consequences of Obamacare — intended and unintended?

# # # # #

Comments Off | Political | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

GOVEROTRAGEOUS: “health care” slavery

Sunday, March 21, 2010

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/19/AR2010031901470.html

Is health-care reform constitutional?
By Randy E. Barnett
Sunday, March 21, 2010

*** begin quote ***

But making you buy insurance merely because you are alive is a claim of power from which many Americans instinctively shrink. Senate Republicans made this objection, and it was defeated on a party-line vote, but it will return.

*** end quote ***

This “health care” bill makes us slaves. Even more of a slave than we already are?

# # # # #

Comments Off | GOVEROTRAGEOUS | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Health “something” takeover; just say “no”!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

FROM FACEBOOK

FJohn Reinke

>American Thinker Blog: A glimpse into our Kafkaesque future under Obamacare

“For a taste of the Kafkaesque under ObamaCare, consider the 159 new boards, panels and programs in the 2,733 page Senate Health bill, as compiled by Senate Republicans. These panels would be the face of ObamaCare for every aspect of every medical need of every American.”

WOW! And, this is better than the evil insurance companies?

# – # – #

FROM COMMENTATOR #1

Yes, infinitely better, because insurance company executives will not be getting rich on the backs of middle-class Americans while actively depriving working-class and poor Americans of access to health care for their families.

# – # – #

FJohn Reinke

Yeah, we’ll just have another slew of bureaucrats getting rich off of us. And, if you thought the insurance execs were highly paid, then wait until you see a bunch of gooferment executives and how much they get paid!

# – # – #

FROM COMMENTATOR #2

In other words, America should remain in the position that it ranks 37th among the world in providing health care and have a mortality rate higher than some 3rd world countries.

# – # – #

FJohn Reinke

AND, (with all due respect to a fellow Jasper), you think that turning over “health”, “health care”, or “health care insurance” — depending upon whatever the Socialists in DC are using to sway us today — is the way to improve that? It’s worked out REAL well for the American Indians who suffer with the “Indian Healthcare System”. It’s gooferment at it’s best where they are reported to say “Don’t get sick after June!”!!!!

Sorry, but as BAD as the current system is perceived to be, what they are going to do to us is WORSE.

And, my best argument: when you get screwed, who will you complain to? A gooferment court! Yeah right. AND, if you decide it’s a mistake, how are you going to unwind it? Answer: You can’t! It’s a one way street. Like another example of inter-generational theft, Social Security…. See More

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. TANSTAAFL: There Ain’t No Such Thing As a Free Lunch.

# # # # #

Upon reflection:

(1) It is interesting how the Socialists “shift terminology”. Are we talking about “health”, “health care”, or “health care insurance”? These are all very different things. And that leads right into the next point.

(2) The Socialists mix stuff together. DOWNSIZEDC has a “One Subject At A Time” effort. Are we trying to reach the “uninsured”? Are we trying to lower the cost of “insurance”? Are we trying to address the “portability” of insurance without regard to employment (a vestige of WW2 wage and price controls)? What are WE trying to accomplish?

(3) “Pre-existing conditions” can NOT be covered. Covering them makes it into welfare or pre-paid medical care; not insurance.

(4) The gooferment, particularly in the FDA and in Medicare, is totally immersed in the minutia of “Health Care”. To the point of “regulatory capture”. Big Pharma, Big Insurance, and Big Medicine have a strangle hold on the regulatory mechanism. They have an incestuous relationship with congress critters via campaign contributions and regulators by employment opportunities.

(5) Government should be the “referee”. If you’re screwed by an insurance company, you can appeal to the “king” via the courts and regulators. With Obama-care, if you’re screwed, to whom will you appeal?

(6) Strategically, Obama-care plan is a one way street. Once we create an entitlement, and the sheeple plan around it and come to depend upon it, it’s immoral to jerk the rug out from under them.

(7) Tactically, Obama-care plan is a one way street. If this wildly unpopular bill becomes law, and even if the Congress turns over to the R’s, Obama will still be President for two more years. He’ll veto any repeal. So, the taxes will go into effect. Who knows who will be President in 2012? Hillary, Pallin, Ron Paul?

For these reasons, I am fundamentally opposed to this monstrosity being proposed.

I’m not so much worried for myself. But Frau needs her “health care” and can’t afford any screw ups.

Argh!

# # # # #

Comments Off | GOVEROTRAGEOUS | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Gooferment interferes in medicine

Saturday, March 13, 2010

http://channel-surfing.blogspot.com/2010/03/dispatches-and-loser-is.html

“Americans spent $7,289 per capita in 2006 compared with Norway’s per capita figure of $4,763. Canada, which has a single-payer system, spends $3,895 per capita.”

I’m just a fat old white guy injineer. But, you’ve got apples and oranges comparison here. You’re comparing the semi-socialist USA with the more socialist N and C. AND, then telling us that “it’s twice as bad”.

Sorry, but we have the worst of both worlds. Federal interference in the drug market place. Regulation of everything in sight “medical” at all levels of gooferment — federal, state, county, and municipality — adds enormous costs. Not all of which are accounted for. The costs are indeciperable.

I’m frustrated trying to demonstrate it to you.

Let’s compare insurance marketplaces. Medical insurance is disaster. Car insurance is better than medical, but still costly. Life insurance is cheap, and other than fiscal solvency, basically unregulated.

One problem is that “medical insurance” is more like pre-paid medical care; rather than “insurance”. Another problem is that the cost of regulation and bureaucracy is extraordinary. Pay a doctor in cash and you’ll find 50 to 75% discounts. Finally, drugs are the “technology” that will flatten the medical cost curve. But FDA and BigPharma are conspiring to keep the cost of entry high. Also, the FDA gets criticism if an “unsafe” drug gets out, but none if it never gets out at all.

Look at how we do “medical care” with all the government intervention. I have cold, sunburn, or a sprain. I need to go to the government licensed doctor, to get a prescription on a government approved form, take it to the government licensed pharmacy, where a government licensed druggist dispenses something aking to an aspirin. Note, I left out the government licensed and government regulated insurance company.

Argh! Recently, I got sunburned in a Third World Country island. I went to the local gas station and bought some lidocaine-laced aloe gel after consulting with the gas jockey (about the cost in US dollars). Also, recently, on a different trip, I was in a First World Country in Europe with a headache, needed an asparin, and went to the “drug store” to find out that I had to have “a script from a doctor” to buy such a “powerful drug”. Are you kidding me?

Finally, “We, The People” are free to do anything we want with OUR bodies. It’s the essence of self-ownership. If I want medical advice from an “unlicensed” provider and put “unapproved” drugs into it, that’s my business. Not the gooferment’s.

Keep your gooferment out of my body, my health, and my business. It’s only role is protect my rights from being abridged by force or fraud. “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ..”

# # # # #

Comments Off | Political | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Pre-existing conditions

Friday, March 5, 2010

http://healthinsurance.about.com/od/healthinsurancebasics/a/preexisting_conditions_overview.htm

Pre Existing Conditions – Understanding Exclusions and Creditable Coverage
HIPAA Pre-Existing Condition Protections
By Michael Bihari, MD, About.com Guide
Updated February 08, 2010

*** begin quote ***

Many Americans have health-related problems that insurance companies define as pre existing conditions. A pre-existing condition is a health problem that existed before you apply for a health insurance policy or enroll in a new health plan.

*** and ***

An important feature of HIPAA is known as “creditable coverage.”

Creditable coverage is health insurance coverage you had before you enrolled in your new health plan, as long as it was not interrupted by a period of 63 or more days. The amount of time you had “credible” health insurance coverage can be used to offset a pre-existing condition exclusion period in your new health plan.

*** end quote ***

Clearly the President and the various Congress Critters don’t understand the concept of “insurance”.

I know it’s a hard concept. But, in a population of people subject to the same RANDOM risk (i.e., meteorite), we can pool our premiums and award them to the “winner”. The Amish help their neighbors. The Mormons have their bishops. The Catholics have Catholic Charities.

We have “insurance partnerships”, like Lloyds of London, that will usually take the other side of any “bet” for the right price. We have “insurance companies” that have “standardized wagers” that they offer to take. That’s Life, Car, Health, and yes even Pet Insurance.

(What confuses us is that we don’t see the aggregation of the risk premium and the “apply – claims – payout” process as really a pass through mechanism. Like “corporate income tax”, only real people pay taxes. So when the “insurance company” has to pay for “pre-existing condition” — like paying off winning lottery tickets purchased after the drawing — it’s really transforming it into pre-paid medical care. Like insuring your car’s oil changes.)

(Let’s examine “insuring” your car’s oil changes. I can go get an oil change for 40$ (Jiffy Lube) to 75$ (Dealer). If an “insurance company” was involved, what would it cost? 500$ You’d have to compensate the insurance salesperson, the clerk to process the claim, and adjuster. And, of course, we have to have lawyers. Maybe 500$ is optimistic. Could be 1,000$. OR two!)

Note: This is NOT buying insurance AFTER the meteorite hits your house. Do you buy the winning lottery ticket after the drawing?

Economics IS truly the dismal science. We’ll always have shortages. But we have been given tools to manage the risks of life.

For car accidents, we have car insurance.

But once again, President Obama demonstrated his lack of economic understanding. Buying car insurance and expecting it to fix “HIS car after an accident. Obviously, he bought LIABILITY insurance; not collision or comprehensive insurance. For a lawyer, at this stage in his career to have such a misunderstanding of insurance is either: stupidity or duplicity. (Dumb or misleading? You choose!)

SO … … …

… … … “pre existing conditions” are buying the lottery ticket after the drawing.

… … … small costs should be out of pocket expenses; insurance is for BIG ones.

… … … health savings accounts with high deductible insurance sounds good.

And, politicians should be sent to “economics class” before they are allowed to vote!

# # # # #

# # # # #

Comments Off | Ranting | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Palin was right about “death panels”; gooferment health care kills

Monday, February 8, 2010

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1249114/Patient-dies-hospital-resuscitate-form-mistakenly-files.html

Patient dies in hospital after ‘do not resuscitate’ form is mistakenly put in his files
By Jo Macfarlane
Last updated at 8:03 AM on 07th February 2010

*** begin quote ***

A patient who suffered a heart attack on a hospital ward died because clerical staff had mistakenly inserted a ‘Do Not Attempt Resuscitation’ form into his medical notes.

Peter Clarke was not treated by doctors after going into cardiac arrest as a nurse had spotted the form in his files and, even though it was blank and had not been filled in, told other ward staff he should not be revived.

The blunder emerged at an inquest into the incident at Derby Hospitals NHS Trust, where bosses revealed staff had been ‘routinely’ placing the forms alongside medical records before they had been correctly signed and witnessed by senior doctors.

*** end quote ***

And, you want to entrust “health care” to the US gooferment?

After all they do so well with VA Health Care. And Indian Health Care.

And, Medicare and Medicaid are the exemplars of efficiency and effectiveness.

Argh!

In the USA, mistakes get corrected by wrongful death suits. After Obama care, you’ll sue the gooferment hospital in the gooferment courts. That’ll will work out how?

# # # # #

Comments Off | Ranting | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

RANT:You may have no recourse

Saturday, February 6, 2010

http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/four-factors-to-consider-before-roth-ira-conversion.html/comment-page-1#comment-337355

NateUVM says: 02/05/2010 at 11:09 am

*** begin quote ***

With all due respect, attempting to get something done since 1948 does not, in my opinion, indicate a “rush to do everthing all at once.” That’s how long we’ve been trying to fix health care.

The idea that this is being rammed through without due consideration is GOP spin.

You say “progressives want control.” My first question would be, “what control would this give them?”

*** end quote ***

@NateUVM

It gives them the power of “life and death”. And, don’t think it won’t get used and abuse. “Yes, Comrade NateUVM, you do have free speech, but for speaking out against the war (who knows which war it will be), you’ve been awarded a status of ‘category 12’ for you AND YOUR FAMILY. So, you can ONLY have aspirin and there will be a 7 year wait to see the specialist. If only, you’d have supported the war, you’d be category 21 and entitled to everything.”

Yes, like the Japanese internment, it CAN happen here.

I think the striongest argument against “gooferment healthcare” or “health insurance” is that if the gooferment screws you as opposed to the insurance company, where do you go for relief? The gooferment’s courts. Now you can sue. In the future, you may have no recourse.

# # # # #

Comments Off | Ranting | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

RANT: A gooferment helthcare testimonial!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2510700

N.L. Premier Williams set to have heart surgery in U.S.
Kenyon Wallace, National Post Published: Tuesday, February 02, 2010
The National Post is now on Facebook. Join our fan community today.

*** begin quote ***

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams will undergo heart surgery later this week in the United States.

Deputy premier Kathy Dunderdale confirmed the treatment at a news conference Tuesday, but would not reveal the location of the operation or how it would be paid for.

“He has gone to a renowned expert in the procedure that he needs to have done,” said Ms. Dunderdale, who will become acting premier while Mr. Williams is away for three to 12 weeks.

“In consultation with his own doctors, he’s decided to go that route.”

Mr. Williams’ decision to leave Canada for the surgery has raised eyebrows over his apparent shunning of Canada’s health-care system.

*** end quote ***

Guess that sums up the value of Canadian healthcare. And, who wants to be that the Canadian taxpayer will pay for this politician to come here?

Argh!

# # # # #

Comments Off | Ranting | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Obama’s health agenda

Thursday, January 21, 2010

WITH APOLOGIES TO ONE OF MY FACEBOOK FRIENDS:

*** begin quote ***

Coakley took the hit, but Obama can’t let one vote derail his agenda and his Presidency. Seat Brown, then have the House pass the Senate bill as is and sign it before the State of the Union address.

*** end quote ***

It’s NOT just one vote.

This bill is a DISASTER. Both personally and for the country. It’s not about “heath”, “health care”, or even “health care insurance”. It’s about putting the gooferment in charge of people’s decisions about their lives.

Personally, my wife needs her doctors to work hard on her case; not playing games to satisfy some gooferment bureaucrat deciding what care she will get.

Nationally, we can’t afford this monstrosity. The gooferment already “runs” Medicare (broke!), Medicaid (breaking Fed and States), the VA (hated by most vets and underfunded), and Indian Health System (hated and goes broke every June). Let them “fix” one of those and then revisit the issue.

As a little L libertarian, I’d prefer that they just leaves us alone. If they can’t do that, how about some things that EVERYONE can agree on: (1) interstate competition; (2) eliminate the unfavorable tax treatment on self-purchased health care insurance; and (3) some limits on malpractice awards?

# # # # #

Comments Off | Political | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Sic transit gloria mundi

Thursday, January 21, 2010

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,673192,00.html

01/21/2010
The World from Berlin
The World Bids Farewell to Obama

*** begin quote ***

Center-left daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes on Thursday:

“Obama made a serious misjudgement. Right at the beginning of his first year in office, he saved the banks, rescued the automobile industry from collapse and passed a huge economic stimulus package. He had hoped that these enormous deeds would give him the space to address those issues which are dearest to him: health care reform, climate change and investment in education.”

“Those issues, however, are clearly not priorities for people in the US at the moment. Scott Brown campaigned on two promises, both of which apparently struck a nerve with the electorate. He wants to block health care reform and he wants to find ways to reduce the enormous budget deficit. It is here where the roots of dissatisfaction with Obama are to be found. His reform agenda, in its current form, is highly suspect to Americans. And they have the impression that, if he continues piling up debt, he will be gambling away the country’s future.”

*** end quote ***

He’s misjudged the meaning of his election. And, for all the talk of tough Chicago style politics, he wasn’t so tough. He caved to Wall Street. He should have said to little Timmy, Helicopter Ben, the Labor Unions, the Trial lawyers, Nancy, and Harry: “Howdy, now get lost!”. They sunk him. Along with Big Sis, and all the hangers on weighing him down. I believe he missed one key factor. Wall Street has a unique survival mechanism. Self-preservation. If he had zipped the public purse form the bail outs — all of them — magic would have happened. All these folks with “no way to survive” would have figured it out WITHOUT a bail out. And, after the first one was rejected, there would have been NO QUEUE for more “worthy contenders”.

He should have focused on the message of Bill Clinton. Like Kennedy, he could have had the Obama tax cut to small business. Figure out a complicated formula to ensure it went only to the little guys. They make the jobs any way. Then go after the sugar and milk price supports to bring down prices to the people. Then, repeal the minimum wage and put youngsters back to work. Minorities would have been helped. He could have gone after the absurd “war on some drugs” and emptied the prisons of non-violent drug offenders.

Then, maybe he could have done all sorts of good things. He went for the big brass ring and fell off the ride. He should have, in consultant speak, gone after the low hanging fruit. Quick easy wins that score big points.

Sad.

All glory fades.

Seeking to be a JFK, he winds up a Carter. At least, he not a joke like Clinton. “Democratic” President don’t seem to work out too well.

(It is interesting how the UK, German, and International press is so much better than the US counterparts.)

# # # # #

Comments Off | Political | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

« Previous Entries
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 57 other followers