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.

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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.

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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!

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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.)

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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.

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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

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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!  

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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!

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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?

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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!

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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

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!

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