Volume 153
Volume 152

At least one atmospheric scientist believes a catastrophic storm surge--the rise of ocean levels pushed by a storm's winds and pressure--may now be "a certainty". Storm surge is by far Phailin's biggest threat to lives along India's coastline. Ocean levels may rise as much as 6 meters (20 feet) near and to the northeast of the storm's landfall location, pushing an inexorable wall of water inland. Storm surge of nearly 3 meters may stretch as far northeast as the vulnerable Ganges Delta of Bangladesh--home to tens of millions. The JTWC estimates that waves of up to 17 meters (56 feet) are already buffeting the Bay of Bengal.   

There is a separate out of pocket max for OUT of network providers. And that out of pocket max is either very high or unlimited,  and is not regulated by Obamacare.  And, if you see an out of network provider, the provider can bill you for what the insurance company didn't allow (aka balance bill).  This means you're billed for the copay PLUS any extra that insurance didn't think was an allowable charge. It's a common practice.

That wouldn't be so much of a problem except that:

The networks have gotten excruciatingly thin on Obamacare plans, because insurers are discounting their reimbursements on these plans so that they're lower than customary reimbursements.

I thought it was a personal situation that none of my specialists were included in any of the plans on our Exchange.  But, it's a national trend.  People are actually starting to call it quasi-Medicaid, suggesting all of the huge problems therein, like limited doctor access so people line up around the block to see doctors, like people dying waiting for doctors.  

Patient advocates are talking about it.  Hospitals are having to sue to try and get into these plans.  Hospitals not on these plans are losing their insurees due to being excluded from these plans, of course. But they're losing doubly! Because of the influx of new insurees that Obamacare would theoretically bring to hospitals, Obamacare CUT DSH payments (funding for poverty care).  And it added Medicaid patients to the rolls.  Because of the Obamacare HMOs, hospitals like this could collapse under their own weight.

Say it, please, "I love HMOs" because that's what you're endorsing, the HMO model.

So when you're busting your hiney defending Obamacare HMO's, you're defending something that was reviled in the 90's. The Patients Bill of Rights was a result of the horrors of the HMO's. But you'll never hear a word from Democrats about sneaking these HMOs into a system where we force people to buy them.  Now why is that, if they're such an awesome cost-cutting measure?

It's bad enough that Medicaid is pretty horrible for human beings.  It's worse because now we're paying insurance companies in large premium dollars to create a similarly ugly situation for a larger group of people, with the full force cheerleading from Democrats like some of you. Insurance companies have gotten around lifetime caps by taking care away altogether from people. I think you're going to reach a point where you feel really silly for busting an artery over this insurance giveaway disguised as a social program.  Protect your health.  Really, arguing the glories of Obamacare is not worth your time.

The less care they provide, the more money they make.

Even if it was a regulated system, the basis of it is unfair. It's not like any other business in our so-called free enterprise system. Normally, businesses hope to gain sales and profits by providing the consumer with more features and benefits than their competitors. Theoretically, this competition ends up providing consumers with the best available value.

But, the abomination we've been given is the worst of all worlds. Nobody questions that our Representatives have sold out to the health industry monopoly. So, with nowhere else to go, and every incentive for the industry to provide minimal service, how can anyone say that this program is anything but a criminal enterprise foisted upon the citizenry by a conspiracy consisting of The President, Congress, and the Health Insurance Moguls?

I've been watching these two flirting while pretending not to flirt since about 2002. The elephant would watch the donkey all the time, and the donkey would watch back, while they pretended to hate each others' guts. The donkey would pretend not to give a sh*t -- not speaking to him, not returning his calls, but the whole time she'd look for excuses to be around while the elephant was in the room. It got to be pretty annoying after a while -- the donkey would be flirting her a** off, and the whole time saying it was nothing, just a little bipartisanship, all in a spirit of compromise.

It only got worse after 2004 -- the donkey practically throwing herself at the elephant, while acting all coy, like she didn't even care, the elephant behaving like a cold bastard toward her, while anybody with half a brain in their head knew he really wanted to f*ck her brains out.

The go*damn' donkey got even worse around 2008 or so -- smarmy coy looks, suggestive touching, soppy goo-goo eyes, all the time insisting there was nothing to it. Finally, about the time of the health care vote, she was all but falling all over the elephant, and it became insufferable. It was all I could do to keep from yelling "for crissakes, why don't you two just get a room, already?"

Duracell Bunny.

A key snippet:

Lobbyists and representatives from the medical, hospital, pharmaceutical and insurance industries are among the attendees. Ailing Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) makes a surprise appearance.

"The purpose of this forum is ... to determine how we lower costs for everyone, improve quality for everyone, and expand coverage to all Americans," says the president. "And our goal will be to enact comprehensive health care reform by the end of this year."

"What was most interesting ... was the people who were in the room that day. Many of these players who certainly for years, if not decades, had a record of opposing any sort of health care reform efforts. ... Every single one of those people gathered at the March White House summit wanted one thing: a seat at the table," explains Washington Post reporter Ceci Connolly.

The insurance industry pledges support, but it's keyed to the president backing an individual mandate requiring all Americans to buy health insurance. The industry also wants Obama to drop the idea of a "public option" -- a government-run health care plan.

and another regarding the oft-repeated myth of a deal w/the insurance industry:

Fall 2009 Democrats take the lead; war with the insurance industry; more deals are cut.......And the following Saturday, the president takes on the insurance industry in his weekly Internet address: "They're flooding Capitol Hill with lobbyists and campaign contributions, and they're funding studies designed to mislead the American people," he says. "It's all smoke and mirrors. It's bogus."

But Karen Ignani and her allies fight back by funneling millions of dollars into a tough ad campaign against the legislation sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.

Passage of the ACA, while not w/o its flaws was a huge achievement.  Varied interests needed to be represented.  We should remember the goal - to provide protection against catastrophic financial ruin because of an illness or injury, basic coverage/screenings for those who heretofore have not had it, and the bringing of additional money into the pool to eventually lower premiums.