Submitted by lambert on Wed, 05/29/2013 - 5:04pm
From selling "hope and change" to selling insurance. How transformative! Kaiser:
President Obama To Hit The Campaign Trail For Health Law
President Obama often tells audiences that he has waged his last campaign. But that’s not exactly true.
Read below the fold...
Submitted by lambert on Wed, 05/29/2013 - 2:59pm
Plants that repel mosquitos. When I'm done planting, I hope to then sit in my garden, not working in it, but working on my computer. But yesterday, when we had our brief moment of sun (snarl), I noticed a mosquito. So I'm wondering if there are plants that repel them? I did a quick Google search, but what I'm really wondering is if anybody has personal experience. Read below the fold...
Submitted by lambert on Wed, 05/29/2013 - 2:06pm
Submitted by lambert on Wed, 05/29/2013 - 1:53pm
Since Mayor-for-Life Bloomberg gave the Cooper Union commencement address 10AM -- and what a signal that is -- I thought I'd check out twitter to see if anything exciting happened, like a case of entartism, but if it did, there's no reporting on it yet. Read below the fold...
Submitted by lambert on Wed, 05/29/2013 - 12:40pm
I went and got straw yesterday, so I'm going out into the garden, even if it is only 60°, and plant some stuff. Read below the fold...
Submitted by lambert on Tue, 05/28/2013 - 12:22pm
Submitted by lambert on Tue, 05/28/2013 - 1:18am
From this -- alas anonymous -- analyst/informant to Paul Craig Roberts in Counterpunch:
[I]f an Exchange determines you are eligible for Medicaid, you have no other choice. Code for Exchanges specifies, “an applicant is not eligible for advance payment of the premium tax credit (a subsidized plan) or cost-sharing reductions to the extent that he or she is eligible for other minimum essential coverage, including coverage under Medicaid and CHIP.” Therefore, you will be tossed into Medicaid unless there are specific rules as to why you would not be eligible. If you are enrolled in a private plan through an Exchange and have been receiving a tax credit, and your income decreases making you eligible for Medicaid, in you go. If you are allowed to opt out because you don’t want Medicaid, you will have to pay a penalty for being uninsured unless you can afford to purchase insurance in the open market. ...
Furthermore, to increase enrollment in health coverage without requiring people to complete an application on their own, states are advised to automate enrollment whenever possible by using existing databases for social services programs such as SNAP (food stamps) to enroll people who appear eligible for Medicaid but are not currently enrolled. Therefore, you could find yourself auto-enrolled in Medicaid against your will if your state acts on this advice.
.... You won’t find the following info in the ACA. It’s in the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OBRA 1993) – a federal statute which applies to Medicaid, and, if you are enrolled in Medicaid, it will apply to you depending on your age.
a) OBRA 1993 requires all states that receive Medicaid funding to seek recovery from the estates of deceased individuals who used Medicaid benefits at age 55 or older. It allows recovery for any items or services under the state Medicaid plan going beyond nursing homes and other long-term care institutions. In fact, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) site says that states have the option of recovering payments for all Medicaid services provided. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) site says at state option, recovery can be pursued for any items covered by the Medicaid state plan. Read below the fold...
Submitted by lambert on Tue, 05/28/2013 - 1:02am
WaPo:
Wall Street investors hungry for advance information on upcoming federal health-care decisions repeatedly held private discussions with Obama administration officials, including a top White House adviser helping to implement the Affordable Care Act.
The private conversations show that the increasingly urgent race to acquire“political intelligence” goes beyond the communications with congressional staffers that have become the focus of heightened scrutiny in recent weeks.
White House records show that Elizabeth Fowler, then a top health-policy adviser to President Obama, met with executives from half a dozen investment firms in 2011 and 2012. Among them was Kris Jenner, a stock picker with T. Rowe Price Investment Services who managed its $6 billion Health Sciences Fund.
Of course it's corruption. What else would Fowler and the investors be doing but trading information? Comparing their autographed portraits of Our President? Read below the fold...
Submitted by lambert on Mon, 05/27/2013 - 9:52pm
Submitted by lambert on Mon, 05/27/2013 - 2:13pm
Submitted by lambert on Mon, 05/27/2013 - 1:28pm
Republicans call it socialism. In fact, it's a giant handout to the insurance companies. Democrats call it "Affordable Care." In fact, it's a rental extraction opportunity for the financial section. It has nothing to do with care, affordable or not. Read below the fold...
Submitted by lambert on Mon, 05/27/2013 - 12:32pm
Submitted by lambert on Sun, 05/26/2013 - 8:34pm
Submitted by lambert on Sat, 05/25/2013 - 5:08pm
[I should write a post on the Obots declaring victory because the draft CA rates mean that people will be forced to purchase a defective product for less than the high-ball estimate, but it's so fucking discouraging I'm going to bed. Krugman, of course. --lambert]
All I really want to do is sit by the (electric) fire and snooze. Read below the fold...
Submitted by lambert on Sat, 05/25/2013 - 4:44pm
