Bob Williams State Budget Shortfall - Bob's Corner

Why does AARP support the Democrats health care reform?

1. In 2008, AARP received $652 million in royalties from insurance companies that sold products referred by AARP,  AARP received another $120 million for ads placed in their publications. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Surprising-Talk-From-AARP-by-John-Basel-090924-673.html

2. Royalty revenues now comprise more than 60% of all AARP revenues.  In 1999, royalties were only 11%.  http://michellemalkin.com/?s=Hmmm%3A+Is+the+AARP+getting+kickbacks+from+Obamacare%3F

3. AARP has spent tens of millions of dollars on advertising and an aggressive public-relations campaign. http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/55207-aarp-faces-test-on-healthcare-reform

4. AARP endorses a huge reduction in funding of Medicare Advantage, which has over 10 million middle-lower income seniors.  This If seniors are forced out of this program they will become potential buyers of the very profitable Medicare Supplemental program sponsored by AARP.  http://michellemalkin.com/?s=Hmmm%3A+Is+the+AARP+getting+kickbacks+from+Obamacare%3F

Health care reform solutions

Governor Bobby Jindal offered ten free market solutions for health care reform today. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/04/AR2009100402003_pf.html

Voluntary purchasing pools

Portability

Lawsuit reform

Require coverage of preexisiting conditions

Require transparency and payment reform

Electronic medical records

Tax-free health savings accounts

Reward healthy lifestyle choices

cover young adults

Refundable tax credits

Senate Health Care Bill

Sen. Baucus’ idea for health care co-ops will not solve the problem.

Health care reform solutions

Principles:

Any health care reform should first “do no harm”?

1. Every American needs access to affordable health insurance
2. We need to abolish the unfair tax that favors employer-sponsored insurance over self-purchased insurance.
3. We need a more vibrant private market with greater competition and choice.
4. We need to make prices more transparent and give consumers more freedom to peruse health-care value.
5. Incentives need to be aligned and integrated to encourage desired behaviors.
6. There needs to be appropriate accountability, including economic consequences, if people do not behave properly.

Specific proposals

1.      John Mackay, CEO of Whole Foods

a.       Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts (HSAs).

b.      Equalize the tax laws so that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance laws have the same tax benefits.

c.       Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines.

d.      Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover.

e.       Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

f.        Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments costs.

g.       Enact Medicare reform.

h.       Revise tax forms to make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance and aren’t covered by Medicare; Medicaid; or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052970204251404574342170072865070.html

2.      SAFEWAY’s Health Care System

a.       Safeway’s per-capital health care expenses have remained flat, compared to the nearly 40% increase experienced by the rest of corporate America over the past four years.

b.      The company deposits $1000 each year into a “health reimbursement account” which workers can use to pay for medical expenses.  The next $1,000 is the employee’s responsibility.  After that, employees pay 20% of costs up to a $4,000 maximum.

c.       The second part of the program is Safeway’s “Healthy Measures” program which is voluntary.  Employees are tested for smoking, weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol.  Every area they “pass” results in a reduction of their premium, as much as $1560 for a family, a year.  Those who fail but prove progress can get refunds.  Safeway compliments this program with an intense culture of health: wealth-loss tips, fitness competitions and smoking cessation programs.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124536722522229323.html

3.      Sen Jim DeMint- “Health Care Freedom Plan

a.       Those without employer-based health insurance would receive vouchers of $2k/individual or $5k/family to purchase health insurance

b.      Individuals with HSAs could use those funds to pay for insurance premiums

c.       Individuals could purchase health insurance in any state

d.      Block grants to states to develop innovative models that ensure affordable health insurance coverage for individuals with preexisting health conditions.

e.       Tort reform

4.      Christian health sharing communities

a.       An estimated 100,000 Christians participate in a private, voluntary program, which are called health sharing communities.

b.      Members are assessed “shares” based on family size, which are paid monthly, in addition to annual dues.

c.       Those who need care submit their claims to a central office, which sends members monthly bulletins informing them whose care their monthly payment will be covering.

http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/46290

5.      Qliance Medical Management, Inc (Seattle).   Consumers pay a set monthly fee of between $39 and $79 a month, depending upon age, for unlimited preventive and primary care –for common things such as checkups, vaccinations, ordinary illnesses and minor fractures as well as ongoing care for chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and hypertension.  It offers office visits as long as 60 minutes, same-day appointments and phone and email communications with its doctors, as well as on-site X-rays, lab tests, and first-fill prescriptions.  Consumers buy high-deductible health insurance to protect them from the cost of severe illness or accidents.

http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/08/17/story2.html

6.      Health care clinics in stores (ie Walmart/Target/Walgrens

a.       Independent health care clinics are not operating in some Walmart; Target; and Walgren stores.

b.      These clinics provide one-stop convenience for many basic healthcare needs at affordable prices.

c.       No appointment is necessary to visit the clinics

d.      Clinics are opened seven days a week.

e.       Patient data is electronic

f.        All prices are clearly posted

g.       An average get well visit cost $65 or less.

h.       Each clinic is owned and operated by an independent company that is not affiliated with the store.

http://www.walmart.com/clinics

Cash for clunkers running on empty

The Maryland dealers association says fewer than 2 percent of the claims have been reimbursed. The government’s solution - assign an extra 1,000 workers to process the paperwork. http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.dealers18aug18,0,850…851.story. It is one thing to delay payments to car dealers; but in the case of health care delays, it could result in a patient dying.

The federal government cannot run an efficient “cash for clunkers” program. How can they think they can run health care? Latest numbers 320,000 clunkers have been turned in but the government has only approved 25,000. Dealers are waiting for their money -but in the meantime they have to meet payroll and pay taxes and other expenses

White House is lamenting the power of the left on public option

White House is lamenting the power of the left by their hardening their position on the public option. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/18/AR2009081803655.html

Health care reform

John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Markets presents a common sense free market health care solution.  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052970204251404574342170072865070.html

Pilot test federal health care reform on Congress

Federal health reform should be subject to a 4 year pilot program. year 1 - all members of Congress must be enrolled -no exceptions and no alternative health care. Year 2- expand to all federal employees. Year 3-expand to all state legislators. Year 4-expand to all state state employees. Let’s carefully evaluate how this system would work. I imagine Congress would repeal it after a few weeks

Health Questions to ask your Senator of House Member

During the Congressional recess it is essential that we turn up the heat on Congress. Following are suggested questions to ask your members of Congress. Thanks to John McClaughry of Ethan Allen Institute for the questions.

Attend these meetings and ask the following twelve questions:

1. The bills impose an individual mandate on me to buy health insurance approved by the Federal government. What will happen to me if I don’t go along? Fines? Wage garnishment? Jail? Will these penalties also apply to millions of illegal aliens, or will they apply only to American citizens and legal aliens?

2. The bills impose a mandate on most businesses to pay for employee health insurance containing “essential benefits” approved by the federal government. If the businesses don’t do so, they’ll be required to pay a fine. How many small businesses will shrink their operations, or go under, rather than pay this new penalty?

3. President Obama said that if I am happy with my coverage, I can keep it “no matter what”. Now we learn that I can keep it until my employer changes or drops it, or until I change employers, or until I try to buy individual insurance. Will you stand behind the President’s initial promise, or will you support Congress’s action to break it?

4. The bills contain a provision allowing health insurance plans bargained by labor unions to continue unchanged – while nonunion workers are threatened with loss of coverage.  Is this preference for unionized workers a result of Labor’s strong support of Obama and the Democrats in the last election? Do you support the exemption?

5. President Obama has said he won’t support a health care reform bill that will add to our exploding deficit. The Congressional Budget Office says this bill will increase the federal deficit. Will you vote against any bill that fails President Obama’s requirement that it will not add to our deficit?

6. Governors of both parties have strongly objected that the bill’s mandated expansion of Medicaid will put an intolerable fiscal burden on struggling state treasuries and state taxpayers. Will you vote against any bill containing this very costly unfunded mandate?

7. The bill includes provisions for Federally-designed “comparative effectiveness research”. This is intended to require health care providers to deny health care to elderly citizens, people with disabilities, and others the health of whom certain appointed experts think is not worth improving. Will you oppose any bill that contains such a provision?

8. The bill requires that “qualified” health insurance plans include all “essential benefits” determined by federal bureaucrats. Democratic majorities have already voted down amendments to exclude elective abortions from the list of “essential benefits”. That means that for the first time taxpayers will be required to subsidize elective abortions. Will you vote for a bill requiring taxpayer financing of elective abortions?

9. Exploding medical malpractice claims, fueled by the plaintiff’s bar, are driving doctor and hospital malpractice insurance premiums ever upward. Why are there no provisions in any of the bills to ameliorate this problem, which is driving doctors out of practice? Is it because the plaintiff’s bar contributes millions of dollars to the leading sponsors of this legislation?

10. The bill contains a “public option”, a government-run insurance company “to keep the private insurers honest.” Will this government-run company pay taxes, pay for its own revenue collection and marketing costs, and pay market interest rates on its debt? Or will it enjoy government backing that will enable it to undersell its private competitors, swallow up their customers, and become a new “Medicare for Everybody”?

11. Speaking of Medicare, the system is $36 trillion out of actuarial balance and will run out of hospitalization benefit funds by 2017. How will the government-run “public option” insurance company avoid turning into another Medicare basket case? And how will our senior citizens on Medicare continue to get medical services?

12. Finally,  if you support this “public option” plan, are you willing to transfer your family and your staff’s families out of the existing Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan, with its choices of many private insurers, into the new government plan? If not, why won’t it be good enough for you?

How do we wake up Congressional GOP Leadership?

I have been speaking a great deal around the state of Washington and the voters are energized. They are  extremely angry at both political parties.

They fear for the future of their country and the free enterprise system. They expected it from President Obama, but they have been gravely disappointed in the lack of leadership and backbone on the part of Republican members of Congress. I have never heard such anger by conservatives and long-time major GOP donors toward the elected Republican members of Congress as I am hearing now.

They wonder why Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Bill O’Reilly are speaking out more against the Obama agenda than the congressional Republican leadership.

Meanwhile the waste of billions of dollars of taxpayer money continues. Has anyone in the GOP leadership criticized Microsoft for receiving federal stimulus funds for a bridge linking their campuses or for the millions of dollars wasted on “shovel ready” road projects in which blacktop is being laid down quickly (whether it is needed or not) in order for local governments to receive federal funds?

The   $300 billion stimulus bill from July 2008 was a failure, and so was the $700 billion  TARP in October 2008. Where are the cries by the GOP leadership for oversight hearings or GAO reports? The purposes of HR 1424   (TARP) were to:

·         “Protect home values, college funds, retirement accounts, and life savings.” Tell that to many senior citizens who have lost 40 percent of the value of their retirement accounts in the past 16 months or to seniors who have lost a considerable value in their homes.

·         “Preserve home ownership and promotes jobs and economic growth.” Look at the homes in foreclosure and unemployment numbers.  Only 49% of Americans say home is now worth more than mortgage (Rasmussen Reports May 12)

·         “Maximize overall returns to the taxpayers.” The government is doing a great job maximizing a negative return.

·         “Provide public accountability for the exercise of such authority.” We have seen that this is a joke. The  Federal Reserve apparently cannot account for $9 trillion in off-balance sheet transactions and they seem to have no idea on what the losses are on its $2 trillion portfolio.  And their Inspector General appears clueless.  Where are the Congressional oversight hearings?  How has the $700 billion been spent?

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the $787 billion stimulus bill that he said would create or save 3.5 million jobs. Since then we have lost 16,000 jobs per day!  (Source: House Republican Conference).

Where is the outcry from the elected Republican leadership? Even Republicans who supported some or all of these stimulus measures should be willing to call for proper oversight and accountability procedures.

The people I speak to are tired of the increasing amount of government intrusion into their businesses and lives. 80% of Americans want Government to sell their stake in GM, Chrysler right now (Rasmussen Reports. June 16)

The Republican  Congressional Leadership squandered its image by overspending and promoting government bailouts of failed companies. The only way to regain trust — not only in the Republican Party but in our governmental institutions — is for conservative elected officials to act like statesmen. Earn respect by  demanding accountability and reform.  They need to act now before it’s too late.