Prison is better than being without Health Insurance?

Color me skeptical, but a man robbed a bank of $1 and claims it was to get Prison Health Care. James Verone claims to have been out of work for 3 years since being laid off from his job at a Coca Cola plant, and is facing several challenging health issues.

In an interview with WNCN-TV, first broadcast Sunday, Richard James Verone said he has no medical insurance, but has an undiagnosed growth on his chest, two ruptured disks in his back and a problem with his foot.

The 59-year-old has no job and no money, so he said he decided to rob a bank in a bid to get medical care.

Last Thursday he walked into a branch of the RBC Bank in Gastonia, N.C. and handed a teller a note which asked for one dollar -- then he sat in a chair waiting for the police to arrive.

This looks more like a publicity stunt than a true cry for help to me, but it is possible I am wrong. However, I know there are a number of public and private charity organizations out there to help those without health care who are in dire need. And let us not forget that no Emergency Room can turn away anyone for lack of ability to pay.

If you are in dire need of health care - and are without insurance - I encourage you to let your needs be known to your local church and civic organizations. Let people help. Given the opportunity, Americans are known for their willingness to help their fellow man.

FDA cracks down on drugmakers, drugmakers crank up the prices

In an age of skyrocketing medical costs, it is in the Federal government's best interest to ensure our medicines are as safe and precisely targeted as possible. Enter the FDA, charged with regulating and monitoring drug safety. Unfortunately, their recent efforts to lock down drugs has resulted in 50x increases in drug prices for patients who can ill afford the cost, by creating pseudo-monopolies. Thus, increasing medical costs for everyone, including the Federal government.

Beware the well-intentioned bureaucrat!

Until January, colchicine was sold by many companies and cost as little as 10 cents a pill. Now it's available only under the trade name Colcrys, sold by a Philadelphia company called URL Pharma—for five dollars per pill.* The colchicine story, and a few others like it, have provoked ire among some patients and doctors about an otherwise praiseworthy effort by the FDA to get rid of old, untested, potentially harmful drugs.

Take the case of 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17OHP), a synthetic hormone designed to prevent preterm births in pregnant women...The drug's retail price jumped from $15 to $1,440 per treatment, a shock to obstetricians and their patients, as well as to those who write checks at insurance companies and Medicaid. The tens of thousands of women who receive the treatment each year typically require 20 injections during the course of their pregnancies.

To be fair, though, it appears that the FDA is not entirely deaf to these complaints, and is taking some action.

The Post Office is broke... again

Why are Americans so worried about turning over control of our Health Care to the Federal Government? Because even the oldest Federally-controlled corporations - the Post Office - is dead broke. The postmaster reports that they will be out of money by October. If they can't get it right in in 236 years, what hope do they have to fix an already-broken health care system?

Donahoe said that as of Sept. 30 his agency will owe the federal government a payment of $5.5 billion to fund medical costs, in advance, for future retirees, and in November it will need to make a $1.3 billion payment for worker's compensation.

"The Postal Service will not have the cash available to make both of these payments. We need legislation this year to address that fact," he said.

If it does come down to crunch time, said Donahoe: "We will deliver the mail." Employees will be paid, as will suppliers, he said. "The thing we will not do is pay the federal government."

Without some important changes to the law the post office "cannot survive as a self-financing entity," Donahoe said.

Health Care Reform ruled "Unconstitutional"

This is sure to go all the way to the Supreme Court, so neither opponents or proponents should get too excited, but a Federal Judge has ruled the Health Care Reform Bill unconstitutional. The reason? The individual mandate which would require all Americans to buy Health Insurance.

“Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void. This has been a difficult decision to reach, and I am aware that it will have indeterminable implications.,” he wrote in his ruling...

The suit was filed by the state of Florida shortly after the reform law was signed in March. But since then, 25 additional states and the National Federation of Independent Business joined the case, making it the most high-profile and politically charged lawsuit against health reform.

The individual mandate was always the weakest part of Health Care Reform. Liberal legislators wanted it to avoid "free rides" or people not having health care due to their own actions. But the Constitution has always been harshest in its restrictions on the extension of Federal power over individuals. This is a good call.

That being said, I don't think it will be hard to come up with an amendment to the original bill which does pass Constitutional muster.

Curing obesity... doesn't reduce health care costs

A cornerstone of the new Health Care Reform law (and virtually all Health Care reform proposals) is the assumption that ending bad behavior will reduce overall costs for everyone. It seems intuitive - if treating obesity-triggered diseases is expensive, eliminate obesity. But a new study suggests this is not the case as a longer lifespan offsets any short-term savings.

Of course, we should all be trying to be the best version of ourselves, so no one should take this as an excuse to stop exercising and gorge themselves on sweets. But it is a reminder that we should temper our zeal for policy-making with a humility that admits there will always be unexpected consequences that we can not predict.

CT Health Care Reform Backlash

Do you remember when President Obama promised that his Health Care Reform plan would bring down the costs of health care for all Americans? Those of us in Connecticut are wondering how he will explain the latest move by insurers who now want the ability to raise rates by over 20% in 2011.

Aetna asked earlier this summer for an average 24.7 percent increase over last year for small-group HMO plans. State regulators approved an average increase of 18 percent for all of Aetna's small-group plans and 14.2 percent for large-group and middle-market plans, according to Aetna and an initial review of documents provided to The Courant by the state Insurance Department...

In what might appear to be an oddity, companies are citing a huge range of effects that the health care reform mandates will have on plan prices — from near zero to well over 20 percent...

ConnectiCare is seeking an average 22.2 percent hike for its individual-market HMO plans, according to a filing with state regulators...Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut, by far the largest insurer of Connecticut residents, said in a letter that it expects the federal health reform law to increase rates by as much as 22.9 percent for just a single provision — removing annual spending caps...

Somehow, I suspect suddenly health care will return to be a #1 issue in the Fall elections... at least in my home state.

"Pre-existing Condition" Plans began July 1

"ObamaCare" has begun as the requirement for states to offer alternative plans to anyone denied health insurance for a "pre-existing condition" went into effect. If you need health insurance and are in this boat, check out the healthcare.gov website to see what your state offers. For example, my home state is offering a plan to anyone uninsured more than 6 months and unable to get coverage.

A real health care crisis - anti-venoms are leaving the market

I am thankful to live in the Northeastern USA, where poisonous animals are rare and pretty much restricted to "pets" bought by adventurous New Englanders. But I was shocked to learn just how many effective anti-venoms are going off the market because of a combination of unprofitability and FDA over-regulation.

Antivenom shortages are a surprisingly common occurrence. The entire state of Arizona ran out of antivenom for scorpion stings after Marilyn Bloom, an envenomation specialist at Arizona State University, retired in 1999. Bloom had been single-handedly making all the scorpion antivenom for state hospitals. Recently, Merck & Co, the only FDA-licensed producer of black widow antivenom, has cut back distribution because of a production shortage of the drug. In a 2007 report, the World Health Organization listed worldwide envenomations as a "neglected public health issue."

A Humble Proposal

The People are speaking loud and clear. Less than 10% of voters believe Congress is doing a good job. President Obama's positives appear to be in free-fall, but Republicans get as poor ratings as Democrats. Politicians grumble that American is "ungovernable", but the truth is that it it the governing who can't see past their own agendas.

Let me humbly propose a change in course. Stop the mammoth do-it-all bills, where pork is the norm rather than the exception, and take a page from the Republican Revolution of 2004. Put down the ideas you want to pass in single-issue bills, debate them and have an up-and-down vote. For instance, on Health Care, give us mini-bills for:

• A ban on denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.
• A ban on dropping insurance for individuals undergoing treatment for an illness, unless they have hit their stated policy maximums.
• Opening up sales of insurance across state lines (but without removing the power of state laws and regulations).
• A public option - whether medicare-for-all or a state-sponsored private plan, let's have the debate on this specifically.
• Extension of COBRA - it is due to expire soon for those laid off at the start of the Great Recession without any bridge to the new system.
• Ability of individuals or states to challenge egregious premium increases before an arbitrator.
• A cap on malpractice settlement payouts to limit the potential costs of honest mistakes.

Let any Republican try to stand against the more obvious cases here. Let any Democrat try to defend a public option without all of the other "hard cases" around it. Let's have a real debate, pass some real bills, and show the American people that Congress is about more than grandstanding and stalling for time.

Yes, Virginia, Democrats could pass Health care if they wanted

While it is hardly good-natured, this article points out something which Conservatives and moderates may need to hear. The reality is, Barack Obama does not need to tack to the center to pass Health Care Reform. He could pass it today with the existing Democratic majority.

Some of us realized all along that there was no rational reason that the Massachusetts election had to kill health care reform. Fundamentally, the main barrier -- getting sixty votes in the Senate -- had already been crossed. The remaining obstacles are puny. All the Democrats needed to do was have the House pass the Senate bill. If they insisted on changes, most of those could easily be made through reconciliation, which only requires a majority vote in the Senate

I am hopeful that Democratic congresspeople who want to keep their jobs after the election will realize that this is a bad idea. But it is certainly possible. We need to be ready for anything.

President Obama doubles-down on Health Care Reform

Congress put forth two unpopular Health Care Reform plans - one by the House and one from the Senate. Both were pushed with considerable urgency by the White House. And these plans and the sense of reckless pace of passage was extremely unpopular with voters, and lead to the lowest ratings in recorded history of Congress. And, of course, the election of Republican Scott Brown to the Senate seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy. So, what do you do if you are President Obama? Apparently, more of the same stuff that ruined Democratic chances for 2010.

President Barack Obama is putting forward a nearly $1 trillion, 10-year health care plan that would allow the government to deny or roll back egregious insurance premium increases that infuriated consumers....
It conspicuously omits a government insurance plan sought by liberals.

They say "insanity" is defined as "doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.". I realize the president is trying to pass something before his Democratic majority is either reduced, or eliminated altogether in the 2010 elections. But one has to wonder if this would be easier to sell if the various measures were passed separately and the overall scope reduced.

Some allusions are inevitable

Republican Scott Brown wins Mass. Senate Seat

It seems like so much of the politics surrounding Barack Obama is driven inexorably by history, defying expectations and stereotypes. His own rise to power dumbfounded critics - a relatively obscure junior Senator became president over a Hillary Clinton (the assumed nominee from the day she announced). Now, the Obama agenda is threatened by another wave of history as Republican Scott Brown has defeated Democrat Martha Coakley to win the senate seat vacated by Ted Kennedy. This seat has been held by a Democrat for for decades, and Massachusetts has not sent any Republican to the Senate since 1972 - two year before I was born.

Brown's victory was so sweeping, he even won in the Cape Cod community where Sen. Edward Kennedy, the longtime liberal icon, died of brain cancer last August.
"While the honor is mine, this Senate seat belongs to no one person, no one political party," Brown told his supporters Tuesday night. "This is the people's seat," he added to chants of "People's seat!"
Brown will become the 41st Republican in the 100-member Senate, which could allow the GOP to block the health care bill. Democrats needed Coakley to win for a 60th vote to thwart Republican filibusters.

Health Reform empowers IRS

It was seen as a key victory for the average American when the IRS lost power under President George W. Bush. In the late 90s and 2000s, there were a number of high profile cases of abuse of power by the Internal Revenue Service which illustrated Conservatives fears of the unbounded power of agents. Now, as part of President Obama's desire to be the anti-Bush, it appears the pending Health Care Reform Bill is poised to return significant new powers to the IRS, as it will be the primary agency responsible to monitor American's purchasing of Health Insurance. Anyone who fails to purchase insurance under the new rules, will be paying their fines to the IRS.

Welcome back, Tax Man.

What have we come to?

From Townhall.com.

COBRA - Not enough for some?

COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) is a government program which allows downsized employees to purchase insurance thru their former employer for up to 18 months. The Obama administration put into the bailout bill a subsidy of 65% of the premium, as well, to help out unemployed Americans who need insurance. This particular program has been of GREAT help to those in my family during tough times - so much so that at one point I suggested a compromise health care reform step might be to change COBRA to have no set end point for the unemployed.

But now, many unemployed Americans are saying it is no help to them at all - even with the subsidies.

Cynthia Parras decided not to enroll in Cobra after she was laid off from her job as a financial-services product manager in San Francisco in February, because she felt she couldn't afford it. Over the summer, she was diagnosed with shingles. The infection moved to her eyes, and doctors told her she could lose her sight without treatment. She paid about $2,500 out of pocket. To help compensate, she skipped her mortgage payment last month, and signed up for a state insurance plan for welfare recipients.

"This is scary and degrading," she says. "I never have been without insurance, and never in a million years thought this would happen to me."

Stories like these remind us that no government program can solve all of the ills of the health care system, because some of those ills are part of the human condition. We should be careful with the final health reform bill, and humble in not trying to overreach.

Christmas Cynicism

From here.

I am proud to have voted for Joe Lieberman in the last election

From here. Sometimes "No" is the most powerful and patriotic word in the English language.

Health Care Reform Reality Check

Abortion Issue may derail Health Care Reform Bill

Most supporters of the Democratic Health Reform Bills would claim their concerns are purely practical - budgetary savings, expanded coverage, and improved survival rates. But it appears that the Bills' passage may instead come down to a single moral/ethical/philosophical issue - abortion. While the House was willing to compromise in the name of practicality, the Senate is not ready to do the same.

Efforts to find such a common ground failed in the House.

Women's rights groups were caught off-guard by the provision that passed the House and are now vowing to keep similar language out of the Senate bill. Hundreds of activists organized by Planned Parenthood and other groups rallied Wednesday, holding signs reading "Listen up senators: Women's health is not negotiable."

Several House Democrats spoke, vowing to oppose final passage of any health bill with the tough abortion restrictions already approved by the House. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., called it "a devil's bargain" that she couldn't accept.

But the House language is just what Nelson wants to include in the Senate bill.

In reality, for all of President Obama's talk about this being a practical choice, these debates prove this is all about philosophy. Which is why they are happy to pass ANY bill - however flawed - so long as it is ideologically pure.