Have a fabulous weekend.
loves,
sj
Friday, July 17, 2009
Bryce..
I am off to Bryce Canyon, haven't been there in six years. I can hardly wait to see the beauty and experience the heat.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Health Care...
I have been meaning to post pictures from my trip, but they wouldn't upload on my computer...so instead you get this..... ha ha!
Enjoy!
And I promise pictures will come soon, oh so soon!
House Health Care Plan Would Boost Taxes on Rich
NYTimes, 7/14/2009
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Democrats on Tuesday rolled out an ambitious $1.5 trillion plan that for the first time would make health care a right and a responsibility for all Americans, with Medical providers, employers and the wealthiest picking up most of the tab.
The federal government would be responsible for ensuring that every person, regardless of income or the state of their health, has access to an affordable insurance plan. Individuals and employers would have new obligations to get coverage, or face hefty penalties.
Health care overhaul is President Barack Obama's top domestic priority, and his goal is to slow rising costs and provide coverage to nearly 50 million uninsured Americans.
The plan would slow Medicare and Medicaid payments to medical providers. From big hospitals to solo physician practices, providers also would be held to account for quality care, not just ordering up tests and procedures. Insurance companies would be prohibited from denying coverage to the sick. The industry also would face stiff competition from a new government plan designed along the lines of Medicare.
The liberal-leaning plan lacked figures on total costs, but a House Democratic aide said the total bill would add up to about $1.5 trillion over 10 years. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private calculations.
The legislation calls for a 5.4 percent tax increase on individuals making more than $1 million a year, with a gradual tax beginning at $280,000 for individuals. Employers who don't provide coverage would be hit with a penalty equal to 8 percent of workers' wages with an exemption for small businesses. Individuals who decline an offer of affordable coverage would pay 2.5 percent of their incomes as a penalty, up to the average cost of a health insurance plan.
With Obama pressing Congress to act on health care this summer, House leaders want to move their bill quickly through three committees and to a floor vote before the August congressional recess. But a group of moderate and conservative Democrats has withheld support, and no Republican votes are expected. The House bill seemed unlikely to win broad backing in the Senate.
Standing before a banner that read ''Quality Affordable Care for the Middle Class,'' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the moment ''historic and transformative.'' The bill would provide ''stability and peace of mind'' by braking costs and guaranteeing coverage, she said.
''We are going to accomplish what many people felt wouldn't happen in our lifetime,'' said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., one of the main sponsors. Obama issued a statement hailing the measure.
Democrats said the income tax increase would apply only to the top 1.2 percent of households, those who earn about one-quarter of all income. The wealthiest 4 percent of small business owners would be among them. The tax would start at 1 percent for couples making $350,000 and individuals earning $280,000, ramp up to 1.5 percent above $500,000 of income, and jump to 5.4 percent for those earning above $1 million.
The tax would raise an estimated $544 billion over 10 years.
Business groups and the insurance industry immediately assailed the legislation. In a letter to lawmakers, major business organizations branded the 1,000-page bill a job-killer. Its coverage mandate would automatically raise the cost of hiring a new worker, they said.
''Exempting some micro-businesses will not prevent this provision from killing many jobs,'' the letter said. ''Congress should allow market forces and employer autonomy to determine what benefits employers provide, rather than deciding by fiat.''
The business groups also warned that the U.S. health care system could be damaged by adding a government-run insurance plan and a federal council that would make some decisions on benefits, as called for in the legislation. Thirty-one organizations signed the letter, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable representing top corporate CEOs and the National Retail Federation.
The House bill would change the way individuals and many employers get health insurance. It would set up a new national purchasing pool, called an exchange. The exchange would offer a menu of plans, with different levels of coverage. A government plan would be among the options, and the exchange would eventually be open to most employers. Insurers say that combination would drive many of them out of business since the public plan would be able to offer lower premiums to virtually all Americans.
But backers of a public plan -- including Obama -- say it would provide healthy competition for the insurance industry.
Under the House bill, the government would provide subsidies to make coverage more affordable for households with incomes up to four times the federal poverty level, or $88,000 for a family of four and $43,000 for an individual. Medicaid -- the federal-state health program for the poor -- would be expanded to individuals and families up to 133 percent of the poverty line.
The legislation also would improve the Medicare prescription drug benefit by gradually reducing a coverage gap known as the 'doughnut hole.'
The individual and employer coverage requirements would raise about $200 billion over 10 years, the Democratic aide said.
Even before the bill was unveiled, the House Ways and Means Committee announced it would vote on the proposal beginning on Thursday. The panel is one of three that must act before the bill can go to the full House, probably later in the month.
Across the Capitol, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee slogged toward passage of its version of the bill on what was expected to be a party-line vote. Another panel, the Senate Finance Committee, was striving to unveil a bill by the end of the week. But the outlook in the Senate remained uncertain.
Some House Democrats privately have expressed concern that they will be required to vote on higher taxes, only to learn later that the Senate does not intend to follow through with legislation of its own. That would leave rank-and-file House Democrats up for re-election next year in the uncomfortable position of having to explain their vote on a costly bill that never reached Obama's desk or became law.
------
Associated Press writers David Espo, Alan Fram and Andrew Taylor contributed to this report
Enjoy!
And I promise pictures will come soon, oh so soon!
House Health Care Plan Would Boost Taxes on Rich
NYTimes, 7/14/2009
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Democrats on Tuesday rolled out an ambitious $1.5 trillion plan that for the first time would make health care a right and a responsibility for all Americans, with Medical providers, employers and the wealthiest picking up most of the tab.
The federal government would be responsible for ensuring that every person, regardless of income or the state of their health, has access to an affordable insurance plan. Individuals and employers would have new obligations to get coverage, or face hefty penalties.
Health care overhaul is President Barack Obama's top domestic priority, and his goal is to slow rising costs and provide coverage to nearly 50 million uninsured Americans.
The plan would slow Medicare and Medicaid payments to medical providers. From big hospitals to solo physician practices, providers also would be held to account for quality care, not just ordering up tests and procedures. Insurance companies would be prohibited from denying coverage to the sick. The industry also would face stiff competition from a new government plan designed along the lines of Medicare.
The liberal-leaning plan lacked figures on total costs, but a House Democratic aide said the total bill would add up to about $1.5 trillion over 10 years. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private calculations.
The legislation calls for a 5.4 percent tax increase on individuals making more than $1 million a year, with a gradual tax beginning at $280,000 for individuals. Employers who don't provide coverage would be hit with a penalty equal to 8 percent of workers' wages with an exemption for small businesses. Individuals who decline an offer of affordable coverage would pay 2.5 percent of their incomes as a penalty, up to the average cost of a health insurance plan.
With Obama pressing Congress to act on health care this summer, House leaders want to move their bill quickly through three committees and to a floor vote before the August congressional recess. But a group of moderate and conservative Democrats has withheld support, and no Republican votes are expected. The House bill seemed unlikely to win broad backing in the Senate.
Standing before a banner that read ''Quality Affordable Care for the Middle Class,'' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the moment ''historic and transformative.'' The bill would provide ''stability and peace of mind'' by braking costs and guaranteeing coverage, she said.
''We are going to accomplish what many people felt wouldn't happen in our lifetime,'' said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., one of the main sponsors. Obama issued a statement hailing the measure.
Democrats said the income tax increase would apply only to the top 1.2 percent of households, those who earn about one-quarter of all income. The wealthiest 4 percent of small business owners would be among them. The tax would start at 1 percent for couples making $350,000 and individuals earning $280,000, ramp up to 1.5 percent above $500,000 of income, and jump to 5.4 percent for those earning above $1 million.
The tax would raise an estimated $544 billion over 10 years.
Business groups and the insurance industry immediately assailed the legislation. In a letter to lawmakers, major business organizations branded the 1,000-page bill a job-killer. Its coverage mandate would automatically raise the cost of hiring a new worker, they said.
''Exempting some micro-businesses will not prevent this provision from killing many jobs,'' the letter said. ''Congress should allow market forces and employer autonomy to determine what benefits employers provide, rather than deciding by fiat.''
The business groups also warned that the U.S. health care system could be damaged by adding a government-run insurance plan and a federal council that would make some decisions on benefits, as called for in the legislation. Thirty-one organizations signed the letter, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable representing top corporate CEOs and the National Retail Federation.
The House bill would change the way individuals and many employers get health insurance. It would set up a new national purchasing pool, called an exchange. The exchange would offer a menu of plans, with different levels of coverage. A government plan would be among the options, and the exchange would eventually be open to most employers. Insurers say that combination would drive many of them out of business since the public plan would be able to offer lower premiums to virtually all Americans.
But backers of a public plan -- including Obama -- say it would provide healthy competition for the insurance industry.
Under the House bill, the government would provide subsidies to make coverage more affordable for households with incomes up to four times the federal poverty level, or $88,000 for a family of four and $43,000 for an individual. Medicaid -- the federal-state health program for the poor -- would be expanded to individuals and families up to 133 percent of the poverty line.
The legislation also would improve the Medicare prescription drug benefit by gradually reducing a coverage gap known as the 'doughnut hole.'
The individual and employer coverage requirements would raise about $200 billion over 10 years, the Democratic aide said.
Even before the bill was unveiled, the House Ways and Means Committee announced it would vote on the proposal beginning on Thursday. The panel is one of three that must act before the bill can go to the full House, probably later in the month.
Across the Capitol, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee slogged toward passage of its version of the bill on what was expected to be a party-line vote. Another panel, the Senate Finance Committee, was striving to unveil a bill by the end of the week. But the outlook in the Senate remained uncertain.
Some House Democrats privately have expressed concern that they will be required to vote on higher taxes, only to learn later that the Senate does not intend to follow through with legislation of its own. That would leave rank-and-file House Democrats up for re-election next year in the uncomfortable position of having to explain their vote on a costly bill that never reached Obama's desk or became law.
------
Associated Press writers David Espo, Alan Fram and Andrew Taylor contributed to this report
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Elder Andy Simmonds
This is Andy, he is my brother and he is amazing. He is going on his mission to South Africa on June 24, he was supposed to leave in August, but they changed his date. This is me saying goodbye to him. I love him lots and will miss him.
Lietuva
Tomorrow I am going here...this picture was taken June 11, 2007...my last steps in Lithuania...
I am going to see my people. This is Anna, she was my companion and she is one of my people
Su meile.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Not ashamed...
I love twilight, not afraid to admit my addiction.
http://www.twiordie.blogspot.com/
ha ha love it!!!
goodnight to all.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The Massachusetts Plan
My boss is out of town and I have had some time to catch up on some reading I have been meaning to do around health care. I came across this article today and I was struck so strongly with this story. Enjoy.
(*On July 1, 2007, the state if Massachusetts began offering an online choice of four private insurance plans for people without health coverage. The cost is zero for the poor; for the rest, it is limited to no more than about eight per cent of income. If you were not insured you will be penalized. The state has 97.4% of their population insured.)
An extract from an article in The New Yorker Magazine, January 12, 2008
“Getting there from here”
How should Obama reform health care?
By Atul Gawande
“I am among the state’s majority that would not go back to the old system of health care in Massachusetts. For years, about one in ten of my patients – I specialize in cancer surgery – had no insurance. Even though I’d waive my fee, they struggled to pay for their tests, medications, and hospital stay.
“I once took care of a nineteen-year-old college student who had maxed out her insurance coverage. She had a treatable but metastatic cancer. But neither she nor her parents could afford the radiation therapy that she required. I made calls to find state programs, charities – anything that could help her – to no avail. She put off the treatment for almost a year because she didn’t want to force her parents to take out a second mortgage on their home. But eventually they had to choose between their daughter and their life’s savings.
“For the past year, I haven’t’ had a single Massachusetts patient who has had to ask how much the necessary tests will cost; not one who has told me he needed to put off his cancer operation until he found a job that provided insurance coverage. And that’s a remarkable change; a glimpse of American health care without the routine cruelty. “
(*On July 1, 2007, the state if Massachusetts began offering an online choice of four private insurance plans for people without health coverage. The cost is zero for the poor; for the rest, it is limited to no more than about eight per cent of income. If you were not insured you will be penalized. The state has 97.4% of their population insured.)
An extract from an article in The New Yorker Magazine, January 12, 2008
“Getting there from here”
How should Obama reform health care?
By Atul Gawande
“I am among the state’s majority that would not go back to the old system of health care in Massachusetts. For years, about one in ten of my patients – I specialize in cancer surgery – had no insurance. Even though I’d waive my fee, they struggled to pay for their tests, medications, and hospital stay.
“I once took care of a nineteen-year-old college student who had maxed out her insurance coverage. She had a treatable but metastatic cancer. But neither she nor her parents could afford the radiation therapy that she required. I made calls to find state programs, charities – anything that could help her – to no avail. She put off the treatment for almost a year because she didn’t want to force her parents to take out a second mortgage on their home. But eventually they had to choose between their daughter and their life’s savings.
“For the past year, I haven’t’ had a single Massachusetts patient who has had to ask how much the necessary tests will cost; not one who has told me he needed to put off his cancer operation until he found a job that provided insurance coverage. And that’s a remarkable change; a glimpse of American health care without the routine cruelty. “
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
F A C T S about H E A L T H C A R E
This is what I learned at work so far today:
Medicare and Medicaid were created in 1965, the inception of the Children’s Health Insurance Program in 1997, the expansion of prescription drug coverage for seniors in 2003.
Democratic Members and staff of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions – along with our colleagues at the Senate Finance Committee, the House of Representatives and the Administration – have been laying groundwork and preparing legislation to reform the U. S. health care system.
About 200 million Americans obtain health insurance today through their employers and the private health insurance market. About 80 million Americans get their coverage through federal and state health programs, chiefly Medicare and Medicaid.
Nearly 50 million Americans now lack health insurance, and tens of millions more hold policies – such as many sold in the individual market – that provide little real protection in the event of serious injury or illness.
To establish this new set of protections and assistance, citizens also need to play an important role. Any health insurance system, public or private, can’t workable and is more expensive if consumers wait until they get sick before signing up. That’s why national health reform requires that everyone who can afford to must sign up for coverage.
Ten million Americans need long-term services – personal care, assertive technology and other supportive services – a number that will increase to 26 million by 2050.
Are you covered?
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