Friday, November 29, 2013

HealthCare.gov Team Working Through Holiday To Meet Deadline

More From All Tech Considered TechnologyHard-Core And Casual Gamers Play In Different Worlds TechnologyFor Advocacy Groups, Video Games Are The Next FrontierTechnologyBusinesses Woo Customers With Free Phone-Charging StationsTechnologyHealthCare.gov Team Working Through Holiday To Meet Deadline

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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Rep. Issa Takes Anti-Obamacare Campaign To The States

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Monday, November 25, 2013

21 Ways the Canadian Health Care System is Better than Obamacare

Dear America:

Costly complexity is baked into Obamacare. No health insurance system is without problems but Canadian style single-payer full Medicare for all is simple, affordable, comprehensive and universal.

In the early 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson enrolled 20 million elderly Americans into Medicare in six months. There were no websites. They did it with index cards!

Below please find 21 Ways the Canadian Health Care System is Better than Obamacare.

Repeal Obamacare and replace it with the much more efficient single-payer, everybody in, nobody out, free choice of doctor and hospital.

Love, Canada

Number 21:
In Canada, everyone is covered automatically at birth � everybody in, nobody out.

In the United States, under Obamacare, 31 million Americans will still be uninsured by 2023 and millions more will remain underinsured.

Number 20:
In Canada, the health system is designed to put people, not profits, first.

In the United States, Obamacare will do little to curb insurance industry profits and will actually enhance insurance industry profits.

Number 19:
In Canada, coverage is not tied to a job or dependent on your income � rich and poor are in the same system, the best guaranty of quality.

In the United States, under Obamacare, much still depends on your job or income. Lose your job or lose your income, and you might lose your existing health insurance or have to settle for lesser coverage.

Number 18:
In Canada, health care coverage stays with you for your entire life.

In the United States, under Obamacare, for tens of millions of Americans, health care coverage stays with you for as long as you can afford your share.

Number 17:
In Canada, you can freely choose your doctors and hospitals and keep them. There are no lists of �in-network� vendors and no extra hidden charges for going �out of network.�

In the United States, under Obamacare, the in-network list of places where you can get treated is shrinking � thus restricting freedom of choice � and if you want to go out of network, you pay for it.

Number 16:
In Canada, the health care system is funded by income, sales and corporate taxes that, combined, are much lower than what Americans pay in premiums.

In the United States, under Obamacare, for thousands of Americans, it�s pay or die � if you can�t pay, you die. That�s why many thousands will still die every year under Obamacare from lack of health insurance to get diagnosed and treated in time.

Number 15:
In Canada, there are no complex hospital or doctor bills. In fact, usually you don�t even see a bill.

In the United States, under Obamacare, hospital and doctor bills will still be terribly complex, making it impossible to discover the many costly overcharges.

Number 14:
In Canada, costs are controlled. Canada pays 10 percent of its GDP for its health care system, covering everyone.

In the United States, under Obamacare, costs continue to skyrocket. The U.S. currently pays 18 percent of its GDP and still doesn�t cover tens of millions of people.

Number 13:
In Canada, it is unheard of for anyone to go bankrupt due to health care costs.

In the United States, under Obamacare, health care driven bankruptcy will continue to plague Americans.

Number 12:
In Canada, simplicity leads to major savings in administrative costs and overhead.

In the United States, under Obamacare, complexity will lead to ratcheting up administrative costs and overhead.

Number 11:
In Canada, when you go to a doctor or hospital the first thing they ask you is: �What�s wrong?�

In the United States, the first thing they ask you is: �What kind of insurance do you have?�

Number 10:
In Canada, the government negotiates drug prices so they are more affordable.

In the United States, under Obamacare, Congress made it specifically illegal for the government to negotiate drug prices for volume purchases, so they remain unaffordable.

Number 9:
In Canada, the government health care funds are not profitably diverted to the top one percent.

In the United States, under Obamacare, health care funds will continue to flow to the top. In 2012, CEOs at six of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. received a total of $83.3 million in pay, plus benefits.

Number 8:
In Canada, there are no necessary co-pays or deductibles.

In the United States, under Obamacare, the deductibles and co-pays will continue to be unaffordable for many millions of Americans.

Number 7:
In Canada, the health care system contributes to social solidarity and national pride.

In the United States, Obamacare is divisive, with rich and poor in different systems and tens of millions left out or with sorely limited benefits.

Number 6:
In Canada, delays in health care are not due to the cost of insurance.

In the United States, under Obamacare, patients without health insurance or who are underinsured will continue to delay or forgo care and put their lives at risk.

Number 5:
In Canada, nobody dies due to lack of health insurance.

In the United States, under Obamacare, many thousands will continue to die every year due to lack of health insurance.

Number 4:
In Canada, an increasing majority supports their health care system, which costs half as much, per person, as in the United States. And in Canada, everyone is covered.

In the United States, a majority � many for different reasons � oppose Obamacare.

Number 3:
In Canada, the tax payments to fund the health care system are progressive � the lowest 20 percent pays 6 percent of income into the system while the highest 20 percent pays 8 percent.

In the United States, under Obamacare, the poor pay a larger share of their income for health care than the affluent.

Number 2:
In Canada, the administration of the system is simple. You get a health care card when you are born. And you swipe it when you go to a doctor or hospital. End of story.

In the United States, Obamacare�s 2,500 pages plus regulations (the Canadian Medicare Bill was 13 pages) is so complex that then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said before passage �we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.�

Number 1:
In Canada, the majority of citizens love their health care system.

In the United States, the majority of citizens, physicians, and nurses prefer the Canadian type system � single-payer, free choice of doctor and hospital , everybody in, nobody out.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Making Moves In Food Delivery, Chess And Health Care

Listen to the Story 3 min 55 sec Playlist Download Transcript  

The online magazine Ozy covers people, places and trends on the horizon. Co-founder Carlos Watson joins All Things Considered regularly to tell us about the site's latest discoveries.

This week, Watson tells host Arun Rath about a delivery service that allows you to track your food in real time, a chess master who is making the board game sexy and his recent interview with President Bill Clinton.

The New And The Next Shaking Up The Food Delivery Model Enlarge image i Radius Images/Corbis Radius Images/Corbis

"A couple of young guys who were UC Berkeley grads � food obsessed � were finding that they couldn't get their favorite foods delivered. So, they starteda new service called Caviar, that for a flat fee is creating quite the Uber-like stir around San Francisco and now in Seattle and New York. ...

"They've got a lot of your basics, whether it's fish tacos or pulled pork sandwiches, but they also have some of the higher-end restaurants who in the past have been a little hesitant about delivery who have agreed to do it."

Read 'Caviar: Like Uber For Eaters' At Ozy.com

Sexy Moves In The World Of Chess Enlarge image i Courtesy of Ozy.com Courtesy of Ozy.com

"Chess is not always the sexiest sport. But the No. 1 chess player in the world is a young guy from Norway named Magnus Carlsen, who is becoming quite the sensation. He is not only a champion chess player but he is also a male model and that's a very different look from Bobby Fischer or Garry Kasparov, who were two other famous chess champions of the past. ... Guys like Kasparov and others are saying, 'I hope he does really well and puts chess back into the larger mainstream conversation.' "

Read 'Meet the New Ambassador of Chess' At Ozy.com

President Bill Clinton Talks Health Care With Ozy Youtube/YouTube

"He reminded us that when President George W. Bush rolled out the Medicare Part D plan that there also were a number of hiccups in the early days. So, that was his way of offering context to the current troubles with HealthCare.gov. And saying, be a little bit patient. While there may be a number of troubles in the first couple months with HealthCare.gov, they ultimately should be fixable and this won't have been the first time that we've had to smooth over some things in the early going."

Read 'Assessing the Healthcare Rollout' At Ozy.com

Share Facebook Twitter Google+ Email Comment More From The New And The Next Pop CultureMaking Moves In Food Delivery, Chess And Health CarePop CultureDigging Into The Truth About Messages, Images And Hard TimesPop CultureA Male Belly Dancer, Social Activism On Instagram, 'Thriller'Pop CultureA Teenage Music Phenom, Infographics, Motorcycles In Vietnam

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Friday, November 15, 2013

Medicare Penalizes Nearly 1,500 Hospitals For Poor Quality Scores

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Obama Moves To Delay Cancellations Of Insurance Plans

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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Can Young People Get Obamacare For $50 A Month? Sometimes

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Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Clinton To Obama: Honor Promise That People Can Keep Coverage

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Despite Health Law, Uninsured Rely On Prevention Care Patchwork

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Medicaid Questions Slow Insurance Purchases On Colorado Exchange

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Friday, November 8, 2013

In Massachusetts, Health Care Prices Remain Hard To Get

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NJ Resident Struggles for Long-Term Care, Calls for Medicare for All

From the Courier-Post –

Mike Pollock calls himself a squeaky wheel.

Since 2002, the Atco resident has fought with insurance companies, medical agencies and doctors after his wife, Kathy, 61, survived a brain tumor and later two debilitating strokes that left her partially paralyzed.

After their private insurance and savings were exhausted, the Pollocks needed Medicaid to pay for Kathy�s long-term care.

But since 2011, when the state started contracting with managed care companies to handle Medicaid administration, Pollock has been spending more time on the phone, dealing with denials.

�It�s become more about the money,� said Pollock, who owns Atco Hardware Store. �When the state ran Medicaid, the people who ran Medicaid cared about doing their job. Now, you�ve got people worried about the bottom line.�

Though Kathy Pollock is covered under Medicare and Medicaid, her husband spends part of each day fighting for her medical care and supplies. Lately, he�s been arguing to have her physical and occupational therapy reinstated since it ended nearly three months ago. She has since regressed, he said, and can no longer feed herself.

Horizon NJ Health, the managed care company administering her Medicaid, also stopped providing the diapers he prefers, he said. His biggest fear is that Medicaid will cut into funding for Kathy�s beloved home health aides, who care for her while he works. He already fought a reduction in their $10-an-hour pay.

�It�s a distraction that I don�t need,� said Pollock, who wrote about previous bouts with managed care in his book, �From Death�s Door to Disney World: An Advocate�s Story.�

�If you talk to the people out there who are dealing with this on a daily basis, they�ll tell you there are people that are lost, who don�t know what to do. It�s a terrible situation.�

There are caregivers like Pollock across the state. Beverly Roberts, director of mainstreaming medical care for the Arc of New Jersey, hears complaints about cuts in the number of home health aide hours her clients are given each week. The nonprofit serves people with intellectual disabilities � patients who typically don�t improve.

�If anything, things get more difficult as the individuals get larger and heavier, and mom and dad get older and more frail,� said Roberts.

Advocates can file an appeal, she said.

They can also share their experiences publicly. New Jersey’s Medical Assistance Advisory Council allows the public to ask questions or comment on agenda items during its quarterly meetings. The council advises Valerie Harr, director of the state�s Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services. The next meeting is Nov. 22 in Ewing.

�It�s very upsetting when families are going through such difficulty,� said Roberts, who sits on the panel.

New Jersey is expanding its use of managed care companies to administer state-funded medical assistance. Studies have shown such arrangements modestly improve care and reduce costs, according to the Center for State Health Policy at Rutgers University.

But Pollock can�t imagine how. He wants a legislative remedy and a single-payer system like Medicare.

�It saves them tons of money by people being home, but they don�t care if Kathy doesn�t get the medical supplies that she needs,� Pollock said.

�It�s not about the patient. It�s about the money.�

Persistence Pays Off For Uninsured Alaskan

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Thursday, November 7, 2013

How The Affordable Care Act Pays For Insurance Subsidies

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Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Administration Looks To Give Labor Unions Health Tax Relief

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Monday, November 4, 2013

Bariatric Surgery Can Keep Pounds Off For Years

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Saturday, November 2, 2013

Adding To Insurance Confusion, Outside Groups Try To Cash In

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Friday, November 1, 2013

Appeals Court Gives Texas OK To Enforce Abortion Law

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