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August 14, 2011 at 1:39 PM in reply to: ok: can someone tell me what good is left for the health care reform #719798August 14, 2011 at 1:39 PM in reply to: ok: can someone tell me what good is left for the health care reform #719955
bearishgurl
Participant[quote=flu]Ok folks,
For folks in the know. Can someone quickly explain to me what is left from the health care reform (obamacare) and how it’s suppose to benefit the greater good of people?
How much of the original reform bill is still intact?
What I have seen so far is:
1)My out of pocket insurance expenses have increased significantly.
2)The amount of coverage has decreased significantly
3)Company has reduced what it pays to insurance but passed more of the cost on to individuals.
4)And now lower appeals court is saying not everyone needs to pay for a mandatory insurance plan….
So what exactly is left in this “reform”?????[/quote]
flu, I have an HDHP individual policy (which I had to actually rigorously “qualify for”). My mo premium has gone up 3x since Obama signed the bill in March of 2010. I have only used the plan minimally since then so my ins co has made generous profits off me. It is clear to me that the reason for my 2x per year rate increases is due to my carrier having to accept a lot of people they didn’t want … for ANY price due to “Obamacare.” Even if many of these new “patients” are paying $1100 – $1500 mo for coverage for themselves only, I have no doubt that many of these newly-covered individuals are a “loss leader” for my carrier. Unfortunately, most of these “new insureds” are in my age group and a lot of the health problems they are suffering from now were self-inflicted due to past behavior.
My mo premium has risen 270% since 2006. Not only do they raise it on my birthday, they are allowed to raise it again six mos after my birthday.
Having insureds pick up the tab for the uninsured (who will not now have any incentive to cover themselves) will only raise the premiums of the insured more (who are trying to cover their a$$es and be responsible). That’s the way it’s always been. In my neck of the woods, these uninsureds are mostly illegal aliens availing themselves of emergency services at area hospitals.
If I wasn’t a current homeowner with actual “equity” (who fears a potential Medi-Cal, CMS or judgment lien for unexpected medical treatment/svcs), I too might be tempted to drop my coverage. It would certainly help me to be able to deploy this money elsewhere and pay all cash for my minimal dr visits. My “co-pays” are $40 – $50 visit, anyway, under my plan.
flu, just be grateful you have coverage and that there is now no lifetime cap on health coverage. I have put two relatives in the ground in my lifetime who HAD medical coverage that “maxed out” while they were still alive. On the one who had TWO policies which maxed out (a primary and secondary), it took us over four years to work out a deal with some of their providers to accept less than what was owed. Both were under the age of 65 at the time of their deaths.
Even if Obamacare ends up decimated due to piecemeal gutting by the courts, There are some good things about Obamacare and elimination of the annual and lifetime caps is one of them.
August 14, 2011 at 1:39 PM in reply to: ok: can someone tell me what good is left for the health care reform #720316bearishgurl
Participant[quote=flu]Ok folks,
For folks in the know. Can someone quickly explain to me what is left from the health care reform (obamacare) and how it’s suppose to benefit the greater good of people?
How much of the original reform bill is still intact?
What I have seen so far is:
1)My out of pocket insurance expenses have increased significantly.
2)The amount of coverage has decreased significantly
3)Company has reduced what it pays to insurance but passed more of the cost on to individuals.
4)And now lower appeals court is saying not everyone needs to pay for a mandatory insurance plan….
So what exactly is left in this “reform”?????[/quote]
flu, I have an HDHP individual policy (which I had to actually rigorously “qualify for”). My mo premium has gone up 3x since Obama signed the bill in March of 2010. I have only used the plan minimally since then so my ins co has made generous profits off me. It is clear to me that the reason for my 2x per year rate increases is due to my carrier having to accept a lot of people they didn’t want … for ANY price due to “Obamacare.” Even if many of these new “patients” are paying $1100 – $1500 mo for coverage for themselves only, I have no doubt that many of these newly-covered individuals are a “loss leader” for my carrier. Unfortunately, most of these “new insureds” are in my age group and a lot of the health problems they are suffering from now were self-inflicted due to past behavior.
My mo premium has risen 270% since 2006. Not only do they raise it on my birthday, they are allowed to raise it again six mos after my birthday.
Having insureds pick up the tab for the uninsured (who will not now have any incentive to cover themselves) will only raise the premiums of the insured more (who are trying to cover their a$$es and be responsible). That’s the way it’s always been. In my neck of the woods, these uninsureds are mostly illegal aliens availing themselves of emergency services at area hospitals.
If I wasn’t a current homeowner with actual “equity” (who fears a potential Medi-Cal, CMS or judgment lien for unexpected medical treatment/svcs), I too might be tempted to drop my coverage. It would certainly help me to be able to deploy this money elsewhere and pay all cash for my minimal dr visits. My “co-pays” are $40 – $50 visit, anyway, under my plan.
flu, just be grateful you have coverage and that there is now no lifetime cap on health coverage. I have put two relatives in the ground in my lifetime who HAD medical coverage that “maxed out” while they were still alive. On the one who had TWO policies which maxed out (a primary and secondary), it took us over four years to work out a deal with some of their providers to accept less than what was owed. Both were under the age of 65 at the time of their deaths.
Even if Obamacare ends up decimated due to piecemeal gutting by the courts, There are some good things about Obamacare and elimination of the annual and lifetime caps is one of them.
August 13, 2011 at 10:40 PM in reply to: OT – Who will run for President on the Republican side? #718931bearishgurl
ParticipantPiggs, did you realize if you want one for yourself, you can make your own??
[img_assist|nid=15236|title=Iowa State Fair Corndog|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=100|height=82]
Ingredients:
8 hot dogs
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, well shaken
oil, for fryingDirections:
Insert a wooden stick into each hot dog. Put 3 T flour on a plate and roll hot dogs in flour to coat, shaking off excess. Heat 3 inches oil to 350 degrees F in a deep pot over medium high heat. Whisk together cornmeal, 1/2 C flour, 2 T oil, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, cayenne, and salt in a medium bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in buttermilk. Transfer some of batter to a tall glass, filling it almost to the top. Working in batches of 2 or 3, dip hot dogs 1 at a time into glass of batter to coat. Add more batter to glass if necessary. Fry, turning occasionally until golden brown all over, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer corn dogs to paper towels to drain. Repeat until all hot dogs are done. You may have leftover batter, use the batter to dip veggies such as asparagus, green beans, onions and fry for 1-2 minutes until batter is used up. Or you can open another package of hotdogs and fry 4-5 more.
Yield: 8 Servings
Enjoy!!
see: http://www.food.com/recipe/iowa-state-fair-corn-dogs-from-gourmet-magazine-397546#ixzz1UyiIK79F
August 13, 2011 at 10:40 PM in reply to: OT – Who will run for President on the Republican side? #719023bearishgurl
ParticipantPiggs, did you realize if you want one for yourself, you can make your own??
[img_assist|nid=15236|title=Iowa State Fair Corndog|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=100|height=82]
Ingredients:
8 hot dogs
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, well shaken
oil, for fryingDirections:
Insert a wooden stick into each hot dog. Put 3 T flour on a plate and roll hot dogs in flour to coat, shaking off excess. Heat 3 inches oil to 350 degrees F in a deep pot over medium high heat. Whisk together cornmeal, 1/2 C flour, 2 T oil, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, cayenne, and salt in a medium bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in buttermilk. Transfer some of batter to a tall glass, filling it almost to the top. Working in batches of 2 or 3, dip hot dogs 1 at a time into glass of batter to coat. Add more batter to glass if necessary. Fry, turning occasionally until golden brown all over, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer corn dogs to paper towels to drain. Repeat until all hot dogs are done. You may have leftover batter, use the batter to dip veggies such as asparagus, green beans, onions and fry for 1-2 minutes until batter is used up. Or you can open another package of hotdogs and fry 4-5 more.
Yield: 8 Servings
Enjoy!!
see: http://www.food.com/recipe/iowa-state-fair-corn-dogs-from-gourmet-magazine-397546#ixzz1UyiIK79F
August 13, 2011 at 10:40 PM in reply to: OT – Who will run for President on the Republican side? #719623bearishgurl
ParticipantPiggs, did you realize if you want one for yourself, you can make your own??
[img_assist|nid=15236|title=Iowa State Fair Corndog|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=100|height=82]
Ingredients:
8 hot dogs
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, well shaken
oil, for fryingDirections:
Insert a wooden stick into each hot dog. Put 3 T flour on a plate and roll hot dogs in flour to coat, shaking off excess. Heat 3 inches oil to 350 degrees F in a deep pot over medium high heat. Whisk together cornmeal, 1/2 C flour, 2 T oil, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, cayenne, and salt in a medium bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in buttermilk. Transfer some of batter to a tall glass, filling it almost to the top. Working in batches of 2 or 3, dip hot dogs 1 at a time into glass of batter to coat. Add more batter to glass if necessary. Fry, turning occasionally until golden brown all over, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer corn dogs to paper towels to drain. Repeat until all hot dogs are done. You may have leftover batter, use the batter to dip veggies such as asparagus, green beans, onions and fry for 1-2 minutes until batter is used up. Or you can open another package of hotdogs and fry 4-5 more.
Yield: 8 Servings
Enjoy!!
see: http://www.food.com/recipe/iowa-state-fair-corn-dogs-from-gourmet-magazine-397546#ixzz1UyiIK79F
August 13, 2011 at 10:40 PM in reply to: OT – Who will run for President on the Republican side? #719781bearishgurl
ParticipantPiggs, did you realize if you want one for yourself, you can make your own??
[img_assist|nid=15236|title=Iowa State Fair Corndog|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=100|height=82]
Ingredients:
8 hot dogs
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, well shaken
oil, for fryingDirections:
Insert a wooden stick into each hot dog. Put 3 T flour on a plate and roll hot dogs in flour to coat, shaking off excess. Heat 3 inches oil to 350 degrees F in a deep pot over medium high heat. Whisk together cornmeal, 1/2 C flour, 2 T oil, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, cayenne, and salt in a medium bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in buttermilk. Transfer some of batter to a tall glass, filling it almost to the top. Working in batches of 2 or 3, dip hot dogs 1 at a time into glass of batter to coat. Add more batter to glass if necessary. Fry, turning occasionally until golden brown all over, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer corn dogs to paper towels to drain. Repeat until all hot dogs are done. You may have leftover batter, use the batter to dip veggies such as asparagus, green beans, onions and fry for 1-2 minutes until batter is used up. Or you can open another package of hotdogs and fry 4-5 more.
Yield: 8 Servings
Enjoy!!
see: http://www.food.com/recipe/iowa-state-fair-corn-dogs-from-gourmet-magazine-397546#ixzz1UyiIK79F
August 13, 2011 at 10:40 PM in reply to: OT – Who will run for President on the Republican side? #720141bearishgurl
ParticipantPiggs, did you realize if you want one for yourself, you can make your own??
[img_assist|nid=15236|title=Iowa State Fair Corndog|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=100|height=82]
Ingredients:
8 hot dogs
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, well shaken
oil, for fryingDirections:
Insert a wooden stick into each hot dog. Put 3 T flour on a plate and roll hot dogs in flour to coat, shaking off excess. Heat 3 inches oil to 350 degrees F in a deep pot over medium high heat. Whisk together cornmeal, 1/2 C flour, 2 T oil, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, cayenne, and salt in a medium bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in buttermilk. Transfer some of batter to a tall glass, filling it almost to the top. Working in batches of 2 or 3, dip hot dogs 1 at a time into glass of batter to coat. Add more batter to glass if necessary. Fry, turning occasionally until golden brown all over, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer corn dogs to paper towels to drain. Repeat until all hot dogs are done. You may have leftover batter, use the batter to dip veggies such as asparagus, green beans, onions and fry for 1-2 minutes until batter is used up. Or you can open another package of hotdogs and fry 4-5 more.
Yield: 8 Servings
Enjoy!!
see: http://www.food.com/recipe/iowa-state-fair-corn-dogs-from-gourmet-magazine-397546#ixzz1UyiIK79F
bearishgurl
Participant[quote=sdrealtor]Just wanted to add one thing. I zillowed the house i described above and its worth about $220K today. The area, demographics and HH incomes are very comparable if not higher than where i live today but home prices area 1/2 to 1/3 of what they area here. This is just an expensive place to live and the rest of the country isnt like this. Most of the country is very affordable to average folk. This area has become much more desireable over the last couple decades relative to most of the country and housing prices reflect that.[/quote]
I agree. Understand everything here. I have a LOT of relatives whose net worth is very, VERY high but they live in their $180 – $200K +/- 2000 sf new(ish) “luxury” brick homes on 5-20 AC lots with their multiple pets, horses, livestock and equipment and drive American vehicles. They could all afford to pay cash for a property in “Nirvana” but would rather just visit places like that occasionally instead of live there. And only a couple of them have “flat screen” TV’s or even care about such things. Most can only get satellite svc.
I think it is mostly the “under 35” demographic who has a constant thirst for the latest electronics and gadgets. Of course, the interior of the US is not immune from “materialism,” but I think the need to financially over-extend oneself “because they can” and the “keeping up the Joneses” mindsets are mainly a “coastal phenomenon.” From what I’ve seen, many *wealthy* landowners and business people in WY, NE, KS, OK, AR and TX drive American pickups (some older). Most of these pickups look like they haven’t been washed in a year but the drivers don’t seem to care :=]
bearishgurl
Participant[quote=sdrealtor]Just wanted to add one thing. I zillowed the house i described above and its worth about $220K today. The area, demographics and HH incomes are very comparable if not higher than where i live today but home prices area 1/2 to 1/3 of what they area here. This is just an expensive place to live and the rest of the country isnt like this. Most of the country is very affordable to average folk. This area has become much more desireable over the last couple decades relative to most of the country and housing prices reflect that.[/quote]
I agree. Understand everything here. I have a LOT of relatives whose net worth is very, VERY high but they live in their $180 – $200K +/- 2000 sf new(ish) “luxury” brick homes on 5-20 AC lots with their multiple pets, horses, livestock and equipment and drive American vehicles. They could all afford to pay cash for a property in “Nirvana” but would rather just visit places like that occasionally instead of live there. And only a couple of them have “flat screen” TV’s or even care about such things. Most can only get satellite svc.
I think it is mostly the “under 35” demographic who has a constant thirst for the latest electronics and gadgets. Of course, the interior of the US is not immune from “materialism,” but I think the need to financially over-extend oneself “because they can” and the “keeping up the Joneses” mindsets are mainly a “coastal phenomenon.” From what I’ve seen, many *wealthy* landowners and business people in WY, NE, KS, OK, AR and TX drive American pickups (some older). Most of these pickups look like they haven’t been washed in a year but the drivers don’t seem to care :=]
bearishgurl
Participant[quote=sdrealtor]Just wanted to add one thing. I zillowed the house i described above and its worth about $220K today. The area, demographics and HH incomes are very comparable if not higher than where i live today but home prices area 1/2 to 1/3 of what they area here. This is just an expensive place to live and the rest of the country isnt like this. Most of the country is very affordable to average folk. This area has become much more desireable over the last couple decades relative to most of the country and housing prices reflect that.[/quote]
I agree. Understand everything here. I have a LOT of relatives whose net worth is very, VERY high but they live in their $180 – $200K +/- 2000 sf new(ish) “luxury” brick homes on 5-20 AC lots with their multiple pets, horses, livestock and equipment and drive American vehicles. They could all afford to pay cash for a property in “Nirvana” but would rather just visit places like that occasionally instead of live there. And only a couple of them have “flat screen” TV’s or even care about such things. Most can only get satellite svc.
I think it is mostly the “under 35” demographic who has a constant thirst for the latest electronics and gadgets. Of course, the interior of the US is not immune from “materialism,” but I think the need to financially over-extend oneself “because they can” and the “keeping up the Joneses” mindsets are mainly a “coastal phenomenon.” From what I’ve seen, many *wealthy* landowners and business people in WY, NE, KS, OK, AR and TX drive American pickups (some older). Most of these pickups look like they haven’t been washed in a year but the drivers don’t seem to care :=]
bearishgurl
Participant[quote=sdrealtor]Just wanted to add one thing. I zillowed the house i described above and its worth about $220K today. The area, demographics and HH incomes are very comparable if not higher than where i live today but home prices area 1/2 to 1/3 of what they area here. This is just an expensive place to live and the rest of the country isnt like this. Most of the country is very affordable to average folk. This area has become much more desireable over the last couple decades relative to most of the country and housing prices reflect that.[/quote]
I agree. Understand everything here. I have a LOT of relatives whose net worth is very, VERY high but they live in their $180 – $200K +/- 2000 sf new(ish) “luxury” brick homes on 5-20 AC lots with their multiple pets, horses, livestock and equipment and drive American vehicles. They could all afford to pay cash for a property in “Nirvana” but would rather just visit places like that occasionally instead of live there. And only a couple of them have “flat screen” TV’s or even care about such things. Most can only get satellite svc.
I think it is mostly the “under 35” demographic who has a constant thirst for the latest electronics and gadgets. Of course, the interior of the US is not immune from “materialism,” but I think the need to financially over-extend oneself “because they can” and the “keeping up the Joneses” mindsets are mainly a “coastal phenomenon.” From what I’ve seen, many *wealthy* landowners and business people in WY, NE, KS, OK, AR and TX drive American pickups (some older). Most of these pickups look like they haven’t been washed in a year but the drivers don’t seem to care :=]
bearishgurl
Participant[quote=sdrealtor]Just wanted to add one thing. I zillowed the house i described above and its worth about $220K today. The area, demographics and HH incomes are very comparable if not higher than where i live today but home prices area 1/2 to 1/3 of what they area here. This is just an expensive place to live and the rest of the country isnt like this. Most of the country is very affordable to average folk. This area has become much more desireable over the last couple decades relative to most of the country and housing prices reflect that.[/quote]
I agree. Understand everything here. I have a LOT of relatives whose net worth is very, VERY high but they live in their $180 – $200K +/- 2000 sf new(ish) “luxury” brick homes on 5-20 AC lots with their multiple pets, horses, livestock and equipment and drive American vehicles. They could all afford to pay cash for a property in “Nirvana” but would rather just visit places like that occasionally instead of live there. And only a couple of them have “flat screen” TV’s or even care about such things. Most can only get satellite svc.
I think it is mostly the “under 35” demographic who has a constant thirst for the latest electronics and gadgets. Of course, the interior of the US is not immune from “materialism,” but I think the need to financially over-extend oneself “because they can” and the “keeping up the Joneses” mindsets are mainly a “coastal phenomenon.” From what I’ve seen, many *wealthy* landowners and business people in WY, NE, KS, OK, AR and TX drive American pickups (some older). Most of these pickups look like they haven’t been washed in a year but the drivers don’t seem to care :=]
bearishgurl
ParticipantIf I have this straight, sdr thinks my owning “3 TV’s” in my house situated in a “lower middle class neighborhood at best,” (lol) have somehow “skewed” my values. FWIW, when I moved in over ten years ago, I only had the 1988, with rabbit ears. I bought the 2nd TV for one of my kids ($160) and they used rabbit ears as well. I didn’t get cable until a year after that. The first year or so I owned the HDTV, no HDTV channels were even available in my area! It was an out-of-the-box floor display and I bought it for half-price at the time. (Similar-sized flatscreens at that time were $3500 – $5500.)
When I DID finally hook up an HDTV box to it, I got only four HDTV channels for the first 3 years of svc.
In March of 2010, I turned in my box and shut my cable service off, because it became too expensive. In April of this year, I had the cable and box reconnected, when made a good offer by the cable company. Up to this day, I have only watched about one hour of TV per week (and sometimes not even that). My TV’s were/are for my kid(s).
When my last kid leaves for college, I will promptly be turning in my cable box and shutting my service off.
The $$ I could get for my old TVs (in combination with my “good looks”) could possibly buy me a decent haircut, lol!
And sdr, you have NO IDEA how “partially-employed” I am …. or not. I could say the same about you. Did you ever consider that it is entirely possible that I can post on blogs, chew gum and “work” all at the same time? To your benefit, this just happens to be a “working weekend” for me :=]
How many TV’s do YOU have, sdr?? Just curious.
bearishgurl
ParticipantIf I have this straight, sdr thinks my owning “3 TV’s” in my house situated in a “lower middle class neighborhood at best,” (lol) have somehow “skewed” my values. FWIW, when I moved in over ten years ago, I only had the 1988, with rabbit ears. I bought the 2nd TV for one of my kids ($160) and they used rabbit ears as well. I didn’t get cable until a year after that. The first year or so I owned the HDTV, no HDTV channels were even available in my area! It was an out-of-the-box floor display and I bought it for half-price at the time. (Similar-sized flatscreens at that time were $3500 – $5500.)
When I DID finally hook up an HDTV box to it, I got only four HDTV channels for the first 3 years of svc.
In March of 2010, I turned in my box and shut my cable service off, because it became too expensive. In April of this year, I had the cable and box reconnected, when made a good offer by the cable company. Up to this day, I have only watched about one hour of TV per week (and sometimes not even that). My TV’s were/are for my kid(s).
When my last kid leaves for college, I will promptly be turning in my cable box and shutting my service off.
The $$ I could get for my old TVs (in combination with my “good looks”) could possibly buy me a decent haircut, lol!
And sdr, you have NO IDEA how “partially-employed” I am …. or not. I could say the same about you. Did you ever consider that it is entirely possible that I can post on blogs, chew gum and “work” all at the same time? To your benefit, this just happens to be a “working weekend” for me :=]
How many TV’s do YOU have, sdr?? Just curious.
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