Let #39;s play doctor + Free CD of The Best of Dead Doctors Dont Lie ISBN: 0970149093, 978-0970149091
Let #39;s play doctor _ With a Free audio CD of The Best of Dead Doctors Dont Lie ISBN: 0970149093, 978-0970149091 The Book That "Orthodox" Doctors Couldn #39;t Kill...
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The Billionaire-Funded Obamacare Attack Ad That IS NOT Political
"Americans for Prosperity, the well-funded conservative group that has been attacking Democrats in battleground states over the health care reform law, put o...
By: The Young Turks
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The Billionaire-Funded Obamacare Attack Ad That IS NOT Political - Video
Visiting the Health Care Fair 2014
Visiting the Health Care Fair.
By: LJonsen
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Worship - Lent 3A - God #39;s Affordable Health Care Act
God acted in Christ to bring us perfect spiritual health. And it costs us nothing! It #39;s absolutely free. This is God #39;s affordable health care act.
By: Rob Guenther
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Worship - Lent 3A - God's Affordable Health Care Act - Video
Politicians Don #39;t Give A Damn About Hypocrisy
"Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) has been running for Sen. Mary Landrieu #39;s (D-La.) Senate seat in part by attacking the Affordable Care Act and its impact on the M...
By: The Young Turks
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WASHINGTON (AP) The nation's largest minority group risks being left behind by President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
Hispanics account for about one-third of the nation's uninsured, but they seem to be staying on the on the sidelines as the White House races to meet a goal of 6 million sign-ups by March 31.
Latinos are "not at the table," says Jane Delgado, president of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, a nonpartisan advocacy network. "We are not going to be able to enroll at the levels we should be enrolling at."
That's a loss both for Latinos who are trying to put down middle-class roots and for the Obama administration, experts say.
Hispanics who remain uninsured could face fines, not to mention exposing their families to high medical bills from accidents or unforeseen illness. And the government won't get the full advantage of a group that's largely young and healthy, helping keep premiums low in the new insurance markets.
"The enrollment rate for Hispanic-Americans seems to be very low, and I would be really concerned about that," says Brookings Institution health policy expert Mark McClellan. "It is a large population that has a lot to gain ... but they don't seem to be taking advantage." McClellan oversaw the rollout of Medicare's prescription drug benefit for President George W. Bush.
The Obama administration says it has no statistics on the race and ethnicity of those signing up in the insurance exchanges, markets that offer subsidized private coverage in every state. Consumers provide those details voluntarily, so federal officials say any tally would be incomplete and possibly misleading.
But concern is showing through, and it's coming from the highest levels.
"You don't punish me by not signing up for health care," Obama told Hispanic audiences during a recent televised town hall. "You're punishing yourself or your family."
Like a candidate hunting for votes in the closing days of a campaign, Obama was back on Hispanic airwaves Monday as Univision Radio broadcast his latest pitch.
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The new health care law helps some people, hurts others and confuses almost everyone. Hoping to simplify things a bit, The Associated Press asked its Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus followers for their real-life questions about the program and the problems they're running into as the March 31 deadline approaches to sign up for coverage in new insurance markets.
Two of their questions and AP's answers.
THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE AND ME
Q: "Is it really true that the IRS can't do anything to you if you refuse to get insurance and also refuse to pay the penalty?" David Myer, 46, a consulting geophysicist in Encinitas, Calif.
A: You could say the IRS has one hand tied behind its back here. But that still leaves the other hand. The tax collectors don't have nearly as many tools to go after insurance avoiders as it has to enforce tax laws. It can, however, dip into people's tax refunds to collect the penalty for those who don't get health insurance. Most filers qualify for a tax refund, so they would be exposed to that collection tactic. Beyond that, it can send insistent letters, and who wants to get those?
Elizabeth Maresca, a former IRS trial attorney, told the AP that an unfriendly letter about an outstanding health insurance penalty probably will have much the same effect as one about tax arrears. "Most people pay because they're scared, and I don't think that's going to change," she said.
That said, the IRS can't seize bank accounts, dock wages, charge interest on unpaid penalties or apply criminal or civil sanctions to force people to obtain health coverage.
CAN I JOIN THE EXCHANGE?
Q: "Why are there limits as to who can sign up? If someone has an employer plan that they don't like, they can't switch the plan to one of the new ones." Duane E. Maddy, a graphic designer and digital artist in Dunbar, W.Va.
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BOSTON -- The drivers of health care costs in Massachusetts - provider price increases, the gap between high and low paid providers and the volume of care delivered in high-price settings - have been identified consistently by researchers over the past five years as policymakers have grappled with how to slow cost growth, according to a new analysis.
If the themes sound familiar, it's because they have been repeatedly flagged by state agencies trying to understand what is behind the high cost of health care in Massachusetts.
An analysis of state reports conducted since 2008, performed for the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, identified 10 recurring factors that have contributed to rising costs for employers and consumers. Among them, researchers found that health care is most often delivered in high-price settings that don't necessarily correlate to a greater quality of care.
Academic medical centers tend to be associated with higher health care costs, and a significant gap has continually been observed between the highest and lowest paid providers, while those hospitals and clinics with the lowest reimbursement rates tend to treat the highest volume of patients on Medicare and Medicaid.
The report, to be released Monday and compiled by Freedman HealthCare, reviewed 16 cost trend reports, including studies done by the Division of the Insurance, the Attorney General's office, the Center for Health Information and Analysis (formerly the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy) and the Health Policy Commission.
"We're seeing so many changes now in the Legislature and we're going to have a new governor in January and we're continuing to see the same trends over and over and hearing the same things so it's important to focus and monitor to see if we're making progress," said Lora Pellegrini, president of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, a trade group that represents the interest of insurers.
Provider pricing and the impact of market clout in price negotiations with insurers have emerged in recent years as a focal point for lawmakers and regulators who are seeking to find ways to limit cost growth in an industry where prices were heavily regulated before passage of an early 1990s deregulation law.
"The large provider organizations are not only large in terms of volume but because they tend to be market dominant they demand higher prices," said John Freedman, a physician who has also worked for Tufts Health Plan and conducted the analysis of the state reports.
In negotiations, providers and payers have become "sensitive" to the cost growth benchmarks established by a new law in 2012, but "there's nothing to suggest that these kinds of trends couldn't continue to happen," said Pellegrini.
Freedman said increasing provider prices has led to higher health care premiums and consumer cost sharing.
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A challenge to part of President Barack Obama's health care law that hits the Supreme Court on Tuesday could lead to one of the most significant religious freedom rulings in the high court's history.
Four years ago, in their controversial Citizens United decision, the justices ruled that corporations had full free-speech rights in election campaigns. Now, they're being asked to decide whether for-profit companies are entitled to religious liberties.
At issue in Tuesday's oral argument before the court is a regulation under the Affordable Care Act that requires employers to provide workers a health plan that covers the full range of contraceptives, including morning-after pills and intrauterine devices, or IUDs.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a religion-based challenge from family-owned companies that object to covering certain contraceptives in their health plans as part of a preventive care requirement. Among them, Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. is the largest. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)
The evangelical Christian family that controls Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., a chain of more than 500 arts and crafts outlets with 13,000 workers, says the requirement violates its religious beliefs.
Some contraceptives can "end human life after conception," the Green family says. Forcing the owners to pay for such devices would make them "complicit in abortion," their lawyers say.
A ruling in their favor could have an effect on tens of thousands of women whose employers share the Greens' objections to some or all contraceptives.
But the case could also sweep far beyond just this one provision of Obamacare. The justices have been wary of accepting claims that religious beliefs can exempt people -- or companies -- from following laws that apply to everyone. The court's previous religious freedom cases usually involved narrowly focused claims from religious minorities, such as the Amish or Seventh-day Adventists.
But the current court, led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., has shown a greater interest in religious freedom claims. And because the objections to the contraceptive mandate come from Catholic bishops and evangelical Christians, not small or obscure sects, the potential effect has been magnified.
The Obama administration argues that if the justices allow Hobby Lobby to refuse to pay for contraceptives because of its owners' religious beliefs, the way would open for religious objections to a broad array of laws. Companies potentially could shape the benefits they offer, and perhaps even their hiring, based on their religious convictions.
Continued here:
Originally published March 24, 2014 at 5:35 AM | Page modified March 24, 2014 at 1:10 PM
The new health care law helps some people, hurts others and confuses almost everyone. Hoping to simplify things a bit, The Associated Press asked its Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus followers for their real-life questions about the program and the problems they're running into as the March 31 deadline approaches to sign up for coverage in new insurance markets.
Two of their questions and AP's answers.
THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE AND ME
Q: "Is it really true that the IRS can't do anything to you if you refuse to get insurance and also refuse to pay the penalty?" -- David Myer, 46, a consulting geophysicist in Encinitas, Calif.
A: You could say the IRS has one hand tied behind its back here. But that still leaves the other hand. The tax collectors don't have nearly as many tools to go after insurance avoiders as it has to enforce tax laws. It can, however, dip into people's tax refunds to collect the penalty for those who don't get health insurance. Most filers qualify for a tax refund, so they would be exposed to that collection tactic. Beyond that, it can send insistent letters, and who wants to get those?
Elizabeth Maresca, a former IRS trial attorney, told the AP that an unfriendly letter about an outstanding health insurance penalty probably will have much the same effect as one about tax arrears. "Most people pay because they're scared, and I don't think that's going to change," she said.
That said, the IRS can't seize bank accounts, dock wages, charge interest on unpaid penalties or apply criminal or civil sanctions to force people to obtain health coverage.
___
CAN I JOIN THE EXCHANGE?
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NEW YORK Weakness in the health care and technology sectors dragged the U.S. stock market lower.
Health care stocks, which have risen more than other industries over the past year, fell sharply on Monday.
Pfizer had the biggest loss in the Dow Jones industrial average, 2 percent. Biotech stocks continued a decline that began Friday after lawmakers questioned the pricing of a Hepatitis C drug.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell nine points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 1,857.
The Dow lost 26 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,276.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 50 points, or 1.2 percent, to 4,226.
Facebook, which has more than doubled over the past year, fell 5 percent.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.73 percent.
Health care stocks, which have risen more than other industries over the past year, fell sharply on Monday.
Pfizer had the biggest loss in the Dow Jones industrial average, 2 percent. Biotech stocks continued a decline that began Friday after lawmakers questioned the pricing of a Hepatitis C drug.
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New online mapping tool launched on 2014 BC Francophonie Day
In honour of the 2014 BC Francophonie Day, the BC government has launched a new online mapping tool to help French speaking citizens pinpoint health care ser...
By: ProvinceofBC
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New online mapping tool launched on 2014 BC Francophonie Day - Video
Dr. Michele C. Reed M.S. Family Medicine Health Care P.C.
Dr. Michele Claudette Reed is a native of Long Island, New York. She received her undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook a...
By: Picha Dis
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Dr. Michele C. Reed M.S. Family Medicine Health Care P.C. - Video
Last Call for Health Care!
The deadline for open enrollment is March 31st. Sign up for health care now!
By: Liberal Dem
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Expert: Single Payer vs. Socialized Health Care In America
Health care expert Tsung-Mei Cheng - a research analyst at Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public Health - discusses the differences between s...
By: The Daily Conversation
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Expert: Single Payer vs. Socialized Health Care In America - Video
The Separation of Church and State
Credit goes to Bishop Conley of Lincoln his friend Harry Biltz for 1st coining the word "atheocracy.") The "wall of separation between church and state" d...
By: Christopher Stefanick
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Glorious India - Health Care Priorities by S Prakash - Section 12 of 15
Glorious India - Health Care Priorities by S Prakash - Section 12 of 15.
By: See Change Consulting ***
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Glorious India - Health Care Priorities by S Prakash - Section 12 of 15 - Video
The Obama administration and its opponents are renewing the Supreme Court battle over President Barack Obama's health care law in a case that pits the religious rights of employers against the rights of women to the birth control of their choice.
Two years after the entire law survived the justices' review by a single vote, the court is hearing arguments Tuesday in a religion-based challenge from family-owned companies that object to covering certain contraceptives in their health plans as part of the law's preventive care requirement.
Health plans must offer a range of services at no extra charge, including all forms of birth control for women that have been approved by federal regulators.
Some of the nearly 50 businesses that have sued over covering contraceptives object to paying for all forms of birth control. But the companies involved in the high court case are willing to cover most methods of contraception, as long as they can exclude drugs or devices that the government says may work after an egg has been fertilized.
The largest company among them, Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., and the Green family that owns it, say their "religious beliefs prohibit them from providing health coverage for contraceptive drugs and devices that end human life after conception."
Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby has more than 15,000 full-time employees in more than 600 crafts stores in 41 states. The Greens are evangelical Christians who also own Mardel, a Christian bookstore chain.
The other company is Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. of East Earl, Pa., owned by a Mennonite family and employing 950 people in making wood cabinets.
The administration says a victory for the companies would prevent women who work for them from making decisions about birth control based on what's best for their health, not whether they can afford it. The government's supporters point to research showing that nearly one-third of women would change their contraceptive if cost were not an issue; a very effective means of birth control, the intrauterine device, can cost up to $1,000.
"Women already have an income gap. If these companies prevail, they'll have a health insurance gap, too," said Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women's Law Center.
The contraceptives at issue before the court are the emergency contraceptives Plan B and ella, and two IUDs.
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Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Cecile Richards and Your Health Care
Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards and sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer answer your questions about the health care law (and of course, sex). Find...
By: Planned Parenthood Health
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Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Cecile Richards and Your Health Care - Video