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Obamacare: Is a $2,000 deductible ‘affordable?’ States are starting to roll out details about the exchanges, providing a look at just how affordable coverage under the Affordable Care Act will be. Some potential participants may be surprised at the figures: $2,000 deductibles, $45 primary care visit co-pays, and $250 emergency room tabs. Those are just some of the charges enrollees will incur in a silver-level plan in California, which recently unveiled an [...] “One of the most serious flaws with Obamacare is that its blizzard of regulations and mandates drives up the cost of insurance for people who buy it on their own. This problem will be especially acute when the law’s main provisions kick in on January 1, 2014, leading many to worry about health insurance “rate shock.” Last week, the state of California claimed that its version of Obamacare’s health insurance exchange [...] From Global Economic Trend Analysis: Consumers are about to find out that the Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare, is not exactly affordable. The Wall Street Journal says Health-Insurance Sticker Shock is just around the corner. Health-insurance premiums have been rising – and consumers will experience another series of price shocks later this year when some see their premiums skyrocket thanks to the Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare. The reason: The congressional [...] As part of the Affordable Care Act, breast pumps and other supplies must be covered by insurance companies The Affordable Care Act means many things for women, including birth control for all policy holders with no additional payment from the patient required. A lesser-known facet of the new so-called Obamacare law is a provision that requires insurance companies to cover the full cost of breast [...] With the Presidential election one week away, it’s worth reviewing how Obamacare will impact the residents of key swing states. In Ohio, as elsewhere, Obamacare will drive up the cost of private health coverage, especially for those who buy insurance on their own. A non-partisan study found that, by 2017, individual premiums in Ohio will increase by as much as 85 percent. In addition, Obamacare will deeply cut Medicare Advantage [...] By Ron Paul: Hurricane Sandy was one of the worst natural disasters the east coast has ever seen. Clean-up and recovery will take months, if not years and estimates run in the tens of billions of dollars. Parts of New York and New Jersey will never be the same. Entire seashore communities have been wiped out, but the determination to rebuild has been lauded as courageous and admirable. Yet as with all [...] 1) Estimate the total, annual medical related expenses for the coming fiscal year. Exclude insurance and insurance related overhead expenses. (This amounts to about 1.75 trillion dollars, give or take a few billion) 2) Divide #1 by the number of able-bodied, working age Americans (about 175 million, depending on your source). 3) Adjust this pro-rata share (about $10k per able bodied, working age American each year) to reflect risky lifestyle choices like smoking. 4) [...] A Texas hospital is under fire for banning job applicants from employment for being obese. The Citizens Medical Center in the south eastern town of Victoria requires all potential employees to have a body mass index – a formula used to determine fat – of less than 35, according to its CEO. The figure translates to a weight of 210lbs for someone who is 5ft 5in, and ensures employees fit with a [...] Long-Term Care-Less: An Insurance Nightmare As Premiums Nearly Double It’s the right thing to do: I still recommend that you purchase long-term care insurance to avoid the dreaded outcome of being older, alone, and in need of everyday care that is not covered by Medicare or supplements. That long-term custodial care — at home or in assisted living [...] http://www.dailykos.com/ Turns out, it’s not just a one-year trend. Despite competition and choice in the private insurance system, Medicare spending has grown more slowly than private insurance premiums [...] Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have laws that protect smokers’ rights (in blue). Source: American Lung Association From USA Today: More job-seekers are facing an added requirement: no smoking — at work or anytime. As bans on smoking sweep the USA, an increasing number of employers — primarily hospitals — are also imposing bans on smokers. They won’t hire applicants whose urine tests positive for nicotine use, whether cigarettes, smokeless tobacco or even [...] The survey looked at brand vulnerability at the top 10 U.S. retail banks, and fees are the top frustration. But do big banks really care about losing a few customers? $185B equals just 9% of $2T-plus in total retail bank deposits. ByCatherine New Big banks risk losing as much as $185 billion in the next 12 months as account holders say no to being nickeled and dimed, according to a new report by [...] Premiums for employer-provided health insurance jumped 8-9 percent in 2011, passing $15,000 for family coverage — which is more than the cost of a Ford Fiesta. That’s a big jump from the 3 percent increase in 2010. But it’s in line with historical increases that have averaged just over 10 percent per year since 2001, according to the annual Kaiser Family Foundation’s Employer Health Benefits survey. The Kaiser [...] There has been no shortage of court cases regarding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Before today, four courts, including the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, examined the health reform law and found it constitutional. Today, a different court ruled against the Affordable Care Act’s individual responsibility provision. We strongly disagree with this decision and we are confident it will not stand. The individual responsibility provision [...] WASHINGTON — The new set of guidelines issued by the Department of Health and Human Services this week that will require health insurers to cover birth control with no co-pays have been controversial for a number of reasons, ranging from cost issues to moral objections. Some conservative groups, such as Americans United for Life, have condemned the guidelines because they might force insurers to cover the morning after pill, which many anti-abortion advocates [...] Insurance companies are increasing the amount customers have to pay when they make a claim, according to figures obtained by the BBC. The research by analysts Defaqto shows the average cost of the policy ‘excess’ has risen sharply since 2008. It reveals that an increasing number of travel insurers are charging the excess several times on a single claim. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) says policy excess fees keep premiums [...] Last night, President Obama announced that the federal government will remain open for business because Americans from different beliefs came together, put politics aside, and met the expectations of the American people. Today, small businesses will no longer worry or have to wait on a loan to open or expand their business, families will receive the mortgages they applied for, and hundreds of thousands of [...] by ZH Marc Faber was on CNBC earlier, once again discussing things so patently obvious only the Fed can not grasp them. Namely that as long as cheap money floods the system hard assets will continue rising in value, and gold will continue surging. Which is merely part of the bigger picture: nominal prices continue rising as real prices, denominated in paper and linen, continue to [...] by ZH Marc Faber was on CNBC earlier, once again discussing things so patently obvious only the Fed can not grasp them. Namely that as long as cheap money floods the system hard assets will continue rising in value, and gold will continue surging. Which is merely part of the bigger picture: nominal prices continue rising as real prices, denominated in paper and linen, continue to decline. But have no fear: [...]
Partial graphic of a police officer stopping driver for speeding. (AP)
(Foxnews) South Carolina is considering a bill that would allow police to slap $150 tickets on motorists caught driving less than 10 mph over the limit –10 times the current minimum — but let them skip reporting the tickets to shield low-speed offenders from higher insurance premiums. According to the bipartisan legislation, windfall revenues would be [...] by Dargoola Caught in the vice grip of BIflation engineered by the Fed, your assets, income and retirement benefits will shrink but your cost of living, home ownership, and doing business will rocket. Another way of putting it: everything you own will deflate, everything you need will inflate. Business margins will erode further (they are already if you’re paying attention) and the ability to earn more income will disintegrate as the offshoring of [...] http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/the-health-care-bill-is-great-for-american-taxpayers-if-you-like-being-punched-in-the-groin Thanks to the health care “reform” bill passed by Congress and signed into law by Barack Obama, American taxpayers are about to be hit with the largest tax increase in the history of the United States. According to an analysis by the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation the health care bill will generate $409.2 billion in additional taxes by 2019. But there are also heavy fines for those who refuse [...] Never mind “structural problems in the private sector” – she estimates 2 million layoffs by state/local governments as they struggle to balance budgets in the face of falling revenue and skyrocketing Medicaid, services, and pension program costs. But don’t expect taxes or fees to drop any time soon. It’s also interesting that when state and local governments lay off workers, the savings are SIGNIFICANTLY less than the worker’s nominal salary. Why, [...] Note the gold and silver coinage that used to circulate because the gold and silver content used to be worth less than the face value of the coin. Note the loaf of bread that used to be 10 cents is between 200 and 400 cents. In the short term, prices on certain items rise and fall depending on supply and demand. A few years back airlines were giving away seats [...] Nevada Federal Credit Union has too much money and does not know what to do with it. Worse yet, sitting in cash is costing the credit union money. Insurance premiums are the culprit. On top of any deposit premium paid to customers, insurance runs .4%. Yet short term treasuries yield .25%. Nevada Federal sees no good lending opportunities so it is paying customers to close accounts. Inquiring minds are reading Credit union: Pul-lease [...] |
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Obamacare is a “neutron bomb” that will “decimate” jobs in America
From Charles Hugh Smith:
… The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), i.e. Obamacare, is a neutron bomb for employment. A neutron bomb is an enhanced-radiation thermonuclear weapon that famously leaves buildings, autos, etc. intact but kills all the people, even those inside buildings, vehicles, etc.
Obamacare will act as a neutron bomb on employment in the U.S. for two basic reasons:
1. It is immensely complex, and already-marginalized small business owners [...]