Category Archives: health insurance
Bernie Quits Before Drug Companies Find a Cure
Bernie quit just as things were finally going his way. Thanks to Covid-19 the government is spending like crazy, we have fee health care and fracking is dead. So he’s dropped out of the race.
Smart move. Drug companies big and small are working on treatments and vaccines. And before you know it, we’ll right back where we started.
Senate Tax Bill Kills Health Insurance Individual Mandate
The Senate tax bill ends the mandate to buy health insurance. This is a bad thing? It is according to a CNN Money article:
Poor Americans would lose billions of dollars worth of federal benefits under the Senate GOP tax bill, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report.
This is largely because the legislation would eliminate the individual mandate, which requires nearly all Americans to get health insurance or pay a penalty. This would result in 13 million fewer people having coverage in 2027, the CBO found.
Many of the folks who would forgo coverage would have lower or moderate incomes and would have qualified for Medicaid or federal help paying their premiums or out-of-pocket health expenses, CBO found.
If it’s a good deal why do people need to be forced to buy it? Do they think we’re stupid?
Oh.
Insurance Companies’ Very Bad Week
Last week President Trump issued an executive order rolling back President Obama’s executive order to subsidize insurance companies. The subsidies reimburse the companies for reducing certain out-of-pocket expenses to policy holders.
The only problem is Congress refused to appropriate money for the subsidies. So Obama whipped out his pen and phone and and started spending the money anyway. And Trump continued that practice. But a federal district court judge says that’s illegal.
Insurance Companies’ Very Bad Week
This week two Republican senators, Tom Cotton and Pat Toomey, introduced a bill to to partially end the individual mandate, no longer requiring some people to buy health insurance.
Yesterday two more Senators, Republican Lamar Alexander and Democrat Patty Murray, made a deal to keep the subsidies alive. Trump said nice things about it last night but withdrew support today.
Time.com tries to explain what’s going here.
Jimmy’s Late Night Opinions
Harvey Weinstein probably won’t have much to say about current events for a while, but Jimmy Kimmel will. The comedian turned policy wonk has had a lot to say about health care and gun control lately thanks to the failed Graham-Cassidy bill and the Las Vegas massacre.
As for Harvey Weinstein’s escapades? Well, Jimmy had a lot to say about Donald Trump.
Jimmy’s Late Night Opinions
What if you don’t like Jimmy’s late night opinions? On CBS Sunday Morning he said, “I mean, you don’t have to watch the show. You don’t have to listen to what I say.”
“Yeah, I mean, I saw, I don’t know if it was a study or a poll, some combination of those two things, that, like, three years ago I was equally liked by Republicans and Democrats. And then Republican numbers went way down, like 30% or whatever. And, you know, as a talk show host, that’s not ideal. But I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
Despite the Deplorable decline his ratings are up 11% from a year ago..
McCain Health Care Bill Kills
Senator McCain sided with Jimmy Kimmel in shooting down best bud Lindsey Graham on Friday. He announced he would vote “no” on the Graham Cassidy health care reform.
Two McCain Bill Kills
Those in the know think that pretty much kills the bill. And that would make two health bill kills for McCain.
Damn, should have drawn that on the fuselage.
