Seinfeld

Did you ever watch Seinfeld?

 

 

 

                                                        

It was a show about….

 

 

 

Nothing

 

 

 

Just in case you did miss it….

 

 

 

 

All you have to do

 

 

Is tune into

 

 

The Washington fiasco

 

That is currently going on

 

 

 

In a little over 30 days

 

We are faced with

 

Real economic issues

 

That can throw our economy

 

Into a tailspin

 

 

 

 

What are all the elected leaders doing?

 

 

 

 

Posturing themselves

 

 

 

 

We will not allow any

 

 

Tax Increases

 

 

 

Well then………

 

 

 

You cannot touch any

 

 

Entitlements….

 

 

 

 

 

We signed a pledge 18 years ago

 

 

 

 

 

 

We must maintain a strong….

 

 

 

Defense

 

 

 

 

The debt ceiling must be included

 

 

With any final resolution

 

 

 

 

How did Susan Rice end up

 

 

In the budget discussions?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What does any of this have to do……

 

 

 

About anything

 

 

 

 

We are being Seinfelded

 

 

 

 

As I stated before….

 

 

 

America has survived

 

Because of our ability

 

To work together

 

And reach compromises

 

 

 

 

How prideful

 

Have our politicians become?

 

 

 

 

In plain English

 

They must say

 

 

 

We screwed up

 

 

We spent too much money

 

 

We do not collect enough money

 

 

 

Programs were established…

 

 

Based on information that was

 

Relevant at the time

 

 

 

The demographics have changed

 

 

We have to review these programs

 

So they tie in more closely

 

To the needs of today

 

 

 

Don’t Hold your breath

 

 

 

If you are waiting to hear these words

 

 

 

For politicians are constantly running for….

 

 

Re-Election

 

 

 

 

 

But maybe Washington….

 

 

Should understand….

 

 

 

We are all grown ups

 

 

 

 

We realize these issues exist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We would probably….

 

 

 

Welcome the truth

Health Care Reform Rules Give Patients A New Bill Of Rights

As reported by Jeffrey Young Huffington Post 112012

 

Health insurance consumers won’t be discriminated against because of pre-existing conditions, can’t be charged more because of gender and will be guaranteed a basic set of benefits under historic new federal regulations published Tuesday.

Think of them as the Patients’ Bill of Rights that eluded former President Bill Clinton more than a decade ago. The regulations carry out the promises of President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, which will extend health insurance coverage to 30 million people over a decade and outlaw some of the industry’s most notorious practices.

Health insurance companies, state regulators and consumer advocates have eagerly awaited these rules since Obama enacted the health care overhaul in March 2010.

The details contained within the 331 pages of regulations are crucial for health insurance companies and states preparing for the new options that will be available to uninsured people and small businesses starting in 2014. The health insurance exchanges, online marketplaces where consumers can shop for plans and determine whether they qualify for tax credits to pay for private insurance coverage or Medicaid benefits, are slated to be open for business on Oct. 1, 2013.

“Americans in all 50 states will have access to an exchange and the benefits of the new law,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “Beginning in October next year, families and small-business owners everywhere will be able to shop for affordable, quality health coverage.”

The Department of Health and Human Services published three separate regulations Tuesday. Broadly, the rules restate the health insurance market reforms in Obama’s health care law. But health insurance companies and state officials that aren’t actively resisting the implementation of Obamacare need the details to ensure that health insurance exchanges are ready, and health plans available for sale on time.

One lays out the rules requiring health insurance companies to sell coverage to anyone who applies, prohibits charging women more than men, limits how much people must pay additionally based on age, where they live, family size and whether they use tobacco, and guarantees renewal of health coverage every year.

A second set of regulations spells out which benefits all health insurance plans sold on the exchanges must cover — 10 categories of medical care, including emergency services, hospital stays, maternity care, prescription drugs and preventive medicine. In addition, the rule explains how states must designate an insurance product already on the market as a “benchmark plan” to serve as a model for what the new insurance products will cover starting in 2014. This regulation also sets up how health insurance companies must prove their plans will cover at least 60 percent of a consumer’s average annual medical expenses.

The cost of health insurance on the exchanges will be subsidized using tax credits for people with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $44,680 this year. People who make up to 133 percent of poverty, $14,856 in 2012, will qualify for Medicaid in states that opt into an expansion of the health program for the poor.

The Obama administration published a third rule on “wellness” programs that employers include in workers’ health benefits, such as discounts to employees who quit smoking, lose weight or lower their cholesterol. The new regulations are designed, in part, to prevent companies from using the programs to set prices to discriminate against workers who don’t meet the wellness programs’ standards.

Publishing these regulations is just one small step toward 2014, however, and major obstacles remain. As of Monday, just 17 states and the District of Columbia had committed to creating a health insurance exchange themselves as the law sets out, according to a tally by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The federal government will have to step in, and partially or completely establish these exchanges in the rest of the states, including those run by Republican governors like Rick Perry of Texas who have vowed continued opposition to the law.

“Now that the law is here to stay, I’m hopeful that states and other partners will continue to work with us to implement the law,” said Sebelius, who offered to meet with governors who have outstanding questions about states’ role in carrying out the health care reform law. Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R), an ardent opponent of Obamacare, last week wrote Sebelius requesting a sit-down.

The administration hasn’t yet detailed how it will handle the workload of establishing so many health insurance exchanges on its own but Gary Cohen, the director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, vowed that it would get  done. “Absolutely, we will be ready. There will be an exchange in every state open for business on Oct. 1 of next year,” he said on the conference call.

Eight states also already have declared they would not participate in the Medicaid expansion, which will curtail Obama’s goal of extending health coverage to the poorest people in those states. When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the health care law in June, it also permitted states to refuse the Medicaid expansion, which the Congressional Budget Office says will result in 3 million fewer people gaining health coverage.

The benefits and consumer protections in the new regulations are in addition to other provisions of the health care reform law already in place, such as forbidding insurance companies from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, and allowing young adults to remain on their parents’ health plans until they turn 27.

Where Do We Begin

I don’t believe anyone thought

 

That the fiscal cliff

 

Would include a complete review

 

Of our Military and Intelligence command

 

 

 

It seems that while the country

 

Was wallowing in debt

 

The good ole boy network

 

Were all out there

 

Enjoying themselves

 

 

We speak of the integrity and sacrifices

 

Made by our forefathers

 

To help establish

 

This great nation

 

 

Yet we soon forget

 

The sacrifices they made

 

 

There are 3 major issues

 

That must be addressed by the

 

End of this year…..

 

 

The Bush Tax Cuts

 

 

The Payroll Tax Holiday

 

 

The $16 Trillion Debt Ceiling

 

 

 

I hear people saying

 

 

Go over the cliff….

 

 

 

Then go back and fix it

 

 

In 2013

 

 

 

This has been bantered around

 

For the last 2 years….

 

 

 

What makes people think that…..

 

 

 

2013 will be the cure all

 

 

 

This is not a…..

 

 

Democratic

 

Or

 

Republican Issue

 

 

 

This has to be settled in a

 

Bipartisan effort

 

 

 

We need a strong

 

Federal Government

 

 

But it is bloated and

 

 

 

Waste too much money

 

 

 

The Bush tax cuts

 

Were put into place

 

12 years ago

 

 

 

In the meantime

 

We engaged ourselves

 

In 2 wars

 

 

 

Which we did not have

 

The money to pay for

 

 

 

A bipartisan resolution should focus on

 

 

 

Creating Jobs for the future

 

 

Cutting Cost

 

 

 

Raising Revenue

 

 

 

Balancing the Budget

 

 

And

 

 

 

Long Term Deficit Reduction

 

 

 

 

The finger pointing must stop….

 

 

 

It was the abuses of both parties

 

That put us in this position

 

 

 

A Vision must be set

 

To both inspire

 

And lift up

 

The citizens of

 

The United States

 

 

 

The whole world looks to us

 

 

As the land of opportunity

 

 

 

Let’s quit bickering

 

 

And work together

 

 

To restore the integrity

 

 

That the world aspires

 

 

To see in us

 

Find us on the web www.hutchinsonbusinesssolutions.com

Sandy’d

This is fast becoming

The week that was

For once,

The meteorologist

Were dead on

And

The resulting devastation

Around New Jersey

And Pennsylvania

Is almost……

Unimaginable

 

The road from Avalon

Heading toward the bridge

Into Townsend Inlet

 

Is wiped out

The eye of the hurricane

Was right in

Or

Right near Sea Isle City

This may actually have saved

 

Our little town.

The heavy winds and flooding

Hit north of us

Heavy rains hit…

South of us

Ocean City is still flooded

As I write this.

I am sure you have all seen

Pictures of

Atlantic City…..

And

Brigantine.

Damages are severe

But most can be rebuilt

Long Beach Island….

Toms River….

Seaside…

The Ocean has met the Bay

 

These towns could be lost

 

To Mother Nature

We all hope and pray

 

That is not the case

 

What I have been fascinated about…

Is the spirit of cooperation

That exists…

Everyone is….

Going out of their way

To help everyone else

The rumble of politics has ceased

Momentarily….

As we pull together

To help each other

It is in times like this

That the spirit of America

 

Shines

We are all one…

Working for the benefit

Of all

 

We are our brother’s keeper

Find us on the web www.hutchinsonbusinesssolutions.com