It’s Your Money
September 23, 2019
When I first meet people
They always ask…
So… what do you do…
I respond…
We save companies money…
That normally gets a positive response…
People like to save money…
Now….
Do you have time for a quickie quiz…
How many of you have signed a contract…
Thought you got a good deal
Possibly a great deal and…
Never looked at the paperwork again
Can I see a show of hands…
You…
Yea…. you over there
Is your hand up or are you scratching your head…
It looks like you wanted to put your hand up
Come on…
Let’s be honest
We all have done it…
I believe that all of us have good intentions…
But let’s face it we just get busy
No matter how you planned your day
Something happens and you are once again
Putting out fires
The first thing we do with any potential client
Is validate what they are currently paying
Are you paying the exact rate you signed for…
Believe it or not…
This is not always the case
I have people tell me….
Yea… we signed a contract and I was told
We are paying well below market prices
That is always great to hear
But let’s see if that is their reality…
Do you mind if I see your contract…
And could we also get a copy of your latest bill…
I can’t tell you how many times
We find that people are being charged
The wrong rate
And most of the time it is for more than
What you signed for
We always direct them to call the provider
And clarify…
Why are we paying this higher rate…
Our contract states we should be paying xxxx amount
Guess what the response normally is…
Oh, we’re sorry
That was billed improperly
Let us correct that…
We can give you a credit
Or send you a refund
How nice of them….
If they were under charging you
I bet they would contact you and say
We have a problem
However, if they are over charging you
You don’t hear from them
This is your money…
Don’t be afraid to ask for it…
HBS clients have received thousands of dollars in refunds
Always be aware of what you are paying…
And if you are not sure…
Give us a call
HBS leaves no stone unturned in our search for savings
We find ways to save you money
It’s a Miracle
March 23, 2018
Sometime last August
I noticed a small lump on my face
It was on my left chin
Right below my left lower lip
I thought
It is probably an ingrown hair
I’ll keep an eye on it
By the end of September
I noticed it was getting bigger
I went to the doctor for my annual physical
I asked…
What is this little lump on my face
Oh…It looks like a cyst
No one knows why you get them
It could get bigger
It could get smaller
Or just go away
I wouldn’t worry about it
Most doctors don’t like to cut in that area
For there are a lot of nerves in that area of the face
So…I went home thinking
Maybe this will just go away
Another month passed
I noticed it was getting bigger
Hmmmm…
I should probably get a 2nd opinion
Hey hon…
Do you know a Dermatologist I can call…
Just google Dermatologists in the area
See if you recognize any names
I see a name I know
I call their office
I’m sorry….
The Doctor is not taking any new patients
Can you at least give me a referral…
Do you have any names I can call…
I’m running blind here…
I can give you a couple of numbers
Try these…
Kathy….my associate says…
We went to a dermatologist in Voorhees
We liked him
You might want to give him a call
Sounds good…
Give me the number
I called and got an appointment
It’s just a cyst
It could get bigger
It could get smaller
It may just go away
If I were you…
I would probably cut it out
You don’t want it getting infected
That will hurt
I would need to make a small incision
It will take about 15 minutes
You will need about 3-4 stitches
See the receptionist out front
I can do it on Tuesday
Do I really want this cut out…
Stitches…
Let me get one more opinion
I call another doctor…
It’s just a cyst
It could get bigger
It could get smaller
It may just go away
Is it bothering you…
If not…
I would not do anything
If it starts bothering you
Call me and we can cut it out
I would have to cut from here to here
And you would need about 6 stitches
You’ll have a small scar on your face
You’ll look tougher
Like you got cut in a fight
Do I really want this cut out…
Stitches…
I think I like when he said…
I would not do anything
Another 2 months pass
It looks like it is getting bigger
But sometimes it looks like it is getting smaller
All of a sudden…
My lower left lip is getting numb
I am having trouble opening my mouth
My left chin is getting warm
The bump is getting red…
The cyst is infected…
I start making phone calls…
The doctor can see you in 2 weeks
You don’t understand
It’s infected
I need to see someone now
Not 2 weeks
I’m thinking…
My friend is a plastic surgeon
If anybody is going to cut my face
I might as well go to the best
I call John’s office…
I’m sorry
He’s in a consultation
Can he call you when he is done…
He gets right back to me
I am going to call in an antibiotic
Stop and see me Friday
I walk into his office on Friday
Ohhhh…That looks pretty bad…
You still taking the antibiotic…
I don’t think I want to do anything today
I’ll just clean it up
And get all the infection out
He gives me a local
And starts working on the infected area
Everything is oozing out
He explains…
You have body oils under your skin
Sometimes they come together and crystalize
Then they grow a small skin around it
Like a lima bean
To protect it
That’s what a cyst is
I can see the top of the cyst
I think I can get this…
You feeling alright…
Just like pulling a tooth
He goes in and…
POP….
Wow… look at this thing
That’s been in there for awhile
I think we got everything
Just keep Neosporin and a band aid on it
What….No Stitches…
No… I think it is going to heal fine
Come see me next Friday
It’s a Miracle
No stitches
No cyst
And…
1 week later
There is little evidence
That anything was ever done
Thanks John…
Your hands have been blessed by God
Every Day is a Gift
We find ways to save you money…
Thanks for the referrals
Thank
Looks What’s New
June 27, 2016
|
 |
By Zachary A. Goldfarb and Sandhya Somashekhar, Published: in the Washington Post
The White House on Tuesday delayed for one year a requirement under the Affordable Care Act that businesses provide health insurance to employees, a fresh setback for President Obama’s landmark health-care overhaul as it enters a critical phase.
The provision, commonly known as the employer mandate, calls for businesses with 50 or more workers to provide affordable quality insurance to workers or pay a $2,000 fine per employee. Business groups had objected to the provision, which now will take effect in January 2015.
The decision comes as Obama is working to secure his domestic legacy, urging Congress to pass an overhaul of immigration laws and using his executive powers to combat climate change. With the prospects for immigration reform uncertain in the House — and new environmental regulations still more than a year way — implementation of the 2010 health-care law has singular importance.
The White House portrayed the delay as a common-sense step that would reduce financial and regulatory burdens on small businesses. Republicans, who are planning to target “Obamacare” in the 2014 midterm campaigns, said the delay is an acknowledgment that the health-care overhaul is flawed.
The decision will spare Obama what might have been a major distraction as officials begin to implement the centerpiece of the health-care law, which remains in place: a requirement, starting in 2014, that most Americans obtain insurance through their employer or through federally backed and state-backed marketplaces, known as exchanges.
The decision by Obama, who was on Air Force One returning from Africa on Tuesday when the announcement was made, to delay a controversial part of the law underscores his willingness to use the power of the executive branch to help to protect the legislation’s image at a defining moment.
“We believe we need to give employers more time to comply with the new rules,” Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to Obama, wrote in a blog post Tuesday evening. “This allows employers the time to . . . make any necessary adaptations to their health benefits while staying the course toward making health coverage more affordable and accessible for their workers.”
Republicans say they expect higher costs as a result of the law. House Speaker John A. Boehner (Ohio) said the decision “means even the Obama administration knows the ‘train wreck’ will only get worse.” He added, “This is a clear acknowledgment that the law is unworkable.”
Bob Kocher, a former top health-care aide to Obama, said he was disappointed by the delay because it will create uncertainty about what parts of the law will take effect. “It confuses people,” he said, adding that it “will undermine all the other rules because people will expect delay.”
The health-care law, which had been a source of confusion for years, is expected to have a bumpy rollout. The employer mandate would have added complexity.
Small businesses, many of which would have had to install systems to track and report which employees are receiving coverage, had been complaining about the difficulty of complying with the requirements, giving way to fears that companies might reduce their workforces to fall below the 50-worker threshold.
The decision comes as a result of years of bumps and setbacks for the overhaul, including legal challenges and political opposition that have hampered its implementation. Last summer, the Supreme Court upheld the law but struck down a mandatory expansion of Medicaid. State officials and businesses held off changing their policies through the 2012 presidential campaign because Obama’s GOP opponent, Mitt Romney, had promised to repeal the law.
Some populous states, including Florida and Texas, have decided not to set up exchanges, putting a far bigger burden on federal health officials to serve Americans. The exchanges are being designed to offer a variety of insurance plans; the federal insurance exchange is set to begin in less than three months.
One year ago today the Supreme Court found the Affordable Care Act constitutional. The new health care exchanges begin enrollment in 3 months but Obamacare is still confusing for most of us. Wonkblog’s Sarah Kliff explains what we can expect.
Although the overhaul was passed in 2010, federal officials continue to issue clarifications to its language. Many of the rules critical to employers were issued this year, or remain in draft form. As a result, businesses have been scrambling to understand their obligations, said Larry Levitt, senior vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health think tank.
“When I talk to large companies, even though they already offer coverage they are still scrambling to understand the rules so they can comply,” he said. “Employers were feeling like they had to make these decisions under some amount of pressure, and this gives them a year to be more deliberative about it.”
A senior White House official said the administration’s decision goes beyond delaying the employer mandate. Officials also are working to simplify the depth of information that businesses will have to provide to the government about the coverage they offer.
The launch of the exchanges is a landmark moment in the overhaul, and White House officials have been warning that there will be rough spots. The White House hasn’t received the funding it requested to implement the law, and officials have expressed concern that Americans eligible for coverage won’t know how to get it.
Earlier this year, the administration said businesses that buy health plans for their workers through health exchanges would not have access to the full range of options in 2014, promising to have them in place a year later.
The decision to postpone the employer mandate is not expected to have a major impact on employees. Those workers who would have received coverage from their employers as a result of the law will now be expected to use the exchanges. Employees who cannot afford coverage on their own are eligible for federal subsidies.
The vast majority of businesses — 96 percent, according to the White House — have fewer than 50 employees and therefore are exempt from the mandate. And nearly all firms of 200 or more workers offer their employees some sort of coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
“We have heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively,” Mark J. Mazur, an assistant Treasury secretary, wrote in a blog post. “We recognize that the vast majority of businesses that will need to do this reporting already provide health insurance to their workers, and we want to make sure it is easy for others to do so.”
Mazur wrote that Treasury, which oversees part of the law, will issue more details about the delay within a week.
Several business groups praised the administration, saying the delay will give businesses time to adjust to the new requirements.
“This one year delay will provide employers and businesses more time to update their health care coverage without threat of arbitrary punishment,” Neil Trautwein, a top official with the National Retail Federation, said in a statement. “We appreciate the Administration’s recognition of employer concerns and hope it will allow for greater flexibility in the future.”
But others maintained that the provision will never be workable.
“Temporary relief is small consolation,” said Amanda Austin, director of federal public policy with the National Federation of Independent Business, which last year lost the landmark Supreme Court case challenging the law’s constitutionality.
One Step….Two Step
December 5, 2012
Does everyone know how to do….
The one step….. two step?
Tim Geithner presented the….
Democratic
Reach for the sky
Fiscal cliff solution
That landed like a lead balloon
It was the same offer from 2011
I guess it took them a long time
To come up with that?
The Republicans huddled and….
Went to their files
And pulled out their proposal
From…..
2011.
That is what I call progress
It has been 1 month since
The presidential election….
And these are my sins….
We are still back in 2011.
I have been reading a lot about this topic
Since Finance is my bag
Nobody wants to pay more taxes….
But the Government cannot
Continue to spend
33% more than they take in.
Raising the taxes from 35% to 39% for
The 2% highest earners
Is mostly symbolic
That does not mean they will actually
Be paying higher taxes
Without touching the deductions and loopholes
They will still be paying
14%
In order to increase revenue
You can’t just increase the rates
You have to close loopholes
That would bring in more revenue
Taxing the highest earning 2%
Will not solve the deficit issue
It only scratches at the surface
We are going to have to stick our heads
Into unchartered waters
When social security was started
The retirement age was 65 years old
The average life expectancy was
69 years old
The program was set up with the intention
That it had to provide benefits
On average for about 4 years
The average life expectancy today
Is 84 years old
That means that…..
Social Security is now expected
To cover
On average
A span of 19 years
Not…….4 years
Can you see why there
May be a problem
With this program
We all pay into it….
But as the boomers age
The support base diminishes
Where can we possibly look to
Save money in the budget
Let’s take a quick look at defense spending
1974
That was the last time we saw…
The defense budget under
$100 billion dollars
By the year 2000
The defense budget grew to
$372 billion dollars
That took 26 years
In a mere 12 years
2000 – 2012
The Defense Budget
Has more than doubled
And comes in at
$816 billion dollars
I think we can possibly find
Some savings there?
There has been a lot of talk about
Health Care
Currently the US spends
About 18% of GDP
On Healthcare
Other comparable nations spend
On average about 12%
A recent study by
Harvard Business Review states
“The proper goal for any health care delivery system
Is to improve the value delivered to patients.
Value in health care is measured
In terms of the patient outcomes
Achieved per dollar expended.
It is not the number of different services provided
Or the volume of services delivered that matters
But the value.
More care and more expensive care
Is not necessarily better care.”
Studies show that savings in Health Care cost
Can range from $700 billion to $1 Trillion dollars
Just by increasing the
Efficiencies of service.
These are just a couple examples
Every program should be reviewed
I believe there will be
A lot of finger pointing
While the Government works
Towards a solution
But it is in the best interest
Of all concerned
That a compromise
Is made
True saving can be found
In all programs
Without effecting
The integrity of any program
America is here for the long term
We just have to make smart decisions
To make sure we remain the
Beacon of light
That all other countries look
To emulate
Just Thinking
October 5, 2012
My wife and I were watching TV
Last week
And she made a very
Astute observation
“How come all we hear about
In the Presidential election
Is the middle class
Did everyone stop talking…..
About the Poor?”
We hear about the top 2%
And
The middle class
What are we doing about the poor?
Are they now the middle class…
Want to hear some sobering facts?
There have been
48 murders…..
In Camden, NJ
So far this year
Camden has gained the title of….
America’s most dangerous city
Camden is about 7 miles
From where I am sitting
Let’s look at some of the facts:
- 13 homicides in July – the most deadly month since a shooting spree in 1949
- Murder rate was ten times New York City in 2011 — and on pace to be even higher this year
- More than half of children live below the poverty line as the city is ravaged by drugs
- Police department forced to cut one third of officers in 2011 and arrests dropped to less than half of what they were in 2009
I am using Camden
As an example
Because it is
Close to home
There are many families hurting
Not only in Camden….
But in all across…
The United States
In cities
And
In small towns
There are independent programs
Set up
To help these people…..
Mostly non profits
With Church affiliations
Providing food
Temporary Shelter
Working with youth
Helping them to
Believe in their abilities
Teaching them
You can make a difference
Aspire,
Don’t settle
But there is no grand effort
No coordinated
Vision
To make a difference
To lift these people up
Yes,
There is unemployment
Disability
Food Stamps
And
Other Government assistance programs
But what are we doing
As a whole….
To lift the poor in spirit
Give them the opportunity
To live
To Share
The American dream
Whatsoever you do
To the least of my brethren
That you do unto me
I think we are all familiar with that line
What are we doing to help…..
The poor?
We all take our lives for granted
What we fail to realize is that…..
Every Day is a Gift
I am a product of Catholic Schools
They taught the….
The 7 Corporal Works of Mercy
- Feed the Hungry
- Give drink to the thirsty
- Cloth the naked
- Shelter the homeless
- Comfort the imprisoned
- Visit the sick
- Bury the dead
What have we been doing….
With the gifts that we have been given?
Many years ago
As man evolved
They realized
The only way
They could sustain
Continue to grow
And Survive
Would be by
Helping each other
There was no….
Bigger
Better
Stronger
They all worked together
They Realized that they….
All needed each other
The world calls us to be engaged
We are all one
“For I was hungry and you gave me food
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink
I was a stranger and you welcomed me
I was naked and you gave me clothing
I was sick and you took care of me
I was in prison and you visited me.”
Mathew 25:34-36
The Huffington Post | By Jeffrey Young
Having to return to the hospital for another round of treatments for the same medical condition isn’t just emotionally draining, potentially dangerous and tough on a patient’s wallet, it also costs hospitals a ton of money, according to a report issued today.
A typical hospital with 200 to 300 beds wastes up to $3.8 million a year, or 9.6 percent of its total budget, on readmissions of patients who shouldn’t have had to come back, says Premier, a health care company that advises hospitals on improving efficiency and safety. The company analyzed the records of 5.8 million incidents in which a patient went back to a hospital to be re-treated and found they added $8.7 billion a year, or 15.7 percent, to the cost of caring for those people.
Cutting back on these readmissions would be good news for patients. Even if the hospital has to eat the costs of additional treatments, patients are still subject to the risks of the procedures they undergo and the normal danger of contracting an infection while in the hospital. Patients being treated for heart attacks, respiratory problems like pneumonia and major joint problems are the most likely to wind up back in the hospital, according to Premier.
Wasteful spending in the U.S. health care system has been estimated to be as high as $850 billion each year, according to a 2009 Thomson Reuters report. Overall health care spending rose by a factor of 10 between 1980 and 2010, when it reached $2.6 trillion.
Hospitals are ground zero for health care cost-containment efforts because they are the biggest recipients of America’s health care spending, having taken in $814 billion in 2010, according to a federal government report. Rising costs and shrinking payments from government programs like Medicare and Medicaid and from private insurance companies have hospitals looking everywhere for ways to streamline their operations.
The health care reform law enacted two years ago expands on efforts begun three years ago to link how much Medicare pays hospitals to how well they reduce medical errors, readmissions, and other inefficiencies. Starting next year, hospitals will see their Medicare payments docked by 1 percent if they don’t cut back on these readmissions. The penalty increases to 3 percent in 2015.
Premier’s message to hospitals feeling squeezed: The money you need to save is already in the system. The company has identified 15 steps hospitals can take to improve the care they provide while also saving money, such as making sure patients are treated right the first time and don’t need to be “readmitted” for more care. By analyzing information culled from its hospital partners, Premier recommends other targets for savings, such as performing fewer blood transfusions and limiting costly tests.
Major physician groups also recently rolled out an initiative to reduce unnecessary medical tests. Combined with efforts such as those promoted by Premier, these ventures underscore how private sector health care entities are accelerating cost-containment programs with a push by the health care reform law.
GOP Policy Riders Complicate Year-End Spending Bill In Congress
December 8, 2011
As reported in Huffington Post 12/08/11 by Andrew Taylor
WASHINGTON — Conservative flashpoint issues from abortion and abstinence education to President Barack Obama’s health care law are the biggest obstacles to Congress completing a massive year-end spending bill next week that would keep the government running through next September.
Going into end-game negotiations this weekend on the $900-plus billion bill, Republicans expect to lose on most of the policy provisions, or “riders,” they added to House versions of the must-do spending measures. But the White House and Democrats are poised to make concessions on some environmental rules, wetlands regulations and, in all likelihood, on continuing a ban on government-funded abortions in the nation’s capital city.
“We’re meeting heavy resistance from the White House and Democrats in the Senate,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., who is pressing for provisions to help the coal industry. “So, we’ll get as many as we possibly can.”
Among most popular targets for Republicans are environmental regulations they say hamper the economy, such as proposed Environmental Protection Agency rules on coal ash, large-scale discharges of hot water and greenhouse gases from electric power plants, and emissions from cement plants and oil refineries.
If past is prologue, most of the issues will end up on the chopping block. That’s what happened last spring during negotiations on a spending bill for the budget year that ended in September.
“There’s a lot of opposition to these and they know they need Democratic votes in the House to pass it,” said Rep. Norm Dicks of Washington, senior Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. “So we have made this very clear to the other side. … If you expect our votes you’ve got to get rid of the controversial riders.”
But some riders will be needed to win GOP support for the measure in votes next week. And many of the provisions are important to powerful members of the appropriations panel in both parties.
“We don’t want to be wholly inflexible,” said Rep. James Moran of Virginia, top Democrat on the spending panel responsible for the EPA’s budget. That measure is studded with riders.
“Virtually every rule the EPA has come up with, they’re trying to come up with a rider to stop it,” said Scott Slesinger, legislative director of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
For coal interests, there is a rider to block clean water rules opposed by mining companies that blast the tops off mountains as well as a rider to block proposed labor rules to limit miners’ exposure to coal dust, which causes black-lung disease. Electric utilities would benefit from delays of rules on traditional air pollution and emissions of carbon dioxide. Painting contractors would benefit from a delay in a 2008 rule that requires them to be certified by the EPA in order to remove lead paint.
“We’re pretty clear that we find these riders as unacceptable,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. “We’re being very emphatic.”
On social issues, there are proposals to ban needle exchange programs that help stem the spread of HIV among drug users; cut off federal funding to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading provider of abortions; and adopt an abstinence-only approach for grants to reduce teen pregnancy.
Those riders, in addition to GOP efforts to block implementation of the new health care law – a nonstarter with Democrats and the White House – are among the reasons the labor, health and education chapter of the omnibus spending measure is at risk of being left out of the final bill.
“It’s from soup to nuts,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. “They just designed an ideological agenda.”
In addition to proposing to eliminate federal family planning funding, Republicans would block the District of Columbia government from providing abortions to poor women, which is a top priority of anti-abortion activists.
The D.C. abortion rider was in place when Republicans controlled the White House but was lifted after Obama took office. He reluctantly agreed to reinstate the funding ban this year, prompting Washington’s mayor and city council members to march on Capitol Hill. Democrats continue to fight the rider, but GOP leaders are likely to insist on it.
At the same time, Republicans are trying to reverse a loss earlier this year when they tried to block taxpayer money from going to Washington’s needle exchange program.
Some of the riders aren’t contentious. For instance, even though the EPA has no interest in regulating methane emissions from cow burps and flatulence, there’s a rider to block the agency from doing so. That’s fine with Democrats.
Then there are riders that have no practical effect but set a precedent that agencies would prefer to avoid. One would block the EPA from officially delineating any new wetlands in counties affected by flooding this year. It turns out that the agency has no plans to do so, so this might be a rider Democrats and the White House would accept.
Another battle involves an attempt to block the Obama administration’s 2009 policy lifting restrictions on travel and money transfers by Cuban-Americans to families remaining in Cuba. That provision drew an explicit Obama veto threat earlier this year and will probably be dropped in end-stage negotiations.
The White House warned last week it’ll play a strong hand in trying to keep the final measure as free of riders as possible. “There should be no miscalculation about the intensity of (Obama’s) feelings,” White House budget director Jacob Lew told reporters.
November 30th, 2010 Adam Ebner
As reported in Nationwide Deregulated Energy News
In a very competitive marketplace, energy deregulation gives businesses better control of their business electricity costs. Aside from that, there are myriad other benefits and option that their companies would get from a deregulated and competitive energy market – options that were not possible in the past due to high energy expenses and limitations set by the monopolized energy industry.
The deregulation of the many utilities markets gave birth to the emergence of several retail electric providers all competing for subscriptions from both residential and commercial energy users in the state and in energy deregulated cities such as Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York City, Chicago, Washington DC, Houston, Dallas and many others. Now given the power to choose, selecting from over 50 retail electricity providers can be a daunting task indeed; with businesses finding themselves at the losing end should they fail to choose the best provider for their needs. This is why businesses should work in partnership with certified electricity brokers to negotiate in their behalf the best electrical rates, payment schemes and other amenities from the various Texas electric companies.
Electricity Brokers:
Your Helping Hand Unlike electricity management at home, businesses have more complex processes and operational needs for electricity that if not managed would find them dealing with extremely high energy costs that would eventually affect their bottom line. Electricity brokers can come into the picture and help businesses find ways on how they can efficiently use Texas electricity and help them minimize their energy costs. These brokers deal and negotiate electrical rates with retail electric providers for the benefit of the business.
No matter what business or industry your company may be in, electricity brokers can provide professional services using up-to-date information of the energy market in a bid to obtain the best commercial electricity deals for the company.
Why Should You Use Electricity Brokers to Shop Electricity?
Businesses may not have the resources available to have an independent study or analysis of the various retail electric providers offering commercial electricity before they switch and commit to the services of one. Aside from this, companies may have to deal with all the other elements in the very complex energy market such as new regulations, changes in fees, penalties, reduction of carbon emissions, etc. Hiring an electricity broker can spare the company from all these, so that all their staff and resources can focus on only one thing – doing business.
Electricity brokers can help companies with their procurement decision, eliminate possible over payments, recover over payments, management of energy consumption, and continuous energy usage analysis. Electricity brokers can uncover and identify areas in the business processes where they can implement significant improvements. These brokers are not in any way tied up with any major retail electric provider, allowing them to give unbiased advice to businesses and help them get the best energy solutions for their companies.
Our Perspective:
Hutchinson Business Solutions (HBS) is an independent energy management company. We represent all the major providers selling deregulated energy in deregulated states. We will do a full analysis of your account and shop your account with our providers to find the best value and savings for your company.
HBS clients are finding savings from 10% to 20% in the deregulated utility market.
To learn more email george@hbsadvantage.com
The GOP’s rude awakening on health-care repeal
January 21, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
This whole health-care thing isn’t quite working out the way Republicans planned. My guess is that they’ll soon try to change the subject – but I’m afraid they’re already in too deep.
Wednesday’s vote to repeal President Obama’s health insurance reform law was supposed to be a crowning triumph. We heard confident GOP predictions that cowed Democrats would defect in droves, generating unstoppable momentum that forced the Senate to obey “the will of the people” and follow suit. The Democrats’ biggest domestic accomplishment would be in ruins and Obama’s political standing would be damaged, perhaps irreparably.
What actually happened, though, is that the Republican majority managed to win the votes of just three Democrats – all of them Blue Dogs who have been consistent opponents of the reform package anyway. In terms of actual defectors, meaning Democrats who changed sides on the issue, there were none. This is momentum?
The unimpressive vote came at a moment when “the will of the people” on health care is coming into sharper focus. Most polls that offer a simple binary choice – do you like the “Obamacare” law or not – show that the reforms remain narrowly unpopular. Yet a significant fraction of those who are unhappy complain not that the reform law went too far but that it didn’t go far enough. I think of these people as the “public option” crowd.
A recent Associated Press poll found that 41 percent of those surveyed opposed the reform law and 40 percent supported it. But when asked what Congress should do, 43 percent said the law should be modified so that it does more to change the health-care system. Another 19 percent said it should be left as it is.
More troubling for the GOP, the AP poll found that just 26 percent of respondents wanted Congress to repeal the reform law completely. A recent Washington Post poll found support for outright repeal at 18 percent; a Marist poll pegged it at 30 percent.
In other words, what House Republicans just voted to do may be the will of the Tea Party, but it’s not “the will of the people.”
“The test of a first-rate intelligence,” F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, “is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” By this standard, House Republicans are geniuses. To pass the “Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act,” they had to believe that the work of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is both authoritative and worthless.
The CBO, which “scores” the impact of proposed legislation, calculated that the health-reform law will reduce federal deficits by at least $143 billion through 2019. Confronted with the fact that repeal would deepen the nation’s fiscal woes, Republicans simply claimed the CBO estimate to be rubbish. Who cares what the CBO says, anyway?
Er, um, Republicans care, at least when it’s convenient. Delving into the CBO’s analysis, they unearthed a finding that they proclaimed as definitive: The reform law would eliminate 650,000 jobs. Hence “Job-Killing” in the repeal bill’s title.
One problem, though: The CBO analysis contains no such figure. It’s an extrapolation of a rough estimate of an anticipated effect that no reasonable person would describe as “job-killing.” What the budget office actually said is that there are people who would like to withdraw from the workforce – sometimes because of a chronic medical condition – but who feel compelled to continue working so they can keep their health insurance. Once the reforms take effect, these individuals will have new options. That’s where the “lost” jobs supposedly come from.
The exercise in intellectual contortion that was necessary for the House to pass the repeal bill will be an excellent tune-up for what’s supposed to come next. “Repeal and replace” was the promise – get rid of the Democrats’ reform plan and design one of their own. This is going to be fun.
It turns out that voters look forward to the day when no one can be denied insurance coverage because of preexisting conditions. They like the fact that young adults, until they are 26, can be kept on their parents’ policies. They like not having yearly or lifetime limits on benefits. The GOP is going to have to design something that looks a lot like Obamacare.
Meanwhile, Obama’s approval ratings climb higher every week. Somebody change the subject. Quick!
Hutchinson Business Solutions 