Zane Benefits Publishes New Information on Health Insurance for Veterinarian Clinics

January 18, 2014, 5:12 am

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US Vet Clinics are quickly adopting defined contribution healthcare to offer affordable health insurance.

Park City, Utah (PRWEB) January 18, 2014

Today, Zane Benefits, the #1 Online Health Benefits Solution, published new information on health insurance solutions for veterinarian clinics.

According to Zane Benefits’ website, defined contribution is a popular health insurance solution for small to medium sized veterinarian clinics. Defined contribution allows the veterinarian clinic to set and control all health benefits costs. This feature alone is allowing veterinarian clinics to offer formal health benefits for the first time, and offer flexible benefits that meet their HR needs.

According to Zane Benefits’ website, the benefits of defined contribution that fit so well with veterinarian clinics are controllable costs, minimal administration time, lower costs for employees, and employees' choice of health plans.

Click here to read the full article.

About Zane Benefits
Zane Benefits, the #1 Online Health Benefits Solution, was founded in 2006 to revolutionize the way employers provide employee health benefits in America. We empower employees to take control over their own healthcare, while helping employers recruit and retain the best talent. Our online solutions allow small and medium-sized businesses to successfully transition to a health benefits program that creates happier employees, reduces costs and frees up more time to serve their customers. For more information about ZaneHealth, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com. Reported by PRWeb 11 hours ago.

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Coverage Expansion Fail: Less Than One-Third Of Obamacare Exchange Enrollees Were Previously Uninsured

January 18, 2014, 5:24 am

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At the end of the day, for all of the rhetoric and promises about what Obamacare would achieve, the health law?s most ardent supporters have stuck to their guns because of one thing: coverage expansion. If you believe that making sure that every American has health insurance is a good thing, regardless of cost or quality, you probably still support the law. But new data suggests that Obamacare may fail even to approach this goal. Instead of expanding coverage to those without it, Obamacare is replacing the pre-existing market for private insurance. Surveys from insurers and other industry players indicate that as few as 11 percent of those on Obamacare?s exchanges were previously uninsured. If these trends continue, it is far likelier than most people think that Obamacare will eventually get repealed. Reported by Forbes.com 11 hours ago.

Health Insurance Companies See ObamaCare Medicaid Boon

January 18, 2014, 7:12 am

≫ Next: Eye Surgery Clinics in Australia Industry Market Research Report Now Updated by IBISWorld

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As the Obama administration touts the need for uninsured Americans to sign up for private coverage via exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, the insurance industry sees growth in an expanded Medicaid program for the poor under the health law. Reported by Forbes.com 9 hours ago.

Eye Surgery Clinics in Australia Industry Market Research Report Now Updated by IBISWorld

January 18, 2014, 11:03 am

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Australia’s ageing population, increasing competition among private health insurance providers and technological advancements are increasing demand for industry services. For these reasons, industry research firm IBISWorld has updated its report on the Eye Surgery Clinics industry in Australia.

Melbourne, Australia (PRWEB) January 19, 2014

Over the past five years, the Eye Surgery Clinics industry has grown slowly, assisted by Australia's ageing population and a competitive private health insurance industry. In 2013-14, the industry is anticipated to be worth $1.2 billion, and is estimated to grow at an annualised 1.7% over the five years through 2013-14. IBISWorld industry analyst Ryan Lin states “in the current year, industry revenue is expected to jump by 3.0% as recovering economic conditions and an ageing population spur demand for industry services.” Changing lifestyles and the pursuit of convenience have also boosted demand for corrective eye surgery. However, clinical surgeries are not fully covered under the government-funded Medicare program, with limited coverage provided for eye treatment procedures, and elective corrective procedures not covered in most cases.

Over the past five years, Australia remained relatively insulated from the global financial crisis due to the resources boom. As a result, the economy remained relatively steady and discretionary income continued to climb. According to Lin, “the highly competitive private health insurance industry offered broader coverage at increasingly low prices. These trends have helped drive demand for elective industry procedures.” The ageing population is expected to stimulate further growth for the industry, as older people use the services of eye surgery clinics more than younger people. Over the coming five years, similar trends are to be expected. The elderly proportion of the Australian population will grow, increasing the demand for specialist eye surgery services. Over this period, industry revenue attributed to eye surgery for the elderly will continue to be subsidised by Medicare. Industry participation is expected to grow, reflecting a higher level of demand as baby boomers continue to hit retirement age.

The Eye Surgery Clinics industry has a low level of market share concentration. The industry is made up of many small and medium independent clinics and day surgeries. The majority of these clinics are managed by owner-operators. Outside of the industry's largest company, Vision Eye Institute, the most significant players have grown organically after being founded as owner-operator clinics by renowned ophthalmologists. These include Vistaeyes and Medownick Laser Eye Surgery Clinic. Larger industry firms require steady revenue streams to gain a return on their capital investment in laser surgery technology. The smaller firms within the industry are generally independent clinics in community settings. For more information, visit IBISWorld’s Eye Surgery Clinics report in Australia industry page.

Follow IBISWorld on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ibisworldau

IBISWorld industry Report Key Topics

Players in this industry operate clinics that primarily engage in eye surgery. This includes laser eye surgery and other procedures for both treatment and enhancement purposes.

Industry Performance
Executive Summary
Key External Drivers
Current Performance
Industry Outlook
Industry Life Cycle
Products & Markets
Supply Chain
Products & Services
Major Markets
International Trade
Business Locations
Competitive Landscape
Market Share Concentration
Key Success Factors
Cost Structure Benchmarks
Basis of Competition
Barriers to Entry
Industry Globalisation
Major Companies
Operating Conditions
Capital Intensity
Technology & Systems
Revenue Volatility
Regulation & Policy
Industry Assistance
Key Statistics
Industry Data
Annual Change
Key Ratios

About IBISWorld Inc.
Recognised as the nation’s most trusted independent source of industry and market research, IBISWorld offers a comprehensive database of unique information and analysis on every Australian industry. With an extensive online portfolio, valued for its depth and scope, the company equips clients with the insight necessary to make better business decisions. Headquartered in Melbourne, IBISWorld serves a range of business, professional service and government organisations through more than 10 locations worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.ibisworld.com.au or call (03) 9655 3886. Reported by PRWeb 5 hours ago.

World Economic Forum and Income Inequality

January 18, 2014, 3:09 pm

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The World Economic Forum has identified income equality as the most likely threat to the global economy.

Here are some notes on the issue, and *I would welcome interviews on the subject.*

Income inequality is a terribly complex issue, and for generations, economists have grappled with its causes and consequences, which feed on each other.

In modern times, inequality has been caused, primarily, by two factors: globalization, the technologies that drive it, and well-meaning government policies that address symptoms rather than the structural problems that cause and exacerbate inequality.

Globalization has enabled the very best people--opera singers, baseball players, and even economists and journalists--to reach much wider audiences and earn incomes many times greater than their peers.

Before the radio, phonograph, and moving pictures, virtually every city, small and large, had a musical hall, opera house, or some structure that served that purpose on Friday and Saturday nights. Each city had local musicians and opera singers who enjoyed local renown and who earned a living performing. The top stars sang in New York, London, etc., and earned more money, but local performers and traveling journeymen earned a decent living.

The radio and phonograph created the first international media stars--e.g., Caruso. His voice was heard around the world, and broadcasts and inexpensive recordings reduced the demand for local concerts and gradually closed most local opera houses. His income soared to levels unheard in past generations, but local opera stars were left without work.

The same phenomenon occurred in popular music and dramatic acting (the movies and the decline of Vaudeville); baseball (regional broadcasts of major league teams vs. minor league teams that populated virtually every small town); among economists (jet travel, Skype, and the internet that afford wider consulting and speaking opportunities); and among journalists (satellite, cable, and internet to reach millions across the country and globe in language affinity populations and raise opportunities for national reporters/columnists vs. local newspaper reporters/columnists). Much the same goes for Wall Street Bankers, big-time lawyers, oil company executives, etc.

At the level of ordinary workers, cheaper air/ocean/rail transportation for goods and the internet for services have magnified and increased the scope of labor market arbitrage--fancy words for workers in the United States now competing with those in China, but also northern Europe vs. southern Europe and big Chinese cities vs. other points in Asia and rural China.

Governments have handled this badly, making the extremes of income worse. Big cities in the United States, often with implicit federal support, subsidize concert halls, opera houses, and our modern cathedrals (stadiums and arenas) that subsidize big league singers and ball players--this has accelerated the demise of local performers and athletes.

The United States and EU have gone along with trade and environmental agreements that permit China to continue high tariffs, currency manipulation, and carbon-loading that make "made-in-China" even cheaper. That creates the U.S. trade deficit and unemployment, and pushes down wages for ordinary American workers. It also wreaks havoc on the environment, creating other pressures disproportionately on the poor.

In Europe, the government imposed a single currency that is overvalued for southern Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, and Greece, while undervalued for Germany and other northern economies. The latter have trade surpluses and prosperity, the former have unemployment and sinking incomes.

In China, the one-child policies and limits on movements of families (especially children) to big cities suppress rural incomes and elevate rural poverty. One in every five Chinese children lives without their parents: migration regulations permit the parents to go to cities for work but they can't bring their children to cities where they find factory and service jobs. These children drop out of school, become unemployed, and will create enormous social problems in the next generation.

Across the world, disparities between the better and worse off are making education more unattainable for the children of poor and working class. This is setting off a self feeding dynamic, and a social time bomb, but government policies that seek to ameliorate this problem often make things worse.

Loans for education drive up prices in higher education, and the best professional schools. In the United States, for example, community and second-tier, four-year colleges have lots of minorities and children from low- and middle-income families, but many don't find jobs that pay much better than high school graduates. They are saddled with huge debt to pay for an education that did not add a lot of value.

Enrollment at top professional schools is dominated by children whose parents are well off. Those get the jobs working on Wall Street, in Big Law, in big corporations, or in some kind of other well paying firm. Even with loans, mostly only the well-off can afford or get into Columbia Law.

ObamaCare is making health insurance very expensive for working- and lower middle-class families and driving up the cost of health care that makes income disparities worse not better.

Putting otherwise employable people on public assistance encourages the same in children. This has been verified by nonpartisan research-National Bureau of Economic Research .

Extended unemployment benefits actually increase unemployment. Again verified by the NBER . 

For the United States, I have written about inequality and unemployment insurance in newspapers across the country. Here is a sample:

· www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-fixing-inequality-20140114,0,1774207.story
· http://www.thestreet.com/story/12240905/1/fixing-inequality-america-must-play-its-strengths.html
· http://www.ajc.com/news/news/opinion/obamas-policies-make-inequalities-a-lot-worse/nZybf/
· http://www.thestreet.com/story/12240905/1/fixing-inequality-america-must-play-its-strengths.html
· http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20140109/OPINION01/301090040/Another-view-Unemployment-benefits-a-hoax-on-working-poor?Opinion&nclick_check=1
· http://www.thestreet.com/story/12210682/1/morici-unemployment-benefits-a-burden-on-the-poor.html

 
 
 
  Reported by Breitbart 1 hour ago.

Startup grabs nearly 50% of SHOP exchange market share

January 16, 2014, 1:48 pm

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New Mexico Health Connections, the state’s startup health plan, has captured nearly 50 percent of the market on the state’s small business health insurance exchange. As of Jan. 15, 368 people had purchased insurance through New Mexico’s SHOP (Small Business Health Options Program) exchange for small businesses. Of those, 170, or 46.1 percent, had bought Health Connections plans, according to statistics from the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico… Reported by bizjournals 3 days ago.

Experient Health Takes On Critical Illness Insurance In Latest Blog Post

January 18, 2014, 5:05 pm

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The health insurance arm of the Virginia Farm Bureau explains critical illness insurance as part of its mission to educate the community on health care and insurance programs and changes.

Richmond, VA (PRWEB) January 18, 2014

Heart attack, stroke, cancer and other illnesses can affect not only a person's health, but also their financial security.

Those medical issues, often deemed critical illnesses, and the expenses associated with them often "reportedly lead to more than half of all bankruptcies in the United States," Experient Health, the health insurance arm of the Virginia Farm Bureau, wrote in its latest edition of its Blog series explaining benefits. "When faced with a severe illness and the accompanying medical costs, critical illness insurance can help."

Experient Health, headquartered in Richmond, Va., launched its Blog series in 2013 to help educate the community on health and wellness tips, preventative medicine, insurance options and changes resulting from health care reform.

The recent critical insurance piece is part of the "Know Your Benefits" series.

"Critical illness insurance is offered as a voluntary benefit by some employers to supplement your regular medical coverage," Experient Health wrote. "This insurance is designed to cover out-of-pocket expenses not covered by your health insurance, such as your deductible and co-pays as well as many out-of-network charges."

Illness often result in extended time away from work, and critical illness benefits can offset some of those lost wages and help pay routine living expenses such as child care, transportation and rent or mortgage payments.

Critical illness insurance provides coverage for acute illnesses that can be financially catastrophic. Plans specify a distinct list of conditions that will be covered. Although some plans only include a few of the most common critical illnesses, other plans provide benefits for as many as 20 or more.

Illnesses that could be covered include, among others, cancer, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, multiple sclerosis and coma.

"Because this insurance is a voluntary benefit offered by your employer, you will likely receive a group discount, and your premium may be paid through an automatic payroll deduction," Experient Health explained.

Read more about critical illness insurance and other benefits available through Experient Health here.

About Experient Health:

For years, Experient Health, a Virginia Farm Bureau company, has helped people find the right insurance coverage and get the most for their health care dollars. The Richmond, Va.-based group is dedicated to providing high quality health insurance options to customers in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC. As a result, its consultants, with an average of more than 20 years experience, are intimately familiar with the states’ provider networks, products and regulations.

Representing the top national insurance carriers, Experient Health provides customers with multiple policy options designed to meet wellness needs and financial requirements.

Experient Health grew out of Virginia Farm Bureau and is a “hometown agency” in that it operates a network of more than 100 offices. However, it boasts the resources and technology of larger firms.

Consultants are available online, via phone and through their offices.

Learn more at http://www.experienthealth.com, utilize the online health insurance quote calculator or contact a consultant directly at 855.677.6580. Reported by PRWeb 23 hours ago.

Co-ops the underdog in health insurance marketplace

January 19, 2014, 4:26 pm

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Consumer-run companies are struggling to break through. Reported by USATODAY.com 8 minutes ago.

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Understanding Home and Auto Insurance

January 19, 2014, 12:57 am

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Experient Health explains home and auto insurance benefits in its latest post in its Know Your Benefits Blog series.

Richmond, VA (PRWEB) January 19, 2014

Homes and cars. Both are often the largest and most important purchases individuals and families make.

That's why, Experient Health wrote in its latest post in a Blog series created to explain various types of benefits, home and auto insurance was created to "protect you from large expenses resulting from loss, damage and injury associated with your home, property and automobile."

Experient Health, the health insurance arm of the Virginia Farm Bureau, launched a Blog series in 2013 to help educate the community both on the types of insurance available and how they are offered through employers.

The goal? Arm people with more information for them to make informed choices and ask key questions when purchasing coverage for themselves and their families.

"The two types of insurance—homeowners and automobile—are separate products but are frequently bundled, or purchased together, which usually results in a discounted rate," Experient Health wrote in its Blog. "Most states mandate a minimum amount of auto insurance, and many mortgage lenders require homeowners insurance if you want to borrow from them."

Despite the necessity of having it, insurance can seem complicated and expensive.

"Some employers offer home and auto insurance as a voluntary benefit, which can help simplify getting and paying for insurance," Experient Health wrote. "You may receive discounted rates for purchasing insurance through your employer, as well as have the convenience of automatic payroll deductions."

While home and auto insurance plans can vary, most insurance plans will have specific guidelines and exclusions regarding coverage. Those specifics, which can vary from plan to plan and state to state, is why it's vitally important for consumers to understand their benefits, Experient Health explained.

Coverage for homes can include dwelling coverage, other structures coverage, personal liability, content or personal property coverage, loss of use coverage and more.

"An open perils policy will cover any damages not specifically excluded, whereas a named perils policy will list the damages and losses that are eligible for coverage," Experient Health wrote. "Often, you can add extra coverage to the base plan as long as you are willing to pay a higher premium."

Auto insurance may offer, among other benefits, bodily injury and property damage liability coverage, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, medical payments and personal injury protection, collision coverage, comprehensive coverage and replacement coverage.

"When offered as a voluntary benefit through your employer, home and auto insurance premiums can typically be paid through a payroll deduction," Experient Health explained. "The two products will often be bundled together, and, with a group rate, you will likely pay a discounted premium that is better than if you had purchased insurance on your own."

To learn more about home, auto and other insurance benefits, follow the Experient Health Blog here.

About Experient Health:

For years, Experient Health, a Virginia Farm Bureau company, has helped people find the right insurance coverage and get the most for their health care dollars. The Richmond, Va.-based group is dedicated to providing high quality health insurance options to customers in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC. As a result, its consultants, with an average of more than 20 years experience, are intimately familiar with the states’ provider networks, products and regulations.

Representing the top national insurance carriers, Experient Health provides customers with multiple policy options designed to meet wellness needs and financial requirements.

Experient Health grew out of Virginia Farm Bureau and is a “hometown agency” in that it operates a network of more than 100 offices. However, it boasts the resources and technology of larger firms.

Consultants are available online, via phone and through their offices.

Learn more at http://www.experienthealth.com, utilize the online health insurance quote calculator or contact a consultant directly at 855.677.6580. Reported by PRWeb 16 hours ago.

Expert Team in Small Business Payroll and Health Benefits to Host ‘Changing Times, Changing Practices’ Workshop for Success in 2014

January 19, 2014, 12:05 am

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A&A Employer Services and Options in Insurance, two Orange County-based firms focused on meeting the HR needs of small businesses, will host a free ‘The Time is Now’ workshop on February 20, 2014 at the Glenbrook Club, in Brea, California, 5:30 p.m. The session is intended to help companies keep abreast of the many changes in HR law that will impact them in 2014.

Brea, CA (PRWEB) January 19, 2014

A&A Employer Services and Options in Insurance, two Orange County-based firms focused on meeting the HR needs of small businesses, will host ‘The Time is Now’ workshop on February 20, 2014 at the Glenbrook Club, in Brea, California, 5:30 p.m. The session is intended to help companies keep abreast of the many changes in HR law that will impact them in 2014. Attendance is free.

"Navigating all of the legislative and regulatory changes that occur throughout the course of the year can be challenging, taking business owners away from other important aspects of running their businesses," said Scott Riley, President of A&A Employer Services. To help companies prepare for the New Year, the team at A&A Employer and Options in Insurance have identified the top regulatory issues small businesses should be mindful of, which include:

Health care: The dawn of the Covered California healthcare program and the numerous changes in insurance requirements mean significant changes for small business owners and their employees. It's true that small business owners aren't required to offer insurance to their employees but those that do will need to comply with the reforms that went into law January 1. For companies that offer Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), employers who offer a health FSA must also offer group health-insurance coverage. Another area of change is the small business tax credit for employers offering health insurance coverage.

"The changes in insurance plans have been sweeping", said Pat Stiffler, President of Options in Insurance, "and most people have found navigating their way through the new processes challenging to say the least. A company like ours creates value by simplifying the process and leading with our expertise in the new system."

Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA): The Supreme Court's DOMA has expanded the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples, spouses. This has dominoed into changes in payroll taxes, health insurance, and even employment laws such as the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The implications include employee eligibility to pay for same-gender spousal benefits such as health insurance premiums and FSA/Section 125 participation on a pretax basis for federal taxes.

Pending federal legislation includes agenda items such as changes in the tax code that could impact retirement plans, workers' rights to organize, continued enforcement for the misclassification of employees as independent contractors, vigorous enforcement of minimum wage and overtime provisions under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and strong support for an increase to the federal minimum wage.

Privacy and data security: A current trend that is expected to continue in 2014 is the implementation of additional measures on the state level to strengthen security and privacy regulations. This raises the critical nature of protecting employee personal, financial and health information.

A&A Employer Services is a human resource outsourcing services firm located in Brea, California. The company specializes in meeting the needs of small companies in the consumer and professional services categories. In addition to management recruiting, the firm has been in business for nearly a decade and provides services in payroll, safety and risk management, workers compensation, benefits and insurance and other critical areas.

Options In Insurance is a California-based health insurance agent and a certified Covered California insurance agent. Their deep expertise in the health insurance industry and certification in the new California insurance exchange makes them an ideal partner to first-time insured individuals as well as small business owners.

Attendees will be given tips and strategies on how best to manage their small businesses through the labyrinth of new laws and procedures and updates on events that might impact their businesses in the future. Attendance is free. For more information and to register, visit http://www.aaemployer.com.    A wine and cheese networking session will follow immediately afterwards for all attendees.

The Glenbrook Club is located at 1821 Greenbriar Lane, Brea, CA 92821. Reported by PRWeb 16 hours ago.

Hogan cites aid to small businesses

January 19, 2014, 2:25 am

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In a review of last year’s legislative session, state Representative Kate Hogan noted her role in helping to sponsor a bill that reduces the “fair share’’ assessments made by some small-business owners. On her website, www.katehogan.net, the Stow Democrat said the businesses can face undue financial pressure from paying premiums for employees already receiving health insurance coverage through other means, such as from a spouse, parent, or Medicaid. Hogan called the added premium payments unnecessary.
 
 
 
  Reported by Boston.com 14 hours ago.

Zane Benefits Publishes New Information on Small Business Health Insurance Goals

January 19, 2014, 4:05 am

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Even the Smallest of Businesses Can Benefit Financially From Identifying and Measuring Goals

Park City, Utah (PRWEB) January 19, 2014

Today, Zane Benefits, the #1 Online Health Benefits Solution, published new information on small business health insurance goals.

According to Zane Benefits’ website, as with any significant investment or decision, identifying measurable goals helps small businesses get to the desired result, and know (or prove) the investment was a success. With a small business health insurance program, identifying your health insurance goals will help:· Get all decision-makers get on the same page
· Decide on the best health benefits approach
· Set key performance indicators (KPIs) for the health benefits program

According to Zane Benefits’ website, every small business has different reasons for offering employees health insurance. Likewise, each small business will have different goals.

Click here to read the full article.

About Zane Benefits
Zane Benefits, the #1 Online Health Benefits Solution, was founded in 2006 to revolutionize the way employers provide employee health benefits in America. We empower employees to take control over their own healthcare, while helping employers recruit and retain the best talent. Our online solutions allow small and medium-sized businesses to successfully transition to a health benefits program that creates happier employees, reduces costs and frees up more time to serve their customers. For more information about ZaneHealth, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com. Reported by PRWeb 12 hours ago.

Rankings show pro-life 'momentum' in US state laws

January 19, 2014, 6:05 am

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Washington D.C., Jan 19, 2014 / 06:20 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Organizers of a recent report monitoring pro-life laws in states throughout the country said that the data shows a trend towards the legal protection of women and their unborn children.

“Real pro-life momentum is reshaping the country as legislators craft protections for both mother and child, the victims of an avaricious abortion industry,” Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United For Life, said Jan. 14.

“Common-sense pro-life legislation saves lives and has broad public support in light of what we’re learning about the health risks of abortion for women.”

Americans United for Life, which works to develop and promote model pro-life legislation for states, recently released its 2014 “Life List,” which ranks various states by the degree to which their laws protect women and unborn children from abortion.

Yoest said the report tracks progress toward “achieving a nation in which everyone is welcomed in life and protected in law.”

Louisiana ranked as the most pro-life state, continuing its five-year stretch of leading the annual list. Americans United for Life described the state as having a “decades-long history” of “common-sense limitations on abortion.” The state has comprehensive freedom of conscience protections in healthcare and is among the few states with “meaningful regulations” on destructive embryo research.

The 2014 list also includes Oklahoma, Arkansas, Arizona and Pennsylvania in its top five. The least pro-life state is Washington state, followed by California, Vermont, New York and Connecticut.

The most improved states include Texas, Illinois, North Carolina and Kansas. The report cited Texas’ special session in July 2013 that prohibited late-term abortions and “telemed” abortions while also mandating higher patient care standards at abortion clinics.

Legal action in Illinois during the past year invalidated  a 2005 executive order requiring pharmacists and pharmacies to dispense “emergency contraception,” which can cause early abortions if conception has already occurred. The state’s parental notice requirement for abortion also took effect in the past year after decades of legal disputes.

North Carolina has barred sex-selective abortions and has applied higher standards to abortion facilities. It has limited abortion funding through health insurance exchanges and has enacted rules about the provision of abortion-inducing drugs.

Kansas has placed new limits on late-term abortions while limiting state funding for abortions. The state has barred sex-selection abortions and enhanced its informed consent requirements.

Americans United for Life also listed the “all-stars” of its Women Protection Project. The states of Texas, Missouri, Alabama, Arizona and Arkansas have done “the best in enacting protections for both mothers and unborn children, the victims of abortion industry horrors,” the organization said.

Among the legislative efforts implemented by these states are measures aimed at protecting women's right to information and consent, increasing patient health standards at abortion clinics and requiring all cases of suspected statutory rape or sexual abuse to be reported.

Pointing to documented abuses occurring within abortion clinics, Yoest praised efforts to protect and promote women's health. She explained that the “life-saving” legislation in these states protects women and children from “an abortion industry more committed to its financial bottom line than protecting women from a dangerous procedure that is too often performed in substandard facilities.”

  Reported by CNA 10 hours ago.

Peggy Noonan Slams Washington 'Selfishness'

January 19, 2014, 7:03 am

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Peggy Noonan writes in the Wall Street Journal that the disease endemic to Washington ravaging the country is selfishness. With slightly hyperbolic rhetorical flair, she calls politicians “the locus of selfishness in the modern world.”

Noonan states succinctly, “Chris Christie's problem isn't that he's a bully, it's that he's selfish. Barack Obama isn't stupid and therefore the maker of mayhem, he's selfish.” It’s not just the famous politicians she targets; she adds, “There isn't a staffer on the Hill who won't tell you 90% of members are driven by their own needs, wants and interests, not America's.”

From her perch seated above the fray, Noonan moans that the new book by former defense secretary Bob Gates has passages that speak of such selfishness, and they “read like a cry from the heart.” She continues that the chaplain of the Senate, Barry Black, prayed several months ago for the executives and legislators in Washington, intoning, "Save us from the madness. We acknowledge our transgressions, our shortcomings, our smugness, our selfishness."

Startlingly, Noonan, who once was a huge Barack Obama fan, defends Tea Party acolytes, writing, “We are in unprecedented trouble. Citizens know this. It's why they buy guns. They see unfixable America around them, they think it's all going to fall apart. In Washington (and New York) they huff and puff their disapproval: Those Americans with their guns, they're causing a lot of trouble. But Americans think they're in trouble because their leaders are too selfish to face challenges that will do us in.” Methinks Noonan is eager to jump off the Obama ship before it sinks.

She notes the selfishness of Christie at the 2012 GOP national convention, when, given the keynote speaker slot, he focused almost entirely on himself and hardly mentioned the nominee, Mitt Romney. She quips, “The GOP nominee needed a boost from blue-state man, but there wasn't much in it for blue-state man. He'd only get Republican cooties on him. So he played it like a vanity production and made a speech about himself.” She also eviscerates Christie for his famous love-in with Obama when Christie already had a huge lead in the polls and didn’t need Obama’s help to win in New Jersey.

Noonan correctly notes that politicians call themselves public servants but “act like bosses who think the voters work for them,” while “physicians who routinely help the needy and the uninsured do not call themselves servants. They get to be called the 1%. Politicians who jerk around doctors, nurses and health systems call themselves servants, when of course they look more like little kings and queens instructing the grudging peasants in how to arrange their affairs.

Finally, Noonan attacks Obama, “the King of I, who unselfconsciously claims ownership of . . . everything. ‘My military,’ ‘my White House,’ ‘my cabinet,’ ‘my secretary.’” She adds that Obama’s selfish actions have more of an effect than Christie’s “because they're national and because they play out in the area of policy.” She says of ObamaCare, “The president's health-insurance reform had to be breathtaking, mind-bending, historic. It had to be a Democratic Party initiative only. It required a few major lies to gain passage, but what the heck.”

Noonan concludes with the story of a New York public school that is in desperate shape; the children are left to watch movies; the principal doesn’t show up for work, but when the New York Post, which reported the story, showed up, the Potemkin village was quickly constructed to cover for the principal and members of the teachers’ union.

Noonan states, “Someday history will write of our era, and to history the biggest scandal will be the thing we all accepted in our leaders, chronic and endemic selfishness. History will be hard on us for that.”

Yet this was the very same self-serving woman, once a Reagan worshiper, who became a starry–eyed Obama fan, writing of Barack Obama’s refusal to help those courageous Iranians who attempted to rebel against Iran’s tyrannical government in 2009:



To insist the American president, in the first days of the rebellion, insert the American government into the drama was shortsighted and mischievous … Mr. Obama was restrained, balanced and helpful in the crucial first days, keeping the government out of it but having his State Department ask a primary conduit of information, Twitter, to delay planned maintenance and keep reports from the streets coming.



When it comes to self-serving, which is quite close to selfishness, Noonan is right up there with her Washington buddies. She’s correct when she says politicians are selfish, but the oily woman should at least have the decency to include herself.

 
 
 
  Reported by Breitbart 10 hours ago.

Maryland's ObamaCare website sent customers to Seattle pottery store

January 19, 2014, 8:20 am

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The Maryland website for ObamaCare mistakenly listed an 800 number that sent some Marylanders attempting to pick a health insurance provider to Seattle Pottery Supply, instead of the state's call center. Reported by FOXNews.com 8 hours ago.

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"Entire Healthcare Reform Program" Jeopardized Unless Accenture Fixes Healthcare.gov By Mid-March

January 19, 2014, 8:35 am

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A few days ago, when we reported that the existing main IT contractor behind Obamacare, CGI Federal, was kicked out and replaced by Accenture, we wondered the reason was that the government was unable to go through the "full and open competition process" before awarding them with a $91 million contract. Recall that "because of time constraints, CMS is awarding the Accenture contract on a sole-source basis." Naturally in a process plagued with mistake after mistake, awarding an express contract with no RFP or contract bidding, is merely the latest one.

So how does the Federal government explain this scramble to hand over the "sole-sourced" healthcare.gov IT contract (to a company made possible thanks to Enron) so late in the process? Simple: the usual mutually assured destruction tactic used so "effectively" in all other recent rushed decisions. As The Hill reports, unless Accenture finishes (and fixes) the back-end of the HealthCare.gov portal by mid-March, the *healthcare law will be jeopardized*, according to a procurement document posted on a federal website. The punchline: "*It says insurers could be bankrupt and the entire healthcare industry threatened if the build out is not completed*." In other words, a newly retained consulting company has less than three months to fix all the errors of coding by a different company, and make sure healthcare.gov is working properly... all 500 million lines of healthcare.gov's code?

Good luck.

The Hill has more:



The document says officials realized in December that the need to bring on Accenture is so urgent that *there is no time to go through the “full and open competition process” before awarding them with a $91 million contract.*

“There is limited time to build this functionality and failure to deliver…*by mid-March 2014 will result in financial harm to the government*,” the document says.

“If this functionality is not complete by mid-March 2014, the government could make erroneous payments to providers and insurers,” it continues. “Additionally, without a Financial Management platform that accounts for enrollments and associated program costs that integrates with the existing CMS Accounting platform*, the entire healthcare reform program is jeopardized*.”

Many of those who have signed up for ObamaCare are eligible for federal subsidies, which the government pays directly to the insurers. *The document says that failure to complete the project by mid-March can result in “inaccurate issuance of payments to health plans which could seriously put them at financial risk; potentially leading to their default and disrupting continued services and coverage to consumers.”*



Wow: so some pretty dire consequences if an outside third party fails at its task? So what exactly will Accenture have to fix :



According to the document, the system is vulnerable to “inaccurate forecasting” of the risk mitigation programs in place to pay insurers who enroll a higher-than-expected number of sick patients with expensive bills, “potentially putting the entire health insurance industry at risk.”

 

By mid-March, Accenture must build a financial management platform that tracks eligibility and enrollment transactions, accounts for subsidy payments to insurance plans, “provides stable and predictable financial accounting and outlook for the entire program,” and that integrates with existing CMS and IRS systems.

 

Accenture will also have to clean up some aspects of the project that CGI failed to complete, such as the notorious 834 enrollment transmissions to insurance companies that in October and November were transmitting inaccurate and garbled data.

 

In November, CMS deputy chief information officer Henry Chao told lawmakers that 30 percent of HealthCare.gov was still under construction, but the specifics and consequences remained murky.



Perhaps a better question is "what it won't have to fix" as it is absolutely impossible that in under three months the new consultancy will be able to fix all the errors in coding left over by the former contractor. Which is why we find it quite surprising that suddenly the fate of Obamacare and the "Entire Healthcare Reform Program*" *lies in the hands of a measly $91 million contract. Although, if the intention is to merely have a scapegoat for a failed ponzi scheme, then this is precisely the way one would go about it. And if indeed Obama drops the hammer on Accenture, well... we hear the name Andersen Consulting is available. Reported by Zero Hedge 8 hours ago.

Too Poor for Health Care, Too Rich for Medicaid

January 19, 2014, 11:21 am

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"Health care, bitches!"

That's what I remember seeing on my Facebook news feed around two years ago when it was finally announced that, at some point in the not so distant future, this country was going to open it's doors to a new kind of health care -- something that gave hope to people like me -- people who were either broke, uninsured or just completely unable to afford any kind of insurance due to pre-existing conditions and financial status. "Health care, bitches!" What a funny statement of defiance, I remember laughing while reading it. It meant we really were winning, we really did defeat the odds and that there was hope for the future -- we, the people, were being taken seriously. Our lives meant something.

Having gone 13 years without coverage, the idea of being able to actually visit a doctor again gave me a sense of security. Right after my cancer in 2001, I lost my insurance and never got it back. So, yes, that's right -- I have not had one single doctor's visit since 2001, simply because I cannot even afford the price of an office visit, let alone the follow up. Gawk if you must, but know this, I am in the majority. There are millions of people out there who don't go to the doctor, and it starts with not being able to afford the first visit. Truth. Like it or not.

In comes Obamacare, looking like a dream come true. Folks like me could finally imagine ourselves getting a stupid check up! Up goes the website and over to it we run, like lemmings to the sea.

And, as we all know, it took some time to get this system in place and by the time it actually became a reality only a few months ago, it was already rife with catastrophe. I watched the healthcare.gov website go up and down, kept an eye on what the people were saying, and I figured, well, if there's a place for me in this, I might as well try. So I got on board with the hopes of being part of the American dream, which now had the name: The Affordable Health Care Act.

My first attempt resulted in my finding out that I might be eligible for Medicaid, so I followed that path and after many, many attempts, I learned that if I made more than $241 a month, I could not receive this assistance. I'm not trying to sound like a rich snob, but honestly, I fart $241. What do they think people live on where $241 a month is considered an acceptable amount? What is this based on, and does one have to be absolutely homeless and destitute to even think about getting some damn aid in this town?

OK, after cooling down I figured I'd made it this far without insurance, if worse came to worse, I'd just live -- without insurance for the rest of my life. No biggie, right? Still, I was seeing how people were getting themselves insured, and I wasn't satisfied to eat crow just yet. I tried again, but this time I went to see what actually was available to me if I weren't to stop with Medicaid being my only option. I'd heard about these great tax credit breaks. Who knew -- maybe I too, as one of the tax-paying and hard-working American poor could snag one of those tony breaks?

So, I reapplied and was told that, yes indeed, I was eligible for the max amount! Oh joy and rapture, now to find a plan that would work with my newfound acceptability. Yes! Coventry Silver -- my monthly cost: $0. Tears come to my eyes. Suddenly I'm allowing myself to feel things I'd suppressed for 13 years. Suddenly I was a part of society in spite of how cool I thought it might be to come across as an outlaw anarchist fantasy hero. I felt like a long-standing hardened female prison inmate who'd been handed a pretty dress and realizes that all she ever wanted was that pretty dress. I burst into sobs -- I was no longer society's forgotten child, no longer a misfit, an outcast -- I was an American! Accepted!

Until Coventry processed my application for enrollment.

"You don't qualify for the tax credit. You make too little."

Wha--what? Wait... I qualify there, but I don't qualify here... I am eligible for Medicaid, but I'm not eligible for Medicaid... By this point, I know what is required of me: that I die out of the system, because truly, the system is set up to frustrate. This is a nervous breakdown, not a system. Without a tax credit, I'm in the same boat as the next guy who makes a fortune. Coventry's lowest plan would offer me crap coverage at about $300 a month for a single payer plan (my kid is already covered). Not doable by any stretch of the imagination!

Crushed, my hopes plummet. I try one more time, like an absolute desperado. I know exactly what to say, how to phrase it -- I am at my wit's end, as so many of my Facebook friends got to witness the other night. I fill out another application. At this point, que sera sera. Immediately, I receive my results, thanks to healthcare.gov, but most especially thanks to Florida's Governor Rick Scott, for whom I would not be in the position I'm in now were it not for him.

This is the transcript of that update:


What are the results of my application?Dori Hartley -- Based on the information you provided, the new federal health care law provides that you could be eligible for free or low cost health care through Medicaid. However, the state of FL has chosen not to offer you this new health care coverage at this time.
You are not required to pay a penalty for not having health insurance because of your income and because the state of FL declined to expand Medicaid to cover individuals in your situation.
The good news: I don't have to pay a penalty for not having insurance. The bad news: I'm fucked for everything else.

So, let me take this out of the box for a moment and address Rick Scott, the governor behind the words written by the poor and almost apologetic copywriter who had to send me this pathetic piece of bad news...

Mr. Scott, are you saying to me that you basically don't care if I live or die, and that even though I'm a mother, a tax-payer, a hard-working U.S. citizen, someone who has paid into this system since I'm 16 and has worked almost every day of her life... are you telling me that after 13 years of being uninsured, after having had Stage 2 breast cancer, that because my pitiful salary makes me a buck or two over the limit of what I can make in order to receive Medicaid (which you disallowed the expansion of in Florida) but is still way less than anything I could possibly afford on the marketplace, are you telling me that not only am I not eligible for a tax credit, but that I actually can't be insured at all? Are you honestly telling me, Mr. Scott, that as we finally arrive at a place in history where Americans are offered affordable health care that I, Dori Hartley, cannot join the country, that I must accept my position as one of many who simply slipped through the cracks?

Do you get the implications of this, Governor? Do you get that people are actually going to die because of this? Something you could have prevented, yet you had to keep playing your "I hate Obama" game to spite us all. You are a rich man with nothing to worry about, most especially health care. How could you do this to people? I've got more life, talent, love, will to live, empathy and equipoise than you will ever know in your entire frozen solid, ignorant self serving universe. How could you take your position and treat the good people of Florida like this? How could you? Shame on you, little man. Shame on you.

Like the Soup Nazi says to his fictional customers, "No soup for you," so says the governor of Florida to its neediest people. "No health care for you!"

Is that what you're telling me about the state of my health care, bitch? Reported by Huffington Post 5 hours ago.

Guest Post: President Obama On Inequality - Rhetoric Vs. Reality

January 19, 2014, 11:39 am

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As we noted previously,

*The last time the top 10% of the US income distribution had such a large proportion of the entire nation's income was the 1920s - a period that culminated in the Great Depression and a collapse in that exuberance.*

 

...as John Taylor explains in his recent WSJ Op-Ed, using this as a lever for *Obama's "middle-out" policies - higher tax rates, more intrusive regulations, more targeted fiscal policies - will not revive the economy*. More likely they will perpetuate the weak economy we have and cause real incomes—including for those in the middle—to continue to stagnate.

*Perhaps it is time to look at the rhetoric relative to the reality...*

Submitted by Randall Holcombe via The Circle Bastiat Mises Economic Blog,



President Obama has recently promoted inequality as a fundamental threat to our way of life, saying, “The combined trends of increased inequality and decreasing mobility pose a fundamental threat to the American Dream, our way of life, and what we stand for around the globe.”  You can read the rhetoric here.  Let’s look at the reality.

 

The president suggested policy initiatives to address these issues, so presumably, the president’s policies can make a difference.  What has he done so far?

 

*He has presided over corporate bailouts*, not only declaring the Wall Street banks too big to fail, while a multitude of small businesses did fail, his policies continue to support the banking industry through low interest rates and the payment of interest on reserves held at the Fed. Banks holding bad mortgages were bailed out while individual homeowners were evicted from their homes.

 

*While the president does not directly determine Fed policy, Bernanke was all-in on the president’s agenda, and now the president has appointed Janet Yellen as Fed chair because she supports a continuation of those policies.*

 

The low interest rate policy has hurt small savers, who tend to keep their savings in fixed-interest assets, but has propped up the stock market where the wealthier tend to invest.

 

The president’s support for extended unemployment benefits has taken away some of the incentive for people to find work, which is the best way to escape poverty.

 

*After campaigning against them, the president worked hard to preserve the “Bush tax cuts,” with ultimately just a small increase in rates for the highest-income individuals.*

*Then there is Obamacare*, which provides financial incentives for employers to convert full-time jobs to part-time jobs to avoid the health insurance penalties, further eroding opportunities for those at the bottom of the income scale.

 

What has been the effect of the president’s economic policies?  The unemployment rate remains high, at 6.7%, and long-term unemployment has spiked to its highest level in history, largely because of the extended unemployment benefits. The labor force participation rate has fallen from 66% in 2008 to below 63% today, so fewer people are even looking for the jobs that could help them escape poverty.

 

*In 2008 13.2% of Americans fell below the official poverty line.  By 2012 the poverty rate was 15%.  The president’s policies have increased poverty.*

 

How about the rich?  The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which hovered around 8,000 when the president took office in 2009 has more than doubled to top 16,000 today.

 

*Despite the rhetoric, the reality is that the president’s policies have created more inequality.  They have hurt the poor, but Wall Street has done well.*



The numbers do not lie...(as we noted previously):

in the past year, *the poorest 23.3 million Americans earned 36% less than the richest 2,915 Americans (and less than twice more than the richest 166)*. Needless to say, this excludes wealth from capital and asset appreciation, usually a benefit reserved exclusively for the latter; it also excludes the amount of taxes paid by either of these two income extremes. Reported by Zero Hedge 5 hours ago.

Study Reveals About Half of Country's Psychiatrists Don't Accept Health Insurance

January 19, 2014, 1:21 pm

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Just as more and more attention is being paid to the importance of mental health care, a new Weill Cornell Medical College study reveals that access to psychiatrists is decreasing. Reported by NY1 3 hours ago.

Missouri bill targets hospital billing practice

January 19, 2014, 9:15 pm

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A potential legislative fix is in the works to keep Missouri hospitals from refusing a patient's health insurance in hopes of collecting a bigger check from an injury settlement. Rob Schaaf, a Republican state senator who represents Buchanan and Platte counties, has filed a bill in the Missouri Senate that would ban the practice, which targets victims of auto accidents. Reported by KansasCity.com 21 hours ago.