Bernie Sanders' campaign is gaining strength daily.
The bad news
Pelosi Stands Down On TAA, Clearing Way For Obama's Trade Agenda to pass.
The undecided news
SCOTUS will decide on the ACA/Obamacare subsidies question, and on Gay Marriage any day now.
Other news/open thread.
In the News Today ...
ReplyDeletehttp://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/06/150624-new-species-yeti-crab-antarctica-oceans/
kidd.
Anon/kidd ~ Hmmm - as in astrological Cancer Crabs, they come in all guises and we sometimes happen across one that's very different. :-)
ReplyDeleteRe - Bernie...yes, he's holding his own and giving his competition a run, has been well received with large audiences, and he's receiving small-donor financial support.
ReplyDeleteRe - TAA...it's the TPP that concerns me the most. There are some in congress that aren't pleased with these trade agendas.
"'I [Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn.] object to the notion that we are going to grease the wheels of the legislative process for trade agreements and nothing else. From an international relations perspective, I can make the argument that there are lots of other things that Congress should be passing that would have much greater impact on America's place in the world,' Murphy said. 'For instance, there is potentially no greater long-term threat to the world than climate change, and America's ability to lead is somewhat dependent on Congress' ability to show support for either domestic climate change legislation or an ultimate international agreement.But we don't create a separate process to pass climate change legislation. ...It creates a strange double standard,' he said."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/24/chris-murphy-trade_n_7656222.html?icid=maing-grid7|customfirefox|dl30|sec3_lnk4%26pLid%3D-224780214
Re - SCOTUS...About 50% of these justices cannot separate their politics-religion from their professional, jurisprudence obligations. There will be cries of extreme anguish when these two rulings are decided, regardless of the ruling. I'm too often disappointed by SCOTUS' overall rulings, but pleased that there are some justices in the liberal, minority vote that have integrity. Ginsburg has long been a favorite of mine.
P.S. - I expect SCOTUS to rule that wording in the ACA is invalid, but the ruling will include a remedy, ie change the wording. This may require congress' approval. Could this be a reason for the TAA-TPA-TPP gift to the Republicans? An exchange of favors?
ReplyDeleteSCOTUS has multiple factors to consider regarding the gay marriage ruling and there may be several sub-parts to the ruling:
"The justices will consider licensing requirements in the Michigan case, recognition of marriages performed elsewhere in the Ohio and Tennessee challenges and both in the Kentucky cases."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/a-question-on-the-question-of-gay-marriage/2015/01/18/7d845826-9f27-11e4-b146-577832eafcb4_story.html
ReplyDeletehi there..
the good== supreme court voted to uphold Obama's healthcare issues 6 to 3
the bad-- its miserably hot with no relief or rain in sight here in nc.:(
the ugly= my squash plant dried up and died and my cuc's are getting brown too..
I'll end up paying a 100.00 water bill for 2.00 worth of cucs- sheesh.
Happy Thursday~!
Looking forward to this ...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nature.com/news/pluto-bound-probe-faces-its-toughest-task-finding-pluto-1.17811
kidd.
I understand why people are grateful for subsidies. We are too. But it's a sad day when Americans celebrate without understanding the bigger truth, which is that subsidies are in place in order to guarantee our (forced) purchase of a flawed insurance product that, for millions of us, falls *far* short of providing affordable access to comprehensive healthcare:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pnhp.org/news/2015/june/%E2%80%98subsidies-upheld-but-health-needs-still-unmet%E2%80%99-doctors-group
Even with subsidies, many of us -especially those who can only afford the lower tiered Bronze or Silver plans- still find our share of premiums, deductibles, coinsurance and copays burdensome, if not prohibitive, especially when the product we're being forced to purchase fails to provide adequate healthcare. We receive less care while insurance premiums and costs continue to rise.
Then there are the millions who don't qualify, including those who rely on Medicaid. In some areas of the country, it was always tough to find doctors willing to accept Medicaid patients, and for many the passage of the ACA has made the problem of access and affordability far worse.
Here in California, things are pretty bad, though I'm sure we're not alone:
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-doctor-pay-20150101-story.html
I'm glad Bernie Sanders is talking about the alternative, a single-payer national health insurance program, The Expanded and Improved Medicare For All act. Maybe he'll be able to spark greater interest than there's been in the past. I disagreed with his support of the ACA, and when he said the ACA was a 'start', though I understand he's playing the game of politics.
LB - Yes, Bernie is very supportive of single-payer insurance (socialist!), but it needs to be remembered that Obama's first proposals were single-payer, too. It was the GOP that wanted a spoonful of capitalism in our health insurance, hence the bonanza for corporate health insurers that we have now.
ReplyDeleteWhen Twilight discussed her thyroid lump, I decided I'd better get to a doctor to have my thyroid checked. Remember when I told you that I had been assigned to a doctor in my area? That doctor is refusing new patients. Humana recently provided me a list of 19 providers in my city and I can't find one that is accepting new patients. I put the burden on Humana, as they propagate this list and should know the status of each doctor. But the real issue tends to be a doctor shortage induced by the newly insured and the low, negotiated-rate reimbursements insurance companies pay the provider. It appears I will have to visit an "urgent care" facility, which is covered by my insurance, then be referred to an endocrinologist or ENT.
Doctors in the USA are in elevated-status careers, with high salaries when compared to their peers in non-medicine, having the same number of educational years and educational costs. Medical doctors in other countries do not have the elite status or salaries that American doctors enjoy...it's an American phenomenon.
There have been a number of PBS' "Frontline" presentations that dissected the healthcare dilemma found in the USA. There is blame to be spread amongst the physicians, hospitals, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical corporations. It's time for an overhaul to the American method of healthcare and the connection with capitalism.
The GOP claims a single-payer system amounts to socialism and we can't have that. One of the largest socialist programs ever instigated in the USA was the Wallstreet and corporate bailout starting in 2008, with taxpayer dollars and it continues with the current stimulus programs.
mike; Sonny; Anon/kidd; LB ~~ Thanks for your contributions, news snippets, and observations.
ReplyDeleteSCOTUS got it right for once. The ACA subsidies case was so stooopid it should never have had to go to the highest court in the land for a decision. What a waste of resources! But at least they did the right thing with it.
Sorry to read of your continuing problems finding a doctor, mike. You'll be referred from an urgent care clinic though, I hope - as they'll see some $$$$ coming from it, for them.
The problem of finding practitioners taking new patients happened in the UK with regard to dentists - I had to "go private" after I retired and moved to live in a new location, no dentist there would take new NHS patients. Leaving my lovely NHS dentist of many years was one huge regret.
If TPP passes in full along with TAA they'll raid Medicare and reduce payments to hospitals and doctors yet again (or so I've read) to pay for re-training those who are displaced by TPP and resultant movements. So things aren't likely to improve much, only get worse. :-(
I'm sorry to hear that, mike.:( Don't know if you recall me commenting about a similar issue here in California. Despite what we were led to believe (I definitely did my due diligence beforehand), I never did find a doctor. And I wasn't the only one:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Covered-California-clients-have-trouble-finding-5169944.php
Wow!!!!!!!!! Gay marriage passed!
ReplyDeleteLB - Yes, I remember you saying you were having trouble finding a doctor, which is why I commented above. I'm in good health, I think, so I hadn't endeavored to solicit a doctor until now.