I will say one thing about being sick.
The NyQuil does work.
Here’s Bishop George Bloomer talking about it.
See ya’ll when this blows over. 😀
Category: Healthcare
Hilarious!: Jonathon Turley to Obama White House: “Quit your whining!”
I will say this about Jonathon Turley; at least he is consistent. Turley always gave it to Olbermann on Countdown straight about the Bush Administration; whether it was what Olbermann wanted to hear….or not. For this he has my respect.
Anyhow, Turley tells it like it is about the Obama healthcare plan, which he calls the Ford Pinto Healthcare plan:
After this week’s decision striking down the entire federal health care law as unconstitutional, the White House went into a full convulsive rage at Judge Roger Vinson of the Northern District of Florida.
Borrowing an attack that has more often been heard from Republican administrations, Stephanie Cutter, a senior adviser to President Obama, issued a statement denouncing Vinson as a “judicial activist.” That charge was quickly picked up by Democratic lawmakers. The evidence cited for this charge was the fact that Vinson “declared that the entire law is null and void even though the only provision he found unconstitutional was the (individual mandate) provision,” which requires every citizen to buy health insurance.
What the White House does not mention is that it played a game of chicken over health care with the court and lost a critical battle in Florida. Instead of inserting a “severability clause” designed to protect an act from this type of global rejection, the legislation was rammed through a divided Congress with diminishing public support.
The absence of the clause was just one of the flaws in this legislation, which even sponsors now admit must be amended to address serious problems ranging from passage. Of course, even without such a clause, judges can still avoid striking down an entire law and confine their rulings to a specific provision. That is what Judge Henry
Hudson did last year in Virginia after finding the individual mandate unconstitutional. Hudson was right to do so, in my view, but that does not make Vinson a judicial activist. The charge of activism sounds like the lament of every bad gambler after being discouraged from playing a high-risk hand.
I very highly recommend that you read the rest of that. One thing I will say about Turley; he is not a partisan. Turley is a Constitutional scholar and I admire the guy greatly for his refusal to cow-tow down to the liberal left. I always said that this law would be repealed; and this is why. You just do not write a piss poor law like this and expect it not be challenged.
…and this is what this law was….a piss poor written law.
Video: The Reality Report #78: The Homeland becomes the Fatherland
Please note: The posting on this video does NOT constitute support for all of the views therein. It is posted for your education and information.
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Synopsis: In the 78th edition of the Reality Report, Gary Franchi draws the direct parallels America shares with Hitler’s Germany and provides the solution to avoiding their terrible fate. We take a look at Ron Paul’s Texas Straight Talk where he discusses what a new found interest in the Constitution could mean for America. CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, Peter Schiff tells us why the Chinese modeled their currency after the U.S. dollar. We also hear from the former U.S. military analyst who is responsible for leaking the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg. He explains the recent war on whistle-blowers. Chris Mathews latest hypocrisy is revealed and Angie breaks down the news. As always we take a dip into the mailbag, reveal the results from last weeks viewer poll and brand a new Enemy of the State.
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Why I left ‘The Left’ — Exhibit CW for Class Warfare
Actually, I wanted to call this one Exhibit IC for incessant whining, but I did not want to sound like a total jerk. However, this is exactly what this little piece is here.
It appears that some liberal wife of some hard working person feels that her man is not getting his fair share of the pot. She writes over at the liberal Blog FireDogLake:
This morning my husband got up at 5:00 a.m. to work outside in 7 degree F temperatures. He sat on the end of the couch, head in his hands sipping his coffee telling me how much he hates his job. How much it’s wearing him out. He makes $29.00 dollars an hour. Roughly $60,000 a year. He’s a union electrician. His health care premiums come out of his pay check; it is NOT subsidized by his “company.” His disability comes out of his pay check. It is NOT subsidized by his company.
I don’t think most people understand this about the unions. These men get paid what they do because they are subsidizing their own care. Men in suits thinks he makes too much money. Men in suits think he doesn’t deserve health care or disability, that he’s just a body to use and abuse.
They tell the men to talk about safety on their own time, not to take up time they could be “producing” to discuss “safety issues”. They don’t want to spend money on his safety or breaks for his aching back or freezing fingers. My husband worries if he takes too much time to warm up that they might lay him off. The men in suits know he is afraid, they even tease him about lay offs from warm offices when he walks through to take his 15-minute break. The high cost of labor, entitlement. The men in suits make you focus on the unions with their high paying jobs while they sit in offices pushing pencils making eight times the amount that my husband makes. Risking far less in stress and safety than my husband. And complaining about the high cost of labor.
First, before I rip this poor woman to shreds here, let me say something. Please note that I am very sympathetic to the working person’s cause — really, I am. I am one of those working man types myself. What troubles me about this entire piece is this; it sounds like this woman is whining about her husband actually having a job. Furthermore, this piece is your a-typical mentality of the liberals in this Country — and that is that the little person is being jacked around by the big, evil, corporate America. What these mentally depraved people do not seems to realize is this; if it were not for businesspersons, who decide to take risks and employ people like her husband, to build projects, like the one that he is working on, those hardworking people — would be unemployed.
Secondly, I find this piece to be offensive for another reason. This is where I might just run afoul of Conservatives who read this blog. I have been unemployed since 2005. This partially could be considered my fault and partially it could be blamed on the piss poor economy here in Michigan. The unemployment rate here in Michigan is I believe 30% or so. I believe I could find you a group of men here in Michigan, which would just love to have this man’s job that he has grown to hate. I know that I personally live very well at $60.000 per year and not complain one bit. The point I am trying to make is this, this man took this job knowing what it entailed and knows what is required of him. If he cannot handle that job, perhaps he should try finding something else, possibly even trying another career.
I hate to sound like some heartless jerk, which sits in some ivory tower somewhere and writes dismissively of some person who is really struggling to make it. Because that is not what I am — I am simply someone who has had my own share of problems in the past, when it comes to unemployment and when I see someone moaning and complaining about actually having job — I just really have to speak up and say trying living in my shoes for a while. I could really understand if this would have been written pre-stock market flash crash and economic recession, but it was not. There are some people out there that have it a hell of a lot worse that this person and his whining wife. I happen to be one of them and I think that this man and his wife both ought to be a bit more appreciative of what they do have, instead of whining about what they have to so-called “Suffer” through.
Just my thoughts on that one, and believe me, this comes from someone who is not even being counted among the 9% in America unemployed. They only count those who are collecting benefits. I collect none. I will not bother to even comment on the part where it says that the man was breaking the law, by giving free electricity to people that he knows. I mean, if that is not self explanatory, I do not know what is. 🙄
DUMB: GOP-Controlled House votes to repeal Obamacare
This was not one of the GOP-controlled house’s smarter moves and I will explain that in a second here.
But first, the story via the Hill:
The House voted on Wednesday to repeal the sweeping healthcare law enacted last year, as Republicans made good on a central campaign pledge and laid down the first major policy marker of their new majority.
The party-line vote was 245-189, as three Democrats joined all 242 Republicans in supporting repeal.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said the healthcare law on the books would increase spending, raise taxes and eliminate jobs.
“Repeal means paving the way for better solutions that will lower the costs without destroying jobs or bankrupting our government,” Boehner said in remarks on the floor before the vote.
“Let’s stop payment on this check before it can destroy more jobs or put us into a deeper hole.”
Here’s why I think it is stupid, here’s what might happen to the bill now: (H/T AP)
The House will pass H.R. 2 this week. Once that bill is passed, it will be sent to the Senate for consideration. Once the Senate receives the bill, any Senator can use Rule 14 to object to the second reading of the bill. This procedural objection will “hold at the desk” the House-passed bill and allow the Senate to act on the full repeal measure.
If the bill is referred to committee, it will never get to the Senate floor. This procedural objection by one or a number of Senators will stop the bill from being referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP). If the bill is referred to committee, there is little to no expectation that the committee will pass the bill, let alone have one hearing on the bill.
Objecting to Rule 14 would hold the bill at the desk of the Senate and would put H.R. 2 on the Senate calendar. This procedure could be done with a letter or call from one Senator to the party leader. This would allow the Senate Majority Leader to commence debate on the matter when he so chooses. It is unlikely that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV) would move to proceed to the bill, yet there is a procedure that any Senator can use to force a debate.
Any Senator can use Rule 22 to commence debate on H.R. 2 if they have held the bill at the desk.
If I know my politics and my Democrats like I do; The Democratic Party controlled Senate will send this bill to committee to die. Which made that whole vote over in the House, a huge waste of time and…wait for it…. Taxpayers dollars!
Now the smart thing that the GOP controlled house could have done; would have been to introduce a bill that repeals the bad stuff in healthcare — like mandates, the silly tax stuff for small and no-so-small businesses and left the good stuff in. But, like most people in politics, these morons picked the wrong way to do this.
In this last election, I voted Republican, I do not regret that at all. However, I am disappointed to see that the Republicans seem more interested in playing politics, than they are actually getting anything done. Because, whether we like it or not; the Democrats hold the cards in the Senate and House doing idiotic stuff like this, only wastes time and taxpayers money — which is why the Tea Party was formed, and Democrats got swept out of office; because of their blatant stupidity and just for not listening to the American people. Now, it seems that the Republicans want to play the same silly game. Let’s hope that they try the better approach here in the future.
Again, The Republicans need to look out for the American people and do things wisely; not look out for their own political careers and continue the partisan jousting of old. That sort of nonsense will simply not work this time. It will only get them elected out of office and rather quickly.
Others: The Politico, The Hill, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, AmSpecBlog, The New Republic, Wake up America, Democrats.senate.gov, The Mahablog, Questions and Observations, The Other McCain, Salon, Scared Monkeys, Pirate’s Cove, The Nation, Blogcritics, NewsReal Blog, National Review, JustOneMinute, Shakesville, Sister Toldjah, Donklephant, GayPatriot, Yahoo! News and TPMDC
Year End Stats of 2010 at PoliticalByline.com
It is that time again. Time to take a look at what were the top postings of 2010.
It is important to remember that this was a down year for this blog. I just have not had the drive to post like I was back in 2009 and 2008. The mid-terms were a bit interesting, as was the passage of the health care bill. However, I just did not have that drive that I did back when I first started this blog. I think it just has to do with the fact that my main reason for beginning to blog, that would be the Presidency of George W. Bush. Not to mention the Bush Administration’s handling of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Now that the Bush era is over, I really do not have a good reason to continue this; Yes, Obama’s White House is just as bad, if not worse. However, I just cannot muster the outrage towards the man, that many on my far right feel towards the man. Most of it, when one is really being honest is racially based. I mean, I do not remember the right being this hot and heavy against Bill Clinton. It was there, do not get me wrong — but I do not remember that this level.
Anyhow, I will still be around, I do not plan on going anywhere. I will not allow my political foes to win. I will stick around and continue to give you my feelings on things.
Having said all of that, here are the top postings and pages for 2010:
PAGE OR POST ——————————— Hits:
Home page 19,038
Considering the fact that I do no advertising on this blog at all. That is not a bad number. I really do not get linked here at all. I even had one so-called Conservative Blogger dump on me big time and basically toss me under the bus, because some of Michelle Malkin’s fanboys put the pressure on him. He knows who he is, and “You reap what you sow” I always say…
The rest…:
The top referrals of 2010:
There are many who link here and there are places that I submit my postings to, I thank everyone who has came, read and clicked an ad or two, it does help. 🙂
So there you have it, my referrers. Not all of them are friendly. But hey, that is politics, not everyone is going to agree with me. Even I know that. 🙂
Again, to those who still read here. Thank You so very much for your readership. Perhaps 2011 will be a more prosperous year for me. I will admit, this year, money-wise was not that great. I am still unemployed and prospects are not that great. I did survive, but, if it were not for my Christian parents, I would be so very screwed. 🙁 I do not say that for pity or anything — I say it, because it is true. This is my reality folks and I know some would rather mock than help —- They have their reward, as Jesus did say.
There is a common misconception that ALL Conservatives are filthy rich or something to that effect. If only it were true. I am most likely the poorest Conservative Christian Blogger on the planet. Not by choice, but by circumstance — sometimes stuff just happens. I do not wallow in pity though, as I could much, much worse off. I have a roof over my head and three square meals a day. I also have a warm bed to sleep in at night. I also know Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour and I like to think that he is Lord over my life —- and that my friends, is ALL that matters! Everything else, is secondary. As long as you have Jesus in your heart, you are set for life. God never fails, and his word is settled in Heaven!
Some people ask why I even bother to continue this blog, even though 90% of the Conservative Blogging world has written me off. I will tell you why. Because as long as there are progressives out there that want to destroy our Conservative Christian values and want to impose on us a big centralized Government; liberty is threatened. As long as this is the case. I will be fighting this fight. Is it my “calling?” Eh, I do not know that to be a fact. But I do know that my blog does get read and that my opinion is being heard. Now, whether people like what I write and have to say, is another story. I do not claim to be the perfect “Conservative” and I am certainly not your average big Government liberal! I am just someone who saw wrong and decided to write against it. My politics have evolved much — but my commitment has remained the same — that is to be a uncompromising voice of reason in a world of political, religious and moral confusion. Which is what liberalism, whether political or religious, actually is. It is a Babylonian mentality. As Patriotic Americans, as Christians, we must stand up for what we know to be right. For that document called the Constitution. This is not a call to radicalism or violence, it is simply a call to be aware and watch.
Having said all that… Thank you and continue to read here in 2011. It will be a interesting year to watch!
-Charles Patrick Adkins
Owner
PoliticalByline.com
Stock, Gold and Oil Trading Advice: Gold/Silver – Controlling Your Trades, Money & Emotions
Last week we had typical pre-holiday light volume trading going into US Thanksgiving. The previous week I warned every one to trade with extreme caution because of the light volume and the fact that the market is on the verge of a sizable drop for both stocks and commodities. Any price action could not be taken seriously because of the light volume. We will not know until later this coming week what the big money wants to do… Buy or Sell, also what the manipulators will do… Seems like there are a lot of wild cards out there with Europe issues and both unemployment and payroll numbers out on Friday morning.
Below are a few charts showing my intermediate term outlook for gold and silver.
Gold & Silver Futures – Daily Chart
You can see both metal are showing a possible reversal head and shoulders pattern. While they have yet to confirm and close below the neck line we must be aware of this pattern and the risk/potential it provides us with. Both metals are still in an uptrend but showing signs of weakness.
US Dollar Index – Weekly Chart
This chart is not really that helpful for trading stocks, commodities or options right now but I wanted to post it because it allows me to show you how I analyze the market and my trades.
As you can see, the past 3 weeks have been in a strong uptrend reaching the first resistance level. The point of this chart is to show you that if you step out to the next longer time frame you can get a solid feeling of where an investment will find major support and resistance levels. Any investment not matter if it’s a stock, commodity or currency, if the price is trading in the middle of a large range like this chart you should not be taking large positions because it almost becomes a 50/50 bet on the market which is not a good winning strategy unless you are very experienced at managing your trades and money.
If you are going to trade then you want to focus on the underlying trend and you do that by looking at the next larger time frame. For example: if you focus on trading the daily chart, then you must step back each week and review the weekly chart to be sure you are trading with the underlying trend which is up for the dollar right now.
Weekend Trading Ideas:
Tuesday morning we saw the SP500 gap lower and continue to sell off. Traders started panicking out of their long positions and we could see it using the intraday market internals charts, which I cover each morning in the pre-market trading videos. Me being a contrarian (buying into market fear, selling into market strength) I used that high level of fear in the market along with the expected light volume holiday week ahead as an excuse to book profits near the lows on SP500 using the SDS bear fund allowing us to profit from the falling market. I feel we are going to have some crazy moves on the markets going into year end and it should be a lot of fun if done correctly.
Trading in general is a very difficult task especially if you are doing it for a living and planning on using your monthly income to pay bills, salaries etc… We all know the stress which comes with trading and if do not have a solid trading strategy, rules and cannot properly manage yourself (emotions) then you are most likely running into problems like over-trading, getting shaken out of trades easily, and taking bigger risks than your account can handle. Each of these cause more traders to blow up their accounts and big up on trading.
I am giving away my book on how you can control your trades, money and emotions. This short and to the point guide is full of my trading techniques, tips and thoughts which will help you get a handle of your emotions turning the market noise into music.
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For great stock, gold and oil trading tips; Please, click here to sign up for this great service for the day trader!
Reality sets in: Obama White House caves on Tax Cuts
….and the left is not happy about it either. 😯
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s top adviser suggested to The Huffington Post late Wednesday that the administration is ready to accept an across-the-board, temporary continuation of steep Bush-era tax cuts, including those for the wealthiest taxpayers.
That appears to be the only way, said David Axelrod, that middle-class taxpayers can keep their tax cuts, given the legislative and political realities facing Obama in the aftermath of last week’s electoral defeat.
“We have to deal with the world as we find it,” Axelrod said during an unusually candid and reflective 90-minute interview in his office, steps away from the Oval Office. “The world of what it takes to get this done.”
“There are concerns,” he added, that Congress will continue to kick the can down the road in the future by passing temporary extensions for the wealthy time and time again. “But I don’t want to trade away security for the middle class in order to make that point.”
It has been widely assumed that the president would have to accept an across-the-board deal of some kind, but Axelrod’s remarks were the first public confirmation of that fact — and by a figure regarded as closer to Obama than any other White House staffer.
Also dealing “with the world as we find it,” Axelrod declined repeatedly to comment on any of the controversial debt-reduction measures suggested by the chairs of the president’s own commission — even those, such as raising the Social Security retirement age, that go against Obama campaign pledges and strike at the heart of Democratic constituencies.
He said that the White House would wait until the commission made its final recommendations on Dec. 1 before adding, “the president’s commitments haven’t changed.”
This is the consequence of the election. The President is in full on, “I will give you whatever you want, just please do not hurt me!” mode. This is what happens when your Party has lost an election. It is called conceding power. It is something that the Democrats are never good at doing, at all. The unpopular truth is, that the Democrats have no one to blame, but themselves. They are the ones who overreached during the 2008 election and promptly kicked their base square in the jewels and left them out in the cold. They are the ones who, instead of passing job creation bills and a stimulus bill and waiting to see of the economy recovered — instead passed a unpopular health-care bill that no one understood, much less wanted; and now they are paying the price for that stupidity.
The best these jackass idiots can do, is to continue to blame Bush over and over for something that he really had nothing do with. In fact, had Bush not taken some of the steps that he had; we would be in a full on 1930’s or worse style of massive depression. Needless to say, some of Bush’s actions did not sit too well with his base. Either way, the Democrats will use Bush as the proverbial “Human Shield” for a long time to come, when they are not spewing hate about him like this here: (H/T The Right Scoop Originally at The Blaze)
Needless to say, I believe that 2012 will be a referendum on this sort of blind hatred towards Republicans and Conservative values that people like me, hold dear. Further more, I believe that the 2012 elections will be a huge sea change of power and the Democrats will be sent to the wilderness, where they belong.
However, because I am a fair and balanced type of person and because I just do not carry water for ANY political party; I will say this — The Republican Party has one more chance to get it right. If it blows it this time and in 2012, they are sunk and our Nation, as a whole, will most likely be sunk as well. Here is hoping, for the sake and good of this Country, that they do it right and not screw it up. We are counting on you all, please….. Get it right.
Cartoons of the Day
Planned Unparenthood?
Midterminated?
The managing editor of Townhall Magazine called Diversity Lane “very, very well done.” And Michigan Review described it as “laugh out loud funny.” Why not make this the day you discover the best in conservative comedy today at Diversity Lane?
For more fun visit the website/blog at www.diversitylane.com or go directly to the blog at www.diversitylane.wordpress.com.
Gallup Poll: Unemployment back over 10%
The only reason I am posting this today, is being I got a call from a poll taker; he was getting poll data for the coming election….. and boy did he ever get an ear full about the Democrats.
Memo to the Democrats: It’s the jobs stupid. (H/T HotAir)
PRINCETON, NJ — Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, increased to 10.1% in September — up sharply from 9.3% in August and 8.9% in July. Much of this increase came during the second half of the month — the unemployment rate was 9.4% in mid-September — and therefore is unlikely to be picked up in the government’s unemployment report on Friday.
Certain groups continue to fare worse than the national average. For example, 15.8% of Americans aged 18 to 29 and 13.9% of those with no college education were unemployed in September.
The increase in the unemployment rate component of Gallup’s underemployment measure is partially offset by fewer part-time workers, 8.7%, now wanting full-time work, down from 9.3% in August and 9.5% at the end of July.
As a result, underemployment shows a more modest increase to 18.8% in September from 18.6% in August, though it is up from 18.4% in July. Underemployment peaked at 20.4% in April and has yet to fall below 18.3% this year.
The government’s final unemployment report before the midterm elections is based on job market conditions around mid-September. Gallup’s modeling of the unemployment rate is consistent with Tuesday’s ADP report of a decline of 39,000 private-sector jobs, and indicates that the government’s national unemployment rate in September will be in the 9.6% to 9.8% range. This is based on Gallup’s mid-September measurements and the continuing decline Gallup is seeing in the U.S. workforce during 2010.
However, Gallup’s monitoring of job market conditions suggests that there was a sharp increase in the unemployment rate during the last couple of weeks of September. It could be that the anticipated slowdown of the overall economy has potential employers even more cautious about hiring. Some of the increase could also be seasonal or temporary.
Further, Gallup’s underemployment measure suggests that the percentage of workers employed part time but looking for full-time work is declining as the unemployment rate increases. To some degree, this may reflect a reduced company demand for new part-time employees. For example, employers may be converting some existing part-time workers to full time when they are needed as replacements, but may not in turn be hiring replacement part-time workers. Another explanation may relate to the shrinkage of the workforce, as some employees who have taken part-time work in hopes of getting full-time jobs get discouraged and drop out of the workforce completely — going back to school to enhance their education, for example, instead of doing part-time work. It is even possible that some workers may find unemployment insurance a better alternative than part-time work with little prospect of going full time.
Regardless, the sharp increase in the unemployment rate during late September does not bode well for the economy during the fourth quarter, or for holiday sales. In this regard, it is essential that the Federal Reserve and other policymakers not be misled by Friday’s jobs numbers. The jobs picture could be deteriorating more rapidly than the government’s job release suggests.
But, as we know the Democrats are not interested in helping the white middle class. They’re more interested in insulting Americans, because they feel that they’re too stupid to know what they want. It is not just the politicians either, it is their bloggers too. See Here, Here and Here. See why I will never vote Democrat again, ever?
While we real Americans are out of work and waiting for the Government to get out of the way; so that actual jobs can be created in this Country. The liberal elite are taking to the airwaves and to the blogs to insult the American people and those of us that disagree with the socialism of Barack Obama, as stupid, racist, and America-haters.
Remember this come November 2, 2010 and vote accordingly. We need change; but not the sort of change that the Democrats are wanting to push on us; further more, we should not allow these monsters to insult us. We should speak back —- at the ballot box!
Michigan’s unemployment rate is higher than the National
Detroit’s unemployment rate, last I heard was at 30%.
Vote Different. America’s future depends on it.
UPDATED: Hope and Change: Mickey D’s to drop insurance
More of that Hope and Change in progress…..
Via the WSJ:
McDonald’s Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul.
McDonald’s warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul. Janet Adamy discusses. Also, Neal Lipschutz discusses the exit plan that the U.S. has agreed on to exit the governments interest in AIG.
The move is one of the clearest indications that new rules may disrupt workers’ health plans as the law ripples through the real world.
Trade groups representing restaurants and retailers say low-wage employers might halt their coverage if the government doesn’t loosen a requirement for “mini-med” plans, which offer limited benefits to some 1.4 million Americans.
The requirement concerns the percentage of premiums that must be spent on benefits.
While many restaurants don’t offer health coverage, McDonald’s provides mini-med plans for workers at 10,500 U.S. locations, most of them franchised. A single worker can pay $14 a week for a plan that caps annual benefits at $2,000, or about $32 a week to get coverage up to $10,000 a year.
Last week, a senior McDonald’s official informed the Department of Health and Human Services that the restaurant chain’s insurer won’t meet a 2011 requirement to spend at least 80% to 85% of its premium revenue on medical care.
McDonald’s and trade groups say the percentage, called a medical loss ratio, is unrealistic for mini-med plans because of high administrative costs owing to frequent worker turnover, combined with relatively low spending on claims.
Democrats who drafted the health law wanted the requirement to prevent insurers from spending too much on executive salaries, marketing and other costs that they said don’t directly help patients.
McDonald’s move is the latest indication of possible unintended consequences from the health overhaul. Dozens of companies have taken charges against earnings—totaling more than $1 billion—over a tax change in prescription-drug benefits for retirees.
More recently, insurers have proposed a round of double-digit premium increases and said new coverage mandates in the law are partly to blame. HHS has criticized the proposed increases as unwarranted.
Democrats, looking toward midterm elections in which the health overhaul is an issue, say it already has stopped insurance practices they call abusive, has given rebates to seniors with high out-of-pocket prescription costs and has allowed parents to keep children on their insurance plans until they turn 26.
McDonald’s, in a memo to federal officials, said “it would be economically prohibitive for our carrier to continue offering” the mini-med plan unless it got an exemption from the requirement to spend 80% to 85% of premiums on benefits. Officials said McDonald’s would probably have to hit the 85% figure, which applies to larger group plans. Its insurer, BCS Insurance Group of Oak Brook Terrace, Ill., declined to comment.
McDonald’s didn’t disclose what the plan’s current medical loss ratio was.
The issue of limited-benefit plans has also hit colleges, which face the same 80-to-85% requirement beginning next year.
“Having to drop our current mini-med offering would represent a huge disruption to our 29,500 participants,” said McDonald’s memo, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. “It would deny our people this current benefit that positively impacts their lives and protects their health—and would leave many without an affordable, comparably designed alternative until 2014.”
Sorry, I have zero pity for them at all. These McDonald’s employees were stupid enough to vote for Obama, they should just take what comes to them and shut the hell up. I mean, they knew this man was a Democrat and they knew he was going to do all of this; so, I really do not believe that they have the right to gripe. Now, McDonald’s is going to have take their insurance; because of a stupid, misguided, moronic healthcare bill; that me and every other Conservative blogger out there warned them about. But did the liberals or the American people listen? No. So, I say — FUCK ‘EM! Let them go without insurance! Serves them right for voting for a “Magic Negro” Marxist.
Not like that these people really serve any real purpose anyhow. McDonald’s food is bad for you, and most of it tastes like shit anyhow; not to mention the people that work there. They are in that, what I like to call 15% category — they are the leeches of America. So, if they died off, it would be a savings to America anyhow. So, who cares if they have insurance. We real Americans would have to pay for it anyhow. So, fuck ’em, let ’em die off. No big loss anyhow.
Countdown to being called a racist, a hater, and more in 5…..4…..3…..2…….
Others: protein wisdom, Right Wing News, Outside the Beltway, American Power, Betsy’s Page, Power Line and GayPatriot, All American Blogger
Update: McDonald’s Denies the Story, of course…:
Video: (via the right scoop)
The Right Scoop Says:
My guess is that they are trying to avoid the public demonization that would likely come from this administration and this Congress – ya know, those greedy white fatcats stuffing their pockets at the oppression and exploitation of their employees. Yeah that demonization.
Plus, it sounds like they aren’t ready to announce this, and want to avoid the internal implications this could have on employees. Either way, the medical loss ratio is what it is, thanks to ObamaCare, and I wonder how long these insurance companies will be able to stay afloat. Hopefully, long enough for us to regain control and roll this disaster of a health plan back.
Sounds about right to me. Looks like this might be a very interesting story developing here. I will be following it.