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Michael T. Barrett
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Nov
29
Sep
20
Anwering A Question From A Reader
Category: Education, Our Nation | 1 Comment | 739 words | Print
I received a question via email today and I thought I would share my response in case other people may have had the same question, or one very similar. Pat asked,
“I was on a conference call with Michelle Bachmann. She stated that under the provisions of the health care bill, the payments from people would begin in 2010, but the benefits would not be seen until four years later, or 2013, is this true?”
The first time I read the health care bill I did so at a “quick review” type pace. The second time I read it, I analyzed it to point out all of the sections which would affect people the most. While I quoted many costs and amounts, I never really double checked the years of collection versus the years of implementation.
While analyzing Division A and doing a search for the years in question, I found a couple references.
Section 100 defines Y1 (or year 1) of the health benefits plan as 2013 which seems to support Michelle Bachmann’s claim that people would not see any benefits until 2013. People cannot benefit from a health benefits plan before 2013 if it is not implemented until 2013.
Further review of Division A shows that the small business employee health coverage credit which will be implemented right away, will be phased out beginning in 2013. President Obama and House leaders are quick to state that the health care bill will not affect most small business owners, but that is just not true. You can read more about this “phase out” of the credit in Division A, Subtitle B, Section 421.
There could be more hidden in Division A, but in the interest of just answering the question presented, I moved on to Division B to perform the same search.
Reporting requirements for the quality of outcomes for people enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans are not required to be implemented until 2013, so any treatments or outcomes will not be subject to reporting until then. This is mentioned in Division B, section 1162.
Division B, Section 1703 also sets a deadline of 2013 for any benchmark benefit package. These packages must meet the minimum benefits and cost-sharing standards of a basic plan by this time.
Section 1802 of Division B sets the amount of funds to be transferred to the Trust Fund by year. $90 million in 2010, $100 million by 2011, and $110 million by 2012. These funds obiviously come from somewhere so, again, Michelle Bachmann was correct. We will be paying ($300 million in this section alone) beginning in 2010 while the health benefits plan will not go into effect until Y1, or 2013, as stated in Division A, Section 100.
Section 1802 also sets a “fair share per capita amount” beginning in 2013, which will be computed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services for each fiscal year which is projected to be $375 million for the 2013 fiscal year alone.
According to this same section we will be paying another $26 million for the Comparative Effectiveness Research Commission from 2010 through 2012.
Section 1904 defines applicable percentages of expenditures, itemized by year for 2010-2014, and appropriates another $300 million for the implementation of that section before 2013.
Things get much more interesting in Division C, where Section 2002 defines the establishment of funds for the Public Health Investment Fund.
For fiscal years 2010 – 2012 a total of $17,100,000,000 (yes, that’s billion, not million) shall be directed into the fund from “general revenues of the Treasury”.
Section 2101 allocates an addition $5 billion in funding for community health centers. Section 2202 authorizes appropriations in the amount of $798 million for the National Health Service Corps. $758 million will be allocated for primary care and dentistry. All of these appropriation amounts are for the fiscal years 2010 – 2012, prior to the establishment of the Public Health Benefit Plan in Y1, or 2013 and Division C goes on to authorize and allocate a lot more money from the general fund of the Treasury.
So, Pat, I hope this post helped answer the questions you had following the conference call with Michelle Bachmann. It does appear we will be shoveling a lot of money towards all of the programs defined in the health care bill for three years before any public health benefit is implemented.
Sphere: Related ContentAug
15
Let’s take a break from the bill for a few minutes and watch a report from John Stossel about Health Care Reform.
May
25
Happy Memorial Day
Category: Education, History | Comments Off | 92 words | Print
Sphere: Related ContentToday, as in the past, there are problems that must be solved and challenges that must be met. We can tackle them with our full strength and creativity only because we are free to work them out in our own way. We owe this freedom of choice and action to those men and women in uniform who have served this nation and its interests in time of need. In particular, we are forever indebted to those who have given their lives that we might be free.
Ronald Reagan, May 26, 1983
May
13
Last week, when the doctor told my mother-in-law that she may have Inflammatory Breast Cancer, it was a real eye opener. Upon hearing the words that the cancer may have returned and that it may have returned in such a form, it just floored her.
Over the weekend my wife looked up as much information as she could, learning all the facts about IBC, so she could help her mom prepare if the news was indeed bad. After four days of research and countless painstaking hours reading horror stories and other real-life experiences, my wife was deflated to say the least.
Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare but very aggressive type of breast cancer in which the cancer cells block the lymph vessels in the skin of the breast. This type of breast cancer is called “inflammatory” because the breast often looks swollen and red, or “inflamed.” IBC accounts for 1 to 5 percent of all breast cancer cases in the United States.
My mother-in-law’s appointment was Tuesday afternoon. The doctor had scheduled a mammogram and an ultrasound. Depending on the results of those two tests, he planned to take a biopsy to see just how bad it was.
Diagnosis of IBC is based primarily on the results of a doctor’s clinical examination (1). Biopsy, mammogram, and breast ultrasound are used to confirm the diagnosis.
Ever since her initial lumpectomy and radiation therapy, my mother-in-law has suffered excruciating pain and many of the symptoms of Inflammatory Breast Cancer.
- Swelling, usually sudden, sometimes a cup size in a few days
- Itching
- Pink, red, or dark colored area (called erythema) sometimes with texture similar to the skin of an orange (called peau d’orange)
- Ridges and thickened areas of the skin
- Nipple retraction
- Nipple discharge, may or may not be bloody
- Breast is warm to the touch
- Breast pain (from a constant ache to stabbing pains)
- Change in color and texture of the areola
I was going to post some of the photos showing the visual symptoms and other related information, but I thought it might be best if you visited the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation site and look through their collection. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms you should consult your physician immediately. IBC is a very aggressive form of cancer and has a 40% survival rate five years after diagnosis.
My mother-in-law was lucky. It turns out all of her symptoms are related to the radiation therapy to cure her invasive ductile carcinoma and she does not have Inflammatory Breast Cancer after all.
If you’re not feeling well, or your body has undergone radical changes, it’s never a bad idea to make an appointment to see your doctor. It’s better to be safe than sorry. My mother-in-law, as exhausted as she is, trekked into Atlanta for her tests, and with our help she was prepared in case the doctor walked into that room and told her the cancer had returned.
Like I said before, my mother-in-law was extremely lucky. What are the odds her radiation therapy would cause her body to suffer so many of the same symptoms and even lead her doctor to believe she may have another form of cancer? Many women have lost their battle with IBC, and we all need to take a few moments to help educate others, so they too can be prepared if something like this ever happens to them.
Sphere: Related ContentApr
15
Americans Are Not The Enemy
Category: Education, Our Nation | Comments Off | 1,061 words | Print
In my previous post, I introduced you to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security assessment titled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment” (PDF).
As you know from reading my first post, our government now considers “groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration” to be rightwing extremists and possible domestic terrorists.
If you look at the top of page 3 of the assessment, you will read that our government also feels that the proposed imposition of firearms restrictions and weapons bans would likely attract new members into the ranks of “rightwing extremist groups” and potentially spur some of those people into planning and training for violence against the government.
The second amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. “
The right to bear arms is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Standing up for your rights under the Constitution is not extremist. Well, it hasn’t been, and shouldn’t be, but apparently the Obama administration and the Department of Homeland Security have something else in mind.
It’s unclear exactly how the Department of Homeland Security defines the term “extremist groups”. For all we know, they may consider anyone who refuses to relinquish their right to bear arms an extremist and if they live in the same town as others who have done the same, they may very well be a “group” of extremists.
The assessment places extraordinary emphasis on “proposed firearms restrictions” which is rather vague and left open to interpretation by the reader, but there is no doubt what the assessment is hinting at. There will come a day when all guns will be banned or the government will require you to report (on the federal level) each gun you own and the quantity of ammunition you are stockpiling (aka storing on the shelf for target practice).
Don’t worry though, they won’t stop there. If you’re a veteran who served your country faithfully, you need to watch your back too.
Sphere: Related ContentFeb
14
Just Cancel The Order
Category: Education, Life | Comments Off | 436 words | Print
Friday the 13th didn’t turn out as nice as it normally does. I usually have a great day while everyone else is cowering in fear of what will happen during the day.
It all started when Gidget got stuck at her mom’s house for an extra three hours because she and my father-in-law were stuck in traffic coming home from her radiation treatment. It turned out there was a very bad accident on I-20 and traffic was at a complete standstill for over 2 and a half hours. When they finally started moving it was already dinner time. She (my mother-in-law) was so exhausted because of her treatment and then sitting in the car all day.
When Gidget got home, we turned around and drove back into town, to pick up an order of fabric that had come in at JoAnn Fabrics. She got a great deal on upholstery fabric, so by summer we should have a “brand new couch” in our living room.
While Gidget was stuck at her mom’s I had to jump through hoops and get paperwork to all of the different agencies where we have applied for assistance. Things were complicated though because I could not find my unemployment benefits later and that monkeyed up everything else I needed to do for the day.
Thank God today is going much better than yesterday.
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Dec
1
Today, December 1st, is World AIDS Day.
World AIDS Day is a day to increase awareness about AIDS and HIV, fight prejudice, improve education, and reflect on how AIDS and HIV have changed our world, and more importantly, our lives.
At the end of 2007, 33 million people were living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. 2.7 million people become infected with HIV, and 2 million die from AIDS, each year.
There is still no cure for AIDS but treatment for people living with HIV has improved dramatically since the discovery of the disease. While antiretroviral drugs are keeping people alive longer, only 31% of people worldwide, who need them, are receiving them,
More than 25 million people worldwide have died from AIDS since 1981. Young people account for half of all HIV infections worldwide, and over 1 million people have been diagnosed with HIV in the United States. In 2006 alone, 4.3 million people were infected, 40,000 of them right here at home.
Sphere: Related ContentJul
25
It’s a sad day when a headline like this doesn’t even garner a second glance from most readers.
Why is it so easy to ignore this story? Do people see the words “Food Bank” and figure it’s just a story about poor people, so why bother? Are we so insensitive about the well-being of other people that we no longer have time to care about their situation?
But, this story isn’t just about poor people, or the Food Bank. It’s about the teachers that are trying to change the lives of the children in their classrooms.
It’s tough trying to teach a child when his stomach’s growling. Or when she can’t afford notebooks or pens or backpacks.
…
With school starting as early as next week in the metro area, Griffin and Ross were among 40 metro Atlanta teachers stocking up on hundreds of dollars of free school supplies at the food bank’s downtown Atlanta warehouse.
Teachers were given a clipboard, a shopping cart and 30 minutes in what can only be described as the ultimate teacher’s supply closet. Shelves were stacked with copy paper and lined filler papers – coveted items among teachers. Barrels of pens. Notebooks. Rubber bands. Glue sticks. Bins full of small decorative letters. CD cases.
In the end, most hauled away nearly $800 each in free school supplies from the food bank’s Kids in Need program.
Every year I read stories about teachers spending hundreds of dollars on extra supplies and snacks for the kids in their classrooms. Every year I hear about organizations that step up and try to help bridge some of the gap between the funds the state makes available and the actual cost of running a classroom. Every year I hear about “how generous” our governor is for giving teachers a $100 gift card to help with their expenses. Don’t even get me started on the fact that teachers can only write off $250 in supply costs on their income taxes.
It’s time something was done about this. When the food bank has to step up and dole out almost $800 per teacher, it’s well past time to look at the system and start making these school districts accountable for the money they spend. They sure aren’t spending it on the students.
We all know the public school system is in trouble. The evidence is in the test scores year after year. Just imagine what would happen if school districts were forced to start spending money on educating students, instead of lining the pockets of the very administrators who are responsible for the problem in the first place.
Imagine what they could do if they actually spent the money on making an effort to teach the children.
What would happen if they stopped overlooking the obvious? Just wondering.
Sphere: Related Content