altara

Saturday, March 18, 2017

March Madness

March Madness

I'm picking Duke as the winner of the NCAA championship. Unless, of course, the U Conn women's team enters it.

Friday, March 17, 2017

health care

With the benefit of no research and little knowledge, I have a couple of suggestions about Obamacare.

Major problems seem to be large increase in premiums  and withdrawal of insurance companies from  markets. These stem mostly from failure of young and other healthy people to sign up for health care insurance in numbers sufficient numbers to support the health care payments to the rest of the insured. A couple of reasons for this. The penalty for not insuring is too low, and insurers must insure no matter the existing medical condition. So,the penalty can be raised and insurers could charge a lot more for existing medical problems, perhaps as much as 50% more.

These moves, plus maybe the "public option", would tend to keep premiums down.

The sensible route now would to make these changes, plus a few others to Obamacare. But the Republicans, touting "repeal", will not agree to this.

Of course, Inserting profit making insurance companies, with marketing cost and high executive compensation, between the provider  and the patient is not a good idea. Everyone needs healthcare so it could well be highly regulated as a utility. But the best solution would be "Medicare-for-all" or similar public responsibility, thus spreading the cost among all taxpayers.




Thursday, March 16, 2017

climate

Trump’s budget would hammer climate programs at EPA, NASA, NOAA, and Energy


Unconscionable. The real March Madness

environment

"Large Sections of Australia’s Great Reef Are Now Dead, Scientists Find"

Since Trump and his appointees say there is no human-caused global warming, this must be caused by aliens

 

 

 

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

health

I feel sorry for older people because, under the Republican plan, their health care coverage will be much more expensive.