A Look into the Future of Health Care

What is happening and what might happen to Obamacare you ask? CNBC gives us a few ideas and gives us an overview of what is already starting to happen. Republicans have already started to repeal health care because they say it gives too much power to the government and does not decrease costs enough. The democrats argue that the bill will improve care and increase ranks of the uninsured. The bill is inevitably going to be altered and pronounced unconstitutional in some ways, either as a whole or parts.

Courts are also challenge the laws,

A number of states have challenged the constitutionality of the law's requirement that most Americans obtain health insurance or pay a penalty. The rulings have been divided, and the issue is certain to end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Once again, the law will problably not make it to the end without being repealed in some way, shape, or form. I do not want to see the law completely destroyed, as there are obvious problems with our current health care, basically being too expensive for people to have. The future will reveal to us weather the bill completely passes, partly passed, or rewritten by Republicans.

Republicans have yet to put forward a proposal to replace the current law and are not likely to take a comprehensive approach. Instead they most likely would take it step-by-step, starting with limits on medical malpractice lawsuits. They also would push to allow insurers, who are regulated at the state level, to sell policies across state lines. 

Did Obama violate the Constitution?

This question arises when we look at our attack on Libyan airbases, or on Qaddafi, depending on how you look at it. The president did not need to consent with congress because this is not legally a war, yet. However, the president "shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States", as said in the Constitution. The starting of wars is a gray area and many politicians have trouble pinning it down. This blog 'First Read' from MSNBC speculates the constitutionality of this recent attack on Libyan air bases.

"Judging just from the pictures of what we are seeing happening on the ground, this is quite substantial, and this is the sort of thing that would have needed Congressional approval," said Professor Oona Hathaway of Yale Law School, an expert on executive power and international law.
While the president has stressed the international component of the operation, she believes that makes no difference. "The fact that the Security Council has authorized an imposition of a no-fly zone does not answer the constitutional questions," she said.

I sympathize with Professor Hathaway in that the constitutional questions do not seem to have been answered. However, I do side with Obama in a way because it would definitely be hard to get Congress to allow for this attack quickly. It depends on the outcome of this attack to see if the attacks were worthwhile or incorrect. Actions have to made quickly to prevent more deaths in Libya.

Other than preventing Qaddafi from killing more of his own people, there is and was no direct threat to national security. If there was a threat, it would validate Obama's orders. Still, I feel like Obama did the right thing unless he escalates this into a war effort.

Health Care's Hidden Costs

Consumers of health care may be paying hidden costs of up to $1,355 a year as reported by a new industry report. A quote from CNN;

These "hidden" costs of health care -- like taking time off to care for elderly parents -- add up to $363 billion, according to a report from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, a research group.

That amounts to $1,355 per consumer, on top of the $8,000 the government says people spend on doctor fees and hospital care.

These costs arise from insurance related costs. It is expected that out-of-pocket payments will increase even with the health care reform. The main problem with healthcare is that the costs are too high and are rising too fast, resulting in people not being covered. The bill may bring about more problems than it solves.

Qaddafi May Choose To Go Into Exile

Muammar al-Qaddafi, Libya's leader for more than forty years made his first public appearance today saying that he still wants to beat his opposition. He was quoted,

"In the short term, we'll beat them, in the long term, we'll beat them”

Secretary of State, Clinton, said that Qaddafi may be trying to go into exile, but it is too early to accurately predict how he will act or how he wants to act in the future.

Clinton hinted at Qaddafi’s possible search for exile and also said she heard reports of one of the leader’s sons being killed in the airstrikes. But she could not confirm either.

"A lot of it is just the way he behaves. It's somewhat unpredictable. But some of it, we think, is exploring. You know, what are my options, where could I go, what could I do,” Clinton said. “And we would encourage that."

Clinton would also not comment on whether or not the U.S. believes Qaddafi can be ousted from power.

Only time will tell if Qaddafi will take off his strong front and step down, or stay in power despite his obvious opposition in Libya, the U.S., and Europe.

Japan Continues to be Harmed by the Earthquake

Even after the 9.0 earthquake hit Japan, the tsunamis, and the nuclear meltdown, there are still an increasing amount of problems with the food supply and farm-able land. The surrounding area of a few hundred miles around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex was and is still being hit hard by radiation released by the plant. It is reported that spinach plants many miles south contain 7x the legal limit of radiation and milk from cows in the Fukushima province containing 5x the legal limit. The radiation is also said to have entered the food chain when it enters the northern pacific ocean, contaminating the fish. Fox news reports,

Japanese foods make up less than 4 percent of all U.S. imports, and the FDA said it expects no risk to the U.S. food supply from radiation. Officials and health experts say the doses are low and not a threat to human health unless the tainted products are consumed in abnormally excessive quantities.

Still, the World Health Organization said this week that Japan should act quickly to ensure that no contaminated foods are sold. The most common imports from Japan to the United States are seafood, snack foods, and processed fruits and vegetables.

 This situation must be frightening for millions that have Japanese food imported, however, I feel reassured that American and Japanese officials are making sure that the radiation does not affect us. This is definitely bad for Japan's economy, even more so that it is presently, because much of it's food is not being sold because of radiation poisoning or because of fear. They need more foreign currency now more than ever.

Mental Health Break

Republicans introduce legislation to redefine Pi as 3. Not as the difficult 3.1415... number.

"It's no panacea, but this legislation will point us in the right direction. Looking at hard data, we know our children are struggling with a heck of a lot of the math, including the geometry incorporating pi," Roby said. "I guarantee you American scores will go up once pi is 3. It will be so much easier."

I understand where the republicans are coming from.

Budget Cuts Affect Mental Health

32 states and Washington D.C. have been dramatically cutting budgets for mental health services. This process brings in billions of dollars, but it also crowds prisons, emergency rooms, and dangers the public. The additional savings may be used again for more prison space and additional treatment. The Washington Post quotes;

California slashed funding by more than $587 million, or 16 percent. Kentucky gutted its mental health budget by an astounding 47 percent over the last two years.
In many states, the picture is likely to get uglier for those relying on state mental services. Starting this summer, some $87 billion in federal stimulus money for Medicaid assistance to the states starts drying up. Because virtually all Medicaid-funded mental health services are optional, states projecting another couple years of budget deficits are likely to chop mental health services further.

For one, I want to see mental patients being treated and cared for rather than let on the streets. Secondly, I want to see less money wasted by changing the game plan for health services. I don't think the Obamacare bill will come into affect the way it is in the next few years, but a for of it will be a step forwards in assisting the mental health of millions of patients. The article ends with;

Mental health advocates hope that the federal health care overhaul taking effect after 2014 will help add services for the mentally ill - but their hopes are dim that things will get better before then.

I side with the health advocates on this one, in hope that funding will improve for mental health services.

NYC Teen Faces 2 Years

In NYC, a 19 year old choked and threw a sibling's 4 ounce hamster. She is facing a felony charge and was arrested Tuesday night. Msnbc reports;

The 19-year-old is accused of choking and squeezing the 4-ounce hamster and throwing it on the floor. It was then thrown across the street, though a necropsy concluded the animal was probably already dead by the time that happened.
Pentangelo says the charges include aggravated cruelty to animals and child endangerment. He says three children witnessed the hamster's demise.

The charges are outrageous, and I feel that our justice system has better things to worry about. Granted, the 19 year old probably needs some mental help, but killing a hamster of a 9 year old sibling and being charged is outrageous. I cant help but laugh and shake my head at the same time at this arrest.

Premature Births Drugs Outrageously Priced

The price of preventing preterm babies is about to go through the roof because of KV Pharmaceutical has sole ownership of a drug. This form of progesterone cost $10 to $20 per injection, but now may cost $1,500 per injection ($30,000 per pregnancy). This outrageous hike in price occurred when KV won approval to sell the drug as opposed to special pharmacies that were not federally approved. A few doctors responded to the drug's new price;

"That's a huge increase for something that can't be costing them that much to make. For crying out loud, this is about making money," said Dr. Roger Snow, deputy medical director for Massachusetts' Medicaid program.
"I've never seen anything as outrageous as this," said Dr. Arnold Cohen, an obstetrician at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia.

The pros of KV owning the rights to the drug is that it is better regulated and is safer, but this includes the outrageous price increase. Even if insurance covers the prices, I still don't agree with the price, nor do many other people. It is obvious most women can not afford this treatment, even so, KV has not dropped the price. This is just another negative view of America's medical providers.

Wisconsin Senate Separated

The Senate in Wisconsin has passed the bill to end state workers' collective bargaining rights. Even with all the democrats gone from the meeting, the republicans still managed to pass the bill, causing unrest and protests. Fox News reports on this;

All 14 Senate Democrats fled to Illinois nearly three weeks ago, preventing the chamber from having enough members present to consider Gov. Scott Walker's so-called "budget repair bill" -- a proposal introduced to plug a $137 million budget shortfall.. 

The Senate requires a quorum to take up any measures that spend money. But Republicans on Wednesday split from the legislation the proposal to curtail union rights, and a special conference committee of state lawmakers approved that bill a short time later.

The republicans are strong to cut many measures that spend money. This bill was included in this quorum and has passes even with obvious opposition. The bill was passed hastily and completely ignored the democrats. I'm not sure if the democrats would do this if they were in the same position, but passing such a bill is quite shady. We will see how this goes when the democrats choose to come back.

Mental Health Break

Caution, may contain a bit of offensive material. However, this is very funny.