Headlines I Wish I Hadn’t Seen
HealthCare.gov is still missing massive, critical pieces…the system’s “back end” is a tangle of technical workarounds moving billions of taxpayer dollars and consumer-paid premiums between the government and insurers.
Measles making a comeback: Anti-vaccine activism to blame.
Panel: Federal policies to reward high-quality health care are unfairly penalizing doctors and hospitals that treat large numbers of poor people.
“Panel: Federal policies to reward high-quality health care are unfairly penalizing doctors and hospitals that treat large numbers of poor people”
Most of these facilities are barely scraping by as is. Almost anyone involved in Health care knows very well SES has a significant impact on health outcomes. Just another screw up, and will destroy any safety nets we now have.
The Obama administration commissioned a panel to investigate on the effects of penalties for healthcare providers when performance was below average. This panel found out, that these penalties will crowd out those institutions that provide care to those in vulnerable position, as they are more likely to fall sick again. It is amusing that the Obama administration is rejecting the recommendation after the panel found out that the administration is making a grave mistake.
This financial penalties will accomplish the completely opposite than what they were engineered to do in the first place. Instead of forcing healthcare providers to become more efficient and reduce cost, the administration is going to make healthcare more expensive. It seems that the goal wasn’t Affordable Care after all.
The Washington Post claims that only few people have applied for the exceptions of the individual mandate. The author claims that it is because people are accepting the law, yet I think there are different reasons for this to occur. First is the lack of information, many people don’t know they can file for an exception. Second, it is early yet, as we saw with the enrollment, Americans like to procrastinate. Finally, are the shady data government reports, as they tend to suit their political interests.
The common good takes priority over the individual good. If there are mechanisms in place to universally vaccinate all children, why are we not doing it? I find religion as a hard to support argument. We have to realize that some of these diseases are potentially life-threatening and by not taking the vaccine chances are many will suffer from it. By not vaccinating, people are exposed to the disease and provide a body that allows the diseases to develop, which might cause in the future resistance to the known cure. Parents are not being selfish, they are being ignorant.
You said it best.
“The parts under construction are essential for key functions such as accurately paying insurers.”
No wonder they skimp on that one. They fail at getting people to enroll, now they fail at paying the insurers
And let’s not forget that Oregon has shut down its exchange, throwing all the Oregon transactions into healthcare.gov. And some other states might do the same.
So, one more thing to confuse the construction of the back end.
“But the disease is making a comeback, fueled by a growing anti-vaccine movement and misinformation that is spreading like a contagious disease.”
The fact that parents are irresponsible enough to not get their children vaccinated shows all of the misinformation from the left. Hopefully this is a reminder and proof that vaccines are necessary.
“Parents ought to be able to opt out for strictly defined medical or religious reasons. But personal opinions? Not good enough.”
What is the difference between a personal and religious reason?
“policies to reward high-quality health care are unfairly penalizing doctors and hospitals that treat large numbers of poor people”
What else is new? We knew that ObamaCare was going to give everyone health insurance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean good health care.
“The panel found that existing payment policies unintentionally worsen disparities between rich and poor by shifting money away from doctors and hospitals that care for “disadvantaged patients.”
I wonder what the president has to say about this one..
The implementation of ACA has been so flawed that we still don’t know exactly what the impacts are and how to handle them. It is a risky business for insurers, whose profits are questionable, and for patients who are enrolling in plans without knowing if they can afford them in the long run.
“The government left the door wide open for millions of Americans to be excused from the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that most people must carry health insurance or pay a fine, but so far relatively few have asked for such a pardon.”
Well pardon me, please.
“Republicans have been sharply critical not only of the mandate but also of the many ways a person can skirt it.”
You would think they would be helping people skirt the mandate.
If I lead an insurance company I would remove my plans from the exchanges. It is unbelievable that after so long, they haven’t been able to resolve the issues. The insurers are helping the government; it is time for the government to reciprocate.