Category Archives: Health Care
McDonald's Health Plan in Trouble
Why would McDonald’s consider cutting their health care coverage? Could President Obama’s health care plan be the cause of the health plan’s demise?
According to a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, there was a report that McDonald’s planned to cancel its health care coverage due to some of the provisions in Obama’s health care plan. However, this report was refuted by U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and McDonald’s officials. McDonald’s did not deny that some of the new provisions will affect their existing health coverage.
The problem is that McDonald’s (and other fast food establishments) offer lower cost benefits with higher deductibles to their employees, and Obama’s health care plan is designed to get rid of these programs.
I wonder how a certain McDonald’s employee is feeling about this. Remember Jose Osegueda, a McDonald’s employee, who wanted to know if Obama’s education proposals and health care plan would help him.
He must be feeling like the promised hope and change has deserted him too. This is just another consequence of ObamaCare.
Americans Want Commonsense Health Care Reform
Guest Post by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.)
Over the last few weeks I conducted a series of in-person town hall meetings and telephone town hall meetings throughout the 6th Congressional District. These meetings allowed me the opportunity to speak with thousands of my constituents and answer their questions. It is clear that the recently enacted “health care reform” law continues to be of great concern to a majority of Americans.
This sweeping health care reform law, pushed by Congressional Democrats and signed into law by President Obama a few months ago, will dramatically impact every family, taxpayer and small business in America. As I have said time and time again, this monstrosity, which I voted against, amounts to a big government takeover of our health care system – one that will lead to fewer choices, higher prices and rationed care. Furthermore, the bill creates more than 150 new government agencies and programs at a cost of well over $2.5 trillion.
In addition to mandating that folks have health insurance, the government-run plan included in the law, will force millions out of the coverage they currently have. In fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 8-9 million people will be dumped from their employer sponsored coverage.
To pay for this massive new government expansion, the legislation contains a total of $569 billion in devastating new tax increases imposed on individuals and small businesses. This will result in millions of lost jobs as small businesses are forced to take money from salaries to pay new taxes. In addition, the legislation would cut Medicare for our nation’s seniors by over $500 billion.
Americans are frustrated by rising health care costs, and that is why we in Congress should have had the opportunity to work in a bipartisan way to cut health insurance costs and make health care better, more available, and more affordable for all Americans.
House Republicans continue to offer solutions that will empower patients with choices, make high quality coverage more affordable, and protect and preserve the doctor-patient relationship. I strongly support a proposal that will achieve these goals. Unlike the Democrats’ plan, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office confirmed that the plan offered by House Republicans would lower premiums by up to 10 percent and reduce the deficit by $68 billion over 10 years, all without imposing tax increases on families and small businesses and while improving the quality of your health care. The Republican proposal allows for the purchase of health insurance across state lines, allows individuals and small businesses to join large pools to get more competitive rates, provides malpractice reform to cut down the high cost of defensive medicine, allows full tax deductibility of health insurance premiums, portability of health insurance, and protection against pre-existing condition exclusions.
I intend to continue working to repeal the new health care law that kills jobs, raises taxes, threatens seniors’ access to care, will cause millions of people to lose the coverage they have and like, and increases the cost of health care coverage. It must be replaced with commonsense reforms that lower health care costs and empower patients.
To contact me about this or any other matter, please visit my website at www.goodlatte.house.gov.
Lithium in Your Drinking Water
…but not a therapeutic amount, that would be like drinking several Olympic-sized swimming pools every minute. Huh?
Whoa. He really said it, didn’t he? Well, if it means lower crime, then I guess it can’t hurt, right?
The Democrats Continue Mission Self-Destruction
The cards are starting to fall and the Democrats continue to unravel with this year’s elections being less than four months away. When you have the various pollsters and pundits, like James Carville, saying that it will take a prayer for the Dems to win this November.
Polls continue to show low approval ratings for Congress and President Obama, with a high degree of pessimism directed towards the economy and how both handled the health care reform.
However, both Congress and Obama have their heads stuck in the sand when it comes to addressing the budget deficit which tops $1 Trillion. Congress has yet to pass a budget, while the Federal government continues to think that spending will dig their way out of the deficit.
Aside from the budget, the stimulus plan that Congress passed and the President signed into law does not appear to be working as unemployment is near 10 percent. Somehow, the Obama Administration and Congress seem to be under the illusion that it’s working. In fact, Vice President Joe Biden must be under the illusion by making the comments that the economic initiatives taken by the Government have helped the economy.
In releasing a new progress report today on the $862 billion stimulus bill, Vice President Joe Biden echoed a question that he and President Obama like to ask on the campaign trail: “Are we headed in the right direction?”
Biden’s answer, of course, was yes: “The economic initiatives that we took, they are working … they are working.”The new report released by Biden and the Obama economic team said that the stimulus bill — what they call the Recovery Act — has saved or created between 2.5 million to 3.6 million new jobs .
[Source: USA Today]
Comments such as this and the one from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi only goes to show why the Democrats will lose in November
Obama Plays Dirty During Recess, Appoints Berwick to Head CMS
President Obama used his powers and appointed Dr. Don Berwick to head the Center of Medicaid and Medicare Services. Berwick has never faced confirmation hearings by the Senate, which makes his appointment unusual. Since Berwick’s appointment, there seems to be no lack of controversy. Berwick’s background raises some eyebrows, as he is in favor of rationing health care, believes health care is a right (not a privilege), and believes Britain’s health care system should be the role model for America’s health care system.
Listen to his comments:
Why would Obama do a recess appointment of someone to lead one of the most important agencies in health care? Is there some reason why he is afraid of a Senate committee holding confirmation hearings for Berwick? Evidently, this video might be one of the skeletons in the closet that Obama feared would stand in the way of Berwick’s nomination or one of his other stances. Hopefully, the U.S. Senate will address this recess appointment and challenge it. Berwick is dangerous to Americans who benefit from Medicare and Medicaid.
Haymarket Hospital Site Runs into Problems
In April, I began covering the plans to build a hospital in Haymarket, Va. Both Prince William Hospital System (PWHS), a Novant company, and Sentara Health Care were competing to build a hospital in Western Prince William County. The Prince William plan was approved unanimously by the Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia in April, while the Sentara application was denied. Sentara Health Care withdrew their application after this decision.
The residents of the Gainesville/Haymarket area have been extremely supportive of Prince William Hospital System’s decision to build a hospital in their community, with the commute times and population growth being their main concerns. The proposed Prince William Hospital in Haymarket is designed to support and supplement the services provided by the existing Prince William Hospital at Heathcote, which is considered one of Virginia’s safety-net hospitals. This hospital site also has the support of State Senator Chuck Colgan (D-Manassas), Delegate Jackson Miller (R-Manassas), Manassas Mayor Harry Parrish, Prince William County Sheriff Glen Hill, and others.
Fast forward to June, the Commonwealth of Virginia is now deciding the fate of Prince William Hospital System’s application to build a hospital in Haymarket. Right now, the fate is not looking too good for PWHS, as the Division of Certificate of Public Need (COPN) recommended that the State Health Commissioner, Karen Remley, deny PWHS’ application to build. Why would the Division of COPN stand in the way of the proposed hospital? The staff director in the COPN division has questions based on the area’s population growth and does not think that the transportation problems warranted a hospital.
Drive times are another concern and are among the top criteria in deciding whether to build a new hospital. For someone going to the nearest hospital in Manassas (Prince William Hospital), it takes anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour to get to the hospital. This is particularly critical, especially if there is a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate attention. DCOPN makes the claim that hospitals in Northern Virginia are already under utilized but when you look at very specific data. That is a broad brush overview of the region. When you examine the data specifically in Prince William County, it is the second largest County in the planning district with 20% of the population, yet it only has 12% of the available hospital bed space. This presents an obvious problem for one of Virginia’s fastest growing counties.
It appears that there is a disconnect between Richmond and the rest of the state. How would the COPN Division know what is best for the residents of Western Prince William County?
This will be one of the first COPN applications that will be reviewed under the McDonnell administration. While the final decision rests with the Health Commissioner, the Governor and HHR Secretary Bill Hazel should remind Commissioner Remley of the challenges that NOVA residents face everyday because of serious traffic congestion before any final decisions are made. The COPN regulations provide flexibility to the Health Commissioner regarding the criteria considered in this process. The criteria include: the recommendation of a local health planning agency, community support, and local travel times to hospitals exceeding 30 minutes.
The final decision was to be made by June 30; however, because of the high volume of COPN applications, it may be delayed by a few months into the fall.
Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia Approves PWHS Plan
During a special meeting of the Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia on Monday, there was an overwhelming vote of support for a hospital to be built in Western Prince William County. The board voted in support of Prince William Health System’s plan to build a facility on the grounds of the current Heathcote Health Center. The agency’s recommendations will now be voted on by the state health commission.
In a recent News & Messenger article, one agency member said the Prince William Health System plan made more sense as it was a better location and less costly than Sentara’s proposal.
To learn more about Prince William Health System’s plan for the Haymarket hospital, click here.
The Problems with ObamaCare
We have rocket scientists running Congress. According to Ace of Spades, Congress has voted to terminate their own health insurance and will not receive a replacement until 2014. This session of Congress has certainly brought out who’s who among the morons and it also goes to show that they did not read the bill fully to comprehend what they were going to do to the American public and even themselves.
In a recent New York Times article, the Congressional Research Service says there will be consequences to not just the coverage received by members of Congress, but to their staffers as well.
For example, it says, the law may “remove members of Congress and Congressional staff” from their current coverage, in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, before any alternatives are available.
The confusion raises the inevitable question: If they did not know exactly what they were doing to themselves, did lawmakers who wrote and passed the bill fully grasp the details of how it would influence the lives of other Americans?
The law promises that people can keep coverage they like, largely unchanged. For members of Congress and their aides, the federal employees health program offers much to like. But, the report says, the men and women who wrote the law may find that the guarantee of stability does not apply to them.
“It is unclear whether members of Congress and Congressional staff who are currently participating in F.E.H.B.P. may be able to retain this coverage,” the research service said in an 8,100-word memorandum.
…
The law apparently bars members of Congress from the federal employees health program, on the assumption that lawmakers should join many of their constituents in getting coverage through new state-based markets known as insurance exchanges.
But the research service found that this provision was written in an imprecise, confusing way, so it is not clear when it takes effect.
The new exchanges do not have to be in operation until 2014. But because of a possible “drafting error,” the report says, Congress did not specify an effective date for the section excluding lawmakers from the existing program.
Perhaps, members of Congress should lose their cadillac plans, as it will help them to realize the impact of their votes for government-run health care on the American people. In the meantime, we can only laugh at their stupidity.
Potential Haymarket Hospital Site Poses Traffic Problems
At a public hearing last night in Haymarket, the Health Services Agency of Northern Virginia (HSANV) listened to two different proposals for building a hospital in Western Prince William County. Both Prince William Hospital System (which merged with Novant Health) and Sentara introduced their building proposals to the agency, and the public chimed in for their support on either site. The need for a hospital facility has increased over the years due to increased population growth (the senior population is also growing exponentially as well) in the Haymarket/Gainesville area. Currently, it takes anywhere between 30-45 minutes to get to Prince William Hospital in Manassas, which also adds to the urgency of this facility.
The proposals are based at different sites. Prince William Hospital System plans to build a hospital on the site of the Heathcote Medical Center, which is at the intersections of Routes 15 and 66. It is a site that has already been approved for zoning by Prince William County. This hospital is proposed to have 60 private rooms, 24-hour Emergency Department, Surgical Operating Rooms, ICU, and will bring 400 new jobs to the area.
Sentara Healthcare, a non-profit hospital company based in the Tidewater area, recently acquired Potomac Hospital in 2009, is planning to build their hospital right across the street from Jiffy Lube Live. The site would be located off of Wellington Road. The site has not been approved for zoning by Prince William County, as a previous housing development (Brookfield Homes) was going to build on the site, previously owned by Atlantic Research Corporation. This site was deemed unsafe due to the toxic chemicals left behind on the site by the Environmental Protection Agency. The costs for Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) remediation will exceed millions of dollars before zoning could be approved.
Aside from the environmental problems, there would be increased traffic issues. Being across the street from Jiffy Lube Live would pose many transportation woes, as traffic is often at a stand still due to concerts being held six months out of the year. Noise from the concerts will also pose problems, as the proposed site is planned to be built facing the loudest side of the concert venue. This would pose obstacles for surgeons focusing on procedures, in addition to detracting from the patient’s quality of care.
While both hospitals introduced their proposals to the committee, one thing did stick out. Sentara seemed ill prepared to answer the questions on why they selected the site. When asked how they would address the issues posed by the facility, the questions were left unanswered.
HSANV heard testimonies from community leaders, such as Del. Jackson Miller (R-50), Prince William County Sheriff Glendell Hill, Gainesville District Supervisor, John Stirrup, and Manassas Mayor Harry Parrish II. All of these leaders spoke in favor of the Prince William Hospital System site, as there is a great need for the expansion of a hospital that has committed itself to the Prince William County community for 45 years.
In an interview with CCC, Miller mentioned the quality services and commitment of Prince William Hospital System in the Haymarket community. Miller represents the 50th House District, which includes Prince William Hospital System’s main campus in Manassas.
When asked about the problems posed by the Sentara site, Miller mentioned three key issues that stand as a barrier in their site. First, with the close proximity of the Jiffy Lube Live site and a railroad line, traffic would be extremely problematic. The second issue is the noise pollution. As mentioned, the hospital site is on the loudest side of the venue, along with a nearby railroad line, would make noise levels almost unbearable. Prince William County Police receive numerous complaints from residents miles away from the venue due to the excessive noise. Lastly, the environmental quality in the area poses problems for the site. Miller mentioned that Sentara’s site has not been approved for zoning, and it is uncertain how much remediation would need to be done for the site to meet DEQ standards. It could cost millions of dollars.
When asked if the General Assembly plans to intervene if the Sentara site is approved, Miller mentioned that he has no interest in intervening with the commission’s approval process.
Miller reiterated his support for the Prince William Health System/Novant Health site, as it is located on a better site approved for zoning. Miller talked about Prince William Health System’s commitment to the Western Prince William County community, and it’s commitment to advancing quality services in the Haymarket area.
There will be future posts focusing on the developments of a future hospital site in Haymarket. While both Prince William/Novant and Sentara Healthcare offer the promises of new employment opportunities and providing quality health services, Prince William holds the advantage over the Hampton Roads-based Sentara. In the meantime, Alan Moore at Bearing Drift has another interesting perspective to add to the proposed hospital.
Public Option will be back…
Public option legislation will be introduced, and it might be as soon as next year. This is according to Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.). This strikes me as interesting, especially since there was a public uprising against this component of the health care legislation. I guess I should not be surprised, since the Democrats in Congress will not stop at anything until the federal government gets complete control over health care.
H/T to West Virginia Watchdog
