Archive for October, 2009

If it wasn’t so absurd, one could call it nonsensical. But one writer seems to think that it is something Rep. Corrine Brown should consider.

From blogger and Conservative writer Yosim Postelnik we garnered this gem of wisdom regarding Ms. Brown dropping out of the U.S. Senate race:

“Still, one cannot help but wonder why Corrine Brown has stopped there. Running for US House and Senate simultaneously allowed her to skirt campaign contribution limits. But a run for the presidency would open up new doors altogether. And judging by Obama’s rating trend, at the end of the day she’d at least come in ahead of the incumbent. I can hear Hillary’s 2012 campaign cry already: “No way, no how, no crazy congresswoman.”

Earlier, we reported that Rep. Brown was “gaming the system” in order to double her donations for her U.S. House bid. Again, Mr. Postelnik states it plainly:

“Back to her Senate bid. Did the scheme work? Well, to quote the Florida Times Union’s reporter David Hunt: “The possible Senate run did build some fundraising momentum. Spokesman David Heller said Brown generated about $445,000 in the last quarter. The money was split between her congressional and Senate exploratory funds, but can all be used to finance the House campaign.”

Now, more than ever, Mike needs your help. He is running a race that Mr. Postelnik, and many other Conservatives throughout Florida, knows he can win. In his article, he even states further:

“While Brown was off ostensibly running for both House and Senate (yes, for the purposes of brevity we dare to leave out President, Queen of England and Heiress to Napoleon), someone else managed to launch a campaign to actually take care of the needs of her district. In a welcome change to the politics as usual that until now has been offered as the only choice to the people of her district, that person is proposing real solutions. And he is none other than common sense conservative Mike Yost.

Mike Yost is a man whose caliber we haven’t seen the likes of since Dick Armey. He proposes real solutions for real people. He’s a principled moral and economic conservative who also believes in common sense national security. More importantly, he’s got great ideas and is running for all of the right reasons.”

We thank Mr. Postelnik and many others for their kind words. If you to, agree, then consider what your donation can mean to Mike in his efforts to bring real leadership to this District. If you support his “3 Point Pledge”, then help him have the tools he needs to bring that message to every single person in this District. Help Mike win!

Overwhelmingly, Americans don’t want the health care reforms coming out of Washington. During the worse economic crisis it’s going to be tough to make the American taxpayer swallow huge penalties for not carrying health insurance, taxes on health insurance plans if you have certain levels of benefits, and funding more bureaucratic mazes than you care to discuss. No one in Washington is listening to the people and the ballot box in 2010 is going to tell what the peoples frustrations really are.

There is little, if any, “bi-partisan” efforts to bring the reforms people want:

• Lower costs of health care
• Lower premium costs of coverages they desire
• Portability of coverage that is not dependent on ones job
• Tax benefits for premiums paid
• Reductions in fraud and waste in Medicare and Medicaid
• Non-denial of coverages due to pre-existing conditions
• Timely claims payments by health insurance companies of all claims submitted
• Better understanding of what benefits are available under health insurance plans

With those things in mind, let’s look at real and bold ideas that will work and do so without dismantling our current health care provider system;

1. Real tort reforms that cap levels of punitive damages juries can award in malpractice cases. The costs of “preventative” medicine to protect our medical personnel from lawsuits will drop dramatically. Costs of malpractice insurance will drop as well. This one initiative alone can reduce health care costs an estimated 20-30%.
2. Tort reform will lower premium costs as will allowing across state line competition of health insurance carriers. Establishing health insurance co-ops will allow people to use the purchasing power of larger groups to obtain their own coverages as their needs might be.
3. With the establishment of Health Savings Accounts NOT dependent on one’s job, you can set aside money, tax free, to purchase your own coverages. Additionally, an employer could also add to your HSA as a benefit of employment. You control the plan you desire, the premiums you pay, and the HSA could be used for any out of pocket deductibles, co-payments, drug purchases, dental care, vision care, or over the counter health treatment costs. Government could easily subsidize low income families through an HSA and allow private insurance and personal choice to be the guide for responsibility of the individuals health care needs.
4. By using the HSA’s, you are able to allow tax-free accumulations of money used to fund health care expenses. No one can tell you to purchase coverages, but better education of individuals is needed to explain that you may not need it today, but the day is certain when you will. Younger people would be encouraged to participate, even with higher deductible plans that further reduces coverage costs long term.
5. Medicare and Medicaid fraud and waste account for roughly $500 Billion in costs to the taxpayer/recipients. There is no controls set up to determine benefit payments to providers for double billing, fraudulent claims, or any other method to track payments. These areas must be addressed immediately rather than continuing to cut benefits to these programs for our Seniors and Medicaid recipients.
6. No one can expect an insurance company to insure your house as it sits in flames, burning to the ground. You simply waited too late to insure it. You may never use your homeowners policy, but the fact is, IF you do need it, you better have it in advance of a loss. Health care should be treated no differently, but there needs to be a method of insuring the uninsured through various state level pools that will accept risks not insurable through normal channels. Waiting periods for pre-existing conditions must be realistic and disclosed fully to the purchaser. There is one difference in homeowners and health insurance- you WILL use your health care benefits eventually and people must be educated that purchasing while healthy and insurable is less costly in the long term.
7. If you ask any Doctor or Hospital what is their most undesirable role is and it is filing claims. Our current system becomes clogged with claims due to the necessary coding of claims and nothing works efficiently. Claims get denied, refiled, denied again, phone calls made, and eventually either the patient is billed or the insurance company pays. Claims need to be funded directly to the patient, not the provider. You obtain two benefits in doing this. First, the HSA account is paid directly (and the patient pays the provider), within 5 days of a claim being filed (electronically), and insurance companies are “on the hook” for any claim submitted on coverages that are over 6 months old- PERIOD. Secondly, medical care providers will post fee schedules and will follow those schedules. Patients know the costs upfront and are then free to look for better value if they desire. This creates competition and drives down costs as well. Simply look at Lasik surgery, cosmetic surgery, and other non-insured medical care; competition has brought the costs down where people who desire these procedures are able to pay for them from their own source of funds.
8. Insurance policies must be written in plain, simple English where people can understand up front what is covered and what is excluded. Summaries of coverages must not be misleading and any exclusions be made upfront. Failure to write summaries properly will result in immediate claims payments by insurers.

Just to make it even more cost effective, I propose a couple of more ideas that will further bring down health care costs:

1. Establishing of Clinics locally, near Hospitals, where those with illnesses are able to use them rather than the Hospital Emergency rooms. These will be staffed by Medical staff, primarily Interns under a Physician, and Residence Physicians. When an Intern or Resident takes this route to become a Primary Care Physician, he/she would see the following benefits- First year a 20% tax credit for any medical school loans outstanding and an additional 20% tax credit for every year (up to 4) for staying in the program. Additionally, if they remain in the area to start a private practice, they are able to take patients who wish to follow them into their practices. It’s a win-win situation. First, Hospital triage could refer those needing medical treatment (non-emergency) to the clinic(s) and the costs are reduced dramatically as opposed to Emergency room care. The patient receives the medical care they need and then understand that things like colds, contining care and non-life threatening treatments are best handled at the clinics, not the emergency room. More physicians are encouraged to become Primary Care physicians and the shortages are alleviated there as well as more opportunity is available for those entering medicine.
2. Cost shifting drives up overall health care costs simply because cuts in Medicare and Medicaid payments force Physicians and Hospitals to overcharge private pay or insurance plans to cover the losses from government programs. Medicare needs to be placed on sound, actuarial rating of Part B and D plans. Currently, those plans reduction in benefits as well as cost increases are leaving many of our seniors with out of pocket expenses and Medigap coverage costs increasing annually. These reductions, by government, are creating even more cost shifting to our non-Medicare/Medicaid patients. Eliminating the $500 Billion in payments for fraud/waste will not force annual reductions in Medicare benefit payments, but could actually allow increases in those payments to providers that is more realistic to actual charges incurred. Today, in areas with a high concentration of seniors, there are more and more Physicians who are not taking any new Medicare patients and few are willing to accept Medicaid due to the reductions in benefit payout. Unless a complete overhaul of Medicare and Medicaid is done, either further benefit reductions and/or tax increases will have to occur. By 2017 Medicare is bankrupt and Medicaid is already fully funded by taxpayers and government has no other choices than above to bring these programs under control.
3. There are an estimated 3800 mandated coverages nationwide from state to state. These usually are for anything from exotic diseases to maternity benefits. It is more cost effective to have most every mandated coverage to be optional coverages the individual could add as they see fit. A single male that is no longer able to father a child has no need for any maternity benefits, breast reconstruction benefits, etc. He however, might desire other coverages to suit his particular needs and could have those as an option to add to his/her plan. Mandated coverages serve only to drive up health care premiums and seldom achieve any real benefit to the vast majority of insureds. If a woman has a family history of breast disease and desires a reconstructive surgery benefit, then that could be optional coverage rather than mandated for all policyholders. The same type of optional coverages is used in homeowners, auto, and life policies and can easily be adapted to health insurance coverages as well.

Yes, these are bold ideas and require bold leadership to bring to fruition. It takes someone who believes enough in doing what is right for the people, not for political gain, to bring these ideas forward and for all to examine and debate. To some, these may seem controversial and to others, make common sense in their application and implementation.

Without those willing to advance these objectives forward, little will be done and the lack of leadership in Washington today will assure their demise. Help elect Mike Yost to Congress and have someone who will stand up for real, genuine and honest health care reforms that will work, will not force a loss of existing coverages or destroy our health care delivery system, and will bring leadership to Washington with common sense solutions to our nations greatest concerns.

With the release of today’s jobs report, another 263,000 jobs were lost by Americans nationwide. The report does not mention the numbers who have given up on finding a job nor the number of workers who have opted for early retirement due to the bleak jobs outlook for the future.

Instead we get the same tired Democratic rhetoric about how fantastically wonderful this near trillion dollar “stimulus” spending and debt has worked. Michael “Mike” Yost, Conservative candidate for the 3rd Congressional District of Florida commented:

“The American workers aren’t interested in cheap words, they want JOBS! The inability of this Administration and the Democrat controlled Congress to understand that Depression era fiscal policy didn’t work then and won’t work now is astounding. The Great Depression didn’t end until a world war forced the U.S. factories to gear up for military production and to start hiring people. When people had money to spend from the JOBS created, the Depression ended.”

Yost went on to further add:

“With a weakening dollar, government debt approaching $12 Trillion, and more debt being piled on the American taxpayer, one doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that the problem is too much government. The next step in this entire economic mess is inflation and that will further weaken our ability to recover. Results of this Administration’s and Congressional policy are dismal and until they realize the necessity to cut the size and scope of government, our businesses and industries are going to continue the collapse they are experiencing.”

The current Representative, Corrine Brown, seems to think that the problem is in Tallahassee and that the “stimulus” funds haven’t been released. It is painfully obvious that Ms. Brown has no clue what happened to the funds and where they are being spent. Even more painfully obvious is that no amount of government spending and the resulting debt is going to make the economic situation any better for our small businesses and industries. They are being looked upon as nothing more than a source of revenue for government and their destruction is inevitable as profits continue to decline. No one can hire when your outgo is greater than your income and these are simple facts any 1st semester high school economics student could understand.

Support Mike Yost as he brings bold initiatives forward to bring about real tax reform and real government spending reductions that will revive our economy and bring American jobs back to anyone who wants one. Our people are desiring the Liberty to be self-sufficient and responsible for their own families and adding more government spending and the need for more in taxes is not going to solve our issues.

Support Mike in his efforts to bring the REAL change to Washington with accountability to “We the People” of the United States. It’s time to end the waste, corruption, and spending that has caused this crisis and bring real leadership to the 3rd Congressional District of Florida.