On the Recent Healtchare Ruling

Here's a breakdown of what the Healtchare Ruling means to you from this link via CNN.

Here are some highlights:

The uninsured

The decision leaves in place the so-called individual mandate -- the requirement on Americans to have or buy health insurance beginning in 2014 or face a penalty -- although many are exempt from that provision.

In 2014, the penalty will be $285 per family or 1% of income, whichever is greater. By 2016, it goes up to $2,085 per family or 2.5% of income.

Ruling on individual mandate explained Health care exchanges, which are designed to offer cheaper health care plans, remain in place as well.

American Cancer Society CEO John Seffrin said his organization was looking at the ruling on Medicaid, and is "concerned that the decision may limit the expansion of quality coverage to some of our nation's most vulnerable citizens."

The group Health Care for America Now, which spent tens of millions of dollars on ads supporting the health care plan, said it was "disappointed" and will work to make sure no states "choose to exclude the lowest-income uninsured adults from their Medicaid programs."

Medicaid Health Plans of America, the trade group representing Medicaid health plans, praised the court "for keeping in place key elements of this historic legislation" and said it remains "committed to a strong partnership with the states and CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) to find a way to cover this population in need."

Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Georgia, a physician who staunchly opposed the health care law, told CNN he believes many who would have received Medicaid will now enter the health care exchanges, which offer subsidized plans. That, he argued, could cost taxpayers billions of dollars across the country.

Breaking down the court's decision

The insured

Because the requirement remains for people to have or buy insurance, the revenue stream designed to help pay for the law remains in place. So insured Americans may be avoiding a spike in premiums that could have resulted if the high court had tossed out the individual mandate but left other requirements on insurers in place.

Young adults

Millions of young adults up to age 26 who have gained health insurance due to the law will be able to keep it. The law requires insurers to cover the children of those they insure up to age 26. About 2.5 million young adults from age 19 to 25 obtained health coverage as a result of the Affordable Care Act, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Two of the nation's largest insurers, United Healthcare and Humana, recently announced they would voluntarily maintain some aspects of health care reform, including coverage of adult dependents up to age 26, even if the law was scrapped.

People with pre-existing conditions

Since the law remains in place, the requirement that insurers cover people with pre-existing medical conditions remains active.

The law also established that children under the age of 19 could no longer have limited benefits or be denied benefits because they had a pre-existing condition.

Starting in 2014, the law makes it illegal for any health insurance plan to use pre-existing conditions to exclude, limit or set unrealistic rates on coverage.

It also established national high-risk pools that people with such conditions could join sooner to get health insurance. As of April, a total of only about 67,000 people were enrolled in federally-funded pools established by the health care law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

More than 13 million American non-elderly adults have been denied insurance specifically because of their medical conditions, according to the Commonwealth Fund. The Kaiser Family Foundation says 21% of people who apply for health insurance on their own get turned down, are charged a higher price, or offered a plan that excludes coverage for their pre-existing condition.


All taxpayers

No matter what the Supreme Court had decided, it would have been a mixed bag for all Americans when it comes to federal spending. There is heated dispute over what impact the health care law will have on the country over the long term.

The federal government is set to spend more than $1 trillion over the next decade to subsidize coverage and expand eligibility for Medicaid.

It is not immediately clear how the high court's ruling on the part of the law dealing with the expansion of Medicaid eligibility could affect spending.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the law could reduce deficits modestly in the first 10 years and then much more significantly in the second decade.

The CBO said a repeal of the mandate could reduce deficits by $282 billion over 10 years, because the government would be subsidizing insurance for fewer people. But the nation faces costs in various ways for having people who are uninsured. The Urban Institute's Health Policy Center estimated that without a mandate, 40 million Americans would remain uninsured.

Meanwhile, the Flexible Spending Accounts that millions of Americans use to save money tax-free for medical expenses will be sliced under the law. FSAs often allow people to put aside up to $5,000 pre-tax; as of 2013, they were to face an annual limit of $2,500.


Small business owners

The rules and benefits small business owners face as a result of the health care law remain in place.

As CNN has chronicled, the law brought a mix of both. The director of the National Federation of Independent Business is one of the plaintiffs who pushed the court to strike down the law. Meanwhile, a group called Small Business Majority fought to protect the law, saying its loss could be a nightmare.

As of 2014, under the law, small firms with more than 50 full-time employees would have to provide coverage or face expensive fines.

All Americans, in lesser known ways

The massive health care law requires doctors to report goodies they get from medical supply companies; demands more breastfeeding rooms; requires all chain restaurants to list calories under every menu item, and includes numerous other provisions, which now remain in place.

Doctors and other health care providers

Health care providers have already begun making changes based on the 2010 law, and in preparation for what will go into effect in 2014. Those plans continue.

In the short term, doctors avoid "chaos" that may have resulted from the law suddenly being dropped or changed, according to Bob Doherty, senior vice president of governmental affairs at the American College of Physicians, who wrote a blog post on the website kevinmd.com this spring.

testing....

A Letter to the Newhouse Family

Found on the Gambit website, here is a letter sent to the Newhouse clan regarding the Times Picayune's future. Read the whole story here.


TO: Robyn A. Newhouse, Mark Newhouse, Peter C. Newhouse, Jonathan E. Newhouse, David Newhouse, Si Newhouse Jr., Pamela Newhouse Mensch, Joseph Mensch, Samuel Newhouse III, Samuel Newhouse IV, Donald Newhouse, Katherine N. Mele, Michael Newhouse, Steven O. Newhouse, Julie B. Lobel, Amy B. Bermant-Adler, Robert J. Miron, Steven A. Miron, Nomi Bergman, Caroline D. Harrison, Alison Levasseur and Richard E. Diamond Jr.:

Dear ______ :

Nearly a half century ago, your family invested in the future of New Orleans by purchasing our daily newspapers. Norman Newhouse came to New Orleans, raised a family here, and was welcomed by our community.

Your family has been a blessing to our city. You built one of the greatest local newspapers in the United States, became one of our most respected employers, grew with us as our people spread out across seven parishes, and stood selflessly with the citizens of New Orleans when a vicious storm knocked us down.

In return, our city has supported your family. The Times-Picayune, a recipient of four Pulitzer awards, likes to boast that it has the best readership of any major metropolitan market. And that makes us proud too, because it shows how our community is loyal, engaged and dedicated to civic discourse. In other cities, newspapers were hemorrhaging money but The Times-Picayune remained profitable and loyal to the employees who have served New Orleans so well.

Unfortunately and sadly, the considerable goodwill your family enterprise has created in New Orleans in the last 50 years has dissipated in just a few short months because of the decision that took our entire community by surprise. Advance Publications and its leadership have lost the trust and credibility of a significant segment of the community. Citizens have publically protested the proposed new format; prominent civic and business leaders and advertisers have stepped up to speak out against the plan, and an online petition is climbing toward 10,000 signatures, including celebrities like Ed Asner and Garrison Keillor and ordinary New Orleanians whose comments are a tribute to the towering impact of the newspaper you built. Clearly, the voices of our community are strongly opposed to what you are doing.

It is painful to report that right now it is nearly impossible to find a kind word in these parts about your family or your plan to take away our daily newspaper. Our community leaders believe that your decision is undermining the important work we continue to face in rebuilding New Orleans. Whether you intended to or not, you have already created the impression that our recovery is so tepid that we cannot support an important civic institution like a daily newspaper.

In the end, we fear our community has already made its judgment on the three-day publication plan and the damage already realized cannot be undone. But the relationship between your family and our community does not have to end sourly. If your family does not believe in the future of this great city and its capacity to support a daily newspaper, it is only fair to allow us to find someone who does.

If you have ever valued the friendship you have shared with our city and your loyal readers, we ask that you sell the Times-Picayune. Our city wants a daily printed paper, needs a daily printed paper and deserves a daily printed paper

RIP Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine has passed.

Although he won an Oscar for "Marty" , I'll always remember him from that 60's show "McHale's Navy".

His acting career is detailed here.

Ernest was 95 years old and brought many, many smiles into lives. Thank you and R.I.P. Mr. Borgnine.

RIP Uncle Lionel

New Orleans lost another legend today. Lionel Batiste. He entertained till the day he died. We last saw him at French Quarter Fest this past April.

NOLA blogger Lance Vargas eulogizes Uncle Lionel here. Read it, it rocks.

here's a link to Uncle Lionel's history

R.I.P.

EXCELLENT photo montage in honor of "Unc" here.

Noladefender has a perfect tribute here.

From "My New Orleans dot com", another sendoff post, where you can buy a poster of Uncle Lionel and support his funeral expenses.

Windows Wednesday (on a Thursday)

Taken from the second floor of the Yak and Yeti Restaurant in Disney's Animal Kingdom .

We liked the food so much we ate there twice. Sigh, I wanna go back!

Olympics for Animals

UrtheCast

UrtheCast (pronounced “EarthCast”) is a company created around a unique vision: to provide the world’s first ever, live HD video feed of Earth from space.

Working in an exclusive relationship with world-famous Russian Aerospace giant RSC Energia, UrtheCast is building, launching, installing, and operating two cameras on the Russian module of the International Space Station. Starting next year, video data of the Earth collected by our cameras will be down-linked to ground stations around the planet and then displayed in near real time on the UrtheCast web platform.




Here's a link to their website.

For the last of the Creole Tomatoes

One of my favorite chefs Michael Ruhlman tweeted this recipe tonite and now I know what I'm going to do with the last batch of creoles I purchased. Enjoy!

Death on an Indian Reservation

I will never understand why some people are allowed by nature to procreate. Just last week a precious 4 year old boy suffered at the hands of a sociopath who happens to be the boyfriend of the child's mother.

Carnel Chamberlain

According to the two-page criminal complaint, Jaimee Chamberlain told the FBI that she saw her son with a bruised and swollen face as well as a cut lip in late May or early June. She said he had been struck by Bennett when she was away from the home.

A few days later, she saw Bennett pick up her son by the neck and drop him before dragging him into a room by his foot, according to the court document.

It wasn't known why Jaimee Chamberlain allowed her son to be in her boyfriend's company if she believed he was abusing the boy. She answered her phone when contacted by The Associated Press but hung up without commenting.

Listen to this telephone interview. The mother sounds a bit on the "duh" side.


Here is the murderer, Anthony Bennett



In a statement made to the FBI, Jaimee Chamberlain admits to witnessing prior incidents of abuse by Bennet.

I certainly hope that he faces the death penalty and the mother is prosecuted for failing to report child abuse.

Sunday Smile