Big insurers are still hoping to influence some language in the legislation before Congress sends it to the president. But one thing is clear: The initiative is poised to change their industry more than any other sector of the U.S. health-care system, with huge potential to disrupt profitability.
Strange bedfellows indeed. Jane Hamsher at FireDogLake recently joined forces with Grover Norquist to call on Eric Holder to investigate Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Let me repeat: super-"progressive" blogger Jane Hamsher has joined forces with Grover Motherf%$king Norquist to attack Obama’s Chief of Staff. “Honestly, to see the Republicans up there carrying on the way they are, I basically concluded that maybe we should pass this thing … If the Republicans hate it, there must be some good to it.”Dean says he changed his mind because the bill has improved in the last week. Dean's always been a hothead, so this is hard for me to read. A public option wasn't added, which is what he said he wanted, so what changed this week? Well, Reid's Manager Amendment is the only thing I can think of. And while this made some important changes, it seems more like fine-tuning to me. So was there a method to Dean's madness or did he simply come off too strong against the bill without thinking? My guess is that it's the latter. Does anyone have a sense on this?
Many 4-year-olds cannot count up to their own age when they arrive at preschool...
...three months into the school year, counting up to seven and higher, even doing some elementary addition and subtraction. At recess, one boy, Joshua, used a pointer to illustrate a math concept known as cardinality, by completing place settings on a whiteboard...
...By preschool, the brain can handle larger numbers and is struggling to link three crucial concepts: physical quantities (seven marbles, seven inches) with abstract digit symbols (“7”), with the corresponding number words (“seven”).
...increasingly, child-development experts are recognizing the importance of imagination and the role it plays in understanding reality.
...It is important but not necessary for parents to encourage fantasy play in their children, says Dr. Woolley. If the child already has an imaginary friend, for instance, parents should follow their children's lead and offer encouragement if they are comfortable doing so, she says. Similarly, with Santa, if a child seems excited by the idea, parents can encourage it. But if parents choose not to introduce or encourage the belief in fictitious characters, they should look for other ways to encourage their children's imaginations, such as by playing dress-up or reading fiction.
...Fantasy play is correlated with other positive attributes. In preschool children, for example, those who have imaginary friends are more creative, have greater social understanding and are better at taking the perspective of others, according to Marjorie Taylor, a psychology professor at the University of Oregon...
Nebraska, the state of once-skeptical Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, would be exempt from paying for Medicaid's expansion, a gift worth $100 million, under the Senate plan. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., also negotiated $600 million in additional Medicaid benefits for his state over 10 years, and Massachusetts would get $500 million in Medicaid help. Louisiana would get $100 million in 2011 from the federal government for Medicaid
U.S. Representative Parker Griffith switched parties on Tuesday and became a Republican...While this isn't quite the reverse-Specter, it's still something that bears consideration given the possibility that the Dems could still bungle the whole thing. Any loss of party support from a bill that passed like kidney stones in the first place does not bode well. Before you freak out though, remember, it's still 257 Dems to 178 Republicans in the House.
"I can no longer align myself with a party that continues to pursue legislation that is bad for our country," Griffith said in announcing his defection in his Alabama district.
The recommended daily intake is 11 milligrams for men and 8 milligrams for women. In a nation of plenty, it's easy to exceed those amounts.
There are more than 75 milligrams of zinc in six oysters, nearly 9 milligrams in a 3-ounce serving of cooked beef shanks, more than 3 milligrams in a cup of baked beans, 15 milligrams in a cup of some fortified cereals and 15 milligrams in many multivitamins...A typical, over-the-counter zinc supplement contains 50 milligrams. There are 13 milligrams in one popular brand of zinc lozenges.
Flinn and colleagues fed zinc-enhanced water to pregnant rats and to their babies after birth. The water contained hundreds of times as much zinc as normal tap water. Three months later, it took longer for the zinc-fortified rats to learn how to find a submerged platform in an underwater maze, compared with rats that weren't full of zinc.
As we should have learned by now as a species; too much of anything is a bad thing.
When it comes to supplements, sucking on zinc lozenges as soon as you get a cold may help and probably won't hurt, experts say, as long as you don't suck on them all day every day for the entire flu season.
Look — we like Alan Grayson. We will defend him against those centrist "oh but Democrats have to play nice" assholes who say he goes too far when he says truthful things about Rush Limbaugh. Alan Grayson gives good quote and is a credit to the House of Representatives. He should continue to let his freak flag fly.I mean seriously, I'm going to scream if I have to hear Olbermann, Markos, or anyone else rant about how this bill does nothing at all. Nothing except insure an additional 30 million people, heavily regulate insurers, reduce the deficit, etc, etc, etc.
But jesus, christ, an Alan Grayson 2012 primary challenge against Obama? Obama, who is not just "Bush-lite" but Bush-same! (Remember when Bush attempted to negotiate an international climate deal, pass a jobs-focused economic stimulus, reform the nation's health care industry, and come up with a hopefully coherent plan to end the Afghanistan war in one year? And remember how his attempts at all those things were stymied by an uncooperative and undemocratic Senate, but he still managed to make real and tangible gains on each of them? Oh, no, you probably don't remember that because it was a joke we were making about how you have lost all sense of perspective.)
None of this is to forgive Obama his errors of commission or omission. But just as his campaign was built on a base of organizing, online activism, and civic engagement that preceded him, so the success of his presidency and this Congress will depend on the strength of the progressive infrastructure. If progressives don't support these structures for policy development and advocacy, further failure will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. And the fault will lie not in our star but in ourselves.
By E.doc
How will this be paid for?
The House plan imposes a 5.4 percent income tax surcharge on individuals with annual incomes over $500,000, as well as families earning more than $1 million.
The Senate plan increases the Medicare payroll tax on individuals earning more than $200,000 and couples earning more than $250,000 from the current 1.45 percent to 2.35 percent.
What if I can't afford coverage?
The House and Senate plans both include a hardship exemption for poorer Americans.
Both bills subsidize insurance for a family of four making up to roughly $88,000 annually, or 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
I own a business. Do I have to provide coverage for my employees?
The House plan requires companies with a payroll of more than $500,000 to provide insurance or pay a penalty of up to 8 percent of their payroll.
What if I have a pre-existing condition?Well... it's better than what we have now. I would like to live in a world where pregnancy is not a pre-existing condition.
Both the House plan and the Senate bill would eventually limit total out-of-pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.
What is a health care co-op?
Nonprofit health cooperatives, or "co-ops," are being proposed as an option to compete with the private sector and as an alternative to a government-sponsored public health insurance option. Co-ops are owned and governed by the same people they insure.
The House and Senate plans both establish "co-ops" and strip insurance companies of an antitrust exemption that has been in place since the end of World War II.
What will happen to Medicaid?
The House and Senate bills would both significantly expand Medicaid, the government-run health care plan for the poor.
Will illegal immigrants be covered?
The House bill mandates insurance coverage for illegal immigrants and allows illegal immigrants to enroll in the public option and to buy private coverage in the national insurance exchange, but prohibits government subsidies for such private coverage.
The Senate plan exempts illegal immigrants from the health coverage mandate, and prohibits illegal immigrants from participating in the insurance exchanges.
newtgingrich As callista and i watched what dc weather says will be 12 to 22 inches of snow i wondered if God was sending a message about copenhagenH/T Media Matters
newtgingrich After the expanding revelations of dishonesty in climategate having a massive snow storm as obama promises our money to the world is ironic
newtgingrich There is something jimmy carter like about weather service upgrading frrom winter storm to blizzard as global warming conference wants US $
