The Ryan budget plan, Part II: Medicare
In his so-called “Path to Prosperity,” U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan pledges to “preserve America’s social contract with retired workers” by rescuing Medicare from collapse.
“Current retirees deserve the benefits around which they organized their lives,” the plan states. “Future generations deserve health and retirement security they can count on.”
Who's on Medicare? They are, and if you're lucky, you will be too someday. (AP photo)
There’s no question that Medicare is in real trouble. It is already placing enormous pressure on the federal budget, and once the Baby Boom generation begins to retire and claim their benefits, the stress will become untenable. Unfortunately, Ryan proposes to save Medicare by destroying it.
First, some basics. Under Ryan’s plan, Americans 55 and older will be guaranteed standard Medicare benefits. However, those who turn 65 after 2021 will be placed on an entirely different plan. They will in effect be given taxpayer-funded vouchers that they can use to purchase insurance from government-run exchanges, much like the much despised ObamaCare model.
However, those vouchers will not cover the entire cost of health insurance for those retirees. In fact, under the proposed formula, by 2021 those vouchers would probably cover roughly three-fourths of the cost of current Medicare coverage, and that percentage would decline in each succeeding year. Senior citizens would be forced to cover the difference out of their own pockets.
For some retirees, that would be manageable (the plan envisions unspecified higher subsidies for low-income retirees and those with more serious health problems.) But for others it would not, particularly as private and public pension plans falter and proposals are made to slash Social Security.
Ryan argues that the change from a government-managed plan to a voucher plan would actually drive down the cost of health insurance and make it more affordable for retirees. As the plan describes it, “50 million empowered seniors holding providers accountable in a true marketplace” will be more effective than the government in driving down health care and insurance costs.
“Putting patients in charge of how their health care dollars are spent will force providers to compete against each other on price and quality,” the plan argues. “That’s how markets work: The customer is the ultimate guarantor of value.”
There’s an idealism in that claim that is almost charming. The problem is, we have considerable data proving that such belief is nonsense. We know, for example, that since 1970, per capita costs for Medicare coverage have risen more slowly than per capita costs for private medical insurance. Ryan himself acknowledges that fact, complaining that Medicare pays hospitals and doctors less than private insurers while also claiming that “the open-ended, blank-check nature of the Medicare subsidy drives health-care inflation at an astonishing pace.”
When you make an apples-to-apples comparison in what are called common costs — defined as “benefits commonly covered by (both) Medicare and private health insurance” — the price-containment difference is even more stark. Since 1997, the per capita cost for such benefits provided by Medicare has risen at an average annual rate of 4.1 percent, compared to a rise of 6.6 percent among private insurers, a difference of more than 50 percent.
The truth is, individuals in the confusing, frightening and complicated health-care marketplace don’t have the information or analytical skills needed to drive a hard bargain with providers. That’s particularly true of an elderly demographic. If you doubt that, walk into a hospital and try to negotiate a better price for a knee replacement than Aetna or BlueCross has negotiated, using their experts and market power. You can’t do it.
These are not surprises. Nor are they design flaws. The Congressional Budget Office, in an analysis of the Medicare plan requested by Ryan, laid out its impacts in a letter last fall.
“Voucher recipients would probably have to purchase less extensive coverage or pay higher premiums than they would under current law, for two reasons. First, most of the savings for Medicare under the proposal stem from reducing the amounts that the federal government would pay for enrollees on a per capita basis, relative to the projections under current law. Second, future beneficiaries would probably face higher premiums in the private market for a package of benefits similar to that currently provided by Medicare.
For both Medicare and Medicaid, the budgetary effects would become larger over time because federal payments would tend to grow more slowly under the proposal than projected costs per enrollee under current law. Although the level of expected federal spending and the uncertainty surrounding that spending would decline, enrollees’ spending for health care and the uncertainty surrounding that spending would increase.”
Ryan bristles at the description of his approach as a voucher plan, preferring the term “premium support program,” but that’s what it is. But it’s a voucher plan. Through Medicare, this country has made a commitment to its senior citizens that they will not be denied needed medical care because they can’t afford it.
The Ryan approach to Medicare reform abandons that commitment. The best thing that can be said about it — and it’s a contribution not to be belittled — is that this proposal begins a much-needed conversation about how to tackle one of the most serious financial challenges facing us as a society.
That word, by the way, was not chosen lightly. How we treat our senior citizens is an issue for our society, not our government, to solve. It is a challenge to our values, our morals, our ethics and our humanity.
– Jay Bookman
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680 comments Add your comment
josef nix
April 5th, 2011
8:28 pm
Hillbilly
“Millions have been killed in the name of freedom, too. It doesn’t make freedom a bad thing.”
True.
Thulsa Doom
April 5th, 2011
8:29 pm
Capitalism is defined by its excesses which was precisely Marx’s breakthrough- Leftwingmanagement
LWM,
I seriously doubt recognizing capitalism’s excesses was a breakthrough. Lots of historians, authors, philosphers, and economists recognized it. From Marx to John Steinbeck on the coast of California 8,000 miles away. Simply recognizing a self evident truth that many others also saw was not a breakthrough.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 5th, 2011
8:29 pm
dommy…guns dont kill people, philosphical systems with guns kill people? so when in the count does it mean you are a bad “philosophy”? hundreds of thousands…well you can still be good…..millions, uh oh over the line. But let’s be clear, you can add a lot more to the count of the Church.
You confuse philosphical systems with bad leaders.
Smeat
April 5th, 2011
8:29 pm
Dear getalife,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GxNZ4FY_sY
Thulsa Doom
April 5th, 2011
8:35 pm
josef nix,
I have a degree in economics as well as in finance so yeah I’ve read Marx and the theory and practice of communism- still have the book. Marx is difficult machinery to read. Very boring also. But reading does make some people believe they somehow have a superior intellectual opinion.
For all his writings on the technical aspects of economy there is things Marx didn’t understand or didn’t care to understand- namely freedom,incentive, the human factor. And if you read Marx you quite clearly begin to understand why he doesn’t understand the human factor.
Mein kampf I would have no interest in reading.
josef nix
April 5th, 2011
8:35 pm
Good fight
I beg to differ with you on the Church thingie…in a count of dead bodies, it’s staggering, to be sure, but not nearly what many would claim…Stalinist Soviet Union, Fascist Europe, and Maoist China are the top bananas there…
Left wing management
April 5th, 2011
8:36 pm
Thulsa: “And yes- we all know that he theorized a revolution would occur in an industralized western European nation and certainly not in Russia. You’re not really telling us anything we don’t really know.”
It became one of the major points of debate – and fateful ones – in the whole evolution of the movement that took the name “marxism”. He and Engels were both in England because it was by far the most advanced industrial nation at that time, a perfect specimen for study of the effects of capitalism.
Btw, when I say capitalism is defined by excess, I mean that in a quite specific sense. Capitalism, according to Marx, introduces for the first time excess into the very heart of the social bond between human beings, setting those relations forever on a different track that will be forever defined by attempts to capture an ever more infinitesimal monetary excess (surplus value) from product exchange (which ends up turning everything into a product, take sex in pornography for example). So I was struck you used the word excesses, as that’s just the point of the Marxist critique.
But
getalife
April 5th, 2011
8:37 pm
Dear meat,
Meet the new band called the new Metallica:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94bGzWyHbu0
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 5th, 2011
8:39 pm
josef…I am not arguing that perhaps christianity has killed less or more than a few governments….that will depend on how you attribute the count and what is included…..when does it cross the line in this absurd misguided discussion?
Adam
April 5th, 2011
8:40 pm
Did you know F. Sinkwich was struck by lightning 7 times? Once while he was making fun of Obama being aggravated…
Thulsa Doom
April 5th, 2011
8:41 pm
keep up the good fight,
I’ll politely refrain from the name calling and just address you by your handle,
No confusion here between philosophical systems and bad leaders. You simply brought up people killed in the name of Chrisianity and I simply did the count. I think most people recognize the difference between philosophical systems and bad leaders.
My point is that Christianity is a great philosophical system but obviously has had some very bad leaders- some really corrupt, horrible, and just plain bad popes and various church leaders.
With communism I feel its an inherently evil system period. That is evidenced that every communist system out there has ruled with an iron fist in a brutal fashion and no toleration of dissent. Didn’t matter the leader- the system is inherently anti-hummanity.
stands for decibels
April 5th, 2011
8:41 pm
Ryan bristles at the description of his approach as a voucher plan
There’s your opening, Democrats. You can kick ass, or be your usual go-along-to-get-along pussified selves. Your choice.
Del
April 5th, 2011
8:43 pm
Well I see Jay’s not moved on to The Ryan Budget Plan, Part III. The Federal government has no business in attempting to administer care for the poor and elderly in our society. Faith based care and community care is the best way to assist those less fortunate. I’ll bet if there was ever an unbiased detailed study of how charity works at the community level it would be proven that centralized programs filtering down from the federal levels of government bureaucracy has been ineffective in comparison to what could be done at the local level.
josef nix
April 5th, 2011
8:43 pm
Thulsa
I will agree with you that reading Marx is a pain in the posterieur. It’s not so much what he said, to me, as it is the attempts to implement it. Personally, I think “Marxist” economics stinks on ice. His paradigm of class struggle does, though, have some validity and by that I am not speaking entirely of economic class, but any “class” into which we categorize humanity.
I would recommend that one and all read Mein Kampf. Like Marx it’s a muddled read, but it tells us here and now an awful lot of just how quickly we can fall prey to such and then come out later when the damage has been done claiming “we didn’t see it coming.”
Left wing management
April 5th, 2011
8:44 pm
Thulsa: “For all his writings on the technical aspects of economy there is things Marx didn’t understand or didn’t care to understand- namely freedom,incentive, the human factor.”
Re: freedom. I think you’re buying into the propaganda of the defenders of capitalism here. See my post above on the way capital becomes a new actor in human history with explosive power, radically changing the nature of relations between people.
Thus he said: “Do not be deluded by the abstract word Freedom. Whose freedom? Not the freedom of one individual in relation to another, but freedom of Capital to crush the worker.”
“And if you read Marx you quite clearly begin to understand why he doesn’t understand the human factor.”
Smeat
April 5th, 2011
8:44 pm
Dear getalife — You obviously don’t know dog squeeze about Metallica.
I saw them in 1983 at in Hollywood.
GONG to you too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxZ4Z6Zo3Fk
getalife
April 5th, 2011
8:45 pm
Those ki lling in the name of religion do not get virgins, they get to spend eternity with Stalin and H itler.
ODDOWL
April 5th, 2011
8:46 pm
That European style socialism is beginning to look better and better… Cradle to grave coverage… $35 dollars an hour average wage… Everything !!! Plus they pay about the same amount of taxes as we American idiots do. Stupid is as stupid do… Americans ===> STUPID
getalife
April 5th, 2011
8:47 pm
Meat,
Saw every tour in Atlanta.
My ex would camp out for tickets.
Front row baby.
josef nix
April 5th, 2011
8:47 pm
Good fight
I know I can be accused of being picayunish when I say this, but be careful in your word choices. There is the Church and there is Christianity. In a serious discussion, that distinction should be made.
Thulsa Doom
April 5th, 2011
8:49 pm
LWM,
You must be a student fascinated by the intellectual theory of communism. I was the same way in my younger days of reading about communism. I was of the intellectual vanity that if you only understand what Marx and us smart people are saying then we could make communism/socialism work. Then the idealism, the intellectualism and such gradually give way to seeing communism’s inherent failures- that it doesn’t work. And that it doesn’t work because it really doesn’t factor correctly for natural human behavior. You’ll begin to notice this more and more in the real world.
Another issue is that Marx thinks much more in macro terms and not micro but then you’ve probably already figured that one out.
The older you get you will grow out of your fascination with Marxism. Unless you’re just plain stubborn.
Chris Matthews
April 5th, 2011
8:52 pm
Obama will promise the believing idiots anything to get their vote! Obama loves America as much as OJ loved his wife!
Smeat
April 5th, 2011
8:52 pm
Don’t ever call me baby. Thank you.
I remember the KMET Mighty Metal Shop Show in the early eighties.
My friend is the guy who was Metallica’s monitor engineer on the first Kill ‘Em Tour.
Go drink more kool-aid….
Old, but not stupid
April 5th, 2011
8:53 pm
A Republican dealing with Medicare? Yeah, right! I’m living every day with the cost of the Catastrophic Medical Coverage Act of 1988, promoted as a “salvation” by St. Ronnie. Every day, another $142 flies out of my pocket, and it will continue to do so so long as my wife, a stroke victim, resides in a nursing home—the only place for a person completely paralyzed on the right side and reliant on a feeding tube for nourishment.
And this is a state nursing home, not one of those fancy “assisted living” places enjoyed by the wealthy. And my $142 is labeled a Medicare “co-pay.”
So every month, I write out a check for $4,245. I will continue to do so until my assets are utterly depleted and I qualify for Medicaid. I’m one of those people who pay a penalty for having worked, saved, and lived within my means. Had I done otherwise, the federal government and the state would pay every dollar for my wife’s care.
Thanks a lot, Ronnie, “compassionate” conservatives, and turncoat Democrats. Try Vaseline next time.
And if anybody is crazy enough to believe that Ryan is interested in anything other than enriching his insurance company paymasters, the ultimate beneficiaries of his “plan,” you need a nursing home much worse than the people currently residing there.
getalife
April 5th, 2011
8:53 pm
tweety,
Weak.
Hillbilly Deluxe
April 5th, 2011
8:54 pm
Communism is a system that can’t work, in groups larger than just a handful, because it goes against basic human nature, in my opinion. Somebody is going to always figure out a way to get ahead, that’s just the nature of human beings.
North Korea, the USSR, China, etc, were/are totalitarian states. Communism was just a vehicle for them to implement totalitarianism (is that a word?).
No matter what form of government you have or what economic system, most of the power and most of the money is going to wind up in the hands of a few. That’s human nature, too. How that few treat the rest determines the success or eventual failure of the system.
For all it’s faults, and they are many, I still like our system best.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 5th, 2011
8:54 pm
Doomy, name calling? Someone has a thin skin tonight……but I was not name calling.
Your feeling that communism is an “inherently bad system” does not prove that it is inherently bad, any more than having a king or queen is “inherently bad”. It has problems, but then again so does pure capitalism.
josef, you are correct that the Catholic Church in Rome after Martin Luther is different than Christianity….however I do think there have been abuses by both “systems”
Rachel Maddow
April 5th, 2011
8:55 pm
Where is Olbermann when America needs him most?
Jeff
April 5th, 2011
8:56 pm
So long as the government provides enough supplemental support so no senior citizen ever goes without coverage, due to money. It is hard to believe the insurance industry backs this plan, they make ever excuse right now not to cover people over 50 years of age.
getalife
April 5th, 2011
8:57 pm
Meat,
Don’t tell me what to say.
I have been to hundreds of concerts.
How many have you been to?
Del
April 5th, 2011
8:57 pm
josef, I once in Marines was offered and smoked a Picayune cigarette and about chocked. After that I could hardly stand C-ration smokes and to this day cigarette smoke makes me feel sick.Although, I do enjoy an occasional premium vintage cigar. Is that being “picayunish”?
Midori
April 5th, 2011
8:57 pm
can I say something here?
I turn 55 this year.
as some of you know, I am dealing with severe health issues.
I have macular degeneration in my right eye. the treatment calls for monthly injections in the eye.
i had my second injection Monday and was presented with my share of the bill: a whopping $800!!!
And I have Blue Cross upper tier insurance.
So in a nutshell – Ryan can go Cheney himself.
The GOP supporting his goofball proposals as well.
Lil' Barry Bailout
April 5th, 2011
9:00 pm
Let’s hope the elderly haven’t become such greedy maggots that they will fall for the usual Democrat lies and demogoguery.
Thulsa Doom
April 5th, 2011
9:00 pm
josef nix
April 5th, 2011
8:43 pm
Thulsa
I will agree with you that reading Marx is a pain in the posterieur. It’s not so much what he said, to me, as it is the attempts to implement it. Personally, I think “Marxist” economics stinks on ice. His paradigm of class struggle does, though, have some validity and by that I am not speaking entirely of economic class, but any “class” into which we categorize humanity
Josef,
I would agree with all that- especially about his attempts to implement it. As for the paradigm of class struggle it really doesn’t apply so much today. Things are a lot different- more mobility in terms of human, physical, and financial capital.
Also if you review recent income dynamics studies you’ld be shocked about the level of both upward and downward income movement between the 5 income quintiles. In most studies there is only 1% of the population that stays in the bottom 20% income quintile permanently. And as for the wealthy? Turns out that unless you’re a doctor there’s not that many people who permanently stay in the top 20% income bracket.
The economy is dynamic and incomes rise and fall for the most part in a dynamic economy. And lastly, there is opportunity out there for anybody and everybody no matter what the naysayers on here always say.
19th century England and 21st century America are 2 totally different economic systems. Marx’s writings have no place here in America today.
Midori
April 5th, 2011
9:01 pm
well, maggots know all about maggots……..
Lil' Barry Bailout
April 5th, 2011
9:02 pm
Midori: i had my second injection Monday and was presented with my share of the bill: a whopping $800!!!
And I have Blue Cross upper tier insurance.
———————
Who do you believe should be paying for your medical care? Did Blue Cross violate the terms of the contract you signed with them?
Midori
April 5th, 2011
9:02 pm
sorry Barry – I don’t speak maggot-ese………..
Hillbilly Deluxe
April 5th, 2011
9:04 pm
Midori
Sorry to hear that and don’t know what the total cost of your treatment would be (nor is it any of my business).
I do know that chemo treatments, as of right now, can run $10-20k a week, when you include the shots and transfusions, depending on how many the patient needs. It’s crazy.
Old, but not stupid
April 5th, 2011
9:04 pm
And I have Blue Cross upper tier insurance.
You will discover in time, Midori, that private insurance plans don’t cover a lot of things, including nursing home care. Your co-pay is just a sample of what awaits you as you grow even older. As one hospital person I respect put it, “The first instinct of insurance companies is to say no, then delay, then say no again.” You are dealing with a for-profit enterprise that has every reason to deny you as much in benefits as possible. And what is ludicrous is that there are dozens on this blog who applaud them for doing so and view single-payer insurance as socialism. Once those deluded souls start approaching old age or encounter a dire health condition, I suspect they will change their minds.
Lil' Barry Bailout
April 5th, 2011
9:05 pm
Pay your bills, Midori. Passing them off to your neighbors just shows what a greedy maggot you are.
Thulsa Doom
April 5th, 2011
9:07 pm
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 5th, 2011
8:54 pm
Doomy, name calling? Someone has a thin skin tonight……but I was not name calling.
Your feeling that communism is an “inherently bad system” does not prove that it is inherently bad, any more than having a king or queen is “inherently bad”. It has problems, but then again so does pure capitalism.
keep up the good fight,
You can keep up the name calling- doomy. Doesn’t bother me. Just lets me know how much I get under your skin and own you. That’s all.
So you still think communism is not an inherently bad system? It just has its problems just like capitalism? That is just a breathtakingly asinine statement that quite frankly I’m not sure if I should just give you yet another blog beatdown or feel sorry for you. I think I’ll just pity you for your complete lack of perspective.
1811/1801 - 0311/0317
April 5th, 2011
9:07 pm
Yep, are D.I.’s called us maggost and a lot worse. Unbeknown to us they were probably trying to get us just a little psychologically used to it because later we sure saw enough of them crawling on the enemy as well as our friends.
You would have had to had been there maggotess.
Midori
April 5th, 2011
9:07 pm
Old,
I’m with you and am well aware of that.
These cretins are bleeding this country dry.
And what civilized society (other than us?) has “for profit” health care?
1811/1801 - 0311/0317
April 5th, 2011
9:07 pm
Escuse me:”maggots”
getalife
April 5th, 2011
9:08 pm
Midori,
My bills are outrageous too .
How is it going?
Is the treatment helping?
stands for decibels
April 5th, 2011
9:08 pm
Pay your bills, Midori. Passing them off to your neighbors just shows what a greedy maggot you are
Here’s your competition, Democrats. If you can’t bloody their asses, you don’t deserve to be a national party.
Midori
April 5th, 2011
9:09 pm
as I stated, maggots know maggots.
very well, it appears.
josef nix
April 5th, 2011
9:09 pm
L’il Barry
Have you absolutely no sense of compassion? And as for manners, were you raised by wolverines? In your case I DO hope you come down with some catastrophic illness, though not a terminal one, I would rather you suffer for quite a while. And I certainly hope I’m not in line behind YOU on judgment day…
1811/1801 - 0311/0317
April 5th, 2011
9:10 pm
Del:
I tried to smoke them to to help stay awake on the lines at night. No “Red Bull” back then.
I finally switched to cigars. We would just hunker down in our hole or bunker to light them and then stick them through a hole in an empty C-rations meal box to hide the glow. Help with the little winged varmits too.
Midori
April 5th, 2011
9:10 pm
My vision is coming back slowly but surely Getalife. Thanks.
hopefully I won’t have to endure a full year of this, as he initially prescribed.
thanks Buddy
josef nix
April 5th, 2011
9:11 pm
midori
Sorry, I had to get that off my chest. You will be in my thoughts and prayers…
Lil' Barry Bailout
April 5th, 2011
9:12 pm
Maggot is as maggot does. Maggots are parasites, just like Obama voters. Pay your bills, maggots.
Midori
April 5th, 2011
9:14 pm
thank you Josef.
Looks like someone’s Mom sorely shirked her responsibility.
Lil' Barry Bailout
April 5th, 2011
9:14 pm
If you have a problem with Ryan’s plan to pare back spending on entitlements, you just might be a maggot.
AmVet
April 5th, 2011
9:14 pm
Hi Midori,
Hang tough.
And ignore that trolling POS. Only a tiny handful here,lacking in testicular fortitude, don’t agree that he is a major league, Grade A, industrial strength sh*thead.
And ditto what josef said about the sleazebag…
Del
April 5th, 2011
9:15 pm
Midori, I’ll pray that your healed.
Midori
April 5th, 2011
9:15 pm
Thank you AmVet.
you’re such a good guy
Midori
April 5th, 2011
9:16 pm
thanks Del.
Every time I see that doctor I have panic attacks.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 5th, 2011
9:16 pm
Midori, I am sorry to learn of your health issues. It is a shame that so many lack compassion or that they wish to dismantle the safety net (as poor as it is) that does exist currently rather than fighting to improve the system. These are real problems for real people.
Doom..well if you object to a “y” so much i’ll try to remember your thin skin.
Mongo
April 5th, 2011
9:17 pm
Republicans love America…just like O.J. loved Nichol.
Soothsayer
April 5th, 2011
9:17 pm
“Pay your bills, Midori. Passing them off to your neighbors just shows what a greedy maggot you are.”
Jay, no moderation? Are you awake?
josef nix
April 5th, 2011
9:18 pm
midori
I hope it was just shirking her responsibility. I’d hate to think she planned that. As you know, I’ve got my problems with abortion, but if we can make it retroactive, in LBB’s case, I’ll go for it on demand.
getalife
April 5th, 2011
9:19 pm
Midori,
That is great news and I am praying for ya
Soothsayer
April 5th, 2011
9:19 pm
Lil Barry: you make me sick. I wish I could get my hands on you right now!
Del
April 5th, 2011
9:20 pm
0311,. When you had smokers get under a poncho to puff after you’ve told them that smoking in the bush at night could very likely get them KIA from a sniper, many quit smoking on the spot.
Midori
April 5th, 2011
9:20 pm
LOL – Josef!!
I’ve never seen you this animated!!
However, he tries awfully hard to offend people, doesn’t he? or is he an it?
getalife
April 5th, 2011
9:20 pm
Take a hike lil bar.
Soothsayer
April 5th, 2011
9:21 pm
Guess what LBB: I think Jay has taken the night off. However, I think we won’t be seeing you around here for a while. Maybe permanently!
Hillbilly Deluxe
April 5th, 2011
9:22 pm
Geez, now we got two of ‘em.
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 5th, 2011
9:22 pm
Midori
I’ll add you to my prayers.
josef
I hope I’m behind LBB come judgement day. Maybe about 3-5 people back, but close enough to see the complete exchange. I don’t understand how people can be discompassionate.
Soothsayer
April 5th, 2011
9:23 pm
HD: I think vuduchild is on our side.
Midori
April 5th, 2011
9:24 pm
thank you SoCo and Sooth
*hugs* to you both.
Soothsayer
April 5th, 2011
9:25 pm
“When you had smokers get under a poncho to puff after you’ve told them that smoking in the bush at night could very likely get them KIA from a sniper, many quit smoking on the spot.”
No “three on a match.”
AmVet
April 5th, 2011
9:26 pm
For the (irredeemable?) Lil BB…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_ERGynR-CM
Lil' Barry Bailout
April 5th, 2011
9:26 pm
Keep Up the Good Fight!: It is a shame that so many lack compassion or that they wish to dismantle the safety net
—————————
It’s not a safety net, it’s a hammock for the slothful looking to have their neighbors pay their bills for them. The country will be better off when all are expected to pull their weight again.
getalife
April 5th, 2011
9:28 pm
Chin up Midori,
I made it and so will you.
My doctors and hospitals are great.
The bills are not.
Soothsayer
April 5th, 2011
9:28 pm
Lil Barry: enjoy your final hour(s) on this blog!
Smeat
April 5th, 2011
9:28 pm
I tried to find interview video and audio from Paul Ryan today as he spelled out his plan.
I searched and found, I think, his best defense.
Ahhh–Ughhh-You gotta play both clips on this link.
Even and most especially if you dismiss or despise the man.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/paul-ryan-explains-economic-plan-to-glenn-as-govt-shutdown-looms/
Lil' Barry Bailout
April 5th, 2011
9:28 pm
It’s a shame and a tragedy for our country that folks presented with a bill for services rendered think they’re being treated unfairly.
Del
April 5th, 2011
9:29 pm
Sooth,
Zippo lighters…everyone had one.
Thulsa Doom
April 5th, 2011
9:31 pm
I think Larry bailout could have been more compassionate regarding Midori’s situation.
But there are a lot of unfortunate stories like this and inevitably the cost of the service and who pays has to be raised? I feel bad for her situation but is Larry or everyone else responsible and liable for her copay? Should she herself not be liable for having to pay for the treatment or should the cost be passed onto everyone else because she is upset over the cost? I would assume that over a lifetime of working that she has set aside ample funds for events such as this.
These are some tough questions but pretty much everyone I know has a high deductible plan if they don’t have a group plan. I have a $2500 deductible plan myself with co-insurance. If something devastating like this happens to me I will have to pay out about 5k which sucks. But it is what it is and I’m sure eventually I’m going to have to fork out some big bucks.
Whether its Midori or the rest of us someone has to pay for this service. $800 for an outpatient procedure is indeed expensive but hopefully she has a $2500 or $5000 deductible to where the deductible will be met at some point and the insurance picks up.
getalife
April 5th, 2011
9:31 pm
We get it lil bar.
Get lost.
Midori
April 5th, 2011
9:31 pm
It’s an even bigger shame that bigoted, hateful, antisocial fools are allowed access to a monitor and keyboard in order to spout a bunch of assumed rhetoric about issues and situations they know ABSOLUTELY nothing about.
RW-(the original)
April 5th, 2011
9:32 pm
Midori,
Sorry to hear about the eye and the description of the treatment makes me cringe, but I also have a question. Didn’t you turn 55 last year?
Hillbilly Deluxe
April 5th, 2011
9:32 pm
HD: I think vuduchild is on our side.
I’m not on anybody’s side who comes on here calling people names and insulting people.
stands for decibels
April 5th, 2011
9:33 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy
stands for decibels
April 5th, 2011
9:34 pm
I’m not on anybody’s side who comes on here calling people names and insulting people.
Nor am I, but I think this “vudu” drive-by was damage control from some LBB sympathizer.
Midori
April 5th, 2011
9:34 pm
i fail to see where I’ve asked ANYONE to pay my medical bills.
If anything, the insurance company — which posted obscene profits last year (on the back of my and other policy holder’s premiums) should pay a larger portion of the bill.
And they should STOP denying payment for much needed treatment.
Midori
April 5th, 2011
9:35 pm
LOL — RW
you’re right!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I turn 56 this year!!
Soothsayer
April 5th, 2011
9:36 pm
You know, Del. I think Vietnam is where the great philosophical gulf really reached it’s zenith. Those who fought look upon us who had college deferments as traitors — especially those against the war. Contrary to what you might think, I admired those who fought in Vietnam. And, even though we lost in Vietnam, we basically defeated Communism. A lot of guys I knew in high school never came back from Vietnam. I can still see their faces as if it was yesterday. In many ways I feel guilt because they went and died and I went to college. But, that was 40+ years ago and I can’t change it now.
Lil' Barry Bailout
April 5th, 2011
9:37 pm
Midori: a bunch of assumed rhetoric about issues and situations they know ABSOLUTELY nothing about.
———————–
I work for a living, so yes, I do have to make some assumptions here.
Midori
April 5th, 2011
9:37 pm
see? I’m so traumatized from those shots, I forgot my age!!
josef nix
April 5th, 2011
9:37 pm
As y’all know, I’m opposed to banning up to and including the exile of my old nemesis, Andy, but in the case of LBB I’ll break with that and join the fatwa…
Oh, and midori…there are some things that just p*ss me off and get me “animated!”
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 5th, 2011
9:37 pm
It’s a shame and a tragedy for our country that folks presented with a bill for services rendered think they’re being treated unfairly.
No, what’s a shame is that somebody can be a complete jackass with no compassion and say completely fu*ked up stuff continuously with no remorse. I’ll still pray that you don’t come down with something that knocks you flat on your ass.
Lil' Barry Bailout
April 5th, 2011
9:38 pm
Midori: And they should STOP denying payment for much needed treatment.
——————-
Why? Did you pay for coverage you didn’t get?
RW-(the original)
April 5th, 2011
9:38 pm
I turn 56 this year!!
If not I was going to ask where I go to get my free pass for this next birthday.
WOW
April 5th, 2011
9:39 pm
“And ignore that trolling POS. Only a tiny handful here,lacking in testicular fortitude, don’t agree that he is a major league, Grade A, industrial strength sh*thead.”
Man oh man, this is something else!
deegee
April 5th, 2011
9:39 pm
What company wants to underwrite health insurance for old people? Isn’t that a losing proposition right from the start? Does U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan think that old people are going to shop around for the best deal on a heart bypass or a hip replacement? Already they aren’t taking the medication they need because in some cases they can’t afford it. If Paul Ryan would have to take care of at least one parent or grandparent with dementia he would be singing a different tune.
Midori
April 5th, 2011
9:39 pm
and why do you ASSume I don’t work for a living?
Hillbilly Deluxe
April 5th, 2011
9:40 pm
Did you pay for coverage you didn’t get?
A lot of people do. You don’t find it out until you start trying to collect.