Fountain of “Bottled Youth”
If Evian will make me this energetic AND help me move like that…I am in.
Deal with hospitals to save government $155 billion: W.House – Yahoo! News
Aaron Bouren Of course….Let’s get the 3 biggest hospital comglomerates to show us how to save $155 BILLION by lowering the charges to the elderly and poor. The same organizations that are “losing” money. HONESTLY, does this make sense??? Am I the only one that does NOT get this logic. Nevermind, I get it, my guess is they will overcharge the uninsured pregnant mom to cover the $155 BILLION. (My bad, I am clear now)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration announced a deal with three hospital groups on Wednesday that will save $155 billion in healthcare spending over 10 years, mainly by lowering charges for health services to the poor and elderly.
Vice President Joe Biden said associations representing thousands of U.S. hospitals had agreed to contribute $155 billion in Medicare and Medicaid savings for the next decade.
Biden offered few details on how the savings would be achieved, saying only that they would come about as a result of delivery system reforms and trimming the annual inflationary adjustment to hospital reimbursement payments from the two government health programs.
The administration is pursuing such agreements with key sectors in healthcare to help fund an overall reform of the system, which is estimated to cost upward of one trillion dollars to put in place.
“Folks, reform is coming,” Biden said as he announced the agreement with the hospital groups. “It is on track. It is coming. We have tried for decades and decades to fix the broken system and we have never in my entire career in public life been this close.”
“Our hospitals are cracking under the weight of providing quality healthcare for Americans who lack insurance,” he added. “The status quo is simply unacceptable. Rising costs are crushing us.”
The three groups participating in the deal were the Catholic Health Association of the United States, the American Hospital Association and the Hospital Corporation of America.
Related Searches:
* catholic health association of the united states
* american hospital association
* hospital corporation of america
Happy 4th of July
Happy 4th of July!!!
Today is the United States of America’s 233 birthday! Many men and women have sacrificed blood, sweat, and tears to make this great ongoing experiment live on! America is not an accident that happened on a whim but rather a miracle!
Today take a moment to show gratitude to a veteran or active duty service member of the U.S. Armed Forces!
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdInwZQ2eFA
Our Republic…Can we keep it????
This week, as I have been reflecting on the ongoing
attacks on our personal freedoms, my mind drifted back to the Constitutional
Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, where some of the great minds of human
history gathered to formulate the United States of America.
Following many passionate pleas and plans were offered,
a series of compromises were reached and on August 6, the Convention recognized
the initial draft of the Constitution.
A few weeks later, members gathered for the final
time in order to formally sign the great document.
On the day the Convention closed, September 18, a woman
named Mrs. Powel had been restlessly waiting to learn of the proceedings.
As the wise Benjamin Franklin came outside, she asked, “Well Doctor, what
have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”
And his reply troubles me today. He said, “A
republic, if you can keep it.”
Those are pointed words: If you can keep it.
Today, many modern lawmakers, described as
“Statists” by author Mark Levin, have little interest in the values
of our founding. Mr. Levin, in his “Liberty and Tyranny,”
writes, “The Statist is
not interested in what the Framers said or intended. He is interested
only in what he says and he intends.” It is little
wonder that we are witnessing our republic slipping away.
I wish all my readers a wonderful Independence Day
celebration. Please take time to pray for and thank God for our nation
and to communicate with your children/grandchildren the importance of America
and our freedoms.
Happy 4th of July!!!!
Aaron
Enjoy
this video http://www.history.com/video.do?name=culture&bcpid=1681694254&bclid=1672079684&bctid=1584787506
Then watch this video and thank the
family of a Veteran this weekend for the sacrifices the families make.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpi_23_e5zg&feature=email
Who’s the jerk?
The Senate could be voting on a health care reform plan as soon as July. At the same time, Massachusetts is discovering how easily the best laid plans o’ men can be foiled by unscrupulous business practices. A recent Boston Globe article highlights how Massachusetts’ health care system, touted since its inception as salvation to the people, has been exploited by insurance companies who take advantage of loopholes to deny coverage to those who need it (http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2009/06/12/health_plans_may_fall_short_mass_says/).
As the article states, the companies are following the letter of the law if not the intent. The law requires prescription coverage – but it does not indicate limits, so insurance companies are placing caps on them. They’re also denying maternity coverage to dependents – so if your 17-year-old daughter gets pregnant in Massachusetts, all expenses are coming out of pocket. Probably yours, if she can’t afford it.
I want to know the name of the jerk that sits around and identifies these loopholes: “Hey guys, check this out… did you know we can cut maternity care insurance to all pregnant teenagers? How awesome is that? Let’s do it!”
I have no problem with businesses making money. I believe in a Capitalist America. What I don’t believe in is an anti-American attitude that denies life-giving care in the name of profit. That is not the mindset our forefathers had when they laid the plans for democracy. Those men and women risked and gave their own lives to give their children better lives. The people taking advantage of these loopholes are risking the lives of children to give themselves better lives.
Makes you wonder how the hastily-drawn plan Congress is likely to vote on will fair in the grips of such insidious characters. How will we fair living under it?
North Carolina Program Pays Girls a Dollar a Day Not to Get Pregnant
By Joshua Rhett Miller
A dollar a day keeps the babies away.
That’s the incentive behind College Bound Sisters, a program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro that aims to keep 12- to 18-year-old girls in school and baby-free.
Girls in the program attend 90-minute meetings every week at which they receive lessons in abstinence and the use of contraceptives — and they receive $7 every week they do not get pregnant. The money is deposited into a fund that’s collectible when they enroll in college.
But not everyone thinks paying kids to stay childless is the right way to lower the teen pregnancy rate. They say the program sends mixed messages, specifically to parents, that incentivizing good behavior is the way to go.
“It makes me a bit uneasy,” said Bill Albert, chief program officer at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. “I do have mixed feelings. It’s hard to pay people to do something that we think they should be doing regardless. It would be like if you didn’t want young people to experiment with marijuana, you’d pay them not to do it.”
Despite what he called his “gut-level queasiness” about paying girls not to get pregnant, Albert acknowledged that creative ways are needed to address the “very challenging social issue” of teen pregnancy.
The nation’s teen birth rate, after declining for 14 consecutive years, has increased over the last two years and now stands at 7.2 pregnancies per 1,000 teenage girls, Albert said. Furthermore, he said, three out of 10 young women become pregnant by age 20, and costs associated with teen pregnancies exceed $9 billion annually.
With those figures in mind, paying girls $365 a year to stay childless seems like a “modest investment” — especially if the program works, Albert said.
Dr. Hazel Brown, co-director of the program, said six girls of the 125 who have been enrolled for six months or longer have gotten pregnant or otherwise dropped out since it began in 1997. Funded by a grant from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, Brown said it costs about $75,000 a year to operate the program.
“We talk about abstinence, but it’s not a requirement,” Brown told FOXNews.com. “We teach decision-making, being responsible and avoiding pregnancy. The meetings are very interactive.”
Enrollment in the program — which meets separately twice a week for two groups, ages 12-14 and 15-18 — is at capacity with 24 young women. To participate, girls must have never been pregnant, be enrolled in school, have a desire to attend college and have had a sister who gave birth before age 18.
Recent graduates have left the program with up to $3,000 saved up for college, including four young women who are set to begin their higher education in the fall.
Brown said the program is successful, and said its critics should consider the “cost of a teen getting pregnant,” Brown said.
“When you can prevent one of those, you’ve more than paid for a program like this,” she said. “We want to give them something to work toward. And without exception, our girls have come from homes that did not have someone with a college education …
“If somebody believes in you, there’s no end to what a lot of people can accomplish.”
Happy Father’s Day
Kudos To McDowell Hospital, et al.
While many hospitals are jacking up bills and forcing pregnant women into debt – or worse, shutting the door on them altogether – some have come around to embrace pregnant women and have pledged to provide prenatal care and other maternity-related services regardless of ability to pay.
One of those is McDowell Hospital in North Carolina. A recent story by the McDowell News‘ Britt Combs states that the hospital is prepared to offer prenatal care and other services to pregnant women, whether they can foot the bill or not, and to help them get Medicaid coverage if they can’t afford it. The statement was in response to the closing of the McDowell Health Department, which previously provided these services (http://www2.mcdowellnews.com/content/2009/jan/28/hospital-expects-increase-maternity-patients/).
Pregnant women have many reasons – and often good ones – to be suspicious of hospitals. I have not checked personally with the hospital to determine whether or not any hidden fees exist if a woman cannot pay. Will they be sending a bill after-the-fact? If not, if this hospital respects the sanctity of human life more than the almighty dollar, then I say kudos to them.
It doesn’t matter if the services are being offered for political or other reasons, either – if McDowell is going to ensure pregnant women and their unborn children get the proper care they need, then the hospital should be lauded, especially in this day and age. And especially if they’re willing to set up affordable payment plans for some women and foot the bill for others – and treat those who are unable to pay with the same dignity and respect as those who come in with full maternity insurance coverage.
More hospitals should be like McDowell – but I want to know if it’s on the up-and-up. So… does anyone from McDowell care to give us the details? Your comments are welcome – and I’ll publish them
The Insanity of Economy
The economy has become such a burden to the human condition that women are giving up their babies in order to provide for their older children.
American women.
You’re not removed from this – the third-world practices of “lesser” cultures have surfaced in the Land of Opportunity. It’s here, and it’s now, on our home turf.
A recent Chicago Tribune article highlighted the disastrous results of our atrocious economy and the poor decision-making of our lawmakers (http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-women-health-economy-10-mar10,0,1083254.story). They include:
- A couple forced to abort their third pregnancy because they could not afford another child – and the husband is stationed on a military base!
- Planned Parenthood announced a record number of abortions
- The Cradle reported an increase in adoption calls
- The number of pregnant women seeking financial assistance has doubled
As one respondent put it, parents can’t even support themselves, let alone a baby. While our politicians enjoy lavish birthday parties (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/09/politics/washingtonpost/main4853643.shtml), go on spa retreats (http://www.nbc4i.com/cmh/news/national/national_govtpolitics/article/are_your_taxes_paying_for_democratic_retreat/12543/), and trips around the world (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/elections/sfl-flgoplondon21sbdec21,0,7883162.story), Americans are struggling to do the single most vital thing to everyone’s existence: give life.
Pro-Choice versus Pro-Life has nothing to do with this. It’s one thing to force a person to give life; quite another to force a person to destroy the life of their child.
Women MUST have access to affordable, quality prenatal care. Children MUST have access to proper health care. The government can no longer ignore the insane disregard for human life.
They take away our homes. They take away our jobs. Now, they’re taking away our babies.
Don’t let this happen to you. If you’re pregnant and fear you can’t afford it, contact MaternityHealth.org for information on how you CAN receive affordable prenatal care and delivery, and even find help with your childcare expenses once your baby is born.
The gift of life is too precious to be destroyed by the economy. Don’t be a victim of others’ poor judgment – make a stand for
