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| Believe it or not, the situation is worse than this. No actual judges are involved in your conviction or sentencing. |
With all of that out of the way, Hope n' Change wants to return to a topic we've been covering on a regular basis: the seemingly unending stream of problems our family has had with Obamacare. And we're doing this because we assume that the same is happening to a lot of families and, if either Hillary or Bernie wins the presidency, even more aspects of our lives will be controlled by bungling Obamacare-style bureaucracies.
First the good news: after months of haggling and production of innumerable documents, Healthcare.gov has finally accepted our proof of income and is no longer threatening to cancel our insurance. Additionally, daughter Jarlsberg's insurance is finally back in place - although she now has to begin a lengthy claims process to recoup the over $1000 in medical expenses she incurred during the period that Healthcare.gov claimed she didn't exist.
Now the bad news, in the form of a Facebook post by my niece: "Well, our kids' insurance just got cancelled because, despite us sending in every document they asked for (multiple times), they still decided it wasn't enough."
A little backstory: we're talking about a wonderful family here - a Pastor, his wife, and their kids. The kind of people you want for neighbors and friends. People of faith who are actively doing good (albeit not high-paying) work in their community. In other words...people the current administration really doesn't like.
Here's more of their story: "We were previously on regular insurance provided by the church. But with Obamacare, the cost of employer provided plans went too high, so we decided to buy on the marketplace - but they said the kids HAD to go on the state health care (CHIP) due to our income level. The kids had never been on a state plan prior to Obamacare, but they gave us no choice.
The first year they had no record of our first three months of coverage. The second year, they made us prove our income with multiple pay stubs and a letter from my job, etc, but threatened to drop the kids. Finally everything went through. This year, my husband sent pay stubs... but they said he didn't send enough. The second time he tried, their fax machine wouldn't pick up. Then he mailed everything plus a letter from my employer. But today we got notice that the kids' coverage was dropped, and they claim they tried to contact us twice. That's a lie, because we never got a call or email warning us."
And there you have it: when it comes to Obamacare you are guilty until proven innocent - subject to losing your insurance and being fined with no due process whatsoever. And even when you provide every shred of possible proof of your financial status, the government can still reject it by simply saying they don't believe you.
This is unconstitutional un-American health-obstructing madness which, if a Democrat wins in November, will someday be looked back on as "the good old days."
I'm so sorry to hear your relatives are going through what you had to go through.
ReplyDeleteAnd the saddest thing is that the current resident of OUR White House still has 10 months to do as much damage as he can to America....
@ Stilton What a mess Americana has got itself into. If we elect another Democrat it will get much worse very quickly. If we elect a Conservative things will still get worse, just not as fast. Judge Jeanine Pirro makes some valid points in her opening remarks on Romney & Trump.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, Congress have always accomplished a lot of trash. In the Wickard v. Filburn case An Ohio farmer, Roscoe Filburn, was growing wheat for use to feed animals on his own farm.
The Court decided that Filburn's wheat growing activities reduced the amount of wheat he would buy for animal feed on the open market, which is traded nationally (interstate), and is therefore within the purview of the Commerce Clause. Although Filburn's relatively small amount of production of more wheat than he was allotted would not affect interstate commerce itself, the cumulative actions of thousands of other farmers just like Filburn would certainly become substantial. Therefore, according to the court, Filburn's production could be regulated by the federal government.
In other words they can keep us from growing wheat or anything because of the Commerce Clause. They can make us eat broccoli and purchase health insurance. In New York City, they think the General welfare clause
places them in charge of the size of soda pop we buy because they are looking out for our welfare and they know what’s best.
There is no end to the damage they can and will do as they twist our Constitution to fit their needs.
I've decided to tune myself out of society. I don't care what they do. I'll pay my taxes, obey the laws, and all I want is for them to stay off my 2 acres of sovereign territory. As long as they comply there won't be trouble.
ReplyDelete@ Jim Irre: that sounds like a good way to go , but think again! if, on your 2 acres of sovereign territory, you plant a garden ... maybe a fruit tree (or several), you are , at that point, interfering with interstate commerce as well as international commerce. those who think they know what is best for us will feel compelled to shut down your little 2 acres of freedom. let's face it! our federal government (and by extension, our state and local governments) are out of control. I fear the time is rapidly approaching when we will not be able to correct the course of things at the ballot box and will be forced to resort to the bullet box. I pray that I am wrong!
ReplyDeleteA Constitutional Convention of the States, a Military Coup, or a full - blown Civil War. These are the only 3 things I believe have a chance of restoring our nation at this point.
ReplyDeleteCertainly continuing to elect and reelect the same two identically controlled parties will only hasten our demise. The Republicrats are the enemy.
What Geoff and George said. And what Thomas Jefferson said; "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it's natural manure." Given the over stepping of the federal gubbermint with obonercare, BLM, and all the rest, it looks as if it is right over the horizon. And I hope and pray that this post doesn't bring the chickenshit might of the black SUVs my way. Let us pray ..........
ReplyDeletePowerful memo string, this one.
ReplyDeleteI just watched, a week late, an edition of 60 Minutes that detailed the Mater Death Record of the Social Security Administration and the way that bungling bureaucracy can screw up a persons life courtesy of an incorrect letter or date being typed into the computer.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who believes that a "mistake" like that could be intentional if one is on a government "hit" list? One date entered and you are "dead" without being dead. What a convenient way to silence ones enemies. You know like those productive, hard working, conservative people of faith.
Master, not mater
ReplyDeleteOnce again, another fine example of the real goal of ObamaCare; To make otherwise ordinary citizens who resist the Progressive orthodoxy to cry uncle for single-payer.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't expect any sympathy from the Progressive elite for your relatives. For all they assume, your niece's husband is either a snake handler or child molester, and your niece is a breeder who'd have been better off at an UnPlanned UnParenthood clinic. If he had instead gone into secular social service, he'd be a secure government employee and his family wouldn't be having these kinds of problems. Just a lesson for the kids out there with aspirations outside of what Progressives consider "the norm".
Caught a few minutes of the Democratic debate last night in Flint, and was actually surprised by some of the questions that managed to sneak through the usual media filters. In particular, one that should have seemed obvious in Flint; (And I paraphrase) "The big government you advocate failed us by poisoning our water, and then lying about it. How can you convince us that you'll do any better?" As expected, both candidates basically punted and went into their usual safe positions about rich greedy capitalists being the root of all evil.
@Joseph ET: Most people are unaware of the multitude of bizarre laws that are left over from the New Deal era that didn't help at all then, and make even less sense today. As a businessman, it would be great if I could get the Federal government to outlaw people from doing things for themselves instead of purchasing my services.
@Jim Irre, good luck with that. Just stay healthy...
ReplyDeleteBureaucrat - that word comes from the Arabic, meaning fat-aassed, lazy, morons. I know this.
What are we talking about here? A political "reformation" is needed. Where is our Luther?
Why do "progressives" love bureaucrats so much? Don't answer that, I know this.
Luther?! This, I don't know. Can he wear a vest? I have plenty. And goats.
The wife and I went through the annoyance of our policy getting canceled every year because it no longer met the guidelines of Obamacare (part of the "if you like your policy you can keep it" lie). Only to be replaced by a more expensive and higher deductible plan.
ReplyDeleteWe got fed up and now no longer have insurance. However we don't have to pay the fine because we became members of Christian Healthcare Ministries. Basically its not insurance, but instead a "healthcare sharing" system that Probably wouldn't work well for you Stilton as it doesn't cover meds (and it sounds like you need meds covered). But for most of us out here its a pretty good deal.
Costs us $300 a month for my wife and I (so that would be $150 for a single person or I think $450 for a family) plus $50 a quarter for the major medical rider they call "Brothers' Keeper" so we're covered for anything with only a $500 deductible.
You have to be a practicing, church going Christian to qualify (it only is allowed to exist as a religious exemption to Obamacare) and it doesn't cover preventative stuff but for young healthy Christians its really an excellent deal.
Anyway, I swear I'm not spamming ... I don't get anything by posting this, just thought I'd share. http://www.chministries.org/
@Readers- Great comments! I'm here and I'm reading everything, but sadly can't really respond at length owing to a pinched nerve which is making it hard for me to do anything at the computer. I wonder if Obamacare covers the treatment of a repetitive stress injury related to obsessive blogging about what a fustercluck Obamacare is?
ReplyDeleteStilt: Of course they cover that(just ask 'em); but you'll never see a payment or a provider reimbursement.
ReplyDeleteOff that topic and not-governmental.. I just saved my elderly parents a BIG annual premium payment by knowing their LTC contract. One term covers waiver of premium under certain conditions... what a surprise!... they missed it and billed them as usual. "Oh so sorry" they say. Sorry my ass, IMO they just got caught.
When it comes to money it's getting harder to trust. Buyer beware and be aware. The same goes for voters.
Thank God the Republicans promised to repeal Øbamacare. We know they would never lie to us.
ReplyDeleteAnybody else missing zero's promised $2500?
ReplyDeleteStilton,
ReplyDeleteI am truly sorry about your pinched nerve (suffer myself, but the pain is in my arm), but it struck me as ironic that you are posting about how incredibly pathetic our "healthcare" "system" is while suffering from a condition that it likely won't pay to get fixed. Hope and change indeed....
American Cowboy,
Whew! For a minute there, I thought your were talking about the death record of Tow-mater. You know, that beat up tow truck that sounds like Larry the Cable Guy.
REM1875,
Read the fine print. Is your health care not costing you at least that amount or more per year?
I have a question, but before asking let me say that I am also one of those now WITHOUT insurance thanks to Obamacare; the cheapest plan I can find with O'care is OVER TWICE the price (for FAR less benefits!) than the GREAT PPO plan I had previously! Just paying the penalty (and going without insurance) is FAR less than what I would be paying for the (absolute CRAP!) HMO offered by O'care!
ReplyDeleteNow my question:
Forgive my ignorance, but isn't what we have now WORSE than single-payer? I mean, it seems that the ONLY people O'care benefits is the INSURANCE COMPANIES who can now charge us through the nose, and then claim we don't exist (or worse) when we need payment for medical care! At least with single-payer wouldn't we be - to at least SOME extent - "cutting out the middle man" (the zillions of dollars being paid to the now USELESS insurance companies) AND additional mountains of paperwork?
Again, forgive the ignorance, but wouldn't single-payer be BETTER than what we have now?!
(DISCLAIMER: I am NOT condoning single-payer! I think O'care should be TRASHED ASAP! Just wondering about why some people have implied that O'care is somehow better than '1-payer'...? Someone please enlighten me.)
@Colby Muenster- My stupid pinched nerve starts in the neck, feels like a painful knot in my left shoulder, and then radiates pain and tingling down my arm - leaving my little finger simultaneously numb and painful and very sensitive if I try to type. It sucks, and I need to TRY to get away from the keyboard. That being said...
ReplyDelete@Unknown- Others will hopefully weigh in on this, but single-payer WOULD cut out the current insurance company middlemen...and replace them with government middlemen. Still, it could almost sorta-kinda be an improvement in THEORY, but sadly we don't live in a theoretical world. In reality, the incentive to practice medicine will be destroyed, as will the incentive to come up with new treatments and innovations. Without enough suppliers, medical care will be rationed - meaning long waiting lines and denial of services. Plus, government bookkeepers will decide just who should receive the rationed healthcare to accomplish "the most good." Surprise - it will be whomever they expect to work and pay taxes for the longest period of time. Over 60? Well, you've had a good run - now go crawl under the porch and die quietly rather than using up precious taxpayer money.
Putting it another way: past a certain age, the government bookkeepers want you dead. Oh, it's nothing personal - but the longer you live, the more money you take out of Medicare and Social Security. One of the easiest ways to balance the books is to simply declare that there's not enough healthcare to go around - at which point you'll be given, in Obama's words, "painkillers instead of pacemakers."
Unknown: If you want a good idea of what "single payer" would be like, think the VA multiplied by 100,000 times.
ReplyDeleteStilt, have you tried speech to text programs? The on my phone, while not perfect, is not bad...
ReplyDeleteHope you can find someone to make the adjustment needed to unlock your arm / pinkie... I had a pinch in the rump (bone based, or muscle never determined) that was giving me sciatic hell for a few weeks last fall - literally, I feel for ya!
@Unknown, my answer would be, "Yes, for many, ObamaCare is much worse that theoretical 'singer payer' would be."
ReplyDeleteBut ObamaCare was never meant to actually work. It's fundamental flaws are actually by design. It's real goal was not the efficient delivery of health care, but always to destroy what was left of the private care and insurance industries in this country. Republican promises to "repeal" ObamaCare are pointless because there is nothing to go back to. The doctor I liked is gone. The insurance policy I liked is gone. Neither are coming back no matter what Congress does. The collateral damage to the system is permanent. They don't have a time machine to take us all back to 2010. There's only one way left to go now, and "single payer" is it.
This morning some liberal wearing an Obama tee-shirt smashed my windshield. I was so annoyed that I didn't even pull over and check on him.
ReplyDelete@ Stilton I had a similar condition some years ago. Went to my brother-in-law the Chiropractor and he did some cervical traction on and off for a couple of days and with an adjustment or two all was better and still is.
ReplyDeleteThe next shoe to fall for health care is to outlaw all activities that could cost the system money.
Things to be outlawed.
Alcoholic beverages
Sugary drinks
Coffee
Sky diving
Scuba diving
Driving motor cycles or even bicycles
Using a keyboard
And thousands more
Don't forget "driving your own motor vehicle," now that self-driving "smart cars" are almost ready for the government to cram down all our throats.
ReplyDeleteOh, don't have $50K burning a hole in your pockets for a new "Google Smart Car?" Too bad.
Oh, did you want to travel today? Too bad, Citizen--the government has remotely shut down all Smart Cars in your state due to "Global Warming." If you wish to exercise your right to travel, put on your walking shoes. Oh, and have your internal passport ready when questioned by Homeland Security patrols.
Politics
ReplyDeletefrom the latin
poli (poly = many)
tics (ticks = blood-sucking parasites)
Primary day today here in MI, looks like Trump is running away w/ it, so I'm probably going to go vote against Hillary...
ReplyDeletePete (Detroit),
ReplyDeleteI live in NC, where you can register as "unaffiliated" rather than claiming one useless party over the other useless party. I heard on the radio this morning that more than a few conservative types are going to ask for a Democrat ballot and vote for Bernie. I don't much like the idea, but I can sure understand it!
Single payer? There are plenty examples of how wonderful it is in Europe. Are you 73 and need a new hip in order to walk to the grocer's? Oh well... hope you like oxycontin or hydrocodone and have a functioning liver. Need a liver transplant? Time to shop for a coffin and burial plot.
Here in MI, you don't have to be registered as any particular thing, but you're not allowed (in primaries, at least) to vote across lines on the same ballot. I have since learned that we're a proportional state, so voting 'not Trump' is actually useful.
ReplyDeleteStill, it would be happy to help hand Hillary her huge ass on a tin platter - and Bernie's mainly just WRONG, that B*tch is forkin' EVIL...
A vote for any Republican or Democrat contender is a vote for the status quo. Trump, Clinton, Cruz, Rubio, or Sanders are all the same. Vote for any of them and you can kiss what remains of our Constitution and our nation goodbye.
ReplyDeleteThere no longer is a "lesser of two evils" to choose from. They are all the same candidate, and a vote for any of them is a vote against our country.
@Joseph ET, as we become more of a "socialist" country and the commerce clause becomes an excuse to regulate anything that might possibly affect someone else, I'll be going on a personal freedom rampage. This is the part of "socialism" that the '60s socialists like Bernie either are ignorant of, or just don't like to talk about for obvious reasons. In order for a socialist state to be viable, all citizens must be accountable to all other citizens. Period.
ReplyDeleteSo yes, go ahead and publically humiliate the 300 point person at the cash register buying junk food on food stamps.
Here's my big one: How many of our social and economic problems are due to idiotic breeding and sexually transmitted diseases? I have an easy solution. Outlaw all extramarital sex". Period.
See how well that goes over!
LibertyShare. Christians helping Christians afford reasonable healthcare. Check them out.
ReplyDelete@It's No Gouda- Exactly. The warning is there for everyone to see, but we still don't heed it.
ReplyDelete@Pete (Detroit)- I'm experimenting with some speech-to-text solutions even now (albeit not for this post). The technology has come a long way!
@John the Econ- We've kicked this around before, and remain in agreement. Next stop is "single payer" no matter who gets the presidency. It may get a different name, but as you say there's no going back now.
@Bobo the Hobo- I understand your annoyance, but you really should have thrown the car into reverse to make sure that he wasn't suffering. Several times, if necessary.
@Joseph ET- I had some bad experiences with a chiropractor in my youth, so am looking to that as a course of last resort.
And great point about the behavioral restrictions we'll soon be looking at in order to protect "the public health."
@Anonymous- You're right that cars with human drivers will probably be banned sooner than we'd expect. It's always about control.
@Chuck Baker- I never realized that "politics" was from Latin. Based on the government's preferred way of screwing us, I assumed it was Greek.
@Pete (Detroit)- I enjoyed the Fox News townhall with Hillary and Bernie in Detroit last night. Very well done, very respectful, and each candidate was given enough time to reveal the depth of their idiocy.
@Colby Muenster- Exactly. Bernie Sanders said (at the townhall) that EVERYONE has a right to free medical care, and the poor should get the same treatment as the billionaires. My question: does EVERYone get EVERY procedure available? Does that 73 year old get a hip replacement? Can the 85 year old get a heart transplant? Can a person be kept "alive" on a heart-lung machine eternally? If there are no limits, then the system collapses. If there ARE limits, then then mendacity of Bernie and his ilk readily becomes apparent.
@Pete (Detroit)- I agree. Bernie strikes me as a well-intentioned schmuck, but Hillary is a genuinely evil person.
@Geoff King- It seems that way, though I'm still holding out a little hope for Cruz. But you know me - I'm a tremendous optimist. (Ha!)
@John the Econ- The regulation of procreative activities is absolutely in line with the Dems goal of controlling individual behavior for the "common good." I'd just like to see them try to institute and enforce it...
@Anonymous- I appreciate the tip, and have heard about a number of such services (and am forwarding such info to my niece). I have friends and family members using such services and they like them. Personally, I can't go that route because I'm not a Christian (or anything else - though at least I try not to be an asshole) and I respect people of faith too much to lie about it.
I guess we should be thankful to be the last generation spoiled enough to realize what is wrong about how most other countries do things.....????
ReplyDelete@Stilton
ReplyDeleteMany people have an bad experience at the Doctor, Dentist or other care provider for X reasons. That experience understandably, causes a certain amount of anxiety about receiving similar care ever again. But, we must remember that a negative experience with one member of a profession doesn’t make all members bad. This includes law enforcement, clergy, medical doctors, dentists, chiropractors and even bloggers. And remember, if a health care provider causes too many bad experiences or poor results, they aren’t likely to be in business very long. Ask your friends for a referral when you are ready and share your concerns with the provider.
BTW Medicare and Obamacare covers chiropractic care for a few visits. One can purchase an “over the door cervical traction kit” if you want to self-treat. They are found all over the ‘net. Read and follow the instructions.