Category: Health Care

Silver Lining In Debt Deal

Silver Lining In Debt Deal –Politico’s Jennifer Haberkorn reported Aug. 3  that the legislation signed Aug. 2 by President Obama that allows the United State’s to raise its debt limit to $16.7 trillion endangers key parts of  ObamaCare.

Among the things that could be cut are:

  • The hiring of government-paid workers to distribute pamphlets at community events and schools (i.e. prevention programs) and to give screenings and nod at complaints (i.e. community health centers)
  •  Money acquired via federal taxes to states (i.e. grants)  to hire more bureaucrats to  set up insurance exchanges and co-ops, and “review” insurance rates
  • Money to set up “temporary” high-risk pools for pre-existing conditions which if created would simply  make the cost of treating those conditions more expensive (see university cost vs. public funding) and/or imposing rationing to resolve issues relating to increased demand  with decreased resources.


The debt ceiling deal may not be enough to save our health care system but it may turn out to be a better start than one had hoped.

Oh, and when will that vote be on HB42 that had been promised by State Rep. William “Hope They Forget” Adolph (R-165)?

Silver Lining In Debt Deal

Adolph Says Vote Likely On Pa. NoBamaCare Bill

The man accused of bottling up a bill that would make much of Obamacare hard to enforce in Pennsylvania told the Delaware County Patriots, Thursday, May 19, that it will likely come up for a vote this year.

State Rep. Bill Adolph (R-165), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee has been accused of sitting on HB 42 by Tea Party activists. The bill has been tied up in Adolph’s committee since Feb. 8.

HB 42, introduced by Matthew Baker (R-68) on Jan. 19, says A law
or rule shall not compel, through penalties and fines, directly or
indirectly, any individual, employer or health care provider to
participate in any health care system.

It also specifically
says that an individual or employer may pay directly for lawful health
care services and shall not be required to pay penalties or fines for
doing so; and specifically allows  health care providers to accept
direct payments without penalties. It also prohibits state law enforcement and regulatory agencies from
participating “in compliance with any Federal law, regulation or policy”
that would compromise the “freedom of choice in health care” of any
resident of the state.

Adolph told the group, which met at Knights of Columbus hall in Newtown Square, that the biggest budget problem facing the state was the expiration of federal stimulus money. He said  last year’s $28 billion budget contained $3.1 billion of the fed dollars.

The $27.3 billion budget proposed by Gov. Corbett places a heavier burden on the state taxpayers despite it being smaller. House Republicans have tweaked the budget by easing some of the cuts the Governor had made to education while adding cuts to welfare. Adolph said the House budget gives state higher education 75 percent of what it had gotten last year, while Corbett would have cut the outlay in half.

Adolph said that the House budget actually ends up being few hundred thousand dollars less than the Governors.

Concerning the questions fielded by Adolph — and HB 42 was one — he said:

— He supported in principle privatizing the state-owned liquor stores but would not commit to any specific legislation as the “devil was in the details”.

— He supported giving school boards the power to furlough teachers for economic reasons. He, however, ducked the other half regarding his position on ending the requirement that school districts and municipalities pay prevailing wage for renovation and construction projects.

–He is not familiar with the First Suburbs issue which is starting to be discussed in Tea Party groups and appears to be an attempt to use government programs such as Section 8 housing to economically “diversify” Philadelphia’s older suburbs in accordance with the preferences of academics and activists.

–He supported abolishing the inheritance tax.

–He voted for and supports HB 1330, which expands the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit, and that he was only aware of the highlights of SB 1, the school choice bill bottled up in the Senate. He said he supports school choice in principle.

–That teachers should not be allowed to strike.

— He supports voter ID.

— He believes in state sovereignty.

— He supports cutting the size of the state legislature.

The only matter on which he incurred the crowd’s wrath concerned state pensions, and his unwillingness to condemn former State Sen. Bob Mellow’s $300,000 pension in significantly vociferous terms. He said Mellow’s pension plan had been grandfathered from before 1974, and that he should get it. He did not seem to get that it may fairer and more just to change the terms of an old poorly conceived contract rather than make a widow who was not party to it lose her home trying to fulfill it.

AARP Sweet Scam On Seniors

AARP Sweet Scam On Seniors — Tea Party activist Bob Guzzardi pointed out the other day that the AARP  is a “very profitable insurance company pretending to be do-gooder.”

Bob notes that organization, which claims to be an advocate for seniors, has $2.2 billion in total assets and generated over $1.4 billion in revenue in 2009.

AARP, through its sale of “Medigap” insurance policies is going to benefit greatly from Obamacare which guts the Medicare Advantage program by $200 billion and which the AARP polices are being written to replace.

AARP Sweet Scam On Seniors

More Thoughts On HB 42

HB 42, the  bill pending in the Pennsylvania House that would keep much of ObamaCare from being enforced in Pennsylvania, is being held in the  Appropriations Committee until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on challenges to the law socializing American medicine, according to Appropriations Chairman Bill Adolph (R-165).

The idea, according to his staff, is to  simplify any tweaking that may be needed.

One suspects that Rep. Adolph just doesn’t get it.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was rammed through a year ago on false pretenses and against the obvious will of the American people. A Republican was elected to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate in hopes of stopping it, for Pete’s sake.

The legislators — including the leadership — did not read the bill before voting on it, and the Obama administration told blatant falsehoods to the public regarding what it would do whether it be not raising insurance premiums, not cutting Medicare benefits, or that the mandates not being a tax which they are  now are telling judges that it really is.

Peaceful federalist resistance to ObamaCare is a perfectly moral and legitimate answer to it; and it would be a successful one assuming that the state legislators have the courage to carry it out which does not appear to be the case in parts of Pennsylvania.

Why Pa.’s Anti-ObamaCare Bill Is Bottled Up

HB 42, a bill that would keep much of ObamaCare from being enforced in Pennsylvania, will be held in the State House Appropriations Committee until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on ObamaCare’s constitutionality according to the staff of Committee Chairman Bill Adolph (R) whose 165th District  includes much of Springfield and Marple townships.

ObamaCare has been found, in whole or part, to be unconstitutional by lower courts.

The Pennsylvania bill — which says “law or rule shall not compel, through penalties and fines, directly or indirectly, any individual, employer or health care provider to participate in any health care system” — specifically allows health care providers to accept direct payments for services from employers or individuals without penalty, and prohibits  state law enforcement and regulatory agencies from participating “in compliance with any Federal law, regulation or policy” that would compromise the “freedom of choice in health care” of any resident of the state.

The Adolph staffer —in returning a call placed a month ago — said keeping it in the Appropriations Committee will simplify tweaking it in accordance with any ruling, or, hopefully, making the bill unnecessary.

The bill was introduced Jan. 19 by Matthew Baker (R-68) and 61 other representatives. It has been reported out of the House Health Committee on Feb. 7 by a 14-9 vote and has since languished in Appropriations.

Adolph was called out for sitting on the bill at a Feb. 20 event of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Americans For Prosperity.

Enviro-Loons Force End To Lone OTC Asthma Inhaler

The federal government is forcing Primatene Mist, the sole  asthma inhaler that is available over-the-counter, off the market.

The announcement was made March 15.

Is it because it doesn’t work? No.

Is it because it is dangerous to health? No.

So why?

It’s because it uses chlorofluorocarbons to propel the medicine into one’s throat and as any mis-educated twit fast-tracked in the federal bureaucracy knows chlorofluorocarbons, even in the small amount used by asthma inhalers, offends Gaia.

The last day  the inhaler may be sold is Dec. 31, so if you suffer from asthma start stockpiling.

Pimatene Mist is made by Armstrong Pharmaceuticals which is a subsidiary of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Inc. which, unfortunately, is a privately held company in case one was so inclined to place a bet that the run on the market was going to drive the stock price up.

Ends, Means And Unintended Ends


The extremes on the left and right may never agree but for the vast middle the debate is almost entirely about means with everyone agreeing on the ends.

Who for instance does not believe that we as a society should try to get quality health care for all?

There actually are some. Some on the right think “I’ve got mine, and you are not my problem.” More damnably, some on the left think that as long as there are those who need health care there will always be someone to manipulate to do their political bidding to keep them in wealth and power.

ObamaCare perfectly illustrates this. Remember that debate was never about health care but about the “uninsured”. ObamaCare’s political supporters stuck to the matter of cost and never broached actual health care namely how to increase the quality, quantity and efficiency of those who provide it i.e. doctors, nurses, pharmaceutical manufacturers etc.

They never attempted to understand what makes someone go through the expense and effort to become one of these professionals nor did they consider what makes one of these professionals stick with their taxing jobs and put forth the extra effort that can’t be itemized on a spreadsheet.

They did however listen to the trial lawyers and political bureaucrats and so what we end up with are cuts in Medicare, increases in middle class health insurance and doctors quitting their practices. For many Obama voters this would be an unintended end because they truly wanted better health care for all. What they might still not understand, though, is that many opponents of ObamaCare wanted the same thing.

The rising dispute over compensation for public workers is another example. Decent people don’t begrudge public workers good pay. Decent people, however, also understand that it is wrong for a widow barely getting by to be forced to pay another thousand dollars per year in property taxes to give these public workers their nice pay.

Or  consider the minimum wage. Most don’t want to see others made to do soul-sapping work for a pittance. On the other hand, most also would like to see a business owner pay an otherwise unemployable drunk a little self-respect to sweep out the store room without having to answer to government. And anybody sane would understand the benefits of this business owner being allowed to take a chance and give a teenager his first job which the red tape now put on his plate might  otherwise dissuade him from doing.

The more the ends are discussed rather than the means the more likely common ground will be found among the typical American and the more likely the plans will be foiled by those who seek to divide and rule us.


Pa. Bill Takes On ObamaCare


A bill that would prevent significant parts of ObamaCare from being enforced in Pennsylvania has been introduced in the State House where it appears to be languishing in the Appropriations Committee.

HB 42 was introduced Jan. 19 — two weeks after the session started — by Matthew Baker (R-68) and 61 other representatives.

It prohibits state law enforcement and regulatory agencies from
participating “in compliance with any Federal law, regulation or policy”
that would compromise the “freedom of choice in health care” of any
resident of the state.

The bill also says A law or rule shall not compel, through penalties and fines, directly or indirectly, any individual, employer or health care provider to participate in any health care system.

It also specifically says that an individual or employer may pay directly for lawful health care services and shall not be required to pay penalties or fines for doing so; and specifically allows  health care providers to accept direct payments without penalties.

HB 42 was reported out of the House Health Committee on Feb. 7 by a 14-9 party line vote with Delaware County’s Nicholas Micozzie (R-163) and John Sabatina (D-174) not voting. It was submitted to Appropriations the next day which is chaired by Springfield’s own Bill Adolph (R-165).

Adolph was accused of sitting the bill by Steve Lonegan, the director of the New Jersey chapter of Americans For Prosperity, Saturday, at an event sponsored by AFP in Valley Forge. Lonegan encouraged supporters of the bill to contact Adolph’s offices .



Read The DNR Before Signing



Those who sign “advance health dare directives” in times of good health should read this tale of a relative’s slow and painful death by the pseudonymous “Zombie” at Pajamas Media.

So whatever you sign make sure it does not say that you want withheld “nutrition and hydration”  because the bean-counters will happily take you at your word.

If  we should make as our form of national execution death via withholding food and water while keeping the condemned passive with morphine, how quick would the Supreme Court rule it to be cruel and unusual punishment?

It really does look like convicted criminals are better treated than our elderly.

0Care Taxes That You May Not Know About


Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the current tax deduction for Blue Cross/Blue Shield companies would only be allowed if 85 percent or more of premium revenues are spent on clinical services.

Under the act there will be a $50,000 per hospital excise tax on charitable hospitals that fail to  meet new “community health assessment needs,” “financial assistance,” and “billing and collection” rules set by Department of Health and Human Services.

Under the act, the tax deduction for employer-provided retirement prescription drug coverage will be ended.

The Americans for Tax Reform has a detailed list as to how this bureaucratic nightmare passed last March is going to make our lives our harder and why we must repeal it as promised by the newly elected House. It can be found here.

Oh, and did you know that there will be exemptions to Individual Mandate Excise Tax starting in 2014 to anyone not buying “qualifying” health insurance.

Those eligible for the exemptions are, according to ATR,  religious objectors, undocumented immigrants, prisoners, those earning less than the poverty line, members of Indian tribes, and hardship cases determined by HHS.

What religions could possibly be included? Will it be the one discussed at the link?