Convergence of Relevant Stuff

June 21 (Bloomberg) — At least 10 people were killed during clashes with Iranian police and defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi called for further demonstrations in defiance of Iran’s supreme leader.  More

Medicare Advantage Regulations

Medicare Advantage is the new name for Medicare + Choice. Medicare advantage includes Medicare Managed Care Plans, Medicare Preferred Provider Organization Plans, Medicare Private Fee For Service Plans, and Medicare Specialty Plans. Medicare typically provides supplemental coverage to supplement what primary insurance carrier will not cover or cover you when you have no insurance coverage. When you select Medicare coverage there is a price you pay. If you have no insurance and you are 65 or older, Medicare is available. However, there are cost that must be paid. If you have no income. Your personal assets must be exhausted before Medicare will pay for any coverage. In fact you can be denied any coverage if you have any personal assets.

The incentive for the elderly with no income is to rid themselves of assets in order to insure coverage by Medicare. The current rules is a five year look back. That means your assets must be sold at least five or more years from the time of coverage request. Even then it is a scary and tentative situation.

Medicare Advantage merely gives you choices of the type of plan you would like to receive. Much like the employer sponsored Group health Insurance plans. There are regulations involved in this coverage.

Regulations

1.)Enrollees must use only HMO Providers Only
2.) Specialty care must be approved in advance ( special request are often turned down)
3.) Medical Coverage request can be appealed (this causes delays and cost valuable treatment time)
4.)HMO can decide each year whether to offer a Medicare Plan
5.)You must be 65 or older to participate in the plan.
6.)To enroll in the Medicare Advantage Program individuals must be entitled to benefits under Part A and enrolled under Part B of the Medicare Program.
7.) People with end stage renal disease (pre-existing condition) or excluded from participating
8.) If end stage renal disease is contacted while enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan, the individual can continue and coverage will not be denied.

(Source: medicareadvocacy.org)

Summary

You must be very careful in selecting a Medicare coverage plan. Things to consider would be what is covered under the plan? The cost of the plan. Are you eligible for participation? Will you have to pay a premium for supplemental coverage? What are the pros and cons of standard Medicare coverage vs. Medicare Advantage . What is the out of network cost, should you choose to select a doctor, that is not in the Medicare Advantage Network? How must will the plan actually pay for services and how much will you be responsible for uncovered treatment?

These are just a few the questions that must be answered in deciding between stand Medicare programs and Medicare Advantage. You also must be careful when dealing with private Insurance carrier who try convince you to buy their coverage, knowing that full payment of services will not be covered. There are a number of things to consider. The Medicare system is extremely confusing, before deciding on any plan or program do your homework and confirm any and everything that is said to you.

Email from President Elect Barack Obama Announces New Website:

Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting President-elect Barack Obama and Obama for
America.  Barack greatly appreciates the outpouring of messages he is
receiving from across the country and from Americans around the world.
He is deeply honored by the confidence the American people have placed
in him and in Vice President-elect Biden.  Please click here to see
President-elect Obama’s speech on Election Night:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/gGx3Kc

Barack Obama and Joe Biden are hopeful about the opportunities and
clear-eyed about the challenges our nation faces.  They look forward to
working with all Americans, regardless of who they voted for, in the
great project of American renewal.  Enlisting the energy and ingenuity
of the American people is the only way we will create the changes that
so many people want to see, so we hope you’ll be involved.

You have just contacted Obama for America, the Obama/Biden campaign
organization.  A new organization has been formed to facilitate
communication with the Obama/Biden Administration that will take office
on January 20, 2009.  If you have questions, suggestions, or comments
about the federal government, policy, or the coming Obama/Biden
Administration, please visit the online Office of the President-elect
for more information and to get involved:

www.change.gov

If you’re contacting us because you’ve been energized by your
participation in our grassroots movement, we hope you will remain
active in your community and involved in national policy debates.
Please continue to visit www.BarackObama.com
regularly.  We’ve built one of the most comprehensive nationwide
organizing networks in history, and our victory on November 4th is only
the beginning of the work we will do together.

The 56th Presidential Inauguration will take place on January 20th,
2009.  For more information, we encourage you to visit the websites of
the Presidential Inauguration Committee and the Joint Congressional
Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

http://www.pic2009.org/

http://inaugural.senate.gov/

Due to the extremely number of messages we are currently receiving, we
may be unable to respond to your message individually, but we do
appreciate hearing from you and hope you’ll work with us as we build
America’s future together.

Thank you again for contacting us.

Sincerely,
Obama for America

———————–
Paid for by Obama for America

This letter was sent to Move On members-

Hundreds of thousands of us nominated and voted, and now the results are in—we know where to focus MoveOn’s efforts for the next year.

We asked you to vote for your three top goals, but after looking at the results, it’s clear that four rose above and beyond the rest.

Here’s how it worked out, in descending order:

1. Universal Health Care

2. Economic Recovery and Job Creation

3. Build a Green Economy and Stop Climate Change

4. End the War in Iraq

(Check the P.S. for a link to the full results, including the percentage of folks who voted for each goal.)

The agenda you set is bold, ambitious—and it is exactly the change America needs.

Of course, these aren’t the only things we’ll work on together—we’ll work on other issues as they come up, too. But the four big goals listed above will be our top priorities.

Over the course of the week, we received more than 78,000 nominations, 1.6 MILLION ratings and 806,707 votes.

And we also received a lot of emails—stories from so many MoveOn members who’re personally affected by these issues. Notes like the one below are a reminder of why these goals are so critical.

“I lost a daughter to cancer in July after a fight she couldn’t win because she had no insurance. When President-elect Obama said no one in these United States should die of cancer because they didn’t have insurance, I knew we had to work to get him elected. My daughter had to go to a county hospital where they died one by one in Houston, TX, one of the cities with the best cancer hospitals. That is when I joined MoveOn and worked with them online and in my city to register and get out the message to vote. My daughter passed away wishing her death would not be in vain. Yes We Did.”—Martha T., Abilene, TX

Click here to read more of these stories on each of the four priorities—and to see the full results for all 10 finalists:

Move on poll results

So, thank you for lending your thoughts, your nominations, and your ratings to this process. It’s a huge, exciting agenda!

Civil Forum with Rick Warren Pastor of Saddleback Church

Barack Obama . Warren asked who were the three wisest people in your life? Obama said  his wife Michelle, his grandmother,who was a grounded, common sense woman.  He also said he would not restrict himself to three people. He mention Sam Nunn, Dick Luger, a Republican. Ted Kennedy, most prominently . Obama said in his administration  he would have a table that represented many different viewpoints.   The great moral failure in his life?  He had difficult youth, raised by a single Mom, experimented with drugs and drank. Obama said he was  self centered, and had an inner focus on himself. He said everything was about him. He later realized it was not all about me. America’s  greatest moral failure in this  lifetime is that we don’t abide by our principals to  help others in need as much as we should.  He said the Bible says “Whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do not do for me”.  We do not provide avenues of opportunities for people to get into the middle class. We must do more to help.

When asked what is the most significant position that he held ten years ago where he changed his mind?  Obama said a good example would be the issue of welfare reform.  Obama felt that Clinton’s bill signings on welfare reform would have disastrous results.  It worked better than a lot of people anticipated.  So Obama said it opened his eyes and he saw the benefit in the program.

Warren asked what is the most gut wrenching decision you ever had to make?  Deciding to  go against the war in Iraq. Obama said there was not enough evidence of weapons of mass distruction.  Obama felt that we would need to look at these questions. What would a post Iraq , post war,  look like?  What about the young kids who we are asking to give their lives? When  you put kids 19 and 20 years old in harms way, there is a an obligation to get things right before we put our young soldiers life on the line.

Christianity- What does your faith in Jesus Christ mean to you?  Obama said I believe  that Jesus Christ died for my sins and I am redeemed through him.  I do not walk alone. Those sins that I have are washed way. I have an obligation to give back to society through deeds. McCain said he was saved and forgiven.

The question was asked what do you do about evil.  John McCain said, defeat it. Barack Obama said that evil does exist. We will not be able to totally erase evil from the world in it’s many forms. John McCain approached many questions and answered with a  military reference. He answered the question about evil and said the he would find Bin Laden and bring him to justice. Obama sees evil as being significantly broader than John McCain.

John McCain came off, more combative and direct. Not must room to change in him.  McCain’s sole focus was to use the bully stick  and showed a willingness to  use American Troops at the drop of a hat.  McCain’s answers were simplistic at best.  He was not forthcoming on the details of his failed first marriage, when asked about him Moral failures. Again he stuck close  to the  simplistic one word answers. So we know one thing about McCain; he is stubborn, He is not willing to listen to opposing views and he is a war hawk. He stated his hero was Theodore Rooselvelt. He led the United States to victory in the Spanish – American War (Ninety-Day War) and later became the 26th American President. McCain said that Theodore Rooselvelt was his hero (“Walk Softly, but Carry a Big SticK”).   Read up on Rooselvelt and you get a great read on McCain. The question was asked who would you not pick as  a Supreme Court Justice? Obama said  that he would have not pick  Clarence Thomas because of his lack of experience, He also mention Justice Scalia, both taught in law school at the University of Chicago. McCain mentioned Justices Ginsberg, Fryer, Sutter and Stevens.  The problem is John McCain voted for everyone of those justices. A bit of the  flip flop.  He was speaking to win over the evangelicals.

Nearly every business, start up or establishment is facing a dilemma after decades of startling success, due the excessive expansion, misjudging economic opportunity, and surviving on borrowed capital; the bill has now become due.

In the recent past, businesses could fudge records, price gouge consumers, and literally expect that consumers would pay, and more often than not; they would. Consumers had no concept of shopping for value and quality, while expecting a decent return on investment for the money they shelled out.

But a funny thing happened between 2000-2008. Price increases did not work, companies could not continue to price gouge consumers primarily because the consumers could not control their own spending and credit habits. A economic summit is now underway by the average consumer to combat an ever decreasing cash flow Caused by their extravagant lifestyle.

The catch is just about all other Corporate 500 companies are in the same boat as consumers, and we are sinking fast. The holes can’t be plugged fast enough. Consumers and companies are looking for ways to cut expenses while raising more available cash each month. This trend will not stop in the near future.

Companies will need to show a profit for shareholders and consumers need to free up more money to live. Two opposite goals that are much like mixing oil and water.

No matter what economically things will never be quite the same. Change is more than guaranteed.

Obama’s health care plan to some seems to be ambitious. To others it seems to be a cloud of hope. Obama promises to save over $200 billion in unnecessary spending by the end of his first term in office. This translates into a savings of $2,500 for those under employer sponsored programs. In addition Obama’s plan promises to insure all (even those with pre-existing conditions) by repealing tax cuts for those making $250,000 or more and cutting wasteful spending

The hard reality is something, anything, must be done to contain and lower rising health care cost. The average cost of employer sponsored programs for individual consumers is $3,281 per year. This is a huge bill to swallow. Couple this with Medicare- Medicaid payment that supplements regular coverage, which in a word is atrocious, leaves the average American with their hands tied when it comes to health insurance.

Millions of average Americans have lost house, and home, because of Nursing home care and insurance cost that are designed to pay the destitute. So the government takes everything from you, your assets, you home and your dignity, before any Medicaid payments kick in after your insurance and income is exhausted.

The travesty is that we allow such a system to exist in America. We live in the richest country in the world and we lack the necessary compassion to take care of our own. When will it change?

Obama’s health care plan to some seems to be ambitious. To others it seems to be a cloud of hope. Obama promises to save over $200 billion in unnecessary spending by the end of his first term in office. This translates into a savings of $2,500 for those under employer sponsored programs. In addition Obama’s plan promises to insure all (even those with pre-existing conditions) by repealing tax cuts for those making $250,000 or more and cutting wasteful spending

The hard reality is something, anything, must be done to contain and lower rising health care cost. The average cost of employer sponsored programs for individual consumers is $3,281 per year. This is a huge bill to swallow. Couple this with Medicare- Medicaid payment that supplements regular coverage, which in a word is atrocious, leaves the average American with their hands tied when it comes to health insurance.

Millions of average Americans have lost house, and home, because of Nursing home care and insurance cost that are designed to pay the destitute. So the government takes everything from you, your assets, your home and your dignity, before any Medicaid payments kick in after your insurance and income is exhausted.

The travesty is that we allow such a system to exist in America. We live in the richest country in the world and we lack the necessary compassion to take care of our own. When will it change?

I am passionate about this subject because I went through this painful ordeal with the Death of my father at the end of the nursing home merry go round…. the hospice. This is America, where profits and wealth are top heavy. The top 1/5 of the America’s population’s is filthy rich, hoarding money and status and the ability to pay for health care, when their money can’t save them. When they are old and alone and near death, nothing can’t save them. The trapping of the world can’t. No one can but only a caring an loving God, who teaches us to not get caught up in the trapping of this world, but to rely on Him through every event. In this world we will have trouble, but he is with us always giving us hope and love to rise above our circumstance.

The nursing Home system is a travesty. It is intertwined with the America’s Health care system and the insurance system. Nursing homes in my opinion are there for the fortunate few who need them to receive care for a short time and then they are released. I believe there is a systematic effort to encourage a gradual decline of individuals who insurance companies target as high maintenance and money drains. Insurance companies do not wish to pay for long term care so that an extra bed will be released and not taken up by a dying elderly person.

It is sickening when we have to have discussions about everyone being insured in this country, but still everyone is not insured. Even when they are insured; the coverage is never enough and the co-pays are astronomical. We are the richest country in the world, yet we still cannot guarantee that everyone is insured. The sad thing is, no amount of money can save you, so instead of the medical community feeling compassionate toward the elderly, they systematically find ways to hasten their death.

This is what happened to my Father. Don’t get me wrong, He was in the worst of circumstances and he was hard pressed to come through his ordeal, but the medical community could have done more to help him to survive longer. Instead they took the low road and systematically found a way to subtly kill him. I can’ t prove this; because they are masters at this, but it is the truth.

My Father had a variety of ailments that made him a walking candidate for a nursing home. He had lousy insurance, because he negotiated his insurance alone and without all his faculties, and signed up for bogus coverage that was suspect to say the least. You see Insurance companies prey on the elderly. They find independent minded elderly people and prey upon them.

They take their homes and all their money when families pressure the nursing home to give their love ones the best care possible. After the private funds of the patient runs out, then there is absolutely no money at all. If you have money when you are elderly; my advice to you is to get rid of up it quickly before you get sick and need long tern care. If you have a house and your insurance coverage runs out. The government will take your house in order to pay your medical cost. It is a travesty when the elderly, the most deserving people in this country are treated this way.

Republicans could care less about the plights of the elderly who have no health insurance or have suspect coverage. They don’t care because of one simple reason, most have enough money to pay for the best of care no matter how long it takes. So this is not a concern to them and their families.

Perhaps this country will wake up and elect into office someone who really cares about the plight of the elderly and are actually therefor them and spearhead a drive to help them. In a word that would be Obama.

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