Thursday, May 21, 2009

From Russia With No Love


From Russia With No Love
Posted by Frank Smith at 21.5.09

2 comments:

Just a normal Democrat said...

I voted Democrat because I love the fact that I can now
marry whatever I want. I've decided to marry my horse.

I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies'
profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the
government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.

I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a
better job of spending the money I earn than I would.

I voted Democrat because freedom of speech is fine as long
as nobody is offended by it.

I voted Democrat because when we pull out of Iraq I trust
that the bad guys will stop what they're doing because
they now think we're good people.

I voted Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to
own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to
protect me from murderers and thieves.

I voted Democrat because I believe that people who
can't tell us if it will rain on Friday can tell us that
the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I
don't start driving a Prius.

I voted Democrat because I'm not concerned about the
slaughter of millions of babies so long as we keep all death
row inmates alive.

I voted Democrat because I believe that business should not
be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to
break even and give the rest away to the government for
redistribution as THEY see fit.

I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to
rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe
kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters.

I voted Democrat because my head is so firmly planted up my
rectum that it is unlikely that I'll ever have another
point of view.

"A Liberal is a person who will give away everything they don't own."


"The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other
people's money." Margaret Thatcher

May 21, 2009 at 11:06 AM
Anonymous said...

courant.com/business/hc-insurance-competition.artmay21,0,3017402.story
Courant.com


Consumer Group Calls For Public Health Care Plan

By DIANE LEVICK

The Hartford Courant

May 21, 2009

Consumer advocates blamed skyrocketing health insurance premiums in Connecticut and other states on the industry's mergers and too little competition in a report Wednesday that calls for a new public health plan to vie with private insurers.

Insurance officials immediately challenged the data and conclusions of the report from Health Care for America Now, a coalition of organizations for reform, and called it politically motivated.

"It's a race to the bottom with these insurance companies," said Phil Sherwood, deputy director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, which is part of the coalition. "They make their money by charging more and providing less."

The report, released in different versions for each state Wednesday, came just as Connecticut's House of Representatives began debating major reform proposals that call for large insurance pools to compete with existing insurers.

A few private health insurance companies have built a near-monopoly in Connecticut, burdening customers with premiums that grew 8.2 times faster than wages from 2000 to 2007, the report says. The average annual combined premium for employers and employees in Connecticut rose 81 percent for family coverage, from $7,292 in 2000 to $13,173 in 2007.

Rising health care costs, not a lack of competition, are fueling premiums, and "this is a political document masquerading as a study," said Keith Stover, lobbyist for the Connecticut Association of Health Plans.

The state has a "vibrant and competitive marketplace," and "insurers are fighting and scrapping every day in the marketplace on both price and innovation," Stover said.

Connecticut has six health insurers compared with 15 in 1998. Anthem has historically been the largest here by far, currently with 1.4 million members. The report says Anthem had 55 percent of the state's market in 2007, though Anthem said its 2000-07 market share was about 50 percent, including Medicare and Medicaid plans.

The trade group America's Health Insurance Plans voiced concern that hospital mergers are contributing to rising health care costs. The group said government agencies have concluded health plans "operate in highly competitive markets" providing many choices for consumers.

Copyright © 2009, The Hartford Courant

May 21, 2009 at 12:46 PM

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