Death Of A Talking Point

Ken AshfordHealth CareLeave a Comment

The main takeaway from an exhaustive new study of premiums on the Obamacare health insurance marketplaces by nonprofit, nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation: They’re generally going to be lower than expected. KFF on Obamacare Premiums I know.  You're not going to read it.  But here's the bottom line:  Marketplaces premiums are coming in below initial estimates. The expected monthly premium for … Read More

Actions Have Consequences, Part XXVIII

Ken AshfordGodstuff, Health CareLeave a Comment

Q.  The senior pastor at a Texas megachurch often speaks from the pulpit against vaccines.  The church's position is that one should seek guidence from God, the Word.   What is the result? (a)  God, the Word, takes care of everybody.(b)  The senior pastor gets a Ph.D. in medicine(c)  There is an outbreak of measles which not only affects members … Read More

It Turns Out That People Like The Alternative to Obamacare, Known As “Obamacare”

Ken AshfordHealth Care, Obama OppositionLeave a Comment

This anecdote, reported by Jason Cherkis after attending an event in Louisville, speaks to a fascinating larger phenomenon. A middle-aged man in a red golf shirt shuffles up to a small folding table with gold trim, in a booth adorned with a flotilla of helium balloons, where government workers at the Kentucky State Fair are hawking the virtues of Kynect, the … Read More

Better People Than Me

Ken AshfordHealth Care1 Comment

Caleb Howe is a writer for the rightwing blog RedState.  And he's one of those bloggers — a pure hater. Take, for example, how he laid into Roger Ebert for no apparent reason other than he disagreed with Ebert. That's only a small sample. Howe loves being that way.  He prides himself being that way. True, he did eventually apologize (sort of) for … Read More

Sabotaging Obamacare

Ken AshfordHealth Care, RepublicansLeave a Comment

Look, you can't intentionally derail a train, and then say that the train didn't work. But that's just what Republicans and Tea Party leaders are planning to do with Obamacare: "The Republican strategy is to focus on messages that this is not working in states where the law is still unpopular with voters and where there are really going to … Read More

House Republicans Will Vote Tomorrow — For The 43rd Time — To Unsuccessfully Repeal Obamacare

Ken AshfordCongress, Health Care, Obama Opposition, RepublicansLeave a Comment

They know it is an exercise in futility, because even if (for some reason) the House Republicans manage to pass a vote to repeal Obamacare, the Senate won't take it up OR pass it, and even if THAT happened, Obama will never sign the repeal into law. So it's a symbolic thing. That's okay.  Symbolism has its place.  But this … Read More

Epidemic

Ken AshfordHealth CareLeave a Comment

CDC says 7.3% of all deaths in US last week were from pneumonia, flu, which is above epidemic threshold of 7.2%. 47 US states have reported widespread flu activity; 24 states, New York City had 'high activity' in flu-like illnesses last week.

Suicide Tweet

Ken AshfordIn Passing, Mental HealthLeave a Comment

Read from the bottom up.  This is the suicide of rapper Freddy E. What strikes me as odd is that he would twitter "*puts finger around trigger*", and then continue tweeting. One wonders what role drugs played.  I sense he was playing around with the idea of killing himself, and probably didn't decide to do it until after his last … Read More

Papa John’s Takes A HIt

Ken AshfordHealth Care, Obama OppositionLeave a Comment

HuffPo: The opinion of Papa John's among recent casual diners dropped precipitously after CEO John Schnatter's public comments about Obamacare, according to a new study from YouGov BrandIndex, which researches brand perception for marketing directors, brand managers and PR reps. The site conducts thousands of interviews a day, providing real-time info that shows trends and responses to different marketing techniques or … Read More

Comparing Healthcare Plans

Ken AshfordElection 2012, Health CareLeave a Comment

The Commonwealth Fund, a nonpartisan indepedent group, did the math and looked at where we will be in the future under Obama's Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"), and under the Romney plan. I love graphs and charts.  They speak volumes. Let's start with what things will look like if NOTHING is done: Now, under OBAMACARE: Now, under the ROMNEY plan: It's … Read More

Romney: Can’t Afford Health Care? Go To ER!

Ken AshfordElection 2012, Health CareLeave a Comment

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says, what's the big deal about universal health care anyway? You people who can't afford car elevators can just go to the emergency room. WASHINGTON — Downplaying the need for the government to ensure that every person has health insurance, Mitt Romney on Sunday suggested that emergency room care suffices as a substitute for the … Read More

Free Sexy Stuff from Barack Obama’s Smooth Love Sexytime Socialist Government:

Ken AshfordHealth Care, Women's Issues1 Comment

Some more Obamacare stuff begins today.  It's bad news for the crowd who, in the name of liberty, would force women to have children and get sick, just like the Founding Fathers who loved America would have done.  CBS explains: Under the new provision that goes into effect August 1, 2012, women will be eligible to receive the following eight … Read More

Does Romney Know What He Is Saying?

Ken AshfordElection 2012, Health CareLeave a Comment

Here's Romney at a fundraiser in Jerusalem on Monday: Do you realize what health care spending is as a percentage of the G.D.P. in Israel? Eight percent. You spend eight percent of G.D.P. on health care. You’re a pretty healthy nation. We spend 18 percent of our G.D.P. on health care, 10 percentage points more….We have to find ways — … Read More