Month: September 2013

Countdown to the Health Insurance Marketplace

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

SixThe second most frequent question I receive about the Health Insurance Marketplace is when are we going to know the insurance rates in Arizona? The correct answer is October 1.

Late Tuesday, the government issued a report detailing premiums in
states whose insurance markets will be federally run starting Oct. 1, i.e., Arizona, with costs generally lower than prior estimates. The New York Times reports, Officials Offer First Detailed Look at Health Plan Costs:

The Obama administration on Tuesday provided the first detailed look at
premiums to be charged to consumers for health insurance in 36 states
where the federal government will run new insurance markets starting
next week, highlighting costs it said were generally lower than previous
estimates.

[According to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.]

* * *

The White House sought to focus attention on what it portrayed as the
financial advantages of the health insurance program, which is set to
start accepting customers on Oct. 1.

“I can tell you right now that in many states across the country, if
you’re, say, a 27-year-old young woman, don’t have health insurance, you
get on that exchange, you’re going to be able to purchase high-quality
health insurance for less than the cost of your cellphone bill,” Mr.
Obama said Tuesday, speaking at a health care forum in New York City
with former President Bill Clinton.

For a benchmark plan — the second-lowest-cost “silver plan,” covering 70
percent of projected medical costs for a typical consumer — the average
premium nationally will be $328 a month for individuals, the
administration said in a new report.

On Occupy’s 2nd Anniversary: The World Says ‘End Austerity Now!’ (video)

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Camping144-sig-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

What began on Sept 17, 2011 as an extended sit-in in a park in Manhattan– the bastion of US capitalism– the Occupy Movement grew into a worldwide movement with a simple message, "We are the 99%."

And we are oppressed by the 1% who own the world's wealth.

Occupy's we're-all-in-this-together– regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, or location on the globe– message presented an ah-ha moment and raised the class consciousness of millions of people.

Despite being ignored by the mainstream media, within weeks, Occupy encampments sprung up across the US, around the world, and here in Tucson.

Although small-scale compared to big-city encampments, Occupy Tucson was one of the longest running, ongoing encampments and one of the most harassed by local police and one of the most ignored by the local media. Hundreds of tickets for violating park curfews were issued to Tucson Occupiers in nightly park sweeps. At one point in 2011, more Occupy tickets had been issued in Tucson than in any other US city– except for New York City.

Today, Occupy Tucson lives on– not in the parks– but in a small office in the Alliance for Global Justice headquarters, where several activist groups share space. Well-known local Occupiers and their allies regularly speak out or organize actions related to ending corporate personhood, stopping Citizens United, building a sustainable community, ending drone warfare, stopping genetically modified foods, and other issues of the day.  [Video links and the impact of Occupy after the jump.]

Armey; or, The Modern Prometheus

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By Tom Prezelski Re-posted from Rum, Romanism and Rebellion A few days back, we learned that James Spader will be playing the misanthropic robot Ultron in the next Avengers movie. To be honest, I do not know what to make of this. I love Spader, but I am not sure if even he can portray … Read more

Investigative journalism: Republican AG candidate Mark Brnovich and his ties to private prison corporation CCA

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By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

While the current Arizona Attorney General, Republican Tom Horne, has
proven to be such an embarrassment to the "powers that be" in the AZGOP
have allowed at least one of their water carriers to mount a primary
challenge to him.

Mark Brnovich, director of Arizona's
Department of Gaming and a long-time Republican apparatchik, has
announced that he is running for the office.

To the
best of my knowledge, he didn't give his girlfriends taxpayer-funded
jobs, commit hit-and-run accidents, violate campaign finance laws, or
has been permanently banned from securities trading by the SEC.

However,
he does seem to have a very questionable association in his closet, one
that a state's top law enforcement officer wannabe is going to have
trouble explaining away.

From an in-depth article published by the Center for Media and Democracy's PR Watch, written by Beau Hodai –

Affordable Care Act Claims: PolitiFact Sorts Fact from Fiction

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by Pamela Powers Hannley

As the Republican Congressional circus continues, October 1– the federal budget deadline and the Affordable Care Act health exchange roll-out date– is fast approaching.

Teapublican Senatorial crusaders Ted Cruz and Mike Lee and others are spreading tons of misinformation about the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare).

To counter the misinformation, PolitiFact has provided this great list of facts– to counter the "pants-on-fire" lies.

1. The health care law rations care, like systems in Canada and Great Britain. False.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott, July 2, 2012,  in an interview on Fox News

The health care law is not socialized medicine. Instead, it leaves in place the private health care system that follows free market principles. The law does put more regulations on health insurance companies. It also fines most large employers who fail to provide insurance for their employees, and it requires all individuals to have health insurance. This is unlike the systems in either Britain or Canada. In Britain, doctors are employees of the government, while in Canada, the government pays most medical bills as part of a single-payer system. The U.S. health care law has neither of those features. PolitiFact has rated this claim and others like it False.