What Arrangement Potentially Poses Big Threat to Medicare & Obamacare?
- Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:11pm by
Scott Baker
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WASHINGTON (AP) – Every year, thousands of people make a deal with their doctor: I’ll pay you a fixed annual fee, whether or not I need your services, and in return you’ll see me the day I call, remember who I am and what ails me, and give me your undivided attention.
But this arrangement potentially poses a big threat to Medicare and to the new world of medical care envisioned under President Barack Obama’s health overhaul.
The spread of “concierge medicine,” where doctors limit their practice to patients who pay a fee of about $1,500 a year, could drive a wedge among the insured. Eventually, people unable to afford the retainer might find themselves stuck on a lower tier, facing less time with doctors and longer waits.
Medicare recipients, who account for a big share of patients in doctors’ offices, are the most vulnerable. The program’s financial troubles are causing doctors to reassess their participation. But the impact could be broader because primary care doctors are in short supply and the health law will bring in more than 30 million newly insured patients.
If concierge medicine goes beyond just a thriving niche, it could lead to a kind of insurance caste system.
“What we are looking at is the prospect of a more explicitly tiered system where people with money have a different kind of insurance relationship than most of the middle class, and where Medicare is no longer as universal as we would like it to be,” said John Rother, policy director for AARP.
Concierge doctors say they’re not out to exclude anyone, but are trying to recapture the personal connection shredded by modern medicine. Instead of juggling 2,000 or more patients, they can concentrate on a few hundred, stressing prevention and acting as advocates with specialists and hospitals.
“I don’t have to be looking at patient mix and how many are booked per hour,” said Dr. Lewis Weiner, a primary care physician in Providence, R.I., who’s been in a concierge practice since 2005.
“I get to know the individual,” Weiner said. “I see their color. I see their moods. I pick up changes in their lives, new stressors that I would not have found as easily before. It’s been a very positive shift.”
Making the switch can also be economically rewarding. If 500 patients pay $1,500 apiece, that’s gross revenue of $750,000 for the practice. Many concierge doctors also bill Medicare and private insurance for services not covered by their retainer.
Patients and family members say the fee is worth it.
Linda Popkin lives in New York, far from her 97-year-old mother in Florida. With their mother in a concierge practice, Popkin says she and her siblings have direct access to the doctor as needed.
“If one of us calls the doctor, he calls us back,” she said. “We are involved in all the decisions. We definitely have peace of mind that Mom is seeing a doctor she can speak to if we have any questions. I‘m sure you’ve heard the horror stories about people calling the doctor and they can’t get in for three weeks.”
Popkin‘s mother didn’t lose her Medicare. She’s still covered for medications, specialist visits, hospitalizations and other services. But she has an additional level of personalized attention.
Her doctor is affiliated with a Florida-based management company called MDVIP, a wholly owned subsidiary of consumer products giant Procter & Gamble that represents the largest group of concierge physicians in the country.
MDVIP marketing executive Mark Murrison says its doctors do not sell access, but a level of clinical services above what Medicare or private insurance cover. The cornerstone is an intensive annual physical focused on prevention. About half the patients are Medicare beneficiaries.
Retainer fees range from $1,500 to $1,800 a year, and MDVIP collects $500 of that for legal, regulatory and other support services.
Murrison said the fee is affordable for middle-class households when compared with the cost of many consumer goods and services. “One of our goals is to democratize concierge medicine,” he said.
For now, there may be fewer than 2,000 doctors in all types of retainer practice nationally. Most are primary care physicians, a sliver of the estimated 300,000 generalists.
The trend caught the eye of MedPAC, a commission created by Congress that advises lawmakers on Medicare and watches for problems with access. It hired consultants to investigate.
Their report, delivered last fall, found listings for 756 concierge doctors nationally, a five-fold increase from the number identified in a 2005 survey by the Government Accountability Office.
The transcript of a meeting last September at which the report was discussed reveals concerns among commission members that Medicare beneficiaries could face sharply reduced access if the trend accelerates.
“My worst fear—and I don’t know how realistic it is—is that this is a harbinger of our approaching a tipping point,” said MedPAC chairman Glenn Hackbarth, noting that “there’s too much money” for doctors to pass up.
Hackbarth continued: “The nightmare I have—and, again, I don’t know how realistic it is—is that a couple of these things come together, and you could have a quite dramatic erosion in access in a very short time.”
Another commissioner at the meeting, Robert Berenson, called concierge medicine a “canary in the coal mine.”
Several members said it appears to be fulfilling a central goal of Obama’s overhaul, enhancing the role of primary care and restoring the doctor-patient relationship.
Yet the approach envisioned under the law is different from the one-on-one attention in concierge medicine. It calls for a team strategy where the doctor is helped by nurses and physician assistants, who handle much of the contact with patients.
John Goodman, a conservative health policy expert, predicts the health care law will drive more patients to try concierge medicine. “Seniors who can pay for it will go outside the system,” he said.
MedPAC’s Hackbarth declined to be interviewed. But Berenson, a physician and policy expert, said “the fact that excellent doctors are doing this suggests we’ve got a problem.”
“The lesson is, if we don’t attend to what is now a relatively small phenomenon, it’s going to blow up,” he added.
When a primary care doctor switches to concierge practice, it means several hundred Medicare beneficiaries must find another provider.
Medicare declined an interview on potential consequences. “There are no policy changes in the works at this time,” said spokeswoman Ellen Griffith.
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Comments (78)
Glassjar
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 11:04pmI met a woman last summer who used to live in a country that practiced socialized medicine. Patients were forced to wait months or years to have an operation scheduled. The answer for the “commoners”? Sit next to the doctor’s desk and when he opened the top drawer of his desk, slip him a large sum of money. You got his immediate attention.
Report Post »Jaycen
Posted on April 4, 2011 at 12:34amRight, I’ve heard of similiar situations from a few Canadians and a guy from England.
I’d say most countries with socialized medicine already have such a 2-tiered system.
Report Post »Nigel2
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 10:36pmOh shucks, that would be a shame to see those mean old doctors rain on Obama’s grand little socialist plans.
Report Post »lilshel
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 10:26pmIn reply to JHAYDENG………..This is the second time I have heard of this program and the first time was from an individual that actually is part of the program…I was impressed by what she told me. We had lived in the MD, DC area where the access to good medical services were available however, we retired and moved. I am not so impressed with our immediate area but there are good facilities at 60-80 MI away. The fascinating part is that your complete medical history is carried on a disk about the size of a credit card…if you have an emergency…the info can be used for communication…and she tells me that the Dr. ALWAYS returns calls (imagine that!) and also if you noticed the 97 year old that lived in FL…the children were able to have good communication with her physician and/or physicians….I must say I am impressed and I hope this will help you as well. At least to research the program and determine if it would be right for you.
Report Post »BBomber66
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 10:23pmTo Brntout: I was unable to determine if Kurty C Wipe was calling Conservatives ideologs or was showing what the Democratic leadership think of it constituency. I’m leaning to the side that he recoginzed some new bloggers as Dems and wanted to expose them to how they are thought of by the elite, liberal snob whom they believe are actually looking out for them.
To Kurty C Wipe: Where did you find this quote by Carville?
Report Post »Kurty C Wipe
Posted on April 5, 2011 at 1:14amgoogle?
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 10:16pmNow the Dems will want us to pay a $1500 fee (concierge medicine) so illegals don’t have wait for a doctor
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 10:15pmhey, a concierge dr, love that show ROYAL PAINS.. who knew they’d be forecasting our future alternatives!? and not one anti-conservative slam on that show [yet] either
Report Post »DaveOregon
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 10:04pmNothing wrong with the concept or it’s implementation – it’s basically paying to cut in line and make sure the doctor knows your file and acts when you have a problem. It goes on in all facets of life – he who pays, gets to play first. Been this way for thousands of years. The issue the author is alluding to – is the lack of doctors for all the increase in patients that ObummerCare creates – and that what you’ll evenutally get , is the better doctors are all committed to their supplemental paying patients – not the rest of us cattle. It does create a bidding war – and can you see the “bribes” that doctors will charge for taking the time to even see you at all? To me – let’s be honest – we are not “patients” we are customers – and he who pays -plays.
Report Post »Salamander
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 10:02pmDoctors are smarter than politicians! Doctors are smarter than lawyers! Doctors have a BIG investment in their careers AND they are NOT going to sit around and get scammed by Fanciful Nancy Pelosi and Harry Greid! Like water finding its way through a foundation wall, doctors will innovate to survive! Concierge medicine might be the BEST thing to happen to medicine since the Socratic oath! It taps those who can pay for service, rewards those who can provide service and weeds out those truly on the dole! If you think for a minute that ‘greedy’ doctors won’t CONTINUE to VOLUNTEER their services to the TRULY NEEDY, you’re watching the wrong network! Doctors, as a group, are THE MOST COMPASSIONATE people there are! They understand the HIGH COST of medicine! Left alone, they wouldn’t order a FULL PANEL of tests, unless it was warranted! Litigation, medicare, hospital practices FORCE them to overdo it in order to avoid adverse consequences! Left alone, the medical profession will figure it out! FORCED to COMPLY with BEAUROCRATIC practices, they will leave the treatment side of their profession and go into teaching and research! Just ASK them! Didjaknow that someone with multiple part-time jobs, no unemployment and no (employer-provided) medical insurance CANNOT DEDUCT the high-limit health plan REQUIRED in order to participate with his OWN HSA! If he ‘qualified’ as a ‘consultant’ and could draw 1099 income, rather than part-time W-2 income, he could deduct the insurance on his Schedule C. If the employer provided insurance, he could deduct it as a business expense, lowering his income tax exposure, but the hard-working, multiple job, seasoned citizen CANNOT enjoy the same tax advantage! This REALLY ****** ME OFF!!! I now face a dental procedure that I CANNOT AFFORD! But, I MIGHT qualify for VA hospital veteran’s hardship coverage, AND, I can certainly take advantage of the local medical/dental school if I want to go through the inconvenience, both at a steep discount to ‘rack rates’! The issue for me is ‘continuity of care’ as I face a series of procedures and I believe it might make for a better outcome if I suck it up, go to the private practitioner that does a lot of what I need and can THINK about the next step of the procedure as he/she completes EACH STEP! I plan to ASK for relief, but not BEG for it! I CAN afford something and DON’T MIND PAYING for their skill, talent, experience, dedication and judgement!!! If my past experience with private doctors is any indication, I’ll be delighted with the outcome! And, if it is less than satisfactory, well, I’ll know I involved the BEST TALENT available to me in a dynamic market! Fortunately for me, most of the people I have to deal with know one another, see each other EVERY day, professionally, socially, in church, etc. I‘m not worried that there are mechanisms to ’weed out’ the inept! I so, much appreciate that I‘m not having a beaurocrat make these decisions ’for’ me!
Report Post »texanpatriot
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 10:00pmThe best thing we Americans can do for the next 18 months is to track the votes and spending of our Representatives and Senators. If they try to reduce the deficit and pay back the debt, put them back in, If they vote Obamacare, PBS, NPR and Planned Babylesshood out of business than vote them back in. Pay close attention to every move they make.
Report Post »However, if they take the other road it is time to retire them.
The lame stream media, New York Slimes, PMSNBC and the rest will do their best to make us lose focus on the Main Thing. DON’T LET THEM. Stay focused; track the votes; get out and work for the good Americans who want to see this great Country excel. This is the most critical time in our Country’s history since the Revolution. Please Lord, see us through.
Vyger
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 9:54pmFunny. After reading this article I have a real desire to go try to find a concierge doctor tomorrow. And then next week look into starting a business using this system. And I am located in God’s waiting room down here in Florida.
Report Post »angelcat
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 9:14pmI have been telling my friends for months that this is exactly what the best doctors will do – concierge medicine. Those who can afford it will get excellent health care. Our country will be divided into those who can afford this and get ready access to a doctor and those who can’t afford it and have to contend with Obamacare and the long waits and shortage of doctors and “death panels” that will emerge.
Report Post »RightPolitically
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 9:10pmThe capitalist free market will always find a way to circumvent STUPIDITY! Socialist ideologues like the President and his merry men (and Hillary) never seem able to understand that fact. This is why, in order for socialist solutions to work, there must an absolute fascist-like grip on THE THROATS of the people.
Report Post »RightPolitically
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 9:13pmCORRECTION TO THE ABOVE: ……there must ALWAYS BE an absolute fasc…….
Report Post »ibanrfknm
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 9:04pmsleazyhippo
Report Post »I feel a lot better knoing all those good things are happening. There is just one small problem; the unemployment number is 10.1% http://www.gallup.com/poll/143426/Gallup-Finds-Unemployment-September.aspx
Ellbee
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:55pmHow cool! Concierge medicine–I had no idea. Probably not available in where I live in podunk, but I’m going to check!
Report Post »brntout
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 9:04pmMaybe they’lll park your car for no charge?
Report Post »wisehiney
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:51pmI might believe some of that crap some days sleazyhippo, but not today. You keep on believing.
Report Post »Jeweltoo
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:51pmR U Kidding me? They are just writing about this now?. My doctor has dropped medicare patients, another doctor has dropped insurance all together, and another is going concierge. Your insurance coverage under Obamacare will be a worthless piece of paper. My doctors are very upset over Obamacare and they are adjusting the way they do business right under the noses of the Democrats. By 2012 everyone will have gotten a good whiff of Obamacare. I hope so much so that they vote Obama and the Democrats right out of office in 2012. Why do you think waivers are being issued. They don’t want that whiff to become too foul smelling.
Is it 2012 yet?
Seniors . . go to….www.themedicarelawsuit.org and find out all about the lawsuit the Fund for Personal Liberty has brought against the Obama Administration preventing seniors from opting out of medicare in order to purchase their own insurance.
Report Post »loadingmyclips
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:45pmBoy that idiot soeto, obabna or whatever his name is sure has made a mess of our country
Report Post »AmeriCat
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:30pmOff subject: It IS goood: “The Kennedys” REELZ, now!
Report Post »I think Kennedy would have liked the Tea Party
CatB
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 11:24pmKennedy was tough on defense, cut taxes and was for personal responsiblity .. not exactly today’s DemocRAT.
Report Post »Dr of T
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:29pmthat’s one of the great things about Americans (the good ones that is). they have a way of figuring things out, no matter how much their own government plots against them
Report Post »raggle
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:52pmYeah, the best doctors will have no problem getting patients, the not so good doctors will be left working their butts off, dealing w/ Medicare, and earning less. If the gov. just stayed out of the medical field, we could all see the best doctors. The free market is why we have the best doctors in the world now!
Report Post »maryslittlelamb
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 9:36pm@ Dr of T and Raggle
My thoughts exactly! I love the American can-do spirit. Gingrich once said our biggest export is “imagination”. It’s amazing what the human mind and spirit can come up with living unfettered under the safety of rule of law. The left says “yes, we can“ but their real message is ”no, you can’t” and too many people have bought into the mindset of the latter without even realizing it. It makes me sick to think of the waste of human potential.
Report Post »BetterDays
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:27pmWhereas I doubt my spouse and I will enter into such an agreement, I find no faul in it. This is how open markets work. What doesn’t work with open markets is socialized medicine, Obamacare. My family has very good health insurance right now, a cadilac plan, but Obamanation wants to tax me 40% above the cost of the plan if I retain it, I already pay quite a bit thank you. I have no problem having a very mall percentage of my tax’s going towards paying for health care for those who could NEVER earn money to pay their own, but I get irate when John Q. Leftist stands there with his hands out looking for a hand out, or to redistribute what is not his to redistribute.
Report Post »But I’ve learned over these last few years, leftists, socialist’s, communists, progressives and their ilk are hypocrites and deaf to common sense. Which is why I don’t try to debate them, I got no more wordage for them, except…GTFO!
brntout
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:59pmRemember he said “If f you like your current healthcare pla,and tour doctor ,you can keep it”. hahahahahahahah.Good luck keeping that plan.
Report Post »canuck44
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:27pmThis is the evolution of a non-governmental system that accepts no government dollars and operates at low cost because they exclude government, lawyers and insurance companies. No EMTALA, no freebie alien care, no end of life care, no Emergency Rooms, Trauma Centers, High Five disease etc.
Report Post »Forget about the Electronic Medical Record scam…government will not have access to your records.
brntout
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:18pmConcierge , sounds Frenchy French to me.
Report Post »nephewofdboone
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:17pmMr. President, you know me, I was The Outlaw Josey Whales until disqus fcckked up my account. And now I’m here to tell you that no matter what you do, we will either find a way around your rules, or eliminate them. Your legacy to the country will be utter failure. You will be remembered in a very bad light. Your presidency, and progressivism, will be known as a huge mistake, forever.
Report Post »338lapua
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 9:07pmI second that!
Report Post »Only I am 338lapua, you know me as 338lapua.
brntout
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:15pmRead play on that you pay we play
Report Post »brntout
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:14pmYou pay ,we pay.What a sick bunch .Death panel precursor.
Report Post »Revere1
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:19pmLiberals are threatened by any arrangement that puts something other than the government in control. Whether it’s medicine, automobile companies, the media, anything: http://www.battlefield315.com/2011/03/socialism-explained.html They believe in centralized control and socialism, period.
Report Post »SoCal Patriot
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:26pmThis is capitalism at its purest. Good for them to get around government telling doctors how to practice medicine and for what price.
Report Post »sleazyhippo
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:30pmSuntanned Americans in sandals receive one full month of Combat pay for a Friday spent eating Steak & Shrimp by the pool in the Iraq Green Zone, never hearing a shot fired. Luckily for us, the president’s investments in large and small business are beginning to pay off with jobs, which were down in April to 8.8 percent form 9.8% last November. The US will make $5-7 Billion dollars this year from assisting with Japanese recovery efforts. American public union workers will recall three freshmen Governors and take over 4 to 8 State legislatures in 2011.Unemployment will be 6.6 percent in August 2012. .
Kurty C Wipe
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:31pmGood to see alot of new readers here, “Ideologies aren’t all that important. What’s important is psychology.
“The Democratic constituency is just like a herd of cows. All you have to do is lay out enough silage and they come running. That’s why I became an operative working with Democrats. With Democrats all you have to do is make a lot of noise, lay out the hay, and be ready to use the ole cattle prod in case a few want to bolt the herd.
Eighty percent of the people who call themselves Democrats don’t have a clue as to political reality.
What amazes me is that you could take a group of people who are hard workers and convince them that they should support social programs that were the exact opposite of their own personal convictions. Put a little fear here and there and you can get people to vote any way you want.
The voter is basically dumb and lazy. The reason I became a Democratic operative instead of a Republican was because there were more Democrats that didn’t have a clue than there were Republicans.
Truth is relative. Truth is what you can make the voter believe is the truth. If you’re smart enough, truth is what you make the voter think it is. That‘s why I’m a Democrat. I can make the Democratic voters think whatever I want them to.” James Carville
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:43pmMy Irish grandparents and their extended families had similar arrangements, didn’t buy into any insurance of any kind, always there for each other. Virtually impossible to manage when you’re dealing with the general public, most everyone will expect more than they’ve contributed, then sue. By the way, majority of lawsuits for malpractic if because the patient feels they were treated unfairly, nothing to do with the procedure.
Report Post »jhaydeng
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:44pmI have never even heard of this, but if I could ditch my crappy union plan I would do it in a second. It stinks being at the mercy of a conglomerate insurance plan!
Report Post »joseph Fawcett
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:45pmI agree with you REVERE1. They are afraid that we will find out that we really don’t need anywhere near the level of goverment as they want to impose upon us. Maybe, just maybe, we will be able to do it on our own with out their help. In fact it will be demostrated that Goverment has caused most of the problems and once we can get them out of controling everything, we will be much better off. Healthcare would be affordable for everyone if Goverment were on in it at all. Ever hear of supply amd demand. If you have a customer who is willing to pay more because they have ways to tax everyone, then your prices go up. Then the private person has to pay more to meet the higher paying customer. That is how it has been and will be until the goverment gets out of providing healthcare, no matter in what form it takes.
http://www.josephfawcettart.com western artist
Report Post »joe conservative
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:45pmThis whole Obamacare thing must be stopped. Obama is the great divider with everything he has done so far. There is a great youtube video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nTMaT_9QGo that shows him for who he really is.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:50pmOH oh government losing control?
Report Post »Hell I could afford this…
brntout
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:51pm@ KURTY C WIPE You actually joined the progressive movement ,why?Wait they hate America as it was founded and why? Cause if you really loved and even spent some time in the military defending your ability to be able to speak on this forum , then you would have some credability.We as military despise despots like you ,and don’t ever in yor wildest dreams think we will lay down (or bow to anyone like dear leader) we will never let your ilk take our country, so beware.
Report Post »Aegis
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 9:05pmI participate in MDVIP and it works very well!!! Whatever I have to do to undermine ObamaCare/Socialized medicine!!!
Report Post »sooner12
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 9:07pmI think the Obozo govt. will come up with ways to discourage doctors from becoming a concierge doctor. Just you wait. As far as I am concerned, I would pay for my mother to have such a doctor.
Report Post »mrclean
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 9:09pmThese doctors are spewing a steaming pile of BS….. blahblah good for patient care blah blah….BLAH
Just one more marketing ploy to separate you from you money. It is and always has been all about the money. Don’t be fooled by their marketing BS and the blatant lie about how much they care about their patients. It’s a crock. It’s more likely a case of increasing their income to pay the high malpractice insurance and overhead costs and a 3rd or 4th car.
“When a primary care doctor switches to concierge practice, it means several hundred Medicare beneficiaries must find another provider.”
Obviously if you do the math you will see that obamacare will destroy doctor-patient relationships, not enhance them.
There are tens millions who can’t afford $1500 a year. And I’m sure the non-concierge docs already know how they‘ll handle the folks who can’t pay the fee, just relegate the poor saps to 3-month waiting lists and 2 hour waiting-room waits. And throw in another 45 minutes waiting in the exam room to be seen by a physician’s assistant or Certified Nurse Practitioner. pfft
I am a retired nurse who worked for decades in doctor’s offices and hospitals. I enjoyed my profession, but I‘ve been to OZ and I’ve seen behind the curtain. They will never convince me of their pure hearts and noble intentiions. Never.
Report Post »Jabber
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 9:11pmjhaydeng-
You probably CAN do this depending on how many doctors in your area are accepting patients this way. At least I don‘t see why you couldn’t. I just don’t think you understand how it works.
You don’t JUST pay the $1500.00- $1800.00 a year-that’s just the out of pocket RETAINING fee that you would pay for the doctor to accept you. He still bills your current insurance for any services he provides for you. Your insurance company (or Union) shouldn’t have the slightest voice in whether you do this or not. It’s an arrangement made between you and a doctor who practices “concierge” services. And if Obamacare affects MY medical services, you can bet your butt I’m going to find a concierge doctor ASAP.
Report Post »YouGottaProblemWithThat
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 9:15pmThe truth is out, you can not make doctors work for free until ther are thrown into re-education camps with the rest of us. Capitalism is in our blood and no matter what BHO and the rest do, people will find a way to make a buck. Problem is BHO and the rest of the Marxists are hard at work coniving ways to take it from you and from me. 2012 can not come quick enough.
Report Post »Anti_Spock
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 9:17pmWhen I get old and need treatment I’ll treat myself.
Report Post »Justthefactsmam
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 10:07pm@SLEAZYHIPPO
Report Post »Luckily for us, the president’s investments in large and small business are beginning to pay off with jobs, which were down in April to 8.8 percent form 9.8% last November. The US will make $5-7 Billion dollars this year from assisting with Japanese recovery efforts. American public union workers will recall three freshmen Governors and take over 4 to 8 State legislatures in 2011.Unemployment will be 6.6 percent in August 2012.
————————————————————————-
The US “making” $5-7 billion” from the Japanese recovery efforts represent about .04% of the DEFICIT from Pres Obama’s 2012 budget…The falling unemployment numbers are fantastic…until you start counting the people that “stop” looking for work and the jobs that the govt says will never come back…As I’m pretty sure you will see in Wisconsin, there are 16 recall efforts going on…and I am sure you will see more Democraps lose their jobs than the Republicans…And as I said before…I’m sure the “official” unemployment numbers will be low by August 2012…while runaway inflation and stratospheric interest rates are setting in
independentvoteril
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 10:20pmSounds like a plan.. even for those with insurance.. depending on how often you go to the doctors.. heck .. MOST doctors have LESS than BANKERS hours now days.. so to see your doctors you have to either take the WHOLE day or 1/2 day off work and IF your a hourly worker it could cost you $.. Heck when I was working it cost me $150 to go see the doctor if I had a cold.. (loss of pay.. and co pay).. and many people complain their bosses won‘t let them off work to see a doctor and if they do let them off they can’t use it as a sick day provided they get sick days…It would be worth it to pay a doctor to stay in the office longer hours to convenience the patients.. LOL..
Report Post »CatB
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 11:10pmOf course AARP would be threatened by this .. they sell INSURANCE. Many seniors don’t understand that they are working AGAINST your best interests!
Report Post »dr_funk
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 11:35pm@brntout
Kurty was quoting James Carville, you doof.
Report Post »Jaycen
Posted on April 4, 2011 at 12:33amDO ANY BLAZERS live in Canada or Britain? Can you tell us whether or not you already have something similar in your countries?
Report Post »Uncle Sambo
Posted on April 4, 2011 at 7:19amNow that you are about to retire and the United Slut has taken your money for payment of services that it has no intention of providing, it is time to prosecute its officers for fraud.
I suggest that many of the officers of the United Slut be sentenced to life of hard labor as oil workers in AWNR. After all they did not mind stealing from you the fruits of your labor.
Report Post »Berniedog
Posted on April 4, 2011 at 11:51amWhat a great thing! I would love to contact my physician 24/7, anytime, anywhere. I would not have
Report Post »to wait an hour or two for my appt. I would receive one full hour of undivided attention (if I needed it).
Govt will try to stop this asap! According to our govt, docs will be making too much money and have too much control.