Magox

You'd have to be a real fool to believe that Levitre = Dockery. Genius

Absolutely, it would be foolish to not look and see what sort of deal you could get on the exchange. There are some instances, rare as they may be, of certain individuals who are able to find a lower premium than what they were paying before, specially if you qualify for a subsidy or if you were someone who was previously being rated up because of a pre existing medical condition.

Whatever we do, make sure we come out with a new RT, Guards and LB to replace what we have now. With an upgrades at these positions and hopefully some meaningful development from our QB, along with figuring out how to limit the run and improving the special teams, we can finally reach the playoffs.

Time to get out of that crap hole, it has done nothing for this organization other than provide a little extra coin for the owner.

This is what 14 years of losing does. Fans becoming professional apologists for our team's lousy decisions over personnel.

I don't care what anyone says, we could have easily afforded to keep Levitre, and yes he was worth the money he was asking, and not having him on our offensive line this year did indeed negatively impact our offensive line primarily our running game. There, I said it.

Well, I'm glad to hear that you and your friends have found good deals on the ACA. However as LA pointed out, you guys are certainly the exception and not the norm. There are many variables that go into the premium changes, it could be the doctor reimbursement rates in the network, possibly pre existing medical conditions in the individual market plan you had that is now more based on a community rating, maybe the small business risk pools that your friends workplaces maybe consisted of sicker and older people or maybe you just happen to live in one of those rare zip codes where more insurers stepped in helping reduce the premiums. I hope you have the time and interest to read this post, simply because I'm going to provide empirical data and analysis performed no longer on abstract models, but existing exchange information. There will also be opinions from some non partisan industry insiders who also are basing their views on the data at hand. Also I will tell you my firsthand experience of the law as well and the impact we are seeing on many individual instances. http://www.forbes.co...low-to-elderly/ That's a 49 state analysis based on policies that are currently being offered on the exchanges, relative to comparable deductible policies you could have found on E health insurance. http://www.usatoday....unties/4165513/ So what about the small business premiums? It's worse. http://investigation...trade-offs?lite http://www.cleveland...ers_warn_t.html I went into the health insurance field about a year and a half ago, started off working for a company and about 6 months ago decided to open up a small office with a few agents and now we have eight. We are aligned with GOHEALTH who is one of the largest online brokerages in the country, the way I have my office set up is that we are on a central cloud based program, all the agents work out of their own homes, I provide them leads that I purchase through GOHEALTH, in which they generate them from people who are searching for health insurance through their website in which we call them to offer them different plans. GOHEALTH is one of the few agencies that is contracted with the Government to offer the subsidized policies on the exchange, just like the federal website, there are glitches with the direct link from GOHEALTH to the Federal Marketplace ACA website. We just recently obtained access to offer those policies due to the technical difficulties. Our office is licensed to offer health insurance in 23 states and we carry United Health Care/Golden Rule, Aetna, Assurant Health, Cigna, Humana and a couple regional based carriers. I say this with all honesty, the vast majority of the premiums for people who do not qualify for a subsidy pay not only a higher premium, but considerably higher, in some cases 200-300% higher, depending on how rural of a location they live. There were a few carriers that were still allowing people to purchase the older 2013 Major Medical policies that didn't comply with the new ACA 10 essential benefits mandates, without having to pay a penalty. Of course they are only able to keep that policy throughout 2014, in which their policy will then be cancelled and they will at that point have to either purchase one of the ACA policies that complies with the law, or purchase a non complying policy and pay the fine, or go without health insurance. We've had a deluge of sales in the past 45 days, and out of the 750 policies that we have in our office, not even 20 of them were the 2014 policies. We offered both of them, and allowed them to make the choice. Our modus operandi is we would show a direct contrast by first pricing the 2014 ACA compliant plans. Show them the deductibles, prescription plans, networks and then premiums. To say the least, the overwhelming reaction was EXTREMELY NEGATIVE!!! That's putting it mildly. A typical response would be "I thought this was suppose to be the Affordable Care Act".....Then our next response is to explain why the premiums are much higher than they use to be. Which we begin to tell them some of the benefits such as that there is no more Denying people for pre existing medical conditions which of course has a cost associated to premiums. That there are taxes levied on some hospitals, taxes on the insurers and medical device makers, which of course these end up being passed down to the consumer. And then we tell them about the 10 essential minimum benefits, in which it entails that every new policy MUST have Children's pediatric coverage, Substance abuse , mental health and Maternity coverage. These added benefits in which many cases are not needed add on to the premium. This by far is the most unpopular portion of the law that we hear from people. I can't tell you how many older individuals say, "I don't need that" and they are not pleased. So then we go and quote them the 2013 plans. We inform them that they will have to go through underwriting and they may not get approved based on their medical history. In I'd say in over 98% of the quotes we give, you can get these individuals a cheaper policy with a lower deductible, much larger PPO network and heftier prescription drug plan. Of course, they like these policies better. We proceed to send them out quotes with policy details of the 2 best plans we selected for 2014 and 2 best for 2013 policies and there they can see a side by side comparison to the email address we sent it to. So, it's not just the links that I provided above that show evidence that premiums are lower, but that is what we overwhelmingly see as well. Here's the kicker, there have been many policies that have been purchased on the individual market that are these 2013 plans. Those plans, unless the law is reformed again (which I believe it will), there will be a huge wave of cancellation notices that will be sent in October of 2014. JA, I've literally had a few women break down in tears telling me that they don't know what they are going to do come next year. I've heard many people say that they'll just go without health insurance. I quoted a lady and her husband out of Arkansas age 59 and 61, who had a $5k deductible through UH and they were paying $589 a month. It included doctor copays of $35, it was a large PPO network, $500 deductible on prescriptions with $15 copay on generics, ER visits $500 deductible and free preventative visits.....The cheapest policy they can get for 2014 is a bronze Humana $6300 deductible $12600 for the two of them, no doctor visit coverage until they hit the deductible, no ER visits until it hits deductible, no prescriptions until it hits deductible for $1485. She wept. I had to try to console her, very awkward to say the least, considering that I'm not the consoling type. I had to tell her that there are other options where she can get decent coverage but would have to pay the fine, also that I thought that the law would be reformed and that maybe this horrible position that she is in will possibly not be the case come next year. I've got a lot more to say on the law, regarding deductibles, networks, prescription plans and premiums. I'll save that for a later post.

You will be wrong

Ya, Cotton most likely will win... However, his foreign policy is part of the old neo con guard, and I believe it is becoming more and more clear, that it has proven to be a failed route.

Wall Street certainly contributed to the downturn, but to say they are solely responsible is simply ignorant. US Housing policy that encouraged people who weren't in a position to buy homes and lenders to push them through, overzealous home buyers who were looking to flip homes, unscrupulous mortgage practices by mortgage brokers, dishonest home appraisers, interest rate policy was too loose for too long for the time, incompetent ratings agencies and a whole plethora of other reasons were to blame.

A few points: One, on that play where Donovan fell awkwardly, if you watch the replay closely, the reason why he fell the way he did is because the Panamanian defender kicked one of Donovan's leg when it was up in the air, which most likely was the reason why he fell. I'm not saying that there should have been a foul called, but it could have easily gone the other way, and justifiably so. In regards to Diskerud, I have high hopes for him, unfortunately he plays the same role as Bradley, more of the distributor from the defensive side of the midfield. And I don't believe that he will replace Jones as the Defensive midfield pitbull role as the starter. And yes, Beckerman my guess will make the team, and he certainly played well in this tournament, but there are too many good players in front of him that play his position. And yes, truly unfortunate of what happened to Holden.

B-Large, I had no idea that you were one of the people that those latin people you were speaking of would have to be protected from, you know, of all the misinformation that is out there.

Yes, I totally agree. Like how you can keep your own doctor. Or that it will reduce the Deficit. Or that it will lower health insurance premiums. Or that it will improve the quality of care. Way too much misinformation out there.

Relax, Sally. No need to be on the verge of massive coronary.

Wow! Now that is ignorant.. Yeah, it's only Cameroon. dipshit Oh, I guess you didn't catch Chef's comment? "Keep pushing that soccer popularity because you're the only one that believes it" .... In any case, it doesn't matter what you, Chef or I believe, it's a matter of taste, my comment was in response to Chef's, which of course was incorrect.

These past 10 games, starting with the win vs. Germany is the best I've ever seen the US play. They are playing with excellent possession, quick striking attacks, the defense has finally found it's footing and more importantly, We're finishing! I believe that Klinsmann is beginning to change the culture, specially on the offensive side. So many good players to choose from, this is by far the deepest team we've ever had, and it's going to make it very difficult for Klins to select who the starters will be this World cup. Pretty stoked right now. I don't know man. I think Donavon is excellent, and when he's on his game he's the most dynamic offensive player we have. However, Dempsey is more consistent. Also, I'd put Bradley right up there with them.

Well, if you put it that way, are we seriously going to get into a pissing match to see which sport is globally more popular? I mean, it's not even close.

He's one sick puppy

I was watching Morning Joe earlier today, and Tina Brown editor of The Daily Beast was asked if she thought it was a bit hypocritical for some musicians to boycott Florida because of the Stand your ground laws, when nearly half of the states in the US have similar laws, and she answered/evaded by saying that it was a form of protest, and then went on to say that the reaction and protests on behalf of Trayvon Martin have been somewhat muted, peaceful, and she appeared disappointed to me appeared to suggest that they haven't been as unruly as she had hoped. Also, I'm sure someone probably has already posted this. http://www.bizpacreview.com/2013/07/22/obama-co-sponsored-2004-bill-to-bolster-justified-force-law-80171 Apparently Obama co sponsored a Stand your ground Law in Illinois back in 2004.

Is it even conceivable that one of the reasons Italy has budgetary problems is because of their welfare state and pension models?

I suppose you didn't know why they will most likely see a rate decrease. It only will make rates go lower in NY, well..... Because there really wasn't anywhere else it could go, based on existing laws. http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/07/18/the-new-york-times-tries-and-fails-to-save-obamacare-from-health-insurance-rate-shock/ Take a look at the link

You are out of your mind. By no reasonable metric, can anyone suggest that this law, OVERALL is a good thing. Sure, there are beneficiaries of the law, people with pre existing's that couldn't get coverage before, the expansion of Medicaid will allow more people to get treated at relatively no cost and there will be people who will qualify for generous subsidies that will get coverage for cheaper than what they could have gotten it before the law, and in a very few select states, NY, the cost of health insurance will be cheaper (not as much as NY claims, but none the less cheaper). However, when you look at what the cost of care will be on the individual market, overall it will be significantly more expensive, on average close to 100% more for people who are below the age of 40. Which is exactly who they need to sign up for this law, in which I predict, that fewer people will enroll then what some of the estimates we have been seeing. Secondly, you scoff at the suggestion that people will lose their doctors and that they can simply pay cash. That is not entirely true, in many cases you have to have a referral from your PCP to see specialists and if they are out of network, that won't do. Not to mention that many people will take that advice because they won't go through the trouble of paying out of cash to do it. Thirdly, even you conceded that health insurance plans should be high deductible plans. What that does it forces people to shop around for services, this law does the opposite. Fourth, the cost of Obama Care is going to be significantly higher than originally estimated, wait till you see all the people being pushed out of their employer plans onto the exchanges. The cost of subsidies will be enormous. Fifth, look at what's happening at the labor force. The labor force is shrinking, more and more people are gaining part time jobs at the expense of full time employment. That is a fact and there is empirical evidence that suggests that Obama care is largely responsible for this development. Sixth, and take this to the bank, there will be a mass exodus of doctors either retiring or changing their doctor business/patient practices that will cause a deterioration of care for those that are either on Medicaid or on the exchanges. I could go on and on and on, the only reason why you think this law is a good thing is because it directly helps your families situation, however that does not mean it is a good overall thing for the country........I spoke about this law at great length before it became law, and I spoke in vivid detail in how the law would play out, and just about everything that was written is beginning to surface and I have little doubt that it will continue to be the huge shitstorm that it is.

Un !@#$ing real! Why am I even surprised?

Stoking the flames. They just can't help themselves.

I should have known Jauronimo was being facetious. Damn you Jauronimo! Damn you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!