I published this in a nice way, as I would vote for the guy to be President!
Just goes to show you that even a conservative cartoonist doesn't want to acknowledge or hear the truth.
Conservative Blogger
Thursday, July 16, 2015
GOP govs test ObamaCare compromise: Make Medicaid recipients pay
Republican officials, after battling for years with Washington over ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion, are testing a middle ground that could reshape the program – by making recipients pay for part of their health care.
Indiana has gone the furthest with this plan, but other states are enacting or debating similar measures. While some worry making low-income recipients pay for part of their Medicaid costs is unfair, the change is notable in that the Obama administration is not fighting it tooth and nail.
“It’s a very fluid scenario,” said Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors. “There’s now a handful of states that are engaged in direct negotiations with CMS [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] or are having [a] back-and-forth debate within their house.”
Indiana, led by GOP Gov. Mike Pence, approved the Healthy Indiana Plan in February. In doing so, the state replaced traditional Medicaid and expanded it, as sought under ObamaCare – something a number of Republican-led states have still not done.
The catch: Indiana’s plan requires recipients pay for part of the cost. In order to get insurance, recipients would pay monthly premiums (based on income, ranging from $1 to $27), in addition to various co-payments (anywhere from $4 to $75). If a recipient pays their premiums on time, they can qualify for expanded benefits and have co-pays limited to only non-emergency ER visits.
If it works, it would be a breakthrough for GOP-led states that want to expand Medicaid and cover the uninsured – yet don’t want the program to be an all-expenses-paid entitlement. About 297,000 Indiana residents have enrolled in the program as of July 1. The state says 72 percent are paying their premiums on time.
Indiana’s plan relies solely on its own resources, but Pence says it “will require no new state spending and no new taxes.” The Healthy Indiana Plan will be financed by state cigarette tax revenue and fees collected from hospitals. State figures estimate that the program will cost $1.63 billion.
Four other states also have gotten federal waivers for their own cost-sharing expansions. Arkansas got the ball rolling with its approval in September 2013, followed by Iowa, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Indiana, though, went a step further. The state’s plan was unprecedented because it says recipients can lose coverage for not paying premiums.
Alaska, Montana, Utah, and Tennessee are now debating similar shared-cost proposals – borrowing elements from the Indiana plan -- according to Salo. Most, though not all, of these states are led by GOP governors.
“The Healthy Indiana Plan … is aspirational,” Brian Neale, Pence’s health policy director, told Governing.com. “We believe that individuals, if offered the opportunity, will make the right choices.” The plan requires recipients to contribute to a health savings account that tracks medical expenses. Patients get care as long as they make their payments, and can lower their rates by getting various preventive care.
But charging poor patients can be problematic. Studies show that charging premiums and co-pays, and penalizing people for excessive emergency room visits, typically steers poor people away from the doctor’s office.
“People don’t get necessary care,” Judith Solomon, a health analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told Governing.com. She said plans like Indiana’s often prevent the poor from actually getting decent treatment.
But the federal government has become more open to alternative plans.
In late January, then-CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner approved Indiana’s waivers and congratulated the state on its program. Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell has said the administration is open to alternatives.
ObamaCare itself calls for Medicaid to be extended to childless adults making up to 138 percent of the poverty line. The Supreme Court, however, ruled the expansion optional for states in 2012. Twenty states remain resistant to any expansions. Indiana originally was in that group, but reversed course with its cost-sharing plan.
Salo said the program represents a deep change in philosophy, bringing a conservative approach to a longstanding entitlement. “What you’re seeing from more conservative states is that they want more consumer engagement in health care … skin in the game,” he said.
Further, Salo said Pence is “a bona-fide conservative red state governor” and it may be “hard for other states to say Medicaid can’t be a conservative thing.”
Planned Parenthood facing investigations over ‘abhorrent’ video on body part shipments
A shocking video showing a top Planned Parenthood official casually discussing the shipment of aborted fetus body parts to research labs is fueling calls in Washington and state capitals for investigations and hearings.
The video, shot last July, was released by the Center for Medical Progress on Tuesday. It shows two undercover CMP activists posing as employees from a biotech company having lunch with Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood's senior director of medical research, and chatting about which body parts are in demand.
Calls on Capitol Hill for hearings were swift.
"Nothing is more precious than life, especially an unborn child," House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement. "When anyone diminishes an unborn child, we are all hurt, irreversibly so. When an organization monetizes an unborn child -- and with the cavalier attitude portrayed in this horrific video -- we must all act. As a start, I have asked our relevant committees to look into this matter."
Boehner also urged President Obama to "denounce, and stop, these gruesome practices."
Pro-life members of the House held a press conference Wednesday afternoon and likewise backed congressional hearings on the matter. Already, the House Energy and Commerce and Judiciary committees have announced an investigation.
Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., said the matter would be investigated but noted "that which is legal is not necessarily moral or ethical."
Planned Parenthood responded to the allegations Wednesday, saying they were politically motivated, “outrageous” and “flat-out untrue.”
In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal, a presidential candidate, announced he was ordering an investigation as well as calling for a suspension of the group's license in the near-term.
It is illegal to sell fetus body parts, but Planned Parenthood maintains the discussions shown in the undercover video only pertain to donations they make to researchers, for which they say they only recoup shipping costs.
But the video threatens to reignite a debate not only over Planned Parenthood's federal funding, but also the use of fetal tissue harvested through abortions for research and a proposed 20-week abortion ban.
In the video, Nucatola is seen and heard discussing Planned Parenthood's policy of donating fetal tissue to researchers. The activists ask Nucatola whether clinics charge for the organs, which she skirts around.
The language is graphic.
"Yesterday was the first time she said people wanted lungs," she says. "Some people want lower extremities, too, which, that's simple. That's easy. I don't know what they're doing with it, I guess if they want muscle."
She described how they are able to get other organs without "crushing" them. "We've been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I'm not gonna crush that part, I'm gonna basically crush below, I'm gonna crush above, and I'm gonna see if I can get it all intact."
The California-based citizen's group claims the nearly nine-minute video shot on July 25, 2014, is proof Planned Parenthood is breaking the law by selling aborted baby organs for possible profit.
Jindal was among several 2016 candidates who weighed in, and among five attending the Right to Life Convention in New Orleans. "If the Republican Party can't turn defending innocent human life into a winning issue nationally, we should fold up the Republican Party and start all over again," he said.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, called the video "absolutely horrifying and disgusting." As governor of Wisconsin, Walker signed off on legislation that defunded Planned Parenthood in 2011.
But the group still gets millions of dollars in federal funding, with restrictions barring the money from being used for abortions. On Capitol Hill Wednesday, protesters urged Congress to strip that money. And 2016 Republican candidate Ben Carson, in a written statement, urged the same.
But Planned Parenthood called claims they profited off abortions a "gross mischaracterization" of the organization's work.
With a patient's permission, Planned Parenthood said, clinics may sometimes donate fetal tissue for use in stem cell research, but the group added that their affiliates, which operate independently, do not profit from donations.
"There is no financial benefit for tissue donation for either the patient or for Planned Parenthood," Eric Ferrero, the organization's vice president of communications, said in a written statement. "In some instances, actual costs, such as the cost to transport tissue to leading research centers, are reimbursed which is standard across the medical field."
Critics say the leaked video suggests otherwise.
"It is stomach-churning to hear a top doctor for the national Planned Parenthood organization admit, on videotape, that Planned Parenthood abortionists can and will alter late abortion procedures to facilitate the harvesting of intact baby body parts - she specifically mentioned hearts, lungs, livers, even intact heads -- in order to fill specific pre-orders," National Right to Life President Carol Tobias told FoxNews.com. "Numerous statements by Dr. Nucatola cry out for probes by Congress and other investigatory agencies -- and quickly."
In a separate statement released Wednesday afternoon following calls for an investigation, Ferrero said, "These outrageous claims are flat-out untrue, but that doesn't matter to politicians with a longstanding political agenda to ban abortion and defund Planned Parenthood."
White House reportedly offers to boost military aid to Israel after Iran deal
Is this a trick or joke from Obama??
President Obama has offered to increase U.S. military aid to Israel in the wake of the Iran nuclear agreement, according to a published report.
According to the New York Times, Obama broached the subject in a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday. White House officials said that Obama told Netanyahu that he was prepared to hold "intensive discussions" on bolstering Israel's defense capabilities.
The paper reported that Netanyahu denied to discuss the subject with the president, leading U.S. officials to believe he wants to wait and see what Congress has to say about the deal, which was agreed to after long talks involving the U.S., Iran, and five other world powers. Lawmakers have up to 60 days to review the agreement.
Netanyahu has been the staunchest critic of the agreement, calling it a "bad mistake of historic proportions" mere minutes after it was agreed to. He continued his criticism on Wednesday, saying there were "absurd things" in the agreement, and accusing world leaders of falling into "a trap of smiles set by the tyrannical Iranian regime."
In remarks to Israel's parliament, Netanyahu said he was not bound by the terms of the deal and could still take military action against Iran.
"We will reserve our right to defend ourselves against all of our enemies," said Netanyahu, who sees Iran's suspected pursuit of a nuclear weapon as a threat to Israel's existence.
The Times reports that under a memorandum of understanding that runs until 2018, the U.S. provides Israel with $3 billion per year in aid, most of which is used to buy military hardware, such as jets. An official familiar with ongoing negotiations told the paper that Israel has asked for between $4.2 and $4.5 billion per year for 10 years in a new aid agreement. According to The Times, negotiations on the agreement began long before the Iran talks ramped up.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is scheduled to visit Israel next week, while Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog has said that he will soon visit the U.S. to discuss "security measures to suit the new situation."
Any lobbying campaign in Congress by Israel would likely be futile, mainly because Obama doesn't need Congressional approval. Lawmakers will likely try to derail the agreement by passing new sanctions or preventing Obama from lifting existing sanctions — the key incentive for Iran to comply with the deal.
Obama has already threatened to veto any resolutions from Congress seeking to undermine the deal, meaning opponents would have to muster a two-thirds majority in Congress to override the veto.
Former President George H.W. Bush in stable condition after breaking bone in neck
Former President George H.W. Bush was in stable condition late Wednesday after breaking a bone in his neck in a fall at his Maine home, his spokesman said.
"He is fine -- but he'll be in a neck brace," Spokesman Jim McGrath tweeted about the 41st president.
The Associated Press reported that Bush was being treated at Maine Medical Center in Portland, where a children's hospital is named for his wife, Barbara. The medical center confirmed his condition was stable but said it was premature to speculate about when he'll be released. It said Bush would be there at least overnight.
Bush, who celebrated his 91st birthday last month, is the oldest living former U.S. president. He was hospitalized in Houston for about a week this past December for precautionary treatment after experiencing shortness of breath. He said he was "grateful to the doctors and nurses for their superb care" after his treatment there.
In 2012, Bush spent nearly two months, including Christmas, at the same Houston hospital for treatment of a bronchitis-related cough and other issues. The former president also suffers from a form of Parkinson's disease that has forced him to rely on a motorized scooter to get around.
Despite his health issues, Bush kept a long-standing promise to make a parachute jump on his 90th birthday in June 2014. A former World War II naval aviator, Bush also skydived on his 80th and 85th birthdays.
The Kennebunkport, Maine home where Bush's fall took place is the former president's summer home. He and Barbara live in Houston during the winter.
Bush, the father of former President George W. Bush and 2016 GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush, was elected president in 1988 following two terms as Ronald Reagan's vice president. After one term, highlighted by the success of the 1991 Gulf War, he lost to Democrat Bill Clinton amid voters' concerns about the economy. He had previously served as a U.S. Congressman, CIA Director and ambassador to China.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Denver Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas' mother's drug trafficking sentence commuted by Obama
Double Standards at work here?
Demaryius Thomas received some good news Monday and it had nothing to do with his contract stalemate with the Denver Broncos: his mother is getting out of prison early.
President Barack Obama cut the prison sentences of 46 non-violent drug offenders, and one of them was Katina Smith, who has been incarcerated in Georgia since 2000.
She and her mother, Minnie Pearl Thomas, were arrested on drug trafficking charges in 1999 when Thomas was 11 years old.
Smith was scheduled to be released in 2017. Now, she'll be released on Nov. 10.
Smith had declined to testify against her mother in exchange for a reduced sentence. Her mother received a life sentence as a multiple offender.
After his mother and grandmother were jailed, Thomas went to live with an uncle and aunt. Also helping to raise him was their oldest daughter, Angela Spencer, now 37.
"We are very happy that she is going to be free. It's time for her to be a part of Demaryius' life," Spencer said. "No matter how your situation goes in life, everybody needs their mother. It's time for her to be out from behind bars and into his life."
Denver's star receiver and the Broncos have until Wednesday to work out a long-term contract or Thomas will play this season on a $12.82 million franchise tag.
Thomas skipped all of the Broncos' offseason workouts to the chagrin of general manager John Elway, who said he wanted Thomas to work out with the team so he could adjust to new coach Gary Kubiak's offense.
Quarterback Peyton Manning said last month that he wished Thomas had been in Denver for offseason workouts, too, but also wanted his top target to get what he deserves in a new contract.
Atlanta NAACP chapter calls for removal of massive Confederate sculpture in public park (Nazism at Work?)
A sculpture in Georgia larger than a football field – depicting Civil War luminaries Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson – has become the latest target in the push to purge the South of signs of the Confederacy.
The Atlanta chapter of the NAACP called Monday for the elimination of all symbols of the Confederacy from Stone Mountain Park, whose marquee attraction is the 90-foot-high, 190-foot-wide sculpture carved deep into the mountain.
"Those guys need to go,” chapter leader Richard Rose told WSB-TV, referring to Davis, the former president of the Confederate States of America, and the two Confederate generals. “They can be sand-blasted off, or somebody could carefully remove a slab of that and auction it off to the highest bidder.
"My tax dollars should not be used to commemorate slavery,” he added.
In addition to the removal of Confederate symbols from Stone Mountain Park, located outside of Atlanta, the group says it also wants all symbols removed from state-owned buildings, parks and lands.
A spokesman for the park told WSB-TV that any removal of the monuments is up to the Georgia state legislature.
Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., who serves the district in which the mountain sits, told local radio station V-103 that he is “not so much affected by Stone Mountain Park as I am by the flag flying at an official government building like a state capitol or even the federal Capitol, a position, the seat of government.”
“I view Stone Mountain as more of a museum-type archaeological place of remembrance for those who want to remember back then and they have a right to remember back then and the park is there,” he said.
The push from the NAACP comes on the heels of the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina state house. A June shooting at a black church in Charleston, S.C., that left 9 dead has sparked debates over the Confederate flag's place in the South. The alleged killer, Dylann Roof, was white and posted numerous photos online of himself with the rebel flag.
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