WHAT WOMEN WANT MRS. ROMNEY

This morning Ann Romney was asked point blank by a reporter about what her husband was going to do for women.  Yes, she "loves women!" but what will his administration do, specifically to help women.

Mrs. Romney said that women don't care so much about their jobs or their husband's jobs but care about the future of the country for their children.  That was her answer. 

I say - want to do something simple and specific to help future generations of women?

 How about equal pay. 

WHICH IS WORSE?

The insane personal beliefs which he would impose on all women:

“I’m very proud of my pro-life record. I’ve always adopted the idea that the method of conception doesn’t change the definition of life,” he said during an interview with television station WJHL. In that statement, Ryan basically admits that he believes 1) rape is a form of conception and 2) it’s equal to conception by consensual sex because both produce life. This reasoning is apparently why Ryan opposes the rape exception for abortion.


Or the bold faced lies:

1. “A downgraded America.” Ryan blamed the president for the nation’s credit downgrade in August 2011 after Republicans threatened to allow the government to default on its debt for the first time in history. But the ratings agency explicitly blamed “Republicans saying that they refuse to accept any tax increases as part of a larger deal.”


2. “More debt than any other president before him, and more than all the troubled governments of Europe combined.” Romney has made the almost identical claim, that Obama has amassed more debt “as almost all of the other presidents combined.” But their math doesn’t add up: when Obama took office, the national debt was $10.626 trillion. It has increased to slightly above $15 trillion.

3. Shuttered General Motors plant is “one more broken promise.” Ryan described a GM plant that closed down in his hometown, Janesville, Wisconsin, and blamed Obama for breaking his promise to keep the plant open when he visited during his campaign. But Obama never made that promise, and the plant shut down in December 2008, before Obama even took office.

4. Obama “did exactly nothing” on Bowles-Simpson. Ryan said, “He created a bipartisan debt commission. They came back with an urgent report. He thanked them, sent them on their way, and then did exactly nothing.” In fact, Ryan was instrumental in sabotaging the commission, leading the other House Republicans in voting against the plan.

5. “$716 billion, funneled out of Medicare by President Obama.” Ryan’s favorite lie is a deliberate distortion of Obamacare’s savings from eliminating inefficiencies. Furthermore, Ryan’s own plan for Medicare includes these savings. Romney has vowed to restore these cuts, which would render the trust fund insolvent 8 years ahead of schedule.

6. “The greatest of all responsibilities is that of the strong to protect the weak.” Ryan closed the speech with an invocation of social responsibility, saying, “The truest measure of any society is how it treats those who cannot defend or care for themselves.” However, numerous clergy members have condemned Ryan’s budget plan as “cruel,” and “an immoral disaster” because of its devastating cuts in social programs the poor and sick rely on. Meanwhile, Ryan would give ultra-rich individuals and corporations $3 trillion in tax breaks.

 

TIME TO FIND BRIGHTSIDE AGAIN

I feel like I have not only lost my blogging mojo, I am losing my bright side.

 I am going to take a break for a few weeks - try to get some of the tarnish scrubbed off and get it shining again.

FOLLOW UP...

I finally got the lab test codes from my doctor - I think even he is amazed at how hard it was to find out the cost of the tests he ordered.  The cost for 3 blood tests comes to about $400.00.  That is nearly 2 weeks take home pay for me - ironically due to the high cost of my medical insurance.

So - knowing most tab tests are done by machines and not even by real trained people with jobs - why so much? One blood draw, program the machine and send the results. I don't think lab tests cost this much when done through a regular insurance plan, why so much for one where I am paying out of pocket before my deductible is paid?  A doctor asked and answered this question:

I can think of at least two reasons an insurance company might price services so outrageously high on certain policies. First, that would punish anyone who buys inexpensive insurance with a high deductible (both of these patients did). Second, they keep you from finding out how much (little) medical service really cost. Patients with high deductibles pay for most of their own medical care. The insurance companies make sure that these patients see a much higher price than the “real” price that they could pay. Just as with generic prescription drugs, insurance companies, not providers determine the price of everything. They can hide their real costs, and punish you for not buying a more expensive plan.

I have to admit I didn't realize that the insurance companies were quite so devious.

I did know that they spend a lot of money touting tort reform as an answer to high medical costs when legal costs are actually only 2% (mostly for their own lawyers.).  But I didn't know that the highest cost for insurance companies - 56% of their expenses - is for product design, underwriting and marketing. 

So the design and marketing of my high deductible plan is the reason my out of pocket/pre-deductible blood tests are so outrageous.

Wow. That is twisted.

FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.)  Ran across this great photo essay "What if all Olympic sports were photographed like Beach volleyball?" 

2.)  Staying up too late watching the Olympic coverage every night - and making an effort not to see all the spoilers on the internet all day.

3.) Hearing a lot of bad news about Facebook lately. Apparently the people who do the budget projections for the state of California decided that all the new millionaire employees of FB would cash out their stock and get taxed on it boosting the state's income. They certainly bought into the hype. Today the stock price for FB is almost half what it was at the offering and now the projections are dire. The schools will be hard hit, yet again.
Then another article caught my eye - collections agencies are now using Facebook to stalk and harass people. They are contacting the "friends" listed and letting them know that their friend owes money. Nice. A lawsuit is in the works.



4.)  Got a beautiful needlepoint kit last December and have been working on it ever since.  Now that I am nearly done I am obsessed with finishing and have taken it with me to the Friday night Concerts in the Park.  People have seen me working on it all summer and are now commenting on it!

I went out to Cost Plus when they had throw pillows on sale and bought a few to match it. So excited to have it front and center on the sofa!

5.)  The decision at work was to go with a High Deductible Health Care Plan - which I had before and appreciated because the monthly premium was so low.  Not the case with this plan.  It is a $2000. deductible but the premium is still over $1000. a month for my family plan - if we need major care, it's great, covered at 100% once the deductible is met.

So now my "free" physical turned up something in the blood test which requires more tests - not free. So I have been inquiring about the out of pocket cost to me.  I have been inquiring for 2 weeks.  Apparently in the history of this medical group, no one has ever asked for the cost up front.  One department sends me to another for codes, etc.  The doctor doesn't know, the lab doesn't know, the billing office doesn't know.  Yet if I just go in for the tests I am sure they will quickly figure out how much to bill me.  Sigh. Those folks who think we have the best health care system must have some kind of plan I have never had access to.