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TAMPA, Fla. — Baker Mayfield rubbed both arms with his hands as the story was being related, the one where his timely donation turned around the fortunes of a high school football team that lacked the necessary equipment to start the season. It’s the nearly made-for-Hollywood script of how Space Coast High in Cocoa went from 1-8 a year ago to 10-3 and the first state championship in program history. “I’ve got chills thinking about it,” Mayfield said. Jake Owens had been Space Coast’s head coach from 2012-17 but stepped away for a few years, moving to Kentucky and starting a young family. He returned to his old job to find the program in disrepair. “Obviously, the program was struggling,” Owens said. “I think in those six years they’d only won, like, four games. When I walked in, a struggling program like that, nothing was really being done behind the scenes as far as equipment and stuff goes. It was a lot of older equipment.” Stephanie Starkey, whose son, Jacob, plays linebacker and long snapper for the Vipers, graduated from the University of Oklahoma and had followed Mayfield closely. She knew about the Baker and Emily Mayfield Foundation, and reached out to the couple for help. The Mayfields responded by donating $17,900 for equipment, including 70 Riddell SpeedFlex helmets that retail for nearly $500 each, along with shoulder pads. “There was kind of narrative that we were not going to have a season,” Owens said. “That’s not the case. We were going to play no matter what. But it was in bad shape, and that’s obviously expensive. When the program ended last year, there were only 40-something kids. They didn’t have a need for a lot of equipment. “When I took over in February, there was a huge influx. We had over 70 kids come out. Not only did we have older equipment, but we also didn’t have enough. We were going to make sure we had it one way or another, but it’s expensive and funds are hard to come by in high school.” The team was among the youngest Owens had ever coached. His quarterback was a freshman. Four of the five offensive linemen were sophomores, along with the top receiver. Building a culture of winning is usually the most difficult task for any head coach. But Owens said the players were galvanized by the fact that an NFL quarterback had invested so generously in their future. “We were just floored,” Owens said. “It’s been an incredibly humbling experience to have someone like Baker to reach out and say, ‘Hey, what do you need to get this done?’ I don’t think they know how much of an impact they’ve made. “We knew we had a talented team. We knew if we did things the right way and we built the right culture, I’d won there before. I have an incredible coaching staff. They knew what it takes to win. It’s one of those incredible things that came together like a perfect storm, and Baker and Emily are a big part of that because it took so much stress out of that situation so the focus could be on football.” There is some irony that it was Mayfield who rescued the Vipers. Owens is an unabashed Cincinnati Bengals fan and rooted against Mayfield when he played for the Cleveland Browns. In fact, Owens is a Bengals season ticket holder who still hosts a podcast dedicated to talking about the team. “I will tell you that I have never rooted for another team or another player outside of Cincinnati,” Owens said. “That changed after this year. I’ve become a huge Baker Mayfield fan. He changes people’s lives. “At the end of the day, winning is very important at every level. What Baker has done more than anything is shown our players what it means to pass it along. To pay it forward. That’s going to impact our players. When they get that opportunity, they will remember that. What they’ve shown our boys is you’re never too big to help out.” Mayfield’s play on the field was inspiring as well. Starkey held a few watch parties for Bucs games on Sundays. The Mayfields’ gift ignited a Space Coast team that went 7-3 in the regular season, then advanced past Tradition Prep and Umatilla in the playoffs. “Snake Pit” signs, referencing the team’s home field, started popping up on lawns and in store windows all over town. Last weekend, the Vipers defeated Bell, 21-14, at home to claim the Sunshine State Athletic Association Atlantic 1A championship. The team that didn’t have enough equipment is now being sized for championship rings. “I tell them all the time, don’t forget about the journey it took to get here, and Baker and Emily will always be part of that journey,” Owens said. Standing inside One Buc Place during his weekly news conference Thursday, Mayfield could not stop smiling while thinking about another football team he already had helped win a championship this season. “It’s just a cool story,” he said. “I have an unbelievable platform to be able to give back, and obviously they were in the predicament of probably not having a season. Not just for the varsity. The JV, they didn’t have enough equipment. So, just being able to give back and then seeing that turn around. “All we did was get some helmets. They did the rest. They turned it around, they believed in it, and that’s what football is all about. It’s teaching life lessons, how to handle adversity, how to deal with it and push forward. Congrats to them. It’s pretty special.” ©2024 Tampa Bay Times. Visit tampabay.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Stock market today: Wall Street gains ground as it notches a winning week and another Dow record
TORONTO — Darko Rajakovic cut straight to the chase in his pre-game news conference: yes, Scottie Barnes is back. Barnes was inserted into the Toronto Raptors starting lineup ahead of Thursday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Scotiabank Arena. He had been out since Nov. 4 with a fractured right orbital bone. "I don't want Scottie Barnes to be anything outside of Scottie Barnes," said Rajakovic in his pre-game news conference. "I just need him to be best version of himself and when he's that, he's really raising the people around him to another level. "He's making everybody around him better." Barnes was injured in the fourth quarter of Toronto's 121-119 overtime loss to the Nuggets on Nov. 4 when he caught an errant elbow from Denver centre Nikola Jokic. Barnes was expected to be out at least three weeks with the injury but came back slightly ahead of schedule. The 23-year-old all-star forward was averaging 19.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and six assists per game before he was hurt. Rajakovic said Barnes would play limited minutes and that he'd have to wear protective goggles. Rajakovic was coy when asked who would be moved to Toronto's bench to make space for Barnes. "Scottie will start. Who knows who won’t," laughed Rajakovic. Rookie combo guard Ja'kobe Walter was also made available for the Raptors. He had missed Toronto's last six games with a sprained right shoulder. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024. John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian PressCIOs Play an Evolving Role Within New Climate Reality
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The IHSA state football championships were played last weekend, and they were, once again, a complete mismatch. Private schools were featured in seven of the eight championship games . Guess how many of those seven games were won by public schools? That’s right: zero. The games weren’t even close. Six final scores were 57-14, 47-0, 49-8, 40-6, 55-34 and 35-14. The only close game all weekend? A 29-27 battle between two private schools, Nazareth and Joliet Catholic (Nazareth won). The games aren’t competitive, and they aren’t fun to watch because the Catholic and other private schools have an unfair advantage of being able to recruit talent for their all-star teams. If a public school has a player who lives a block outside its boundaries, he’s ruled ineligible, and the team must forfeit any game in which he plays. If all the teams in the tournament were playing by the same rules, I’d tip my hat to the private schools and say well done, but the present system isn’t fair, and the results show it. Loyola has won three straight state championships, as has Nazareth, whose coach has won 10 state championships (none at a public school). Those teams have Division I players all over the roster, while public schools are lucky to have one, maybe two in the larger classes. The head coach at Mount Carmel said : “Every kid at Mount Carmel is recruited to Mount Carmel.” Let the private schools have their own state tournament or make them play by the same rules. Right now, the IHSA has created a completely unfair system, and it’s not a competition; it’s a coronation. It has also made the state championship games a complete joke. Jim Rodgers, Bloomington Raise maximum income allowed under ‘senior freeze’ I appreciated the Sun-Times Watchdogs probe and follow-up editorial on the ineffective administration of the low-income senior citizens assessment freeze . I believe that there is another side of the issue that has been ignored. My wife and I are in our late 80s and have lived in our home in a senior community in Plainfield for 29 years. Our income comes from Social Security, mandated IRA withdrawals and some hours at a part-time job. Our gross income has increased over the last five years, but inflation and medical expenses have resulted in fewer spendable dollars. Illinois initiated a senior citizen assessment freeze homestead exemption as a way to help and encourage seniors to remain in their homes and not be forced out because of the increase in their property value. Low-income was added to the title in 2023 without fanfare. The current maximum allowable income is $65,000 and has been in place since 2017. I asked my state representatives, in person and email, for their review and support to raise the maximum, with little action and no results on House Bill 2529 . We enjoyed this senior benefit beginning in 2018. But our gross income in 2023 slightly exceeded the maximum, resulting in a property tax increase of $158 a month. We will need to dig into our already-limited monthly budget now and moving forward. It is clear that the current state legislature has no interest in helping seniors remain in their homes. Bob Bonomo, Plainfield ‘Senior freeze’ falls short The Illinois Legislature needs to take another look at the low-income senior citizens assessment freeze and change the $65,000 limit to taxable income of $100,000, especially the way the Cook County assessor operates. Give the seniors a break instead of letting them lose their homes because of the reassessments by Fritz Kaegi and Cook County. No politician seems to be moving on reducing property taxes and we seniors don’t bring in the big bucks like politicians do. Gerald Bernson, Tinley Park Channel ‘climate anxiety’ into advocacy work As an outcome of the election, I’ve noticed a spike in climate anxiety among the young people I encounter. Students and young adults who are experiencing it need to talk about it. But the most effective antidote for that anxiety is action, and seeing those actions translate into results. These kids need to get involved with organizations like Citizens’ Climate Lobby, the Sierra Club, or the Illinois Environmental Council. These organizations are effectively driving results but also are teaching young people effective advocacy techniques and how to manage stress. Students would do well to participate in marches, call and write Congress, meet with representatives, enroll other students in getting active and challenge their universities to co-sponsor effective climate legislation, as their time permits. They need to feel and be empowered as a change agent with the support of others in their group. When students come to know they are helping to create the political will for change and start seeing climate legislation pass, it will do wonders to alleviate their anxiety. Andrew Panelli, Homer Glen More emissions reductions, please, in Illinois The Sun-Times editorial board recently highlighted ways Illinois can defend and reaffirm existing climate protections in anticipation of federal rollbacks (“ Illinois must step up as Trump prepares to back away from protecting our environment ”). This defense will be critical but insufficient. An analysis released by Environment America Research and Policy Center found that Illinois reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% between 2005-2022, ahead of the national pace (national emissions went down 15%). Illinois’ most significant reductions came from the power sector, where emissions decreased 48% from 2005 levels. The editorial board is correct that it will be critical moving forward for Illinois to protect the existing climate and pollution regulations that helped the state make those cuts, and to double down on its commitment to an electric grid powered by 100% clean, green renewable energy. But as increasingly frequent and intense weather events make the urgency of climate action more apparent, we cannot hope to meet our national goal of cutting emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030 if leading states like Illinois simply play defense. Further emissions reductions will require focusing new attention on the areas where we’re falling behind. Despite overall reductions, Illinois’ emissions from residential buildings increased 7% between 2005-2022. Emissions from the commercial sector — primarily from burning fossil fuels to heat commercial buildings and the water they use — increased 14%. Emissions from residential buildings alone make up nearly 12% of the state’s overall greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, more than 80% of Illinois homes rely on fossil fuels for home heating. Burning gas in our homes and buildings creates indoor air pollution that is bad for our health, and releases potent, planet-warming methane into the atmosphere. Just as state action has worked to drive down emissions from the electric sector, now it must do the same for our homes and buildings. The ongoing Illinois Commerce Commission Future of Gas investigation into how to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from the gas distribution system is an important first step. Regardless of who’s in the White House, state-level policy can continue to be an engine for climate action. Illinois legislators must prioritize making progress on emissions reductions, not just holding the line. We don’t have four years to wait. Theo Rosen, climate campaigns associate, Environment America Make Illinois a leader for Advanced Clean Trucks Illinois got an early start laying the groundwork for the jobs boom that will come with the electrification of the U.S. trucking industry. Two prime examples: the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act and the Reimagining Energy and Vehicles in Illinois Act have boosted the state’s clean energy economy and established the burgeoning electric vehicle and battery manufacturing industries here since their 2021 passage. It has never been more important for state leaders to take decisive action to fight climate change, safeguard our health and invest in cleaner transportation alternatives. Gov. Pritzker has made clear that he will seek environmental wins for Illinois regardless of what happens with the incoming administration. If we want to maximize all the benefits the electric vehicle transition will produce, Illinois needs to adopt the Advanced Clean Trucks rule. It is the most powerful tool to incentivize manufacturers in the state to sell their zero-emission trucks to Illinois businesses and fleets. The ACT addresses the supply side of the market by setting and gradually increasing sales targets of zero-emission vehicles for medium- and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers in states that adopt it. Those sales targets create market certainty for truck manufacturers and fleets alike, and help local utilities plan grid improvements that will speed and smooth the transition. Without the ACT, we’ll export not just Illinois-made electric vehicles, but also the cleaner air and missed economic opportunity costs produced by every electric truck sale to the forward-thinking states that have already adopted it. The ACT will help keep more of the economic and environmental benefits of all of Illinois’ electric vehicle investments close to home. Illinois advocates have filed a citizen petition with the state’s Pollution Control Board to urge the Pritzker administration to adopt the ACT along with other tailpipe-pollution reduction programs. The first hearing on the clean-trucks standards was held recently and proceedings will continue through the spring, with more opportunities for Illinoisans to speak out in support of this vital program. By adopting the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, we can supercharge electric truck manufacturing in the state while keeping the benefits of cleaner air here for all Illinoisans instead of exporting it to the coasts. Neda Deylami, manager of vehicle electrification, Environmental Defense Fund Biden’s pardon of son pales in comparison to Trump’s actions For all of you who are Donald Trump supporters and are criticizing President Joe Biden for pardoning his son, take a look in the mirror. You elected a sexual predator and convicted felon (he was convicted of 34 felonies) to lead our country. He has promised to pardon his co-conspirators who attempted to overthrow our democracy and falsify our election. Black Friday deals will not hold a candle to the pardons that will be coming down the line. Unfortunately, this will become a cyber-sale presidency of insider deals and pardons in the future. By the way, take a look at the next ambassador to France. He already has received a pardon. The rotten apples don’t fall far from the rotten trees. How’s that reflection looking now? Tony Prevolos, Bonita Springs, Florida Nepo babies rule GOP Republicans rant and rave about DEI, but have nothing to say about nepotism. Warren Rodgers Jr., Orland Park Talking turkey I am writing regarding the article about the thoughtful person who, at Thanksgiving, drops frozen turkeys from a low and slow-moving plane to remote Alaskan homes. I started laughing, remembering the “ WKRP in Cincinnati” episode where a station dropped live turkeys from a helicopter! All we can hear is shrieking and screaming from below and a newsman whinging, “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!” Barbara Tomko, EdgewaterFormer U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died. He was 100 years old and had spent more than a year in hospice care. The Georgia peanut farmer served one turbulent term in the White House before building a reputation as a global humanitarian and champion of democracy. He defeated President Gerald Ford in 1976 promising to restore trust in government but lost to Ronald Reagan four years later amid soaring inflation, gas station lines and the Iran hostage crisis. He and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, then formed The Carter Center, and he earned a Nobel Peace Prize while making himself the most active and internationally engaged of former presidents. The Carter Center said the former president died Sunday afternoon in Plains, Georgia. Contributing: Associated PressMeta platforms' chief legal officer sells $538,475 in stock
Stock market today: Wall Street gains ground as it notches a winning week and another Dow recordROME — Members of the Drone Clubs at both Bellamy and Gansevoort elementary schools will now be able to experience even more flight time, thanks to the delivery of six new DJI Tello Drones from the Griffiss Institute and the Rome Community Foundation. The Bellamy club members were visited in their gymnasium Wednesday by Griffiss Institute Chief Talent Officer Todd Humiston, Talent Division Program Analyst Makenzi Enos, Director of Strategic Program Pursuits and Launches Jennifer Marshall and Digital Marketing Associate Corrine Bush and Rome Community Foundation Board of Directors member Frank Di Berardino. They came bearing the gifts of the drones — a donation funded through a grant from the Rome Community Foundation. “With everything about drones going on in the news right now, this is the perfect time to do this,” Di Berardino said. “I think that exposing the kids to this kind of technology will be helpful to them as they grow. Many of them may even end up in technology fields themselves. These kids are the perfect age right now to absorb and learn.” The Drone Clubs are led by Darlene Plumb and Rochelle Fazekas, the PC specialists at the Bellamy and Gansevoort schools, respectively. The first drones arrived in the district in 2019, Plumb recalled. The clubs meet once a week for an hour after school. There are currently 10 fifth and sixth grade students in the Bellamy club. Fazekas said the Gansevoort club will resume in mid-January for fifth graders. The six new drones bring their shared squadron up to 12. That’s enough drones for every student currently enrolled in the program to all have hands-on experience with the technology, Plumb said. But the Drone Clubs are not solely about the fun of flying, although that is likely the kids’ favorite part. Plumb said while they do have the ability to fly them manually, instead the students are told to program them using block coding. That technique entails taking “blocks” of codes — with individual commands in those blocks calling for the drones to rise, lower, turn or fly ahead for different distances — and then dragging and inserting them into the sequence of the flight plan. “I like being able to program them,” said Bellamy fifth grader Sabian Yin. And in addition to actually flying the drones, the students also have simulators on their Chromebooks to practice their skills. The club also teaches them important information about flying drones, like how they cannot fly in a no-fly zone like the one located nearby at the Oneida County Airport. The guests watched as the students programmed their new drones to fly through hoops set up on the gym floor. Some of the drones flew through the targets, others needed a tweak or two to the program. Drones sometimes crashed to the floor but were quickly reassembled and back in the air. Humiston said the gift of the drones might inspire the technicians of tomorrow. “This is not just about gaining experience flying drones but also gaining experience in writing code in blocks,” he said. “This gives them an introduction to programming. This might spark the interest and light the fire that will inspire them to pursue that interest in STEM as they go through school.”
BEMIDJI — Bemidji Contra Dance will host a community contra dance at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14, at Rail River Folk School, 303 Railroad St. SW. Contra dancing is a lively, traditional social dance that originated in New England and is now done all over the United States, a release said. The community is invited to dance to live music by Leatherwood of Bemidji with calling by Wendy Greenburg, the release said. Everything is taught by the caller and experience or partners will not be necessary. All ages are welcome. A free-will donation of $5 to $10 is suggested but any amount is accepted. A potluck will be held before the dance starting at 5:30 p.m. Organizers request that participants do not bring dishes containing nuts, the release said. For more information, visit the page.
Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com, Healthcare costs have soared. Obamacare failed to live up to its promises. And my lead image dramatically understates the problems with costs... Data from the BLS, chart by Mish The numbers look bad but they are much worse than they look because of the way the BLS calculates the CPI. On all CPI calculations, the BLS only counts costs directly paid by consumers. To the extent corporations and Medicare are obscuring more of the costs, the CPI numbers are understated. The above is an AI-generated response. It totals 86.6 percent. Census. Gov says that in 2022, 92.1 percent of people, or 304.0 million, had health insurance at some point in the year. Those in various Medicare plans have seen smaller increases than those buying insurance for themselves. And the cost of direct pay is outrageous. Large corporations can get better deals than smaller ones. The BLS averages this all in to arrive at the numbers posted in the chart. Heaven help anyone paying for their own insurance who gets cancer or other serious needs. Obamacare penalizes young and healthy for the benefit of those older and with conditions. Young adults not working for a company that provides health care benefits frequently opt out. No one can blame them. The Wall Street Journal discusses the ObamaCare Con Progressives are at last acknowledging that ObamaCare is a failure. They aren’t doing so explicitly, of course, but their social-media screeds against insurers, triggered by last week’s murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, suggest as much. “We’ve gotten to a point where healthcare is so inaccessible and unaffordable, people are justified in their frustrations,” CBS News medical contributor Céline Gounder said during a Friday segment on the roasting of health insurers. Remember Barack Obama’s promise that if you like your health plan and doctor, you could keep them? Sorry. How about his claim that people with pre-existing conditions would be protected? Also not true. The biggest howler, however, was that healthcare would become more affordable. Grant Democrats this: The law has advanced their political goal of expanding government control over insurers, in return for lavishing Americans with subsidies to buy overpriced, lousy products. (One might observe that Democrats are driving a similar Faustian bargain to induce automakers to produce more electric vehicles.) One problem is that simply having insurance doesn’t change people’s behavior. It does, however, cause them to use more care. This is a particular problem in Medicaid, since beneficiaries often rush to the emergency room for nonemergencies because they don’t have deductibles or co-pays. Another problem: The nearly 100 million Americans on Medicaid or tightly regulated and generously subsidized exchange plans struggle to find doctors to treat them. Physician access for Medicaid patients has long been limited owing to the program’s low reimbursement rates. It has gotten worse since ObamaCare expanded eligibility, as states have tried to hold down Medicaid costs by reducing reimbursements. A 2019 study found that patients were only half as likely to get an appointment with a doctor compared with privately insured patients before the law passed. Post-ObamaCare, they were less than one-third as likely. Medicaid is insurance in name only. Patients with exchange plans hardly fare better. Affordable Care Act plan networks include on average only 40% of local physicians and 21% of those employed by hospitals. Patients must pay significantly more out of pocket to see out-of-network doctors. If you find a doctor in network, there’s no guarantee he’ll continue to be. Insurers are narrowing coverage to keep down costs. They are also hiking deductibles, which this year averaged $5,241 for a typical plan . That’s up from $2,425 in 2014. Although subsidies reduce how much people with ObamaCare plans pay toward their premiums, they are stuck paying out of pocket until they hit their deductible. Most healthy young people never do. That means their insurance is worthless except in the event of a catastrophic emergency, which was the gist of recent rants against insurers. Perhaps they should take up their grievances with Mr. Obama, since his law’s mandates and regulations are to blame. ObamaCare requires plans to cover myriad government-determined “essential benefits” regardless of whether people need them. It also prohibits insurers from charging higher premiums based on a patient’s health-risk factors and limits their ability to do so for older people. The young and healthy are thus required to subsidize their elders, while taxpayers are required to subsidize everyone on the exchanges . The WSJ noted “states have tried to hold down Medicaid costs by reducing reimbursements.” Everyone else pays more because if it. Wait times and the struggle to find a doctor who takes Medicaid are not factored into the CPI at all. The Huffington Post reports ‘This Is A Warning’: Warren, Sanders Address Sympathy For UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing Two of the biggest critics of the U.S. health care system condemned the assassination of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson while calling out “vile” insurance company practices aimed at maximizing profits. “The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told HuffPost in an interview on Tuesday when asked about the cold response to Thompson’s death, which included celebratory posts on social media. “Violence is never the answer, but people can be pushed only so far,” Warren added. “This is a warning that if you push people hard enough, they lose faith in the ability of their government to make change, lose faith in the ability of the people who are providing the health care to make change, and start to take matters into their own hands in ways that will ultimately be a threat to everyone.” After drawing some criticism for her remarks, Warren clarified her comments in a statement provided to HuffPost on Wednesday. “Violence is never the answer. Period,” the senator said. “I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called Thompson’s killing “outrageous” and “unacceptable” before similarly criticizing insurance company practices. “I think what the outpouring of anger at the health care industry tells us is that millions of people understand that health care is a human right and that you cannot have people in the insurance industry rejecting needed health care for people while they make billions of dollars in profit,” Sanders said. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) also criticized “vile” social media posts for celebrating an “assh*le that’s going to die in prison.” “If you gun someone down that you don’t happen to agree with their views or the business that they’re in, hey, you know, I’m next, they’re next,” he added. “And people want to celebrate it. It’s twisted.” Government meddling is one of the reasons healthcare is so expensive. Obamacare failed across the board. And it did so by creating big pools of those who overpay and underpay. Let’s not mince words. People who smoke ought to pay more for healthcare because they are a higher risk. Those who are grossly overweight ought to pay more as well. Medicaid encourages emergency visits by paying primary care doctors so little that the doctors refuse new patients. To avoid lawsuits, doctors perform more tests than necessary. Fraud is rampant. Paperwork is excessive. “Medicare for All” would enhance problems in all of the above. Customers who have already reached their max out of pocket deductibles have no skin in the game. And that’s a huge problem. According to Medicare.Gov “ No Medicare drug plan may have a deductible more than $505 in 2023. Some Medicare drug plans don’t have a deductible. In some plans that do have a deductible, drugs on some tiers are covered before the deductible. ” Once deductibles are reached, sometimes in one month, consumers have no incentive to shop around. Other customers, unaware of cost differentials, fill prescriptions on the basis of convenience, that being the nearest pharmacy. January 24, 2024: Denver Health at “Critical Point” as 8,000 Migrants Make 20,000 Emergency Visits The Denver hospital system is turning away local residents because it is flooded with migrant visits. March 9, 2024: Medicaid Expansion Was Supposed to Pay for Itself, Instead Hospitals Are Closing 10 states did not fall for the Medicaid expansion trap under Obamacare. The rest are suffering. Private payers (you, one way or another) make up the loss. Medicaid does not pay enough to cover hospitals’ costs, meaning hospitals need to make up for the shortfall by charging private payers more. This was one of the easiest “I Told You So” advance predictions in history. Best of all, we have a decade of data to prove it thanks to ten states that resisted the trap. May 9, 2024: Hospitals Turn to Pay In Advance, In Full If you are in the hospital emergency room, and that’s where most people without insurance go, then you get treated. Otherwise, many hospitals are turning to pay in advance for services. It’s interesting to note that hospitals want payment in advance for births. Most illegals just walk in and never pay for anything. Nonpayment is one of the reasons costs are soaring for everyone who does pay. Obama claimed Medicaid expansion would pay for itself. Whenever you hear that claim please run. Free government handouts are never free and most often backfire completely. As long as we are going to have Medicare, and no politician will ever get rid of it, It would behoove Medicare and insurers to require the cheapest cost alternative on all drugs. That would force competition and eliminate fraudulent collusion. US consumers are subsidizing the rest of the world. I would put an end to that by allowing drug imports. It’s an uncomfortable topic, where demagoguery about “death squads” abounds, but we need to have a talk about the right to die and how much money we spend prolonging a terminal patient’s life, in massive pain, for a few weeks or months. I have made my wishes known. I do not want to be kept alive by heroic means if the quality of my life is expected to be grim. That’s a personal decision. At the national level, we must face this very uncomfortable question: Should we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars keeping someone alive whose life expectancy is 3 months? 6 months? a year? I say no to all for those without insurance, and no for me personally, regardless. Also, hospitals should be free to turn away those without insurance. We need tort reform to cut down legal expenses. When consumers have no skin in the game or not enough skin in the game, no one other than the insurers are interested in reducing costs. That is the fundamental problem with US healthcare. Senators Warren and Sanders proposals would make everything worse.
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