Friday, March 26, 2010
Day 2 part 1. pp. 23-29
I'm an engineer with a decent amount of communications background, so I'm pretty good at sorting out complex documents like this. Sometimes, I do get stuck though, and since I'm only a blogger doing this in my spare time I might need help every once in a while.
So when I'm reading the bill and get stuck in the molasses, I'll throw it up in grey so you know that I was struggling on the paraphrasing. If you see something in grey, please help me out and post your thoughts on that section. I'll go back and edit yesterday's post with this too.
The Secretary has a year to create a standard summary of benefits. He will consult with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to develop the standard. The standard will:
Starting in 2 years, insurance providers need to provide these summaries: to anyone when they apply for a policy, to anyone when they enroll or re-enroll in a policy, anytime a policy gets issued, and at least 60 days before any changes to the policy go into effect.
The bill then defines what an insurance provider is. No suprises here so I won't paraphrase.
Every time an insurance provider doesn't provide a new summary when they're supposed to, they will have to pay a $1,000 fine.
The Secretary is responsible for coming up with standard insurance and medical terms. The bill lists 23 terms, and says The Secretary can add more.
Good place for a break. Still trying to make it to page 44 today, so stay tuned.
So when I'm reading the bill and get stuck in the molasses, I'll throw it up in grey so you know that I was struggling on the paraphrasing. If you see something in grey, please help me out and post your thoughts on that section. I'll go back and edit yesterday's post with this too.
The Secretary has a year to create a standard summary of benefits. He will consult with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to develop the standard. The standard will:
- follow the same 4-page format in 12 point font or larger,
- use language that the average customer can understand
- contain consistent definitions
- describe the coverage on the benefits from yesterday's post
- describe any other benefits the plan has
- describe any limitations the plan has
- describe the deductibles and copays
- say if and how the plan is renewable
- have examples of common scenarios like pregnancy and serious medical conditions
- state if the plan meets the minimum coverage requirement, and if it covers 60 percent of the costs of what the plan says is covered.
- state that the summary is a summary, and not the full coverage document
- a contact number for additional questions, and a website where the full coverage document can be found
Starting in 2 years, insurance providers need to provide these summaries: to anyone when they apply for a policy, to anyone when they enroll or re-enroll in a policy, anytime a policy gets issued, and at least 60 days before any changes to the policy go into effect.
The bill then defines what an insurance provider is. No suprises here so I won't paraphrase.
Every time an insurance provider doesn't provide a new summary when they're supposed to, they will have to pay a $1,000 fine.
The Secretary is responsible for coming up with standard insurance and medical terms. The bill lists 23 terms, and says The Secretary can add more.
Good place for a break. Still trying to make it to page 44 today, so stay tuned.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
HR 3950 pages 0 through 22
Alright, let's get started...
p. 1: what the hell does this have to do with first time homebuyers? I dunno...
pp. 2-17: table of contents. If no one objects, I'm going to assume this is correct.
p. 18: redesignations. yawn.
p. 19-22: brass tacks!!!!
So it says health insurers can't limit the amount of payouts in your lifetime, nor can it put "unreasonable" limits on the amount of payouts in one year.
Next it says insurance companies can't withdraw coverage once you're covered, unless you lie or commit fraud.
Then it says that the following will be covered, and covered 100%:
-recommendations that have an A or B effectiveness rating for preventive medicine (by the US Preventive Services Task Force)
-recommended immunizations (by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
-recommended preventive medicine and screenings for infants, children, and adolescents (by the Health Resources and Services Administration)
-additional recommended preventive care specific to women (by the Health Resources and Services Administration)
-current recommended practices (by the United States Preventive Service Task Force) for breast cancer screening, mammography, and prevention.
The Secretary will decide how long it takes for a new recommendation to become part of this list, but it has to be more than 1 year.
The Secretary can develop guidelines for insurance companies to create "value-based" insurance coverage.
If an insurance company covers dependent children, they must continue coverage until the child is 26.
p. 1: what the hell does this have to do with first time homebuyers? I dunno...
pp. 2-17: table of contents. If no one objects, I'm going to assume this is correct.
p. 18: redesignations. yawn.
p. 19-22: brass tacks!!!!
So it says health insurers can't limit the amount of payouts in your lifetime, nor can it put "unreasonable" limits on the amount of payouts in one year.
Next it says insurance companies can't withdraw coverage once you're covered, unless you lie or commit fraud.
Then it says that the following will be covered, and covered 100%:
-recommendations that have an A or B effectiveness rating for preventive medicine (by the US Preventive Services Task Force)
-recommended immunizations (by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
-recommended preventive medicine and screenings for infants, children, and adolescents (by the Health Resources and Services Administration)
-additional recommended preventive care specific to women (by the Health Resources and Services Administration)
-current recommended practices (by the United States Preventive Service Task Force) for breast cancer screening, mammography, and prevention.
The Secretary will decide how long it takes for a new recommendation to become part of this list, but it has to be more than 1 year.
The Secretary can develop guidelines for insurance companies to create "value-based" insurance coverage.
If an insurance company covers dependent children, they must continue coverage until the child is 26.
The Great Debate
So everyone who knows me knows I'm for the health care bill. Maybe I've tried to pick a fight with you (and you've just ignored me), maybe I've sent you a youtube link of Anthony Weiner fencing on Fox, maybe you've heard me muttering under my breath every time I remember my state replaced Ted Kennedy with Scott Brown.
And if you know me, you also know I LOVE a well-informed debate: not screaming or crying, not hyperbole or violence, not conjecture, but using actual referenced facts to support a reasoned argument. I noticed there hasn't been a whole lot of that going around with respect to the health care debate.
So here's what I want to do: I've downloaded the entire bill that President Obama signed, and I posted it here: HR 3590. I'm going to read it, 20 to 50 pages at a time, and open a debate, section by section, on the bill, er, law, itself. I'd love some participation, especially if you're a fiscal conservative or full-blown Republican.
Some rules:
1. Postings must pertain to the section of the day. No skipping ahead and arguing about death panels when we're debating the table of contents.
2. All claims must be cited from first-hand sources. Good posting = "the bill generates $52 billion in additional Social Security revenues, reflecting higher payroll tax receipts. (http://cbo.gov/ftpdocs/113xx/doc11307/Reid_Letter_HR3590.pdf via rpc.senate.gov)" Bad posting = "Glenn Beck said Nancy Pelosi came out today and said that she thinks this is going to create all kinds of new entrepreneurial ideas."
3. Use of your own brain is acceptable: "I don't think it's the U.S. Government's responsibility to tell insurance companies they can't withdraw coverage once it has been started."
4. I'm the final say in what gets posted and what gets deleted. I promise I will do my best to delete posts that don't follow the rules, but I will try to keep and reply to posts I disagree with.
That's it. Ready... go!
And if you know me, you also know I LOVE a well-informed debate: not screaming or crying, not hyperbole or violence, not conjecture, but using actual referenced facts to support a reasoned argument. I noticed there hasn't been a whole lot of that going around with respect to the health care debate.
So here's what I want to do: I've downloaded the entire bill that President Obama signed, and I posted it here: HR 3590. I'm going to read it, 20 to 50 pages at a time, and open a debate, section by section, on the bill, er, law, itself. I'd love some participation, especially if you're a fiscal conservative or full-blown Republican.
Some rules:
1. Postings must pertain to the section of the day. No skipping ahead and arguing about death panels when we're debating the table of contents.
2. All claims must be cited from first-hand sources. Good posting = "the bill generates $52 billion in additional Social Security revenues, reflecting higher payroll tax receipts. (http://cbo.gov/ftpdocs/113xx/doc11307/Reid_Letter_HR3590.pdf via rpc.senate.gov)" Bad posting = "Glenn Beck said Nancy Pelosi came out today and said that she thinks this is going to create all kinds of new entrepreneurial ideas."
3. Use of your own brain is acceptable: "I don't think it's the U.S. Government's responsibility to tell insurance companies they can't withdraw coverage once it has been started."
4. I'm the final say in what gets posted and what gets deleted. I promise I will do my best to delete posts that don't follow the rules, but I will try to keep and reply to posts I disagree with.
That's it. Ready... go!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Small fry, Ubuntu
Ubuntu update: I've successfully installed ubuntu! After giving all of the misc. hard drives and DVD-roms I've collected over the years a good test run, I settled on adding an 80 gig to my Windows box and running Ubuntu off of a 6 gig, paired with a 40 gig HD and DVD-R. The install was a little troublesome, trying to get the boot sequence in the bios correct. I disconnected the 40-gig during the install, got a successful boot off of the hard drive, and re-connected the 40 and it works!
Now, I really have no idea what I'm going to do with it. It's sitting under my desk right now, doing nothing....
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The Fish!!!! Alex and I recently had babies! 13 sunburst mollys to be exact. Unfortunately mom didn't make it through childbirth, but the "mistress" who has all of dad's attention is currently EXTREMELY pregnant. I've been watching her most of the night, hoping to see the little buggers get pooed out, but no luck. She just swims around with the male trying to hump her. Shameless...
2 of the 3 guppies are pregnant, too. The blue tailed female looks the most pregnant, and the yellow tailed one does, too. You can actually see the babies' eyes inside the mom's bellies. It's very cool.
Since we're expecting 50-60 baby fish in the next week or two (total), does anyone have a tropical freshwater tank and want some babies? We've got more than we can handle.
Now, I really have no idea what I'm going to do with it. It's sitting under my desk right now, doing nothing....
-----------------------------------------------------
The Fish!!!! Alex and I recently had babies! 13 sunburst mollys to be exact. Unfortunately mom didn't make it through childbirth, but the "mistress" who has all of dad's attention is currently EXTREMELY pregnant. I've been watching her most of the night, hoping to see the little buggers get pooed out, but no luck. She just swims around with the male trying to hump her. Shameless...
2 of the 3 guppies are pregnant, too. The blue tailed female looks the most pregnant, and the yellow tailed one does, too. You can actually see the babies' eyes inside the mom's bellies. It's very cool.Since we're expecting 50-60 baby fish in the next week or two (total), does anyone have a tropical freshwater tank and want some babies? We've got more than we can handle.
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