Showing posts with label affordable care act. Show all posts
Showing posts with label affordable care act. Show all posts

Monday, April 16, 2018

Government Subsidized Medicine Bankrupt Hospitals

Government Subsidized Medicine Bankrupt Hospitals | medical-bills | General Health Government Medical & Health Special Interests


Hospitals are now government subsidized monopolies. They have little to do with improving the health of patients but have everything to do with dispensing pharmaceutical industry drugs and treatments. The net result is that small and rural hospitals must merge into mega facilities in order to achieve economy of scale or close altogether because fewer Americans can afford health insurance coverage. Federal and State subsidizes are mounting in a futile attempt to pay for the deficits that arise in providing medical costs for an aging population. This formula has only one outcome, BANKRUPTCY.


At the core of the failed medical culture is the reliance on chemical compounds plagued by dire side effect prescriptions and marketed as miracle drugs. Often the only marvel is that a patient does not die quicker. In order to achieve a healthy lifestyle, the food diet and digested requires a fundamental revamping of what is eaten, how it is processed and most important, what to avoid.


This approach conflicts with the incessant drive to create even bigger bureaucracies and more complex regulations and requirements for access to medical services.


Basing this system on an insurance model guarantees insolvency of a private sector delivery system. Government is all too eager to assume (using their flawed general welfare claim) that schemes like Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare are necessary to pay for and provide medical coverage. The fact that this argument simply does not work should be self-evident.


Hospitals project that their form of treatments are proven. The problem is that their notion of tested practices usually ends up in a body bag. Government funding for Ayurvedic, Homeopath, Massage therapist, Hypnotherapist, Naturopath and Osteopath physicians/practitioner are usually outside the protective cocoon of the administrative boards and foundations connected with medical citadels.


Therapy using alternative methods demand that a sick person or one seeking treatment for some illness mostly pay out of pocket. Around 40 percent of Americans lacked dental insurance at the end of 2012, according to the National Association of Dental Plans. That’s compared to 12.9 percent without health insurance, according to the latest figures from Gallup – May 20, 2015.


If the consumer was actually paying with their own funds for the services and fees administered, the marketplace of costs would be much more responsive to a real or perceived benefit. Hospitals for outpatient care add substantial expense and ridiculous administrative overhead for procedures that have been drive up by the excessive rate amounts approved by government programs.


Medical treatment demands a negotiated agreement between the patient and those who practice the art/science of healing. In this age of the breakdown in rational medical delivery, the unsustainable fiasco of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has destroyed the last refuge of even the appearance of cost-effective medicine.


Only a repudiation of the bloated and unaccountable government oversight administration has even a slight chance to establishing a market based relationship between patient invoicing and effective and reduced costs for services.


Hospitals could rent out physical space, labs, examination rooms and treatment facilities to independent physicians or practitioners who would apply their expertise in consultation with the patient. Charges for such services would be the responsibility of those suffering from an illness. In this manner a balance in the relationship that reflects an agreed to value would have the effect to keep invoicing realistic.


Government subsidies only drive up costs. Mega hospitals by consolidating and closing down their rivals add layers of bureaucratic inefficiency and unaccountability, while diminishing choice for treatment with every closing or liquidation.


If patients added up the cumulative billing for hospital, doctor and prescription drugs, and paid such bills with their own funds; they surely would become educated consumers. Saving from opting out of medical insurance would accumulate over the years and grow for the time when such funds might be needed to satisfy whatever treatment option is sought.


The myth that society has a responsibility to make available whatever treatment procedure to cure, prolong or experiment using government funds has guaranteed that national bankruptcy is the inevitable prognosis. Fostering the conditions that close hospital competition is simply developing the “too big to fail” theory applied to medical treatment.


And where is the doctor outrage in this formula? Lawsuit fights “existential threat” to medical staff independence illustrates the trend to squeeze out the last blood dollar from the artificial and government sponsored hospital model.


“The suits stems from actions taken Jan. 26, 2016, when the Tulare Regional Medical Center (TRMC) board of directors voted to terminate the hospital’s medical staff organization and effectively remove the hospital’s elected medical staff officers, install a slate of appointed officers, and approve new medical staff bylaws and rules drafted without staff input.


Except for the newly appointed officers, the rest of the staff was then terminated, stripped of their rights as active members and then granted “provisional” status as part of the new medical staff which they had not applied or consented to membership with, according to a post-trial brief filed by the TRMC Medical Staff.


The replacement bylaws also contained a provision, since amended, that physicians could achieve and maintain “active” status by proving their economic value to the hospital, according to the brief—which described that provision as “basically, an illegal kickback scheme.”


“If you could imagine hospital medical staff bylaws written by hospital lawyers, this is what they would look like,” Do said. “Doctors shouldn’t be making decisions on patient care based on hospital profitability.”


The net result is to force out the regional, rural or independent facilities and structure the supra corporate hospital into a partnership with government, where other clinics need not apply. This Is not exactly a M*A*S*H, medical emergency unit, but more closely resembles a sanatorium of demented technocrats. Save health services by converting them into alternative medicine facilities. Cancel your health insurance and start saving to pay for a future illness. Get government out of the health care business and return sanity so the sick can decide just what treatment they want.


The post Government Subsidized Medicine Bankrupt Hospitals appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

20 States Sue The Federal Government To ABOLISH Obamacare


A coalition of 20 states has come together to sue the federal government over Obamacare. The states say that the law is no longer Constitutional and it should be abolished.


Without the individual mandate (a provision in the Obamacare law that demanded all Americans buy health insurance that the government deemed acceptable or pay a fine) which has been removed, the law is supposedly unconstitutional. Often called the “teeth” of the Obamacare law, the individual mandate was highly controversial and should have never been shoved down the throats of people anyway.


According to Reuters, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel are leading the charge of 20 states standing up to the federal government. The lawsuit said that without the individual mandate, which was eliminated as part of the Republican tax law signed by President Donald Trump in December, Obamacare was unlawful. “The U.S. Supreme Court already admitted that an individual mandate without a tax penalty is unconstitutional,” Paxton said in a statement. “With no remaining legitimate basis for the law, it is time that Americans are finally free from the stranglehold of Obamacare, once and for all,” he said.


Texas and Wisconsin were joined in the lawsuit by 18 other states including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Utah and West Virginia. It was filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Texas.



“Obamacare was always designed to fail in order to usher in something worse,” says Melissa Dyke at Truthstream Media. But what could possibly be any worse than Obamacare? “Government-run, single-payer, socialist healthcare,” says Dykes.  And the evidence is in the leaked Podesta emails up on Wikileaks.



A Democrat supporting Republican legislation to destroy Obamacare on purpose. How many millions have they raked in on this deal and bilked the American people for in Obamacare penalties because they can’t afford the “affordable” health care? And the American people will look at this like a “victory” when it does unravel, even though it has been the plan all along. –The Daily Sheeple


It’s still difficult to comprehend that in the “land of the free” the federal government could, for any reason, tax and individual for NOT buying something. And we wonder why we’re constantly sliding down on the freedom index.  (The US is at #17 by the way, meaning 16 other countries have more freedom than those residing here do.) And the country had to claw their way to the #17 spot after being 7 places below that the year before.

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Obamacare’s Revenge: The IRS Will Not Process Your Tax Return Unless You Tell Them Whether You Have Health Insurance Or Not

Obamacare’s Revenge: The IRS Will Not Process Your Tax Return Unless You Tell Them Whether You Have Health Insurance Or Not | Obamacare-Is-Failing-NRCC | IRS Medical & Health Special Interests US News


Yes, this is a true story.  I was completely shocked when I learned about this too, and this just underscores the importance of repealing the individual mandate immediately.  Shortly after taking office, President Trump issued an executive order which was intended to move the IRS away from enforcing Obamacare’s individual mandate, but now the IRS has found a way around that executive order.  According to the official AARP website, the IRS has announced that it will not process any tax returns from individuals that are not willing to disclose whether they currently have health insurance or not…


The Internal Revenue Service won’t process individual tax returns in 2018 unless taxpayers indicate whether they have health insurance coverage or an exemption.


The move, announced last month, reverses course from this year, when the IRS said it would not require filers to indicate on 1040 tax forms whether they had health insurance. Filers were still required to have medical insurance or pay a penalty, but the IRS accepted and processed returns even if taxpayers didn’t indicate coverage status.


So what this means is that you will not get your refund until you tell the IRS if you have health insurance.


And if you don’t have health insurance and you don’t qualify for an exemption, you could be hit with a very painful financial penalty.


Of course purchasing health insurance in some parts of the country is enough of a penalty as it is.  For example, I recently wrote about a family of four in Virginia that is now facing the prospect of paying $3,000 a month for health insurance.


Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.


And it also turns out that the IRS is going back and sending threatening letters to those that didn’t indicate if they were covered or not on previous tax returns.  Here is more from the AARP…


IRS spokesman Bruce Friedland said it followed a review of IRS procedures.


“The IRS has determined that ‎it is more burdensome for taxpayers to allow them to file an incomplete tax return and then have to manage follow-up letters and potentially amend their return,’’ Friedland said. “Identifying omissions and requiring taxpayers to provide health coverage information at the point of filing makes it easier for the taxpayer to successfully file a tax return and minimizes related refund delays.”


In September, the IRS started sending letters to about 130,000 taxpayers who didn’t address the health care requirement on 2014 and 2015 tax returns.


So if you left that section of your tax return blank in previous years, you should be expecting a letter in the mail very soon.


At this point, many of you that are reading this article are probably starting to get very angry.  After all, didn’t President Trump sign an executive order earlier this year that was going to end enforcement of the individual mandate?


Unfortunately, that was not the case at all.  In fact, Politico is reporting that the Trump administration “is still dutifully enforcing Obamacare’s individual mandate”…


The Trump administration is still dutifully enforcing Obamacare’s individual mandate, despite early signals it might undermine the unpopular linchpin of the health care law.


Weeks after the close of tax season, the IRS continues to process penalties from potentially millions of taxpayers who refused to purchase health insurance last year.


That’s even though hours after taking office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump issued a vaguely worded executive order instructing federal agencies to waive or defer parts of Obamacare that would “impose a fiscal burden” on states, individuals or health care providers.


Enough is enough.


Obamacare should have been repealed on the very first day of the Trump administration, but unfortunately the RINOs in Congress are going to keep blocking any effort to do that.  Elections really matter, and in 2018 we need to kick out the RINOs and put in new leaders that are fully committed to a 100% repeal of Obamacare.


We also need to do something about the IRS.  They have always been a rogue agency, but now they have gotten completely and totally out of control.  I am running for Congress in Idaho’s first congressional district, and I believe that we should completely shut down the IRS.


The status quo is simply not acceptable.  Obamacare is financially crippling families all across America, and we should be absolutely disgusted that Congress has not found a solution to this problem even though they have had almost an entire year to get something done.


The post Obamacare’s Revenge: The IRS Will Not Process Your Tax Return Unless You Tell Them Whether You Have Health Insurance Or Not appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Thursday, November 2, 2017

“This Is Absolutely Crazy”: Obamacare Signups Start As Americans Increasingly Balk At Surging Premiums

This article was originally published by Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge


medicine-money


After years of surging premiums and deductibles, will 2018 finally be the year that America’s middle class throws in the towel and brings the whole scheme crashing down?


While we won’t know the answer to that question for at least a couple of months, one thing is certain…if it happens it will most definitely be the result of the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine the legislation and not the culmination of years of soaring costs that has rendered healthcare unaffordable for most American families. Well, at least that’s the The Wall Street Journal‘s assessment of the situation:


Consumers will begin signing up Wednesday to take part in the Affordable Care Act next year, kicking off a crucial six-week stretch that could test the law’s durability amid Republican leaders’ continuing desire to see it repealed.


This year’s annual open-enrollment period, the fifth in the ACA’s history, faces more uncertainty than previous years, since the Trump administration has opted to cut the sign-up period by half and pull back $116 million that had been designated for advertising and outreach.


Health analysts widely expect the number of people who purchase insurance through the law’s exchanges to dwindle as a result, fueling a partisan debate over whether the Obama-era law is sinking of its own accord or being undercut by the administration’s actions.


About 12 million people selected or were re-enrolled in the exchanges last year, with about 10.3 million of those actually paying premiums and obtaining coverage in 2017. Analysts expect the number of sign-ups to fall by at least one million during this open-enrollment period, which extends from Nov. 1 through Dec. 15.


Of course, as Bloomberg crisply demonstrated by highlighting the health insurance experience of Richard Taylor, Obamacare’s surging premiums had already rendered the product completely unobtainable for a broad swath of the American middle class long before Trump moved into the White House. As Bloomberg notes, Taylor is one of the unfortunate Americans who makes too much money to qualify for subsidies but is self-employed and thus forced to purchase insurance on the private exchange.


For some lower-income people in Obamacare, the rising premiums President Donald Trump has talked so much about will barely be felt at all. Others, particularly those with higher incomes, will feel the sharp increases when insurance sign-ups begin Wednesday.


Richard Taylor is one of the people on the wrong end. The 61-year-old, self-employed Oklahoman has meticulously tracked his medical costs since 1994. In 2013, he signed up for an Affordable Care Act plan for the law’s first year offering coverage to millions of Americans.


Four years ago, annual premiums for a mid-level “silver” plan to cover his family totaled $10,072.44. For 2017, they were $21,392.40—up 112 percent.


“This is crazy. This is absolutely crazy,” Taylor said. “All I’m waiting on is to get on Medicare.”


Alas, fixing a broken system is hardly the concern of Washington D.C. politicians who will inevitably continue to ignore the consequences of a failed piece of legislation and focus instead on clever media attack ads and tweets designed to make sure the blame falls on the opposite party.


Democrats complain that President Donald Trump’s actions are prompting the very problems Republicans cite as evidence of the law’s failure. “In the end, if Republicans can tank open enrollment, they can get more momentum to try repeal again,” said Brad Woodhouse, executive director of protect Our Care, a Democratic advocacy group.


The Trump administration has pared funds for publicizing the open-enrollment dates and for paying on-the-ground assisters who help people shop for coverage. The Department of Health and Human Services also plans to take down the law’s main website, healthcare.gov, from midnight to noon on nearly every Sunday of the sign-up period.


Advocates also say the ACA’s online window-shopping tool, which allows customers to compare plans ahead of open enrollment, has been malfunctioning, sowing further confusion. Federal health officials have acknowledged the issues.


For those who missed it, before you rush out to buy your Obamacare plan today you should probably take a peak at the preview below of how much your premiums are going to increase in 2018…


* * *


A new study conducted by Avalere and released earlier today found that Obamacare rates will surge an average of 34% across the country in 2018. Of course, this is in addition to the 113% average premium increase from 2013 and 2017, which brings the total 5-year increase to a staggering 185%.


Meanwhile, and to our complete shock no less, Avalere would like for you to know that the rate increases are almost entirely due to the Trump administration’s “failure to pay for cost-sharing reductions”…which is a completely reasonable guess if you’re willing to ignore the fact that 2018 premium increases are roughly in-line with the 29% constantly annualized growth rates experienced over the past 4 years before Trump ever moved into the White House…but that’s just math so who cares?


New analysis from Avalere finds that the 2018 exchange market will see silver premiums rise by an average of 34%. According to Avalere’s analysis of filings from Healthcare.gov states, exchange premiums for the most popular type of exchange plan (silver) will be 34% higher, on average, compared to last year.


“Plans are raising premiums in 2018 to account for market uncertainty and the federal government’s failure to pay for cost-sharing reductions,” said Caroline Pearson, senior vice president at Avalere. “These premium increases may allow insurers to remain in the market and enrollees in all regions to have access to coverage.”


Avalere experts attribute premium increases to a number of factors, including elimination of cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments, lower than anticipated enrollment in the marketplace, limited insurer participation, insufficient action by the government to reimburse plans that cover higher cost enrollees (e.g., via risk corridors), and general volatility around the policies governing the exchanges. The vast majority of exchange enrollees are subsidized and can avoid premium increases, if they select the lowest or second lowest cost silver plan in their region. However, some unsubsidized consumers who pay the full premium cost may choose not to enroll for 2018 due to premium increases.



Of course, not all residents are treated equally when it comes to premium hikes.  So far, Iowa is winning the award for greatest percentage increase at 69%, with Wyoming, Utah and Virginia close behind.



On an absolute basis, Wyoming wins with the average 50 year old expected to drop nearly $1,200 per month (or roughly the cost of a mortgage) on health insurance premiums.



So what say you? Have we finally reached the tipping point where enough full-paying Obamacare customers will simply forego insurance that they can no longer afford and cause the whole system to come crashing down?

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Thanks Obamacare! Health Insurance Premiums Are Projected To Spike Dramatically Once Again In 2018

Thanks Obamacare! Health Insurance Premiums Are Projected To Spike Dramatically Once Again In 2018 | health-insurance-piggy-bank | General Health Medical & Health Sleuth Journal Special Interests US News


Are you ready for your health insurance premiums to go up again?  Ever since Obamacare became law, health insurance premiums have been rising dramatically year after year.  In 2016, one study found that the average Obamacare premium rose by about 24 percent, and similar increases have been seen all around the nation in 2017.  As you will see below, large premium hikes are on tap for 2018 as well, and rates are going to continue to rise until lawmakers finally do something about this nightmare.


But even though the Republicans in Congress can’t get their act together, at least President Trump is trying to do what he can on his own…



President Trump proclaimed Friday that his goal is to dismantle his predecessor’s health care plan, hours after his administration suddenly announced that it would halt subsidy payments to insurers.


“ObamaCare is a broken mess,” Trump tweeted. “Piece by piece we will now begin the process of giving America the great HealthCare it deserves!”



Of course Democrats are in quite a panic now that the subsidy payments have been shut off.



In fact, one member of the Senate actually accused President Trump of committing “health-care arson”…



Trump’s decision, announced Friday after months of criticizing the payments as an insurance industry bailout, will throw in doubt the private insurance exchanges that are part of the Affordable Care Act. Democrats vowed to use year-end negotiations on the federal agency budgets as a leverage point to reinstate the payments, vowing to pin the political blame on Republicans if premiums skyrocket next year.


“This is the equivalent of health-care arson. He is literally setting the entire healthcare system on fire just because the president is upset that the United States Congress won’t pass a repeal bill,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said on “Fox News Sunday.



Actually, if anyone should be accused of destroying our healthcare system it is the Democrats.


Since Obamacare was first passed, many Americans have seen their health insurance premiums more than double.


And more rate increases are coming in 2018.  Here in Idaho, it is being projected that Obamacare premiums will rise next year by an average of 38 percent…



Dean Cameron, director of the Idaho state Department of Insurance, announced today that health insurers offering plans on Idaho’s state insurance exchange have proposed premium rate increases next year averaging 38 percent. “I am deeply disappointed and frustrated to share these rates,” Cameron said in a news release; you can read it here. “I understand how difficult it will be for Idahoans to afford reasonable coverage, especially those without a subsidy.”



That is absolutely insane!


And for the most popular silver plans, the average rate increase here in Idaho is going to be around 50 percent…



Idaho Statesman reporter Audrey Dutton reports that the largest increases are proposed in the “silver” plans, which are the most popular ones on the exchange, falling mid-range in pricing and benefits between the lower-level “bronze” plans and the high-end “gold” plans. Silver plans are showing average increases of 50 percent in premiums; they range from a low of 40 percent at Blue Cross to 69 percent at SelectHealth.



Idaho families simply cannot afford these sorts of rate increases, and that is why one of my top priorities as a member of Congress will be to repeal Obamacare immediately.


Of course Idaho is far from alone when it comes to enormous premium increases.  Out on the east coast, residents of Maryland will also see huge Obamacare rate increases in 2018…



The cost of premiums for plans sold on the state’s health exchange will soar for 2018, adding to questions about the stability and affordability of the health insurance program known as Obamacare.


State regulators announced Tuesday that they have approved average rate increases of just over 23 percent to nearly 50 percent, depending on the plan and carrier, increases that surely will burden consumers who get no government subsidies but also potentially still leave insurers in the red.



And we find the exact same thing happening when we look at the middle of the country.  For example, just look at the rate increases that are projected for Illinois…



The Illinois Department of Insurance submitted rates to the federal government Wednesday that would increase the average cost of the lowest-priced silver plans by 35 percentstatewide. The lowest-priced bronze-level plans would increase, on average, by 20 percent, and the lowest-priced gold plans would increase by 16 percent, according to a department analysis obtained by the Tribune.



Most American families are essentially living paycheck to paycheck at this point, and so there is no way that they can afford these types of rate increases.


As a nation, we already spend more per capita on healthcare than anyone else in the entire industrialized world, and yet health insurance premiums continue to rise far faster than the overall rate of inflation year after year.


Our healthcare system is completely and utterly broken, and the more that the federal government interferes the worse things get.


50 years ago, healthcare was very affordable, and we had the greatest healthcare system on the entire planet.  We need a 100% repeal of Obamacare, and we desperately need to return to free market principles.  That is what I plan to fight for, and this is why we simply cannot allow the Democrats to be victorious in 2018.


If the Democrats regain control of either the House or the Senate in 2018, they will completely block any further attempts to dismantle Obamacare, and our healthcare system will continue to rapidly deteriorate.


We have a population that is rapidly aging and a healthcare system that is already overburdened.  Getting our healthcare system fixed is a pressing national priority, and let us hope that these health insurance rate increases will be enough to send hordes of extremely angry conservative voters to the polls for the mid-term elections.







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Thanks Obamacare! Health Insurance Premiums Are Projected To Spike Dramatically Once Again In 2018

Thanks Obamacare! Health Insurance Premiums Are Projected To Spike Dramatically Once Again In 2018 | health-insurance-piggy-bank | General Health Medical & Health Sleuth Journal Special Interests US News


Are you ready for your health insurance premiums to go up again?  Ever since Obamacare became law, health insurance premiums have been rising dramatically year after year.  In 2016, one study found that the average Obamacare premium rose by about 24 percent, and similar increases have been seen all around the nation in 2017.  As you will see below, large premium hikes are on tap for 2018 as well, and rates are going to continue to rise until lawmakers finally do something about this nightmare.


But even though the Republicans in Congress can’t get their act together, at least President Trump is trying to do what he can on his own…



President Trump proclaimed Friday that his goal is to dismantle his predecessor’s health care plan, hours after his administration suddenly announced that it would halt subsidy payments to insurers.


“ObamaCare is a broken mess,” Trump tweeted. “Piece by piece we will now begin the process of giving America the great HealthCare it deserves!”



Of course Democrats are in quite a panic now that the subsidy payments have been shut off.



In fact, one member of the Senate actually accused President Trump of committing “health-care arson”…



Trump’s decision, announced Friday after months of criticizing the payments as an insurance industry bailout, will throw in doubt the private insurance exchanges that are part of the Affordable Care Act. Democrats vowed to use year-end negotiations on the federal agency budgets as a leverage point to reinstate the payments, vowing to pin the political blame on Republicans if premiums skyrocket next year.


“This is the equivalent of health-care arson. He is literally setting the entire healthcare system on fire just because the president is upset that the United States Congress won’t pass a repeal bill,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said on “Fox News Sunday.



Actually, if anyone should be accused of destroying our healthcare system it is the Democrats.


Since Obamacare was first passed, many Americans have seen their health insurance premiums more than double.


And more rate increases are coming in 2018.  Here in Idaho, it is being projected that Obamacare premiums will rise next year by an average of 38 percent…



Dean Cameron, director of the Idaho state Department of Insurance, announced today that health insurers offering plans on Idaho’s state insurance exchange have proposed premium rate increases next year averaging 38 percent. “I am deeply disappointed and frustrated to share these rates,” Cameron said in a news release; you can read it here. “I understand how difficult it will be for Idahoans to afford reasonable coverage, especially those without a subsidy.”



That is absolutely insane!


And for the most popular silver plans, the average rate increase here in Idaho is going to be around 50 percent…



Idaho Statesman reporter Audrey Dutton reports that the largest increases are proposed in the “silver” plans, which are the most popular ones on the exchange, falling mid-range in pricing and benefits between the lower-level “bronze” plans and the high-end “gold” plans. Silver plans are showing average increases of 50 percent in premiums; they range from a low of 40 percent at Blue Cross to 69 percent at SelectHealth.



Idaho families simply cannot afford these sorts of rate increases, and that is why one of my top priorities as a member of Congress will be to repeal Obamacare immediately.


Of course Idaho is far from alone when it comes to enormous premium increases.  Out on the east coast, residents of Maryland will also see huge Obamacare rate increases in 2018…



The cost of premiums for plans sold on the state’s health exchange will soar for 2018, adding to questions about the stability and affordability of the health insurance program known as Obamacare.


State regulators announced Tuesday that they have approved average rate increases of just over 23 percent to nearly 50 percent, depending on the plan and carrier, increases that surely will burden consumers who get no government subsidies but also potentially still leave insurers in the red.



And we find the exact same thing happening when we look at the middle of the country.  For example, just look at the rate increases that are projected for Illinois…



The Illinois Department of Insurance submitted rates to the federal government Wednesday that would increase the average cost of the lowest-priced silver plans by 35 percentstatewide. The lowest-priced bronze-level plans would increase, on average, by 20 percent, and the lowest-priced gold plans would increase by 16 percent, according to a department analysis obtained by the Tribune.



Most American families are essentially living paycheck to paycheck at this point, and so there is no way that they can afford these types of rate increases.


As a nation, we already spend more per capita on healthcare than anyone else in the entire industrialized world, and yet health insurance premiums continue to rise far faster than the overall rate of inflation year after year.


Our healthcare system is completely and utterly broken, and the more that the federal government interferes the worse things get.


50 years ago, healthcare was very affordable, and we had the greatest healthcare system on the entire planet.  We need a 100% repeal of Obamacare, and we desperately need to return to free market principles.  That is what I plan to fight for, and this is why we simply cannot allow the Democrats to be victorious in 2018.


If the Democrats regain control of either the House or the Senate in 2018, they will completely block any further attempts to dismantle Obamacare, and our healthcare system will continue to rapidly deteriorate.


We have a population that is rapidly aging and a healthcare system that is already overburdened.  Getting our healthcare system fixed is a pressing national priority, and let us hope that these health insurance rate increases will be enough to send hordes of extremely angry conservative voters to the polls for the mid-term elections.







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Friday, August 18, 2017

Good News: U.S. Cancer Death Rates Have Fallen 25% Since 1991

Deaths from cancer in the United States peaked in 1991, but have since dropped a whopping 25%, according a report published earlier this year by the American Cancer Society (ACS). [1]


As a result of that drop, 2.1 million fewer people died from cancer between 1991 and 2014 than would have died if cancer death rates had remained stagnant at their 1991 level.


The ACS credits reductions in smoking and advances in early detection and treatment for the significant decline, such as more people having colonoscopies to detect colorectal cancer.



Source: CDC

Dr. Otis Brawley, the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, said in a statement:



“The continuing drops in the cancer death rate are a powerful sign of the potential we have to reduce cancer’s deadly toll.


Continuing that success will require more clinical and basic research to improve early detection and treatment, as well as strategies to increase healthy behaviors nationwide.” [1]



The researchers also credit the Affordable Care Act with improving survival rates in ethnic minorities. Between 2010 and 2015, the Affordable Care Act decreased the number of uninsured from 21% to 11% in African-Americans, and from 31% to 16% among Latinos. [2]


The report, published in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, shows the decline in cancer death rates was fairly steady for more than two decades, decreasing about 1.5% each year during the study period. [1]


The cancer death rate fell from 215 deaths per 100,000 people in 1991 to 161 deaths per 100,000 people in 2014.


Read: Study: Moderate Exercise May Cut Your Risk of 13 Types of Cancer!


Fewer deaths attributable to four types of cancer played a significant role in the overall decline – lung, prostate, breast, and colorectal. For example, deaths from lung cancer in men dropped by 43% from 1990 to 2014, and in women by 17% between 2002 and 2014. The colorectal cancer death rate decreased by 51% between 1976 and 2014.


To paint a clearer picture, in the mid-1970’s, the five-year survival rate for someone diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia was about 41%. For patients diagnosed between 2006 and 2012, however, the five-year survival rate had increased to 71%.


In the mid-1970’s, the five-year survival rate for chronic myeloid leukemia stood at a dismal 22%, but the five-year survival rate is now 66%. And thanks to new therapies, people diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia before age 65 can expect a near-normal life expectancy. [2]


Progress is slow in the areas of lung and pancreatic cancers, however. Those types of cancer tend to be caught in the later stages. As a result, the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is just 8%, while the five-year survival rate for lung cancer is 18%.


Read: Women’s Cancer Deaths Expected to Climb 60% by 2030


Cases of new liver cancer diagnoses and deaths are increasing, according to the researchers. The number of new cases has grown by 3% yearly, and liver cancer deaths rose by 3% annually between 2010 and 2014.


Additionally, deaths from uterine cancer are on the rise, increasing by 2% per year in that period.


Source: PublicHealth

Researchers estimate there will be more than 1.6 million new cases of cancer in the U.S. this year, or about 4,600 diagnoses each day, and over 600,000 cancer deaths, or about 1,650 deaths each day. [1]



Sources:


[1] LiveScience


[2] Los Angeles Times


CDC


PublicHealth



Storable Food


Tuesday, August 8, 2017

What Would You Do To Fix America’s Rapidly Failing Health Care System?

What Would You Do To Fix America’s Rapidly Failing Health Care System? | time-medical | General Health Government Government Control Medical & Health Sleuth Journal Special Interests


You may be quite surprised by how people answered this question on Facebook. I posted the question in the headline to my Facebook profile, and I got dozens of responses. Obamacare has resulted in much higher insurance premiums, lower quality care and more red tape, and I have talked to so many conservatives that desperately want Congress to do something about it. Today, Americans spend more on health care per capita than anyone else on the planet, and yet we have one of the unhealthiest populations in the entire industrialized world. We must do better, and I believe that we can do better.


In this article, I would like to share my thoughts on just a few of the comments that were left on my Facebook profile. The original comments that were posted by others are in bold, and my responses follow each one…


“The Federal government should not be involved in health care.”



I definitely agree with that. Whenever the federal government gets involved in anything it tends to get worse. We once had the greatest health care system in the world, but the more that federal bureaucrats have gotten into the mix the more it has declined.


“A free market system!”


This just seems like common sense to me, but unfortunately most members of Congress don’t seem to agree. Free markets work if you allow them to, but the trend all over the globe is to move toward socialized healthcare. Personally, I believe that we need to move toward free market principles throughout our society, and true competition would do much to dramatically drive down health care costs.


“Crack down big time on Medicare fraud, leave feds out of healthcare.”


Medicaid fraud costs us about 140 billion dollars a year, and Medicare fraud has been estimated to be somewhere around 60 billion dollars a year. So if you we could just crack down on those two things, we could save up to 200 billion dollars a year.


“Break the FDA big pharma monopoly.”


Yes, there are way too many executives going back and forth between the FDA and the big pharmaceutical companies. I don’t understand why Republicans and Democrats both don’t want to fix this.


“Go hard after big pharma and hospitals for being the greedy pigs they are.”


Greed is a major problem in our health care system. Way too many are in it just to make as much money as possible, and that should not be what drives people into this profession.


“Let people join medical clubs like Sean Hannity proposes.”


Rand Paul has also suggested the same thing. We should allow any group of people to band together to purchase health insurance. That would greatly level the playing field between us and the big health insurance companies, and it would definitely help drive down costs.


In addition, models such as direct primary care that cut out the big health insurance companies completely should be encouraged. Health insurance companies are the number one factor driving up health care costs, and collectively they now make about 15 billion dollars in profits a year.


“Stop the illegitimate lawsuits based on greed. Again, doctors are human and unfortunate outcomes happen even when care was provided correctly. There are risks in everything.”


Tort reform is going to have to happen state by state, but it is desperately needed. Malpractice insurance has become exceedingly expensive, and doctors pass those costs along to their patients. If we ever want to drive down costs to where they should be, this is something that must be addressed.


“Be like Canada!!!!”


That sounds good, but it isn’t the solution to our problems. I personally know Canadians that have come down to the U.S. for care because they can’t get the care that they need back home in Canada.


“Legislation needs to be introduced that forces health insurance companies to compete across state lines.”


This is something that President Trump has been pushing for a long time, and I very much agree with him. Competition across state lines will drive down rates, and this is something that should be implemented as soon as possible.


“More emphasis on nutrition, education about whole foods and natural healing, non- GMOs.”


I very much agree. Today, most doctors only have two types of solutions to offer: drugs or surgery. I believe that natural solutions need to be incorporated much more extensively into our system of health care, and that is something that we should all be able to agree upon.


“Force all US Senators, Congressman and their families to be on whatever healthcare system they force on us peons. No exceptions!”


That only seems fair, right? If I am elected, I am going to push very hard to make sure that the same rules that apply to all of the rest of us also apply to all members of Congress. And if you would like to help make this a reality, I would encourage you to visit HelpMichaelWin.com.


Ultimately, I believe that we need to rebuild our system of health care from the ground up, and that begins with medical school. For decades medical schools have been greatly restricting the number of medical students, and now the growing doctor shortage in this country is becoming a major crisis.


Like others have proposed, I believe that we need to double the number of medical students immediately. And we need to do whatever else we can to promote more competition and the implementation of free market principles in our health care system.


It won’t be easy to fix things, and we have got a lot of corrupt politicians that we need to kick out of office, but I believe that we can get there if we all work together.

Thursday, August 3, 2017

After GOP Fails to Repeal Obamacare, Sanders will Introduce Single-Payer (VIDEO)

After GOP Fails to Repeal Obamacare, Sanders will Introduce Single-Payer (VIDEO) | bernie-sanders-wikimedia | Medical & Health Multimedia Politics Special Interests


By: Dawn Luger, The Daily Sheeple | 


Vermont Senator and socialist, Bernie Sanders said Sunday that he will absolutely introduce a single-payer health care bill. If you think health care is bad now because of government interference, just wait until the government literally controls your health and body ww100%.


“Absolutely, of course, we are,” Sanders told CNN’s Jake Tapper Sunday. “We’re just tweaking the final points of the bill and we’re figuring out how we can mount a national campaign to bring people together.” Sanders ran on a socialist platform during the 2016 election and was endorsed by “democratic socialist” Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela.


“We are the only major country on earth, the only one, not to guarantee health care to all people,” he said. “The result is 28 million people who are uninsured, millions of people who are paying deductibles and co-payments that are far too high.” Even though healthcare is not right, Sanders insists on taking more of your hard earned money for single-payer.



After GOP Fails to Repeal Obamacare, Sanders will Introduce Single-Payer (VIDEO) | sanders-meme | Medical & Health Multimedia Politics Special Interests


The GOP’s failure to repeal the disastrous Obamacare law spurred Sanders desire to write a single-payer bill. The Senate had voted to proceed to debate on a 50-50 vote with a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence but were only able to secure 49 votes on the “skinny” repeal bill, the closest to being passed. “And if the Republicans had gotten their way, there would have been another 30 or 32 million people thrown off health insurance,” Sanders said. “That is crazy. What we should do is move in the direction of every other major country and guarantee health care as a right, not a privilege.”


Even though healthcare isn’t a right. No one is entitled to someone else’s production. Single payer enslaves healthcare workers. But to those who worship the government like it’s their religion, there is no rational thought process.



Republican Senator Steve Daines had tried to force Senate Democrats to vote for-or-against single payer last week during the most recent round of health care votes, but Democrats rejected the efforts, with none voting for it and most voting “present.” Four Democrats voted no: North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp, West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, Indiana’s Joe Donnelly and Montana’s Jon Tester. Liberal-leaning Maine Independent Angus King also voted no.



“I suspect that what Sen. Daines is doing is nothing more than an old political trick, trying to embarrass Democrats,” Sanders said before the vote. “I suspect it’s just a political game.”


Sanders previously introduced a single-payer, Medicare-for-all bill in 2013, that didn’t attract a single co-sponsor. But more Senate Democrats have spoken positively about single payer this year, with New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, California Senator Kamala Harris and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren all saying they support single-payer. –Newsweek



There are many reasons why single payer is a bad idea, and it isn’t just the taxation or the poor service the government provides. Rational people would rather be exposed to the few failures of capitalism than the few successes of socialism.



Dawn Luger is a staff writer and reporter for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up – follow Dawn’s work at our Facebook or Twitter.








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Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Website Will Mail Your Ashes To GOP Politician If “Trumpcare” Kills You


Website Will Mail Your Ashes To GOP Politician If “Trumpcare” Kills You | ashes | Medical & Health Sleuth Journal Special Interests US News


By: Dawn Luger, The Daily Sheeple |


The left is terrified now that key provisions of Obamacare have been voted against by the House of Representatives. The American Healthcare Act, lovingly dubbed “Trumpcare” has not been signed into law. In fact, it hasn’t even passed the Senate. Yet if you die because of it, one website will make sure they mail your ashes to a GOP congressman.


Getting Trumpcare to pass the senate is going to be an uphill battle. But regardless of whether it’s a law or not, lovers of the horrible Obamacare law are going crazy. Democrats seem fearful that some people may lose health insurance coverage. No one wants others to lose healthcare, despite the talking points of the left’s main players. But not wanting to pay for your healthcare isn’t the same as taking it away from you. Nonetheless, democrats are losing it over a bill that isn’t even a law yet and is unlikely to become one. Out of fear, one liberal decided to take things to the next level.





Zoey Jordan Slasbury claims that the AHCA (which again, is not a law yet) is going to be the cause of her death. The point of her website is pretty straightforward. A user can select a GOP representative and have their ashes mailed directly to them in the event they die because of their illness after no longer being covered by Trumpcare. The website calls this a “donation.” The site’s landing page says this:



Millions of Americans rely on protections and coverage from the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. The Republicans new bill will gut these protections and many will die.


They deserve to know it. Fill out our form and we’ll help you get papers in order to send your ashes to a GOP member of Congress if you pass. –Mail Me to the GOP.com.



This macabre idea of mailing human remains to politicians is nothing short of insanely disturbing. Democrats act like others should be forced to pay for their healthcare as if it’s a right. Newsflash: no one has the right to the fruits of another’s labor. And doctors are laborers. But many still get scared when thinking about living their lives without the government dictating every minute detail of the healthcare industry.


When a person fills out the necessary form on Mail Me To The GOP, they’re given the option of disclosing the reason why the AHCA could kill them. Some of those responses are available for viewing on the site, too. One says, “My combat tour in Iraq resulted in enough disability to make me uninsurable, but not enough to get all my healthcare through the VA. You killed me, you prick.” And another says simply, “because you took away my f-ing insurance.” Interesting, since there have literally been no changes to Obamacare because the AHCA still hasn’t passed.


*You can read more “reasons” why Trumpcare is going to kill people on the website here.


It almost feels like democrats should watch a little Schoolhouse Rock so that they can understand why this whole overdramatized fear of the AHCA is absurd.



The Mail Me To The GOP website crashed yesterday because of an influx of visitors. Mediaite says that they have reached out to Salsbury for her thoughts on the site’s crash and will update if they hear back from the website’s founder.


The level in which the left has gone off the deep end over this bill is beyond insane. It’s also crazy that the right is dubbing this a “repeal and replacement” of Obamacare. It’s neither. It’s a slight tweaking that much like Obamacare, still won’t work because the government is still up to their elbows in your healthcare. The one most positive effect of Trumpcare would be the removal of the individual mandate. If it passes, and you cannot afford health insurance, you wouldn’t be charged a fine (or a tax) you can’t afford for the crime of being unable to afford insurance.




Dawn Luger is a staff writer and reporter for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up – follow Dawn’s work at our Facebook or Twitter.

Saturday, April 8, 2017

You Do Not Go To War With Your Own People

You Do Not Go To War With Your Own People | Donald-Trump-Goes-To-War-Public-Domain | Politics Trump US Congress


Donald Trump is making the exact same tragic mistake that other prominent leaders have made in the past. You never, ever, ever go to war with your own people. Yes, you may have some very serious disagreements with your own team sometimes, but you never go to war with them. When Trump openly declared war on the Freedom Caucus, he immediately lost the support of millions of conservatives. And now Trump is going to have a tremendously difficult time getting anything on his agenda through Congress, because without Freedom Caucus votes the Democrats will be able to block just about everything that Trump wants to do.


Yes, I understand that Trump is upset because his healthcare legislation failed. But instead of getting angry and lashing out at the people that should be his closest allies in Congress, perhaps he should take another look at the bill.



The truth is that it was called “Obamacare Lite” for a reason. It was an absolute nightmare of a bill, and conservatives all over the nation were united in their opposition of it.


When you are a leader, sometimes you have to be willing to admit that you were wrong.


Unfortunately, Donald Trump is not very good at admitting when he is not right about something.


Instead of the path of humility, Trump has decided to go to war with the Freedom Caucus. On Friday, Trump actually posted a tweet that urged his supporters to “fight” the Freedom Caucus during the election of 2018…



“The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don’t get on the team, & fast. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!“



No, conservatives will definitely not be attempting to remove the best members of Congress in 2018. For Trump to even suggest this is absolute madness.


Trump desperately needs friends in Congress, and the members of the Freedom Caucus could be his best friends if he would just work with them.


But instead he is deeply alienating them, and after Trump’s tweet on Friday a couple members of the Freedom Caucus struck back at him. One of them was U.S. Representative Thomas Massie…



@realDonaldTrump it’s a swamp not a hot tub. We both came here to drain it. polls 17%. Sad!



Another member of the Freedom Caucus that fired back at Trump was U.S. Representative Justin Amash…



It didn’t take long for the swamp to drain @realDonaldTrump. No shame, Mr. President. Almost everyone succumbs to the D.C. Establishment.



What in the world is Trump hoping to accomplish by feuding with these conservatives?


If Trump wants to repeal Obamacare, he should just push the same clean repeal bill that was passed by the House right near the end of Obama’s time in office.


During the campaign season, Trump’s desire to fight with everyone ended up working for him, but in Washington you are going to need some friends if you actually want to accomplish anything. The members of the Freedom Caucus would have supported more of Trump’s agenda than any other group in the House of Representatives, but now he has gone to war with them.



I don’t know if I have the words to describe the utter foolishness of that move.


But even after threatening to go after their jobs in the next election, some members of the Freedom Caucus are still being conciliatory. One of them is Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador…



@realDonaldTrump Freedom Caucus stood with u when others ran. Remember who your real friends are. We’re trying to help u succeed.



And Freedom Caucus co-founder Jim Jordan told Fox News that his group is “trying to help the president”…



Freedom Caucus co-founder Jim Jordan, however, refused to take Trump’s bait during an interview on “America’s Newsroom.”


“We appreciate the president,” Jordan said. “We’re trying to help the president, but the fact is you have to look at the legislation.”


He added: “I’m not here to assign blame to anyone…what I focus on doing is doing what I told the voters we’re going to do.”



Instead of trying to bully his friends, Trump should try listening to them instead.


But even before it became clear that Obamacare Lite would not pass, he was threatening members of the Freedom Caucus with primary challenges if they would not vote the way that he wanted…



President Trump dared Rep. Mark Sanford to vote against the Obamacare repeal bill last week so he could put a primary challenger against the former governor in 2018, the congressman said.


According to Sanford, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney told him, “The president asked me to look you square in the eyes and to say that he hoped that you voted ‘no’ on this bill so he could run (a primary challenger) against you in 2018,” according to The Post and Courier, which first reported the story. Mulvaney, a friend of Sanford’s, was a South Carolina congressman before he joined the administration.



This is one of the signs of a weak and ineffective leader. I have seen other “leaders” try to use their power to bully people into doing what they want done, and it rarely works.


If Trump keeps acting like this, pretty soon he is not going to have any friends left. During the campaign season, Matt Drudge was one of Trump’s most fervent supporters, but now even Drudge appears to be turning on him…



In early February, Drudge tweeted that the “Republican party should be sued for fraud. NO discussion of tax cuts now. Just lots of crazy. Back to basics, guys!” and “No Obamacare repeal, tax cuts! But Republicans vote to shut Warren? Only know how to be opposition not lead! DANGER ”


One month later, Drudge was even more direct, saying “Republicans lied about wanting tax cuts. Can we get our votes back?”


Then, last Thursday, amid the struggle to rally enough Republican votes to pass an ObamaCare repeal-and-replace plan, he tweeted, “The swamp drains you,” which many saw as a jab at President Trump’s campaign pledge to “drain the swamp.”



When a leader goes to war with his own people, it almost always results in a tragic ending.


Yes, Trump could perhaps take down a couple members of Congress in the 2018 election, but Trump will find that his entire presidency is paralyzed if he doesn’t have any friends in Congress.


For example, if a spending bill in not passed by April 28th, a government shutdown will begin on April 29th.


So without the help of the Freedom Caucus, where is Trump going to get the votes that he needs to avoid a shutdown?


Is Trump going to team up with the Democrats?


I don’t think so.


Without some friends in Congress, there will be no spending bill, the debt ceiling will not get raised, there will be no border wall, there will be no tax cuts, there will be no enhanced border security, there will be no trillion dollar infrastructure plan, there will be no new military spending and nothing else that Trump wants to do will get done either.


Trump is going to learn a very hard lesson that many other prominent leaders in the past have also learned.


You do not go to war with your own people.

Sunday, April 2, 2017

GOP Bill Could Let Employers Access Your Genetic and Health Info

A GOP bill in Congress could give employers access to employees’ personal medical and genetic information and increase financial penalties for people who reject workplace wellness programs. [1]


House Republicans have proposed this legislation that would make it easier for companies to gather DNA and health information from employees and their families – children included – when it’s collected as part of a ‘voluntary’ workplace wellness program. Debate still remains, however, on the effectiveness of such wellness programs in general. [2]


H.R. 1313, the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act, was proposed by Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina and chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. The bill is under review by other House committees and is awaiting review by the Senate. It has drawn the ire of numerous consumer, health, and privacy advocacy groups, as well as House Democrats.




A spokesperson for the House committee argued that “the legislation will reaffirm existing law and provide regulatory clarity so that employers can have the certainty they need to help lower health care costs for their employees.” Opponents, however, say that the bill could undermine existing laws designed to protect an individual’s personal medical information from use by employers and others. [2]


In a statement, Nancy J. Cox, Ph.D., president of The American Society of Human Genetics, said:


“We urge the Committee not to move forward with consideration of this bill. As longtime advocates of genetic privacy, we instead encourage the Committee to pursue ways to foster workplace wellness and employee health without infringing upon the civil rights afforded by ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and GINA (Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act).” [2]


GINA was intended to prohibit genetic discrimination, and passed Congress with bipartisan support in 2008. Under the bill, companies can neither hire nor fire workers on genetic grounds, and GINA banned employers from asking for DNA test results. Workplace wellness programs were the exception to the rule, but the information had to be given voluntarily and only the program director, not employers, would have access. [3]



When President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law in 2010, employers were given the power to levy financial incentives and penalties to urge employees to participate in the supposedly voluntary programs.


As of 1 January 2017, according to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulations, employees who opt out of a wellness program can face penalties of up to 30% more, or even 50% more under certain conditions, for work health insurance than those who participate in the program.


Under the Republican bill, employers can demand DNA test results for employees in wellness programs, which directly conflicts with the GINA ban on forcing workers to share their results. If the bill is passed, it would mean that the GINA provisions don’t apply to wellness programs.


Cox said that, if enacted, the bill would “fundamentally undermine” GINA and ADA. [2]


In a letter to Foxx, a group of advocates, including AARP, the American Diabetes Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Epilepsy Foundation, the March of Dimes, and others wrote:


“We strongly oppose any legislation that would allow employers to inquire about employees’ private genetic information or medical information unrelated to their ability to do their jobs, and to impose draconian penalties on employees who choose to keep that information private.” [1]





Sources:


[1] The New York Times


[2] Fox News


[3] Buzzfeed



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About Julie Fidler:


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Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.