“insurance industry” on The Daily Caller

You’re running your Saturday errands: dry cleaners, post office, oil change, etc. At the grocery store you work your way down the list: milk, eggs, broccoli . . . Where’s the bread? You don’t want to buy that brown stuff with all those seeds and twigs; you want good old-fashioned, mushy, best-thing-since-sliced white bread. But it’s nowhere to be found. Upon further investigation, you’re informed that it’s been banned by the government due to the potential harm it can do to diabetics and the gluten-intolerant, and because refined white grains may contribute to obesity. Never mind that you don’t fall into those categories, you’ve been prohibited from making the choice for yourself, for the greater good. (more)

1.) Christ Christie commutes sentence of man convicted for being manly — While Florida Gov. Charlie Crist continues to toss and turn over the thought of pardoning the hell out of Jim Morrison, NJ Gov. Christ Christie has been worried about somebody more low key: Brian Aitken. Aitken was sentenced to seven years in prison this past August because he had two unloaded firearms in the trunk of his car. “Police found unloaded guns that had been purchased legally in Colorado. New Jersey law requires residents who want to transport firearms legally to request a permit from a local law enforcement office and produce a letter stating why it is necessary for them to carry a gun.” Aitken was switching residences and had yet to get the paperwork, ergo he deserved to lose seven years of his life. According to The Daily Caller’s Amanda Carey, Christie “commuted the sentence of Brian Aitken Monday, reducing his sentence from seven years in prison to time already served. According to Christie’s order, he will be released as soon as it’s ‘administratively possible.’” (more)

While the month of August for many Americans ushers in the end of the summer, for our coastal regions it brings the peak of hurricane season. As a nation, this time of year is also filled with the memories of a tragic event that visited our coasts just five years ago: Hurricane Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. History. (more)

Hurricane season is in full swing and it is on the minds of many citizens in South Mississippi and along the Gulf Coast just what exactly is the plan of action in the unfortunate happenstance that a tropical storm or hurricane enters the Gulf of Mexico and make landfall while oil is on the surface of the Gulf.  The potential for oil to be pushed ashore by storm surge or even to be rained down is extremely worrisome. With the now impending threat of Tropical Storm Bonnie, our worries will be tested and our worst fears could come to life. (more)

In a shot across the bow to the insurance industry Tuesday, President Obama warned companies facing higher costs in part because of his health care law not to hike their prices, saying “we’ll be watching closely.” (more)

The 2010 hurricane season is in full swing and summer storms are already popping up almost daily. Fishing, shrimping, and tourist seasons are under way and all are desperately needed to buoy the Coastal economy during this ongoing national recession. Local and state government budgets continue to see shortfalls in tax collections resulting in the loss of constituent services. (more)

Following nearly a year of fiery public rhetoric and questionable political backroom arm-twisting, Congress finally cast an historic vote to enact a sweeping health care reform bill into law. (more)

Regardless of what you think about the health care law, the debate was epic. Both sides made regular apocalyptic statements claiming all manner of calamity if it passed or not. Neither is true. The bill will neither be the end of the world nor solve all our health care problems. So if the result is not apocalyptic or an answer to all problems what is the likely impact? With a tip of the hat to Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach, the following is The Good, the Bad and The Ugly of health care reform. (more)

President Obama’s health care reform package was just a week old when it started to cost taxpayers more money. (more)

Megatrends represent major movements so powerful that the direction of change cannot be stopped. Federal laws can speed up or slow down megatrend forces. But, like dammed rivers megatrends will redirect themselves to achieve the inevitable result. Health care consumerism is such a force. (more)

The irony of our present democracy is that the rules that govern it are written by people who never asked for your vote. (more)

WASHINGTON — Finalizing two major pieces of his agenda, President Obama on Tuesday sealed his health care overhaul and made the government the primary lender to students by cutting banks out of the process. (more)

President Obama has finally passed his massive health care bill, although the staggering cost to the American people has yet to be determined; the attendant increase in taxes and misery, as well as a corresponding decline in quality and standards will most likely remain unquantifiable for many years to come. (more)

On a recent Fox News debate about health insurance, Democratic political strategist Bob Beckel explained that, “The president needed an enemy, and the insurance companies are it.” (more)

The first week of pleasant weather in the nation’s capitol brought out swarms of residents, who brushed off the winter grime by marching on the streets of Washington, D.C.  More than 1,000 health care reform advocates, organized by Health Care for America Now, rallied yesterday in Washington D.C.  The march went from Dupont Circle to the Ritz Carlton hotel, where an association of health insurance companies was meeting. (more)

President Obama has taken a new line of attack against Republicans to neutralize their argument that his reforms would pose a government takeover of the health-care sector, arguing subtly that the GOP is committed more to the insurance industry than they are limited government. (more)

Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington – Congressional Democrats on Wednesday accused the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross of putting profits ahead of policyholders, saying the giant insurer padded its proposed rates while lavishing generous salaries and benefits on top executives. (more)

Full document available in PDF As Congress moves forward with its health care reform efforts, a last-minute proposal to revoke the 64-year-old exemption from federal antitrust laws for health insurers has flown under the media radar. Proponents of the repeal proposal tout it as a broadly popular effort to slow the consolidation of the health insurance industry and promote more vigorous price competition. But the change would do nothing to prevent insurance firm mergers, which are already subject to federal oversight. However, federalizing antitrust enforcement over the insurance industry would unnecessarily duplicate existing state insurance regulations and jeopardize practices that help small insurers compete. (more)