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Pythagorean
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Was there a doubt? That's exactly what the Republican strategist told the Daily Show. I know the Daily Show isn't serious, but she clearly was.
BobG said:Or ... The system should be reformed by a completely different method than the ACA.
For example, pass a law that tests requested by a doctor be performed by an outside agency unaffiliated with the doctor (very similar to the prohibition against a doctor both prescribing and selling a drug to his patients). Doctors that buy new equipment suddenly have a drastic increase in the number of patients that require that test (MRI, for example). And then the doctor simply charges the patient's insurance company for the test and both the patient and the doctor are happy.
That, in itself, probably wouldn't have a drastic impact on overall medical costs, but it is one example where government could focus on reducing health costs instead of just redistributing the current costs.
Senate Democrats are hopeful that their Republican counterparts in the Senate will work with them to come up with a deal that both ends the ongoing federal government shutdown and raises the nation's debt ceiling in the next few days.
A Senate Democratic leadership aide told Business Insider Thursday night that Senate Republicans have a "very strong desire" to end the shutdown before Oct. 17, which also happens to be the Treasury Department's deadline for raising the debt ceiling.
. . .
SteamKing said:It's that 'unaffiliated' that's tricky. Some doctors which have a lab in the office take a blood sample, for instance, and send it out to be tested. Would that still be OK? It's got to be a thriving practice for a doctor to be able to afford his own MRI. A lot of these tests are done at a hospital or MRI clinic. Would these be considered 'unaffiliated'? If a doctor sends you to a hospital for tests and the doctor also has privileges at that same hospital, is that 'affiliated'?
Eric Cantor Has Rigged The Rules of the House So That The Government Stays Shut Down
It was revealed recently that Republicans changed House procedural rules to guarantee that the fate of the government re-opening was the sole purview of Majority Leader Eric Cantor. The rule change was done quietly the night of Sept. 30 to guarantee Republicans could keep the government closed regardless a bipartisan majority found a way to re-open the government. According to regular House rules, if there is an impasse on a bill or resolution between the House and Senate, a motion to dispose of any amendment shall be privileged that simply means “any motion from any member should be allowed to proceed to end the gridlock.” However, Republicans changed the rule by adding that “any motion may be offered only by the Majority Leader or his designee” that guaranteed even though the Democratic Senate caved and met House Republican budget demands, only Eric Cantor had the power to stop the shutdown by allowing a vote to end the closure after it began.
Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59- Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014
Provides that the House insists on its amendment to the Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59, the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014, and requests a conference with the Senate thereon.
Section 2 of the rule provides that any motion pursuant to clause 4 of rule XXII relating to H.J. Res. 59 may be offered only by the Majority Leader or his designee.
Congress is less popular than dog poop
On the other hand, my wife and I took our daughter for an MRI. The neurologist was a partner (co-investor) in the facility that operated the MRI, and they charged $800 / MRI. He ordered two, although one should have been sufficient. And that was about 20 years ago. The insurance company thought they should be charging much less. It was also not clear that the MRI would resolve anything about my daughter's condition.Evo said:The group of clinics my doctor belongs to bought their own Cat Scan machine and they do CT's for heart and artery blockage at basically no cost since it's so critical, they do not file the scan with your insurance, they just charge a flat $50, even though they could probably charge your insurance up to $1k for the procedure. Despicable! They also have their own MRI machine now and charge half of what it cost for me to go to an outside imaging center.
They are also less popular than toenail fungus. And jury duty. And hemorrhoids. And the IRS. And cockroaches. And one's mother in law. But they are still more popular than Miley Cyrus and Anthony Weiner. It will be time for Congress to act when they slip below those two.OmCheeto said:Things I hear on the radio:
Congress is less popular than dog poop
:thumbs:
That sounds awfully cheap for an MRI back then, a recent article in the Washington Post says the average cost today of an MRI in the US is $1,080.00, that's cheaper than what my insurance was charged a few years ago. Of course prices vary greatly across the country since there is little to no regulation. IMO.Astronuc said:On the other hand, my wife and I took our daughter for an MRI. The neurologist was a partner (co-investor) in the facility that operated the MRI, and they charged $800 / MRI. He ordered two, although one should have been sufficient. And that was about 20 years ago. The insurance company thought they should be charging much less. It was also not clear that the MRI would resolve anything about my daughter's condition.
OmCheeto said:Can anyone verify if this is true or not:
I googled it and came up with the following:
Looking over the text of H.J.RES.59 -- Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014 (Introduced in House - IH), I've decided I can decipher very little of it.
I guess my question is; Is this just left wing nonsense, or did the Republicans really vote to make Cantor "god almighty" regarding the blocking of the appropriations bill?
Seems somewhat fishy, if true.
You didn't look in the right places. HJ Res 59 was the House's version of the continuing resolution. That resolution did not specify how to deal with the inevitable rejection of HJ Res 59 by the Senate. That response was dealt with by a special rule passed by the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee comprises nine Republicans and four Democrats. They voted on a strict party line to change the House's standard rule regarding the disposition of the response from the Senate.OmCheeto said:Can anyone verify if this is true or not:
Eric Cantor Has Rigged The Rules of the House So That The Government Stays Shut Down
It was revealed recently that Republicans changed House procedural rules to guarantee that the fate of the government re-opening was the sole purview of Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
I googled it and came up with the following: ...
Very.Seems somewhat fishy, if true.
D H said:...
Very.
RULE INFORMATION
COMMITTEE ACTION:
REPORTED BY RECORD VOTE of 9-4 on Monday, September 30, 2013.
FLOOR ACTION ON H. RES. 368:
ADOPTED by record vote of 228-199 on Tuesday, October 1, 2013.
MANAGERS: Sessions/Slaughter
1. Provides that the House insists on its amendment tot he SEnate amendment to H.J. Res. 59, the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014, and requests a conference with the Senate thereon.
2. Section 2 of the rule provides that any motion pursuant to clause 4 of rule XXII relating to H.J. Res. 59 may be offered only by the majority Leader or his designee.
OmCheeto said:I guess my question is; Is this just left wing nonsense, or did the Republicans really vote to make Cantor "god almighty" regarding the blocking of the appropriations bill?
Seems somewhat fishy, if true.
. . . .
Many of the half a million federal workers whose paychecks on Friday showed half of what they normally earn fretted about how to juggle bills and put off major purchases.
. . . .
The temporary disruption of furloughed workers’ spending patterns, a skittishness likely to continue even after they go back to work, is capable of measurable damage to the nation’s growth rate, economists said. . . .
AlephZero said:But explanations of the situation if the UK press have often referred to an long standing unwritten rule of business...
Vic Sandler said:This article, based on a study published in JAMA, argues against the idea that doctors prescribe unnecessary tests for self-referral profit motives and/or malpractice lawsuit liability fears. They concentrated on a particular test. They compared the percentage the tests that were unnecessary at Veterans Affairs hospitals with the percentage at public and private hospitals and found 13% in both cases.
http://www.aboutlawsuits.com/unneeded-tests-not-due-lawsuits-48389/
Two of the authors, including the lead author, of the study work for the VA.
Are there any studies supporting the idea that conflict of interest is a significant factor in unnecessary testing?
This is interesting, but it doesn't answer my question.edward said:More recently it would be doctors receiving money from drug companies.
Vic Sandler said:Are there any studies supporting the idea that conflict of interest is a significant factor in unnecessary testing?
AlephZero said:
The Hastert Rule says that the Speaker will not schedule a floor vote on any bill that does not have majority support within his/her party — even if the majority of the members of the House would vote to pass it.
AlephZero said:
Pythagorean said:0Jd-iaYLO1A[/youtube][/QUOTE] Re...OTE] Democracy has been suspended? hmmm...
Student100 said:The VA just sent me an email saying that my GI bill payments won't be sent anymore, although they had just sent an email a few days ago saying payments would go out normally. Sounds like more politicking to me, just like the whole death benefits thing.
edward said:Until yesterday most agencies were not aware that the T Party had locked in control of the shutdown to one person. VA emails are sent en masse, you are not the only one who received the same email. Don't presume that "politicking" as you call it won't hurt you.
Student100 said:... It stinks ...
edward said:Palin and Cruz at the World War II memorial. Palin mentions the burycades.
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbc-news/53270914/#53270914
OmCheeto said:As a veteran, I agree, 100%.
ps. What the hell is a "GI bill payment"? Am I entitled to free money or something? Woo Hoo!
edward said:Palin and Cruz at the World War II memorial. Palin mentions the burycades.
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbc-news/53270914/#53270914
Vanadium 50 said:A couple things about the Hastert Rule
1. It predates Denny Hastert by decades. Maybe centuries. Both parties have used it.
2. In the words of Hector Barbossa, "Thems be more like guidelines". Every speaker in memory has had cases where bills have been voted on and even passed without this condition.
3. It's hardly ever used because the real power the majority party has is control of committees. Each committee has N Republicans and N Democrats, and 1 chairperson from the majority party. Legislation that the majority party doesn't like usually just languishes in committee.