| |
|
Thom's blog
Another Obamacare delay...
Yet another key provision of Obamacare meant to protect consumers is being delayed - the Obama Administration is holding off on instituting out-of-pocket expense limits. That provision would have put a cap on the total amount an insurance company can charge individuals or families for deductibles, co-pays, and prescriptions. The healthcare law was supposed to restrict out-of-pocket expenses to about 6,000 dollars for an individual, and 12,000 for a family, but administration officials have delayed that requirement, and will allow insurance companies to set their own limits.
The U.S. Labor Department website listed the change since February, but we're just now finding out about it. A White House official defended that decision to the New York Times, saying, “We had to balance the interests of consumers with the concerns of health plan sponsors and carriers, which told us that their computer systems were not set up to aggregate all of a person's out-of pocket costs.” However, critics of the delay argue that most, if not all, insurance companies already set out-of-pocket limits, and this change is simply another give-away to the for-profit health care industry. And, many people expect that Republicans will use this additional delay to attack and discredit the president's healthcare law.
Patient advocacy groups, like the Multiple Sclerosis Society, are furious about how this latest delay will effect individuals who require expensive medical care. Theodore Thompson, of the MS Society, said, “The promise of out-of-pocket limits was one of the main reasons we supported health reform.” It's unclear whether these groups will pull their support for Obamacare because these limits will not be in place.
Already, there have been many mixed reviews about other provisions in the healthcare law being delayed, like the employer mandate. It's unlikely that most Americans will be happy about the news that private, for-profit insurance companies will get away with pushing even more healthcare costs on to patients.
-Thom
(What do you think? Tell us here.) |
|
Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 9pm... How did Ayn Rand become a hero to right wing nerds? (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT, and catch past shows on Youtube)
Have a question or comment for Thom? Grab your phone, hit record and send your video to YourTakeMyTake@gmail.com and we may air it on "The Big Picture."
The Best of the Rest...
How did Ayn Rand become a hero to right wing nerds?- Michael Lind, New America Foundation 
Daily Take: What do you do when you no longer need your slaves?
|
|
|
|
Monday's Daily Stack 
Quote: "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong -- because someday you will have been all of these." -- George Washington.
Hour One: Fukushima...is the "China Syndrome" happening?- Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear
Judge declares baby's name unchristian...what?
Hour Two: Anything goes summer
Hour Three: If sports had no rules...
Book: What Then Must We Do? by Gar Alperovitz.
|
|
|
Tuesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 3-6pm ET
Hour One: The end of the USPS as we know it?- Don Soifer, Lexington Institute
Hour Two: Graffiti...now punishable by on-the-spot execution?- Dan Bongino, Congressional Candidate (R-MD, 6th district)
Hour Three: Breaking...are your mortgage documents phony?- Lynn Szymoniak, The Housing Justice Foundation.
And, the best of the rest of the news and your calls right here on...
The Thom Hartmann Program...your media support group for "we the people"...
|
|
|
Wednesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 3-6pm ET
Conservatives are always praising "American Exceptionalism"...but in reality, thanks to devastating right wing policies, America is NOT number one anymore...I'll challenge Libertarian talk radio host Tony Stiles...
Plus, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...
The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"
And remember...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thom's Poll
Should nonviolent drug offenders be sent to jail?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Watch & Listen to Thom
If Sports Had No Rules...
The Good - The Bad and the Very Very Kyphoticly Ugly
Crazy Alert! Dirty Dating Sites...
Politically Corrected - WSJ's Stephen Moore - Sequester is "underappreciated success"
Medical Marijuana for Pets?
How bad will Keystone XL be for the climate?
NSA may expand its invasive snooping powers?
What If the NYPD patted down briefcase-holding whites at gunpoint?
Watch the
Or watch the Full "Big Picture" Show...
Full Show 8/12/13: "Stop-And-Frisk" Is Unconstitutional-And-Racist
Thom discusses the ruling in New York calling "stop-and-frisk" unconstitutional, Attorney General Eric Holder's plan to reform drug sentencing in America and the latest protest against the Keystone Pipeline. Thom talks to a veterinarian on whether marijuana could help sick animals in "Everything You Know Is Wrong," and in tonight's "Daily Take" Thom discusses how democracy needs a clear set of rules just like major league baseball does.
Thom Hartmann on the News: August 12, 2013
Lady, You Can't Name Your Baby 'Messiah'!
Caller: Never pee on the Sidewalk at Shift Change!
If Sports had no Rules...
Caller: NRC says Don't Worry about Fukushima
Fukushima: Is the "China Syndrome" Happening?
Getting rid of the Mandatory Minimums
What to do with the Slaves When They are no Longer Needed?
|
|
Show Info
Call Thom on the show at 1-866-987-THOM (8466) (0870 974 9686 from the UK, +1 503 796 2324 from outside the US or UK).
Sign up for Thom's podcasts.
Come on over to the free chat room, where Thom hangs out during the show.
Join in the discussions on Thom's free message board.
Blog or upload videos or audios at Thom's community.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
 Would you like to help give a child with a very troubled background this feeling of peace? Thom and Louise Hartmann founded the New England Salem Children's Village (NESCV) in New Hampshire in 1979. With states delaying payment for the children they entrust to the village, they need help with cash flow. Can you help? Now on Facebook. |
Thom and Louise Hartmann founded the New England Salem Children's Village (NESCV) in New Hampshire in 1979. With states delaying payment for the children they entrust to the village, they need help with cash flow. Can you help? Now on Facebook. |
|
|
