debunking every Obamacare “horror” story that the mainstream media fed the public at the start of the Affordable Care Act’s implementation, the flood of destructive lies slowed to a trickle, and was shunted off into the drainage ditches of partisan outlets and think tanks. Over the weekend, though, a fresh crop of these bogus stories sprang into the print and online bloodstream, leading to the uselessly quiet and tardy conclusion that maybe, just maybe, there are no real Obamacare horror stories. The Los Angeles Times’ Michael Hiltzik, who was one of the few reporters debunking these things in real time, reached that conclusion while detailing the latest steaming pile of scare stories. In a piece headlined “Maybe there are no genuine Obamacare horror stories,” Hiltzik talks about the tale of Julia Boonstra, whose plight is featured in an Americans for Prosperity ad, and whose story, of course, doesn’t add up: The Affordable Care Act provided … [Read more...] about Christopher: Obamascare Stories Don’t Die, They Multiply
Life insurance horror stories
Shady Insurance Company Unites Bush, Kobe, Jordan Peterson
Former President George W. Bush, basketball star Kobe Bryant, and right-wing Canadian professor Jordan Peterson will lend their famous names this summer to a multilevel marketing insurance company that critics say is better at getting money from its own recruits than it is at selling insurance. They are scheduled to speak in late July at the People Helping People Conference, an annual event organized by insurance sales company PHP Agency. They’ll be joined by Oakland Athletics executive Billy Beane, the basis for the Michael Lewis book The conference lineup became public through the poster announcing their appearance, which features a logo that’s nearly identical to the symbol for the Autobots, the good robots from his channel. PHP Agency is a multilevel marketing company, meaning that it makes money when people recruit lower-ranking members, who then funnel their sales commissions upwards. Agents move up through the ranks based on their recruitment rates, according to a … [Read more...] about Shady Insurance Company Unites Bush, Kobe, Jordan Peterson
The rising cost of insulin: “Horror stories every day”
After years of rising prices, insulin costs in the U.S. are creating painful choices for diabetics and their families. The problem is drawing the attention of lawmakers, with the Senate Committee on Aging examining insulin prices a hearing on Tuesday. One father testified that his 13-year-old son's insulin jumped from $300 for a 90-day supply in 2017 to more than $900 in early 2018. "I immediately went into panic mode," Paul Grant, a project estimator for a building company in Maine, told the committee. "I tried to get answers from my insurance company but received little help or explanation. I don't think they even understand our health plan – I know I don't." Grant, who said he ended up buying the same insulin from Canada, where it cost about $300, isn't alone. Insulin prices more than tripled from 2002 to 2013 and have continued to climb -- costs for the drug from two manufacturers rose almost 8 percent in 2017. Diabetes, a disease in which the body fails … [Read more...] about The rising cost of insulin: “Horror stories every day”
Skimpy health plans touted by Trump bring back familiar woes for consumers
There used to be a lot of health insurance horror stories like Charley Butler’s. After the Montana truck driver was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2016, his insurer balked at paying tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills and then moved to cancel his coverage over a preexisting medical condition. These practices were largely banned by the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, which set new national health insurance standards to protect consumers and bar discrimination based on preexisting conditions. But as the Trump administration has pushed to relax many of these rules, skimpier short-term health plans like the one Butler bought are roaring back, threatening to subject consumers to many of the ordeals patients endured before the healthcare law. “Unfortunately, companies are taking advantage of the fact that consumer protections required by the Affordable Care Act don’t apply to these plans,” said former California Insurance Commissioner … [Read more...] about Skimpy health plans touted by Trump bring back familiar woes for consumers
York County horror novelist faces a horror of his own, suffering severe burns
Brian Keene kills people for a living. He has killed people in pretty much every way imaginable, including via forklift – and along the way, he has killed two people by setting them on fire. Of course, this happens only in his twisted imagination, in the pages of his novels, short stories, screenplays and whatever else anyone is willing to pay him to write. On two occasions – in "Entombed," a novel about survivors of a zombie uprising struggling with survival, their own humanity and cannibalism; and in "The Complex," a book based on a low-rent apartment complex he once called home besieged by a horde of naked, blood-thirsty lunatics – he set characters on fire. Musing about that now, he said, "I thought I did a good job of describing the pain. Now I know first-hand. I knew nothing." More: Vehicle fires happen more often in summer. Are you prepared? It happened June 5. He was … [Read more...] about York County horror novelist faces a horror of his own, suffering severe burns