Into the Void

This refers to a previous bailout, not to the latest ripoff.

H. R. 1424: Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

Here is the full text, and I suggest that everybody read this bill. It was pushed through with only a couple of days debate by lawyers who have little understanding of the workings of Wall Street or The Fed, and who have huge financial interest in the institutions that will benefit from it. To add insult to injury, they tacked a lot of pork barrel spending onto it to BRIBE Congress to agree to it.
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/financialsvcs_dem/essabill.pdf

Some comments:

“To amend section 712 of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974, section 2705 of the Public Health
Service Act, section 9812 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 to require equity in the provision of mental
health and substance-related disorder benefits under
group health plans, to prohibit discrimination on the
basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance
and employment, and for other purposes.”

This means that you only get parity if your employer provides your insurance AND that insurance already has mental health coverage. It doesn’t seem to require them to cover it. How many of you all work full-time?

There is a cost exemption so to limit mental health coverage if it increases costs by some undetermined amount. The insurance companies can still deny claims bases on their definition of “medical necessity” or by their definition of “reasonable and customary” services.

‘‘(2) COST EXEMPTION.—
6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a
7 group health plan (or health insurance coverage
8 offered in connection with such a plan), if the
9 application of this section to such plan (or cov
10 erage) results in an increase for the plan year
11 involved of the actual total costs of coverage
12 with respect to medical and surgical benefits
13 and mental health and substance use disorder
14 benefits under the plan (as determined and cer
15 tified under subparagraph (C)) by an amount
16 that exceeds the applicable percentage described
17 in subparagraph (B) of the actual total plan
18 costs, the provisions of this section shall not
19 apply to such plan (or coverage) during the fol
20 lowing plan year, and such exemption shall
21 apply to the plan (or coverage) for 1 plan year.”

Discrimination on the basis of genetic information only affects illnesses for which genetic tests have been developed. This bill ignores a lot of of the provisions of the ADA, while modifying ERISA in ways that are completely meaningless. I am concerned that this will weaken the ADA by tightening the definitions to exclude non-genetic diseases.

Specific diagnoses this bill applies to will be determined by the GAO, which has 3 years to study it and present a report.

“(h) GAO STUDY ON COVERAGE AND EXCLUSION OF
4 MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER DIAG5
NOSES.—
6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of
7 the United States shall conduct a study that ana8
lyzes the specific rates, patterns, and trends in cov9
erage and exclusion of specific mental health and
10 substance use disorder diagnoses by health plans
11 and health insurance.”

Congress can continue to modify this Act.

I doubt this will change anything in the near future.

A few years from now you’re going to hear Congressdroids bitching because they didn’t have enough time to collect the facts before enacting this bill. Listen to them whine about how they were boondoggled into exercising the Bush Doctrine on Iraq.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/financialsvcs_dem/essabill.pdf

The above link is to the full text of the bailout bill, and I suggest that everybody read this bill. It was pushed through with only a couple of days debate by lawyers who have little understanding of the workings of Wall Street or The Fed. And they tacked a lot of pork barrel spending onto it to BRIBE Congress to agree to it. Unfortunately, mental health parity verbiage was tacked onto the bill with the pork. NAMI, of course, is celebrating the bill for its own sake without regard to what effect it will have, or when. Having appeased the mental health lobby, congress is off the hook as far as enacting any further legislation. Way to go!
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/financialsvcs_dem/essabill.pdf

“To amend section 712 of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974, section 2705 of the Public Health
Service Act, section 9812 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 to require equity in the provision of mental
health and substance-related disorder benefits under
group health plans, to prohibit discrimination on the
basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance
and employment, and for other purposes.”

This means that you only get parity if your employer provides your insurance AND that insurance already has mental health coverage. It doesn’t seem to require them to cover it in the first place. It also doesn’t appear to apply to private health insurance.

There is a cost exemption so to limit mental health coverage if it increases costs by some undetermined amount. The insurance companies can still deny claims bases on their definition of “medical necessity” or by their definition of “reasonable and customary” services.

??(2) COST EXEMPTION.?
6 ??(A) IN GENERAL.?With respect to a
7 group health plan (or health insurance coverage
8 offered in connection with such a plan), if the
9 application of this section to such plan (or cov
10 erage) results in an increase for the plan year
11 involved of the actual total costs of coverage
12 with respect to medical and surgical benefits
13 and mental health and substance use disorder
14 benefits under the plan (as determined and cer
15 tified under subparagraph (C)) by an amount
16 that exceeds the applicable percentage described
17 in subparagraph (B) of the actual total plan
18 costs, the provisions of this section shall not
19 apply to such plan (or coverage) during the fol
20 lowing plan year, and such exemption shall
21 apply to the plan (or coverage) for 1 plan year.”

Discrimination on the basis of genetic information only affects illnesses for which genetic tests have been developed. This bill ignores a lot of of the provisions of the ADA, while modifying ERISA quite a bit. I am concerned that this will weaken the ADA by tightening the definitions to exclude non-genetic diseases.

Specific diagnoses this bill applies to will be determined by the GAO, which has 3 years to study it and present a report. Once the beancounters are through will this bill, we’ll have no more than we had the day before the bill passed.

(h) GAO STUDY ON COVERAGE AND EXCLUSION OF
4 MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER DIAG5
NOSES.?
6 (1) IN GENERAL.?The Comptroller General of
7 the United States shall conduct a study that ana8
lyzes the specific rates, patterns, and trends in cov9
erage and exclusion of specific mental health and
10 substance use disorder diagnoses by health plans
11 and health insurance.”

I doubt this will change anything in the near future.

A few years from now you’re going to hear Congressdroids bitching because they didn’t have enough time to collect the facts before enacting this bill.

Well, unless I die sometime today, I’m going to e~file my 2007 Federal Return tonight. I use TurboTax because my brokerage recommends it.

It’s not so bad, really. TurboTax has a scoreboard at the top of the screen that shows your progress. It’s kind of like a text adventure game where you’re trying to get your money back from the pirates.

When I go to one of the local tax services I always feel rushed. The guy works on a schedule and I can’t stop in the middle of the return to get a cup of tea or start a load of laundry. With TurboTax, you can walk away for an entire day, or even until the next weekend. (Oops.)

If the guy comes up with additional deductions and I didn’t happen to bring the documentation, too bad. It means rescheduling and another trip. Working at home with TurboTax means my file cabinet is right behind me. I can stop and go online to bank or credit card sites to look up the numbers for a new deduction I hadn’t prepared for.

Maybe the guy made a snap judgement based on my clothing and skipped one question that could have brought up a whole new set of deductions. The software is objective.

Using the on-line software has the additional benefit that you can log on from anywhere and make changes. I needed to get some paperwork at work to finish up this time, so I logged in from there, changed a couple of numbers, and let TurboTax recompute my return.

There’s even a free TurboTax version for folks with simpler returns.

And don’t forget – you have to file to get your economic stimulus check, even if you had ZERO income.

Perhaps you’ll feel much better about tithing the government if you read about the Good Works they do with your money. Farm subsidies for landowners who never ever got dirt on their hands. Faith-based initiatives to help churches build wedding facilities for their parishioners. Highways to nowhere, also known as “pork.” Defense spending. Homeland Stupidity! I’m going to order the Death and Taxes 2008 Poster

Death and Taxes is a representational graph of the federal discretionary budget. The amount of money that is spent at the discretion of your elected representatives in Congress. Basically, your federal income taxes.

Here are some quotes on Death and Taxes to get you through the ordeal.

Benjamin Franklin

Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.

Daniel Defoe

“Things as certain as death and taxes, can be more firmly believed.”
The Political History of the Devil, 1726< /dd>

Margaret Mitchell

“Death, taxes and childbirth! There’s never any convenient time for any of them.”
Gone With the Wind, 1936

George H. W. Bush quote:

“Read my lips: no new taxes” spoken at the 1988 Republican National Convention

Paul McCartney

“Now my advice for those who die, (taxman)
Declare the pennies on your eyes. (taxman)”
“Taxman”, from the Revolver album