Charter Schools: A Marketplace For Profits Or Ideas?

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Diane Ravitch explains why she turned her back on charter schools.

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Charter Schools: A Marketplace For Profits Or Ideas?

Obamacare Kegstand: Colorado Marketplace Pushes ‘Brosurance’

Obamacare Kegstand: Colorado Marketplace Pushes ‘Brosurance’
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You wanna be cool, don’t you?

Adan Salazar
Infowars.com
October 23, 2013

Nothing says health insurance like doing a keg stand.

This must have been the conclusion reached by the ad department folks at Colorado’s health insurance marketplace, Connect for Health Colorado.

In a last-ditch effort to garner some much-needed street cred with the nation’s twenty-somethings, Colorado’s marketplace has decided that featuring an image of frat boys performing a keg stand will somehow entice young people into buying health insurance.

“Brosurance,” an ad states. “Keg stands are crazy. Not having health insurance is crazier. Don’t tap into your beer money to cover those medical bills. We got it covered. Now you can too. Thanks obamacare!”

“We were really trying to come up with something fun and creative that would cut through the clutter on social media and create awareness,” Adam Fox, the director of strategic engagement for the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, told the Los Angeles Times, ignoring the fact his “creative” ad campaign is predicated on a 1993 ad for milk.

“We wanted to inject a little bit of humor and have it be fun and have it catch some attention — and sometimes you have to push the envelope a little bit to do that. The idea is really to help those populations realize they have some options,” Fox said.

“Brosurance is the rage today! Regardless of who you are, we want you to #GetCoveredCO!” a tweet from Colorado Health Op pitches.

The ad is one of a slew of new social media spots designed to provoke young and healthy people into signing up for insurance, a key market the federal government says is essential to lowering premiums for everyone across the board.

However, even if someone figures out a decent way to tap into the wallets of college students – who, with student loan repayments, are likely already strapped for cash – it’s highly unlikely anyone’s premium will lower.

As we reported earlier, a hidden spreadsheet found on healthcare.gov, which at one time was available publicly but has since been buried, displays premium rates for every state and county across America, and they don’t seem to be getting any lower.

It’s probably also unfair to target the college crowd with such a superb ad campaign, a section of the population we have demonstrated will sign up for just about anything as long as it’s presented as a means of supporting Obama or his healthcare initiative.

Earlier this month, Infowars had little difficulty getting 14 out of 20 college students at the University of Texas to sign a petition requesting the City of Austin implement a mandatory helmet ordinance for people walking down the street, a measure marketed as a means to “help keep insurance costs down.”

The fictional narrative of “the more people sign up, the lower costs will be for everyone,” is delusional at best, and makes the marketing of health insurance as a trendy, cool and hip thing that you can laugh about with your beer buddies truly laughable.

The stench of desperation is pungent.

This article was posted: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at 10:23 am

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Read more about Obamacare Kegstand: Colorado Marketplace Pushes ‘Brosurance’ and other interesting subjects concerning NSA at TheDailyNewsReport.com

VIDEO: Obama Highlights Fiscal Risks In Addressing Business Group

President Obama used an appearance before the group, the Business Roundtable, to call out House Republicans who have said they will not raise the nation’s debt ceiling unless they succeeded in repealing his signature health care law. In his remarks, Obama accused what he called “a faction” of Republicans in the House of trying to “extort” him by refusing to raise the nation’s debt ceiling unless the president’s health care plan is repealed.

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VIDEO: Obama Highlights Fiscal Risks In Addressing Business Group

VIDEO: Obama Highlights Fiscal Risks In Addressing Business Group

President Obama used an appearance before the group, the Business Roundtable, to call out House Republicans who have said they will not raise the nation’s debt ceiling unless they succeeded in repealing his signature health care law. In his remarks, Obama accused what he called “a faction” of Republicans in the House of trying to “extort” him by refusing to raise the nation’s debt ceiling unless the president’s health care plan is repealed.

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VIDEO: Obama Highlights Fiscal Risks In Addressing Business Group

VIDEO: Obama Highlights Fiscal Risks In Addressing Business Group

President Obama used an appearance before the group, the Business Roundtable, to call out House Republicans who have said they will not raise the nation’s debt ceiling unless they succeeded in repealing his signature health care law. In his remarks, Obama accused what he called “a faction” of Republicans in the House of trying to “extort” him by refusing to raise the nation’s debt ceiling unless the president’s health care plan is repealed.

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To stay in the loop, bookmark our homepage.

VIDEO: Obama Highlights Fiscal Risks In Addressing Business Group

Obama: If Minorities Start Thinking Government"s The Problem, That Leaves The Marketplace On Its Own

PRESIDENT OBAMA: There is an argument that was made in 1964, 1965 on through the ’80s and ’90s in which those who resisted any change in the status quo, particularly when it came to economic opportunity, made two big arguments.

Argument number one was, any efforts by government to help folks who were locked out of opportunity, whether it was minorities or the poor generally, unions, any effort by government to help those folks is bad for the economy. And that became a major argument. And if, in fact, people start thinking the government’s the problem instead of the solution, then what that leaves you is whatever the marketplace does on its own. And what we’ve seen is a marketplace that increasingly produces very unequal results. And it – so it – it disempowers our capacity for common action to do something about poverty, to do something to help middle-class families.

And I think the second element to that argument that has been made, sometimes subtly, sometimes not so subtly, is that government has hurt middle-class families or hurt white working-class families, because, you know, pointy-headed bureaucrats in Washington are just trying to help out minorities or trying to give them something free. (PBS NewsHour, August 28, 2013)

RealClearPolitics Video Log

Obama: If Minorities Start Thinking Government"s The Problem, That Leaves The Marketplace On Its Own

Obama: If Minorities Start Thinking Government"s The Problem, That Leaves The Marketplace On Its Own

PRESIDENT OBAMA: There is an argument that was made in 1964, 1965 on through the ’80s and ’90s in which those who resisted any change in the status quo, particularly when it came to economic opportunity, made two big arguments.

Argument number one was, any efforts by government to help folks who were locked out of opportunity, whether it was minorities or the poor generally, unions, any effort by government to help those folks is bad for the economy. And that became a major argument. And if, in fact, people start thinking the government’s the problem instead of the solution, then what that leaves you is whatever the marketplace does on its own. And what we’ve seen is a marketplace that increasingly produces very unequal results. And it – so it – it disempowers our capacity for common action to do something about poverty, to do something to help middle-class families.

And I think the second element to that argument that has been made, sometimes subtly, sometimes not so subtly, is that government has hurt middle-class families or hurt white working-class families, because, you know, pointy-headed bureaucrats in Washington are just trying to help out minorities or trying to give them something free. (PBS NewsHour, August 28, 2013)

RealClearPolitics Video Log

Obama: If Minorities Start Thinking Government"s The Problem, That Leaves The Marketplace On Its Own

Affordable Care Act at 3: Looking Forward and Expanding Access

Ed. note: This post was first published on the official blog of healthcare.gov. You can see the original post here.

Three years ago, the Affordable Care Act ushered in a new day for health care.

Since then, more than 6.3 million seniors and people with disabilities with Medicare have saved more than $ 6.1 billion dollars on prescription drugs.  Nearly 71 million Americans got expanded access to preventive service at no charge through their private insurance plans, and 47 million women now have guaranteed access to additional preventive services without cost sharing. More than 3.1 million young adults who were uninsured were able to gain coverage by being able to stay on their parents’ insurance policies until they turned 26.  And parents no longer have to worry about insurers denying coverage to their children because of a pre-existing condition.

Americans are getting more value for their health care dollars due to the health care law. Affordable Care Act initiatives are promoting coordinated care; paying for quality, not quantity; and dramatically reducing fraud and waste, contributing to the slowest growth in national health spending in 50 years. 

Consumers also saved $ 2 billion in 2012, because of programs to review premium rates and to require insurers to provide rebates if they do not spend at least 80 percent of premiums on care, rather than overhead, such as executive pay and marketing.  And the law’s initiatives have extended the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by eight years.

But that’s only the beginning. Thanks to the health care law, starting October 1, 2013, qualified individuals will have access to quality health insurance through the new Health Insurance Marketplace.

With the Marketplace, there’ll be a whole new way to find health insurance that fits consumers’ needs and budgets, with less hassle. Individuals, families, and small business owners in every state and the District of Columbia will be able to shop in the Marketplace for private insurance coverage that begins in January 2014. 

For the first time, you’ll be able to go to one place to learn about health insurance; get accurate information on different plans; and make apples-to-apples comparisons of private insurance plans—including costs and benefits.  You’ll get a clear picture of what you’re paying and what you’re getting before you make a choice. You’ll also be able to learn, with a single application, if you qualify for a free or low-cost plan, or a new kind of tax credit that lowers your monthly premiums right away.

Because the Affordable Care Act outlaws discriminating against anyone with a pre-existing or chronic condition, as of January 1, 2014, no one can be turned away by plans in the Marketplace or charged more because they’re in poorer health—or just because they’re a woman. At last, being a woman will no longer be a pre-existing condition.

And every health insurance plan in the Marketplace will cover a standard set of essential health benefits that includes, among other benefits, hospital stays, prescription drug coverage, preventive services, oral and vision care for kids.

Open enrollment begins October 1, 2013. Get ready now for the Marketplace by signing up for e-mails and text messages for updates and information at https://signup.healthcare.gov/

In June, the site will be unveiling the new Marketplace. You’ll be able to learn everything you need to know about the Marketplace, including how it works, the benefits of health insurance, how to choose a plan based on your needs and lifestyle, and more. Then in the fall, you can use this site to enroll in a plan from home, or from any place you can access the Web.

Every American needs and deserves quality health insurance.  The Marketplace will help ensure that Americans will have access to quality, affordable health insurance.  

Learn more about the Affordable Care Act:

• Discover how the Affordable Care Act is saving money for seniors.
• Read some of the ways the Affordable Care Act is lowering the cost of healthcare.
• See how the Affordable Care Act is holding insurance companies accountable
• Learn how the Affordable Care is helping Abby live without fear of being denied coverage.
• Find out how the Affordable Care Act is giving you greater control over your health care.
• Learn more about the Health Insurance Marketplace.

White House.gov Blog Feed

Affordable Care Act at 3: Looking Forward and Expanding Access