Health
CBO: ObamaCare’s Gross Costs Over 10 Years May Be Nearly Twice White House’s Original Projections
Universal healthcare. A noble idea- if a nation can afford it.
As for “ObamaCare,” the more time that passes since the Affordable Care Act was enacted on March 23, 2010, the more expensive the projected numbers are getting.
Howard Sheppard reported on the website of Central Pennsylvania FOX affiliate WPMT FOX 43 yesterday:
The gross costs of the national healthcare law rammed through Congress by President Barack Obama will reach an estimated $1.76 trillion over 10 years – nearly twice the amount originally projected. The figure, which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) revealed on Wednesday, is bound to cause embarrassment to the administration as it comes just as debate on “Obamacare” is starting to heat up again, two weeks before the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on whether the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional…
Original White House estimates said the gross cost of the healthcare act would be $940 billion over a decade, but the CBO’s new figures raise that figure to a shade under $1.5 trillion. For the 10 years from 2013-2022 that increases even further to $1.76 trillion.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Back on March 1, I noted that according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released February 26, ObamaCare will increase the long-term federal deficit by $6.2 trillion.
$6.2 trillion.
Considering the growing instability of the U.S. financial house of cards, one might wonder if the costs associated with universal health coverage won’t be the straw that eventually breaks the camel’s back.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Source:
Sheppard, Howard. “CBO: Obamacare estimated cost nearly double to $1.7 trillion.” FOX Central Pennsylvania. 16 May 2013. (http://fox43.com/2013/05/16/cbo-obamacare-estimated-cost-nearly-double-to-1-7-trillion/#axzz2TYdCQnzp). 16 May 2013.
Pandemic Potential? H7N9 Bird Flu And Novel Coronavirus
Back on April 19, I asked if readers were paying attention to the spread of the H7N9 bird flu virus in China.
That followed a similar post from February 18 about the novel coronavirus (nCoV).
Here’s the latest regarding these deadly respiratory viruses. From the CBS News website Monday morning:
Two outbreaks of new, deadly respiratory infections in two different parts of the world have international health officials on edge, actively researching how to stay head of the new diseases.
In recent months, an outbreak of a new strain of bird flu called H7N9 has hit China while a new coronavirus that first appeared last year has been infecting an increasing number of people in the Middle East — and now Europe.
Last week, the coronavirus related to SARS spread to France, where one patient who probably caught the disease in Dubai infected his hospital roommate. Officials are now trying to track down everyone who went on a tour group holiday to Dubai with the first patient as well as all contacts of the second patient. Since it was first spotted last year, the new coronavirus has infected 34 people, killing 18 of them. Nearly all had some connection to the Middle East.
CBS ran a follow-up article about the novel coronavirus this afternoon. From that later piece:
Saudi Arabia has confirmed four new cases of a deadly new respiratory virus related to SARS that appears centered in the Arabian Peninsula but that has also been reported in Europe…
Other cases have appeared in France, Germany and Britain, possibly linked to travel in the Gulf region.
While the novel coronavirus has infected 34 and killed 18 since last September, the H7N9 bird flu strain in China has infected 131 and killed 32 since March.
So, do either of these viruses have pandemic potential? Possibly. Consider what the World Health Organization (WHO) said in Monday’s CBS piece:
WHO, which is closely monitoring the viruses, says both have the potential to cause a pandemic — a global epidemic — if they evolve into a form easily spread between people.
So far, that doesn’t seem to be the case. And luckily for us, there are no reports of anyone in United States getting infected and sick with either H7N9 or the novel coronavirus.
Just as well, as there are no specific treatments for illnesses caused by the novel coronavirus, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. However, the CDC does say this about treating illnesses caused by the H7N9 avian flu:
CDC received an H7N9 virus sample from China on April 11. Antiviral resistance testing on the first virus isolate at CDC has been completed and indicates that this virus would be sensitive (susceptible) to the two influenza antiviral drugs that are used to treat seasonal flu: the neuraminidase inhibitors oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) and zanamivir (Relenza®)
For more information about these viruses, you can visit the CDC website here (novel coronavirus) and here (H7N9).
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Sources:
“Coronavirus and bird flu: Scientists tracking outbreaks of two new infections.” Associated Press. 13 May 2013. (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57584184/coronavirus-and-bird-flu-scientists-tracking-outbreaks-of-two-new-infections/). 14 May 2013.
“New coronavirus infects four more in Saudi Arabia.” Associated Press. 14 May 2013. (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57584412/new-coronavirus-infects-four-more-in-saudi-arabia/). 14 May 2013.
Chicago Reporter Goes Off Anti-Gun Reservation
Anyone who’s read/listened to the work of Chicago-based reporters over a period of time might detect the anti-gun bias that many of them seem to have. So I was somewhat shocked when the following appeared on the Chicago Sun-Times website the other day. Steve Huntley wrote on May 9:
Amid the gun control debate following the Newtown killings, average Americans could be forgiven for thinking — as polling shows most do — that gun violence is higher than 20 years ago. The truth is exactly the opposite — both the number and rate of gun murders have plunged since 1993.
In what can only be interpreted as a setback to the gun control crusade, two new studies document a remarkable trend in firearm crime. Gun-related homicides in 2011 numbered 11,101, down from 18,253 in 1993 — a 39 percent decline, according to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics. And the number of non-fatal firearm victims in the same period fell by more than two-thirds, from 1.5 million in 1993 to 467,300 in 2011. Separately, the Pew Research Center found that the nation’s gun homicide rate had fallen 49 percent between 1993 and 2010.
These declines came as the population of the United States increased, gun sales soared, and concealed-carry laws multiplied. Yes, the decline came as overall violent crime fell, guns account for 70 percent of murders, and major cities like Chicago are plagued by violence. But the bottom line is firearm violence has fallen to the point that most gun deaths aren’t murders — six in 10 of them are suicides.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Huntley added later in the piece:
I’ve never owned a firearm and support reasonable gun legislation, but given the facts, has the legislative emphasis after Sandy Hook been focused too much on guns and not enough on the violently mentally ill?
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Nice to see some in the so-called “Fourth Estate” still asking thought-provoking questions. And reporting the facts. And checking their biases in at the door.
After penning this article, brave Mr. Huntley might want to be on the lookout for the following:
1. A bayonet being shoved up his butt by a former Chicago mayor
2. A dead fish being mailed to him by the current Chicago mayor
3. Being wire-tapped (plenty o’ stories going around about that this week- choose your own search engine)
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Source:
Huntley, Steve. “Gun deaths are down as debate rages.” Chicago Sun-Times. 9 May 2013. (http://www.suntimes.com/news/huntley/20001555-452/gun-deaths-are-down-as-debate-rages.html). 13 May 2013.
Chicago May Update Emergency Plan After Boston Attack
Here’s something out of City Hall that all Chicagoans can get behind. From Craig Dellimore on the CBS Chicago website last week:
Mayor Emanuel says Chicago may revise its emergency medical plans in light of Boston’s response to the Boston Marathon bombings a week ago, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
Mayor Emanuel says special circumstances not withstanding, Boston showed it was well-prepared to face a crisis when those bombs went off.
“Now not every time are you going to have an incident where you have medical care on-site because they had a marathon they had it on-site. That clearly saved lives. But having a well-rehearsed, well-planned, well thought out medical emergency response, was crucial in saving lives. We have a very good plan. We did it for NATO exercise. I have asked everybody to go back and look at it,” said Emanuel.
And he says after Boston authorities review their response, Chicago will see about updating its emergency plan.
I’ve never seen the City of Chicago’s “official” emergency preparedness plan. Even when I worked in the public safety field. Last I heard, the plan was closely-guarded. Leah Samuel wrote in The Chicago Reporter website back on September 12, 2007:
Although the federal government recommends that cities plan their responses to terrorism with inclusiveness and openness, Chicago’s emergency preparedness plan is known only to a few in city government, The Chicago Reporter has found.
Among those who haven’t been shown the plan are the city’s aldermen, firefighters and police officers.
“We do not discuss the particulars of our plan so as not to allow those who would harm us an additional way to create disorder,” Cortez Trotter, executive director of the Office of Emergency Communications, or 911 Center, said in a written statement. “Full disclosure of the plan might assist those who would thwart evacuation and rescue procedures.”
Samuel added later in the piece:
“We don’t want anyone to see it,” said Larry Langford, public information officer for the Office of Emergency Communications. He called the secrecy “an unfortunate by-product” of emergency planning: “You want to reassure everyone, but you don’t want to give the plan away.”
Here’s hoping more than just “a few in city government” are familiar with the City’s emergency preparedness plan in 2013.
Or else Chicago residents could really be screwed in a major crisis.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Sources:
Dellimore, Craig. “Chicago May Update Emergency Plans In Wake Of Boston Terror Attack.” CBS Chicago. 22 Apr. 2013. (http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/04/22/chicago-may-update-emergency-plans-in-wake-of-boston-terror-attack/). 1 May 2013.
Samuel, Leah. “Emergency Plan Eludes City Officials.” The Chicago Reporter. 12 Sep. 2007. (http://www.chicagoreporter.com/news/2007/09/emergency-plan-eludes-city-officials). 1 May 2013.
Watch Out For H7N9 Bird Flu
Anyone been paying attention to the spread of the H7N9 bird flu virus in China? This is something to keep an eye out for. From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website:
On April 1, 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) first reported 3 human infections with a new influenza A (H7N9) virus in China. Since then, additional cases have been reported. Most reported cases have severe respiratory illness and, in some cases, have died. At this time, no cases of H7N9 outside of China have been reported. The new H7N9 virus has not been detected in people or birds in the United States.
This new H7N9 virus is an avian (bird) influenza (flu) virus. Human infections with avian influenza (AI, or “bird flu”) are rare but have occurred in the past, most commonly after exposure to infected poultry. However, this is the first time that this bird flu subtype (H7N9) has been found in people. This virus is very different from other H7N9 viruses previously found in birds.
An investigation by Chinese authorities is ongoing. H7N9 viruses have been detected in poultry in the same area where human infections have occurred. Many of the human cases of H7N9 are reported to have had contact with poultry. However some cases reportedly have not had such contact. Close contacts of confirmed H7N9 patients are being followed to see if any human-to-human spread of H7N9 might have occurred. Based on previous experience with other avian influenza viruses – most notably H5N1 – some limited human-to-human spread of this H7N9 virus would not be surprising. Most importantly, however, no sustained person-to-person spread of the H7N9 virus has been found at this time. Ongoing (sustained) person-to-person spread is necessary for a pandemic to occur.
This is a “novel” (non-human) virus and therefore has the potential to cause a pandemic if it were to change to become easily and sustainably spread from person-to-person. So far, this virus has not been determined to have that capability. However, influenza viruses constantly change and it’s possible that this virus could gain that ability. CDC takes routine preparedness actions whenever a new virus with pandemic potential is identified, including developing a candidate vaccine virus to make a vaccine if it were to be needed. There is no licensed H7 vaccine available at this time.
According to Bloomberg.com this morning, the CDC is trying to stay on top of this novel bird flu. Anna Edney reported:
U.S. hospitals are being urged to head off a spread of the new H7N9 avian influenza by looking out for people exhibiting flu-like symptoms who have traveled to China or had contact with someone who has the illness.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a conference call with health-care professionals yesterday to review procedures for treating bird-flu patients and controlling infections, Erin Burns, an agency spokeswoman, said in an e- mail. The Atlanta-based agency today issued interim guidance on the use of antiviral agents to treat H7N9 infections.
Issuing the guidance and holding the clinician calls “would be considered routine preparedness measures for an outbreak with pandemic potential,” Burns said.
China has recorded 92 human infections of the H7N9 strain of bird flu, with 17 of the cases fatal, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from national and provincial governments and the World Health Organization.
Speaking of the WHO, they’re now at ground zero in China investigating the outbreak. From the China Daily website today:
WHO experts are inspecting Chinese regions that have been hit by the H7N9 avian influenza, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.
A Friday statement from the commission said the expert team, which is visiting at the commission’s invitation, consists of Chinese and foreign experts in epidemiology and clinical management.
The team members will survey labs, hospitals, clinics, markets and sites where infections were reported in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as familiarize themselves with China’s prevention and control methods.
The commission said the experts will offer suggestions on controlling the virus, as well as issue an initial inspection report on April 24.
Stay tuned…
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Sources:
Edney, Anna. “U.S. Hospitals Told to Be on Lookout for H7N9 Bird Flu.” Bloomberg.com. 19 Apr. 2013. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-19/u-s-hospitals-told-to-be-on-lookout-for-h7n9-bird-flu.html). 19 Apr. 2013.
“WHO experts start H7N9 probe in China.” ChinaDaily.com.cn. 19 Apr. 2013. (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-04/19/content_16424416.htm). 19 Apr. 2013.
Gun ‘Control’ Supporters Will Lick Wounds Until Next Mass Shooting
Gun “control” supporters suffered a significant legislative setback in the United States Senate this afternoon. From Chris W. Cox, Executive Director of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action, on the NRA-ILA website:
Statement from Chris W. Cox on U.S. Senate Defeat of Manchin-Toomey-Schumer Amendment
Today, the misguided Manchin-Toomey-Schumer proposal failed in the U.S. Senate. This amendment would have criminalized certain private transfers of firearms between honest citizens, requiring lifelong friends, neighbors and some family members to get federal government permission to exercise a fundamental right or face prosecution. As we have noted previously, expanding background checks, at gun shows or elsewhere, will not reduce violent crime or keep our kids safe in their schools.
The NRA will continue to work with Republicans and Democrats who are committed to protecting our children in schools, prosecuting violent criminals to the fullest extent of the law, and fixing our broken mental health system. We are grateful for the hard work and leadership of those Senators who chose to pursue meaningful solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems.
While the defeat of the legislation is a victory for gun rights supporters, I predict the following:
• Proponents of gun “control” will continue to push for more firearm-related restrictions on Americans. Consequently, gun owners won’t be able to rest on their laurels.
• There will be another mass shooting in America sometime in the near future
• The gun “control” crowd will be faster out of the gate next time to prevent the above incident from going to waste
• Significant gun “control” legislation could very well come closer to being passed next time around
• Lather, rinse, repeat
As such, my advice to readers would be, prepare accordingly.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Resource Of The Week: 20 Websites For Finding Local Food, Family Farms, Markets, Stands, Co-Ops, And More Near You
These days, I pay more attention to the source, quality, and cost of the food I consume than I used to (still have a long way to go however).
I have to thank my wonderful girlfriend for getting me started on the “right track” here.
And I was really glad to have stumbled on a March 8 article on finding locally-grown healthy food on the Activist Post website. Heather Callaghan wrote:
As demand for local and raw goods continue to rise, more people are asking – where do I find local organic? Where do I find raw milk and join a herd share? Where are the farmers markets, co-ops and stands?
Search engines are actually terrible at locating these underground hubs, which makes it so frustrating to try and opt out of corporate chains, save money, and build your family’s health. If you’ve ever gotten a bunch of ‘Yelp’ listings for weight loss pills while searching, you know what I’m talking about. I’ve helped a few people find a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) but I found it by accident. So where are they all hiding?
As it turns out, many of the farmers and markets you’re looking for have teamed up with certain websites to be mapped. Use this easy list to find yours today. They won’t all be on the same map, but you will be sure to find markets and family farms in your area that were previously invisible.
Heather went on to provide a list (website addresses) of “20 Quick Resources to Find Local Food, Farms, Markets, Stands, Co-ops and more!”
The websites she posted were terrific (I talked about LocalHarvest in a March 2011 post on beating higher food prices). I particularly liked reading about FarmMatch (“Unique because whoever you are, you can put yourself on the map to be matched with producers in your area”). And I’ll have to bookmark LocalDirt (“Helps you buy right from the farm. It’s also a marketplace that allows you to sell and trade. Got eggs? Sell them to your neighbors here.”) for when that Wisconsin homestead becomes reality.
Heather did a great job compiling this helpful collection of food-related resources, which are located on the Activist Post website here.
Eat healthy, my friends. And enjoy the rest of the weekend.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
(Editor’s note: Links added to “Resources” page)
Greece Suffers ‘Serious’ Medicine Shortage
If you require prescription drugs for day-to-day living, have you thought about what you’d do if they were in short supply or even no longer available?
I suggest you might want to start thinking about it, because the availability of medicine in a U.S. financial crash might mirror what’s going on in Greece these days.
Helena Smith and Elizabeth Sukkkar reported on The Guardian (UK) website Wednesday:
Greece is facing a serious shortage of medicines amid claims that pharmaceutical multinationals have halted shipments to the country because of the economic crisis and concerns that the drugs will be exported by middlemen because prices are higher in other European countries.
Hundreds of drugs are in short supply and the situation is getting worse, according to the Greek drug regulator. The government has drawn up a list of more than 50 pharmaceutical companies it accuses of halting or planning to halt supplies because of low prices in the country.
More than 200 medicinal products are affected, including treatments for arthritis, hepatitis C and hypertension, cholesterol-lowering agents, antipsychotics, antibiotics, anaesthetics and immunomodulators used to treat bowel disease.
Those poor Greeks. They may want to look into alternative medicine and picking up a copy of preppers Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy’s The Doom and Bloom Survival Medicine Handbook.
You can read the entire article on The Guardian website here.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
GAO: ObamaCare Could Add $6.2 Trillion To Long-Term Federal Deficit
Here’s another headline-worthy story you may not hear/ready about in the mainstream media. Andrew Stiles reported on the National Review blog The Corner earlier this week:
Obamacare will increase the long-term federal deficit by $6.2 trillion, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today.
Senator Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), who requested the report, revealed the findings this morning at a Senate Budget Committee hearing. The report, he said, “confirms everything critics and Republicans were saying about the faults of this bill,” and “dramatically proves that the promises made assuring the nation that the largest new entitlement program in history would not add one dime to the deficit were false.”
President Obama and other Democrats attempted to win support for the health-care bill by touting it as a fiscally responsible enterprise. “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits — either now or in the future,” Obama told a joint-session of Congress in September 2009. “I will not sign it if it adds one dime to the deficit, now or in the future, period.”
You can read Stiles’s entire February 26 post on his blog here.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Illinois Vs. Wisconsin On Gun ‘Control’
Gun “control” supporters in Illinois are giddy this week. In preliminary voting Tuesday, Illinois House members approved limitations on the right to carry a concealed weapon, barring guns from schools, public transit, and amusement parks, among other locations in the state. And then there’s the victory of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg-supported Robin Kelly also on Tuesday in the special Democratic primary for the U.S. Congressional 2nd District. In Kelly’s victory speech, she told supporters:
You’ve sent a message that was heard around our state and across the nation. A message that tells the NRA that their days of holding the country hostage are coming to an end. And their days of scaring Congress into submission on gun “control” are coming to a close. You came together, you gave us your time, you knocked on doors, you made calls, you shared with us your heart-wrenching stories of love and loss, of broken dreams, and unfulfilled potential. You cried with us, you fought for us, and you told the NRA and their allies in Congress and around the country that we, we the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandchildren, friends and neighbors, the families of the fallen, the neighbors living in fear, we are united in our mission to end the killing in our streets.
I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t make much sense to me to blame a group of civic-minded, law-abiding gun owners for the actions of criminals.
“But Chris, the NRA is allowing gun violence to continue by not allowing more laws to be implemented.”
Gun “control” doesn’t work, if only because criminals don’t give a rat’s butt about the law. Not to mention there are reportedly 22,000 gun laws on the books now in America, yet the “killing in our streets” continues. And if such laws are so effective, then why is the poster-child for strict gun “control” in the country- my hometown of Chicago- also the “Deadliest Global City” among the world’s Alpha cities?
Anyway, that’s what’s going on in the “Land of Lincoln” today as it concerns gun “control.”
On the flipside, there’s our neighbors to the north- Wisconsin. Kevin Wang of the Associated Press reported this past weekend:
Amid continuing debate over cutting gun violence, Republicans in control of the Wisconsin Legislature say it’s unlikely the state will pass any gun-control legislation this session.
While some other states and Congress mull bans on assault weapons or high-capacity magazines, or tighter background checks on buyers, Wisconsin Republicans say they will focus instead on potential gaps in the state’s mental health system.
“I’d be really surprised if anything passes here in Wisconsin that would restrict gun access,” said state Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend. “We haven’t talked about it because we’re not going to do it.”
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
You mean, Wisconsin is looking into its mental health system after recent mass shootings committed by possibly mentally-ill individuals rather than blaming and pushing more restrictions on law-abiding gun owners for the actions of criminals?
Outrageous, I tell you!
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Sources:
Pearson, Rick and Ruthhart, Bill. “Kelly easily wins Democratic race to replace Jesse Jackson Jr. in Congress.” Chicago Tribune. 27 Feb. 2013. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/clout/chi-2nd-congressional-district-jackson-20130226,0,4718425.story). 27 Feb. 2013.
Wang, Kevin. “Wisconsin GOP: Don’t look for new gun restrictions in state.” Associated Press. 24 Feb. 2013. (http://www.twincities.com/politics/ci_22660434/wisconsin-gop-dont-look-new-gun-restrictions-state). 27 Feb. 2013.
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