Surprise: Obamacare Creates More ER Patients, Reduces ER Specialists

By William Teach August 31, 2016 – 3:48 pm

Well, damnitall, if only someone had gotten off their behinds and warned us that this could happen!

(Science Daily) The average monthly emergency department visit increased by 5.7 percent in Illinois after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), although the population remained essentially flat. In Massachusetts, while visits to emergency departments climbed steadily between 2005 and 2014, availability of on-call specialists (surgeons, psychiatrists and other specialists) declined “significantly.” The results of two state-specific studies were published online last Thursday in Annals of Emergency Medicine (“Increased Emergency Department Use in Illinois After Implementation of the Affordable Care Act” and “Decline in Consultant Availability in Massachusetts Emergency Departments: 2005 to 2014”).

Now, in all fairness

“Emergency departments continue to be squeezed by pressures inside and outside the hospital,” said Scott Dresden, MD, MS, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Ill., the lead author of the Illinois paper. “A large post-ACA increase in Medicaid visits and a modest increase in privately insured visits outpaced a large reduction in emergency department visits by uninsured patients. We still don’t know if these results represent longer-term changes in health services use or a temporary spike in emergency department use due to pent up demand.”

Long term or short term? That’s the question. Will this be the same for on-call ER specialists? The study uses the term of 2005-2015, so, it can’t all be blamed on Ocare. Remember, though, Massachusetts passed their health law, Romneycare, in 2006, so, we do have a better idea of the long term results of government run health care.

We were told that Ocare would reduce ER visits. Well, this is not the first study to show an increase in ER visits, along with a reduction in ER personnel.

The Chicago Tribune chimes in on the study

One of the goals of expanding coverage to all was to reduce the use of pricey services, such as emergency department visits, which can sometimes be a last resort for people who don’t see doctors regularly, according to the study.

But the study’s authors noted that the spike in visits in Illinois “runs contrary” to that goal.

It’s unknown whether the surge will persist, or if was a temporary result of people with long-untreated conditions flocking to emergency rooms once they got insurance, the study said.

Do you know what happens when expensive ER visits rise? That’s right, overall costs for premiums, deductibles, and visits go up up up. Wasn’t Ocare supposed to decrease costs?

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If All You See…

By William Teach August 31, 2016 – 1:00 pm

…is land that is collapsing from carbon pollution sink holes, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Doug Ross @ Journal, with a post on the questions Hillary is required to answer under oath by September 29.

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Bummer: Humans Can’t Grasp ‘Climate Change’ Because Of Our Puny Brains

By William Teach August 31, 2016 – 10:09 am

It couldn’t possibly be that the evidence is missing, could it? It couldn’t be that they believe consensus is actually science, could it? It couldn’t be that they have to change data match their preconceptions, could it? Or that they are mostly climahypocrites? Nope. It has to be some other Excuse

Why people can’t grasp climate change

These are facts: Global warming is real, and almost entirely caused by human activities. Natural variability in temperature is minor compared with what we’re doing. This increase in temperature is causing the climate to change, in many ways that are not only predictable but actually observed. This in turn is causing other effects, like Arctic and Antarctic ice loss, sea level rise, coral bleaching, more extreme weather, and much, much more.

Again: Those are facts. The vast majority of scientists who have dedicated their lives to studying the climate agree on this.

And yet a small but vocal minority of people won’t accept that. Why? Some are sponsored by fossil fuel companies, the same ones who for decades have pumped money into disinformation campaigns, as well as politicians’ pockets. And of course some are ideologically inclined to dismiss science, or progressive politics (which has nothing to do with the science).

Still, some people honestly question the existence of global warming and its effects on the climate. Given all these facts, why do they do so?

Part of the problem — outside the general atmosphere of denial the media helps promote — is the scope and scale of climate change itself coupled with our puny brains trying to deal with it.

See? It’s so simple. But, what can we do about it

What can we do? We can charge companies that put carbon into the air. We can rely on more renewable energies (solar and wind, of course, but we can also reopen the books on nuclear).

And the most important thing? We can vote.

So, practicing what you preach is not an answer?

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Hillary Will Make Speech On American Exceptionalism Or Something

By William Teach August 31, 2016 – 8:23 am

Well, on the bright side, neither she nor Bill have yammered on about being proud of America for the first time in their adult lives simply because Hillary was nominated, nor have either really slammed America like the Obama’s and so many liberals. But, does she really believe in American exceptionalism? And will her unhinged leftist base be mad, because they tend to hate America?

(ABC News) Hillary Clinton plans to stress her support for American exceptionalism during a speech in the battleground state of Ohio, while arguing that Donald Trump has rejected the concept.

Clinton’s midday address at the American Legion’s annual convention in Cincinnati Wednesday comes as Trump ponders a last-minute trip to Mexico in advance of a long-awaited speech on immigration. A Clinton campaign official said the Democratic nominee plans to use her first public event in days to portray her Republican opponent as a questionable leader who would “walk away from our allies, undermine our values, insult our military — and has explicitly rejected the idea of American exceptionalism.”

This should be interesting. For all the things one might slam Trump on, even the full on #NeverTrump-ers wouldn’t say Trump doesn’t think America is exceptional. I certainly wouldn’t. Nothing Trump has said or done would make me think “he really doesn’t love America.” He certainly wants to see America strengthened.

Hillary, on the other hand, would see much of America’s sovereignty handed over to international law and the U.N. She sees American exceptionalism as belief in centralized government. She is a globalist, make no mistake about that.

In contrast, the official said Clinton “will make the case for American exceptionalism and call for maintaining America’s military and diplomatic leadership in the world.”

To bolster her argument, Clinton will talk about her experience, including serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee and as secretary of state. She will also emphasize the growing list of Republicans who have backed her campaign.

That’s a hoot, considering how bad things have been under the Obama presidency, and how bad things were while she was Secretary of State. She didn’t support American exceptionalism while Obama was decrying it. Where was she when Obama was “leading from behind”? Where was she when Obama was damaging our relationships with our international friends while reaching out to our enemies?

Does she believe in American exceptionalism? Certainly more than Obama. But, only from a hardcore leftist view. Her version of American exceptionalism is a strong centralized government. She doesn’t believe in the People. She doesn’t believe in the private sector. We’ll see what she has to say.

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Hannity Has Utter Meltdown On Those Who Don’t Support Trump

By William Teach August 31, 2016 – 7:55 am

For quite a few Republican/Conservative voters, it is hard enough to offer support to vote Trump, even as a protest vote against Hillary. Much like with Obamacare, we didn’t vote for him, he really doesn’t seem to understand our values, we don’t really trust him, and we said he probably wouldn’t be able to win. Is Hillary worse? You bet. How much worse on individual issues? Well, that’s the question, because Trump says one thing, which is sometimes contradicted by previous actions and/or quote, and we just don’t have trust in him. We’re just supposed to trust him. Even though what he seems to be pushing is Big Central Government nationalism.

He has no idea what American conservatism is, and said he doesn’t need us. He’d rather have Bernie supporters. He’s never really made a play for our votes, never really tried to earn them, other than a list of Supreme Court judges that he immediately backtracked on. And, for those who still are willing to put on the gas mask, his Barking Moonbat core base doesn’t help

(Daily Caller) Sean Hannity has had it with those who say they will never vote for Donald Trump and let them have it on his radio show.

“So here’s what I say to all of you Never Trumpers — Glenn Beck, I hope you’re listening,” the conservative radio host said on Tuesday and then proceeded to attack conservatives who vow to never vote for Trump, according to Business Insider.

“You own Hillary Clinton’s Supreme Court appointments,” Hannity said. “You own it! You are doing everything you can do to cast doubt in people’s minds!”

“You own the jobs that illegal immigrants will take from the 95 million Americans out of the labor force,” he added. “You own Obamacare, which is a disaster for this country. You own education because she is beholden to the NEA [National Education Association].”

He went specifically after John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Jonah Goldberg and Ted Cruz, to go with Beck, along with members of the conservative media. He’s been whining about Cruz for a long time, in regards to the pledge to vote for the eventual GOP nominee. Cruz won’t offer his support. Hannity refuses to answer the question as to whether he would support a person who smeared and slurred his wife and father. I got through to the screener one day and said I wanted to ask that question, and was dumped. Surprise!

“So here’s what I say to all of you Never Trumpers — Glenn Beck, I hope you’re listening. You own Hillary Clinton’s Supreme Court appointments. You own it! You are doing everything you can do to cast doubt in people’s minds! Trump gave us a list. You own her Supreme Court nominees, you own her un-vetted refugees and the 550% increase she will bring into this country. You own the jobs that illegal immigrants will take from the 95 million Americans out of the labor force. You own Obamacare, which is a disaster for this country. You own education because she is beholden to the NEA [National Education Association]. And if we don’t improve the lives of 95 million Americans out of the labor force, I blame you for that, too!

“Because you’re helping elect her. And I’m also saying that, hey, we have a $4,100 increase in healthcare payments since Obama has been president. It’s only going to go higher. You get responsibility for that, too! We have got 12 million more Americans on food stamps. If that increases, I’m going to blame you! We have 46 million total. Eight million more Americans living in poverty. Fifty million Americans in poverty. If that gets worse, I’m blaming you! You know, we have the worst home ownership in 51 years. If that gets worse, guess who I’m blaming? I’m blaming all of you!

There’s more to that blowing a gasket moonbattery from Hannity at the Business Insider link, and ended with

“And you are going to say, ‘Hannity, we blame you. You gave Donald Trump time on your show.’ And I gave every other candidate time. His agenda is infinitely better than hers. And if you can’t see that, then that’s your problem. You own it. You own her. You own every dumb thing she’s about to do. I blame you. Got it? I am going to name names regularly if she wins.”

He stated again that if Trump wins and backslides on what he said he’d do, Hannity would take responsibility. The very fact that there is a big concern that Trump won’t keep his promises is one of the things that gives so many pause. He talks about giving Trump time on his show. Nah, that’s not it. It’s about being so utterly in the bag for Trump that it reminds me more of how lefty sites like Think Progress, Daily Kos, Media Matters, CNN, etc, throw their support behind Hillary. Totally off the rails.

Those Republicans who plan on voting Hillary are deluded and fools. Most of us, though, refuse to vote for either candidate. Most aren’t supporting Gary Johnson nor Jill Stein, either. We’d like for Hillary to not be elected. Nutters like Hannity, who I cannot even listen to anymore, make it really difficult to give our vote against Hillary.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Say, How Healthy Are Hillary And Donald?

By William Teach August 30, 2016 – 3:32 pm

The editorial board of the USA Today thinks it would be a good idea for both candidates to release their full medical records. This is obviously aimed as a barb at Trump, of course

Donald Trump has adopted the same standards for disclosing his medical records as he has for his tax returns: The less the voters know, the better. And voters know very little about the health of the 70-year-old GOP nominee, who, if elected, would be the oldest president ever to take office.

Trump, in typical fashion, has handled the issue with schoolyard taunts. On Sunday, he tweeted that both candidates should release medical records. “I have no problem in doing so! Hillary?” Trump will release “all of his medical records” when Clinton releases hers, a spokesman says.

If Trump has no problem, he ought to disclose something more than a preposterous four-paragraph letter from his New York doctor, who told NBC News he wrote the letter in five minutes while a Trump limo waited outside his office to collect it.

It is interesting that NBC News went digging on Trump, but did not do the same for Hillary. Regardless of your opinion of Trump, this is one of those things that really highlight the media bias towards Democrats. Few of them are interested in knowing whether Hillary is in good health. Most of them are doing all they can to protect her from allegations of poor health.

Meanwhile, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump supporter, has said that Clinton looks “tired’ and “sick,” adding that the evidence can be found on that font of all wisdom and  accuracy — the Internet. “Go online and … take a look at the videos for yourself,” Giuliani urged on a recent Fox News Sunday. One video shows Clinton coughing; another shows a couple of doctors who’ve never examined Clinton diagnosing her for Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

Giuliani, once a high-ranking federal prosecutor and Justice Department official, should know better than to make charges based on flimsy, hearsay evidence. But, hey, who needs facts when innuendo works so well?

The media had no problem running with innuendo when it came to John McCain’s health, nor Mitt Romney’s Mormonism, did they? They have no problem running with innuendo about Trump’s mental health, do they? In fact, USA Today ran a story about David Plouffe calling Trump a psychopath.

Guess they didn’t need facts on that one.

Clinton, 68, would become the second oldest president to take office. She released a two-page letter from her doctor last year with actual medical data in it. Even so, based on her 2012 concussion, voters deserve a report from specialists who treated her and a full 2016 update.

The USA Today editorial board must be full of conspiracy theorists!

Voters should not have to decipher a bizarrely effusive doctor’s letter, rely on conspiratorial Internet rumors, or guess at the health of presidential candidates. Anyone seeking the most powerful job in the world ought to hand out credible, full medical records for all voters to see.

Exactly. Both should release their full records. If Trump was smart and knew what he was doing (snicker), he’d release all his and say “Hillary? We’re waiting.”

Read: Say, How Healthy Are Hillary And Donald? »

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If All You See…

By William Teach August 30, 2016 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrible evil climate killing water bottle, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is DaTechGuy, with a post wondering if Bill Clinton is a blackmail risk.

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Gender Confused Superhero Has Worst Super Powers Ever

By William Teach August 30, 2016 – 10:00 am

Seriously, if someone is going to go to the lengths to create a gender confused Transgender superhero (heroine?), the least they can do is give them better powers than minor vandalism

(WFMY)  A Triad-based comic book shop will debut a new comic series that features a transgender superhero next month.

In protest of House Bill 2, Ssalefish Comics in Winston-Salem is introducing ‘Alters,’ where a costumed transgender vigilante named Chalice rips down bathroom signs in public places, replacing them with unisex signs. Chalice is the alias of Charlie Young, a male college student who is transitioning to female.

Here’s a view of Chalice engaging her super powers

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Obama To Take Long Fossil Fueled Trip To Complain About ‘Climate Change’

By William Teach August 30, 2016 – 7:13 am

No worries. He’ll make sure you reduce your carbon footprint

Do they have a golf course on Midway? There used to be, but, access to the island is heavily restricted, and mostly it’s scientists and educators who get permits.

(Reuters) When President Barack Obama sets out this week to meet world leaders in China and Laos during his final presidential trip to Asia, he will make an unusual stop along the way.

With time running out for more action on climate change during his time in office, Obama will drop in to Midway Atoll, a far-flung and largely uninhabited coral reef that is a refuge for sharks, albatrosses and endangered turtles and seals.

The photo-rich stop is aimed at both raising awareness about the threat posed by climate change, and showcasing Obama’s decision to protect a larger part of the ocean around Hawaii.

Wait, I thought he didn’t like doing photo-ops?

But the trip to the middle of the Pacific Ocean will also highlight the high stakes of climate change just before Obama meets world leaders in China.

“I think it’s going to be an amazing sequence, and one that really matters,” said Doug McCauley, a conservation biologist from University of California, Santa Barbara.

An amazing sequence. A fossil fueled helicopter trip over to Andrews AFB. Get on Air Force 1 for a long FF trip, accompanied by a backup jumbo jet and several FF fighter jets. All the FF automobiles in large convoys when he gets to each stop. The opulence of the food served and the energy used.

Any progress on climate issues could be a rare bright spot in a trip otherwise dominated by concerns about the international economy, anti-globalization sentiments and global security problems.

In other words, the rest of the trip will be a disaster as he gets boned on the international stage by China.

“Nobody should ever be disappointed with this president on climate change,” said (former EPA head Carol) Browner, who led the White House climate push in Obama’s first term.

Right. No one should ever be disappointed in Obama dictating how Other People act on ‘climate change’ while he has one of the largest carbon footprints in the world.

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Posted in Barry Obama, Climahypocrites, Global Warming | 11 Comments | Trackback URL

Uber-Leftist PPP Has Fun New Poll On Trump

By William Teach August 30, 2016 – 6:54 am

He’s polling at a good zero percent with the black community

(The Hill) Public Policy Polling released a preview of a new poll on “The Rachel Maddow Show” Monday night that showed Donald Trump’s favorability rating among African-American voters at 0 percent.

Nothing like sorta releasing the data on a hyper-leftist show. The data has not been released fully as of the time of writing this post.

The liberal-leaning firm asked African-American voters a set of questions, asking whether they preferred Trump to things such as bedbugs, junk mail, carnies, bubonic plague and middle airplane seats.

So, yeah, they actually ran it with those things. Will they do the same for Hillary? That’s rhetorical. We know they won’t. You can ask them, though.

Oh, and they’re not just going after Trump. They went after Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate. It’s not like PPP is in the bag for Hillary, you know.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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