Are You Excited To Learn About Health Code V9542XA?

By William Teach March 5, 2014 – 8:54 am

You should, because it’s part of the increase from 17,000 health codes to 155,000

(Weekly Standard) Ever considered suicide by jellyfish? Have you ended up in the hospital after being injured during the forced landing of your spacecraft? Or been hurt when you were sucked into the engine of an airplane or when your horse-drawn carriage collided with a trolley?

Chances are slim.

But should any of these unfortunate injuries befall you after October 1, 2014, your doctor, courtesy of the federal government, will have a code to record it. On that date, the United States is scheduled to implement a new system for recording injuries, medical diagnoses, and inpatient procedures called ICD-10​—​the 10th version of the International Classification of Diseases propagated by the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. So these exotic injuries, codeless for so many years, will henceforth be known, respectively, as T63622A (Toxic effect of contact with other jellyfish, intentional self-harm, initial encounter), V9542XA (Forced landing of spacecraft injuring occupant, initial encounter), V9733XA (Sucked into jet engine, initial encounter), and V80731A (Occupant of animal-drawn vehicle injured in collision with streetcar, initial encounter).

These codes, increasing from 17K to 155K, are not specifically the fault of Obamacare, having been planned prior, but are considered “the foundation for health care reform”.

It will affect almost every part of the U.S. health care system​—​providers and payers, physicians and researchers, hospitals and clinics, the government and the private sector. That system​—​already stressed with doctor shortages, electronic medical records mandates, and the broader chaos of Obamacare​—​is nowhere near ready. And that has lots of people worried.

Adding this many codes could mean doctors and medical facilities are spending more time dealing with red tape, lost productivity, and lost revenue. If things aren’t perfect, they may not be reimbursed by the insurance company or government.

BTW, there were no plans by Los Federales to engage in end-to-end testing, despite the complete failure during the launch of healthcare.gov, along with most state Ocare websites. Until

In a letter to CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner on February 18, 2014, four Republican senators pressed for comprehensive testing. The senators​—​Tom Coburn, Rand Paul, John Barrasso, and John Boozman​—​are all physicians and expressed deep concern that CMS is planning only one week of “front-end” testing. After receiving the letter, CMS hastily announced that it will offer limited end-to-end testing to “a small group of providers” at some point in “summer 2014” and promised that “details about the end-to-end testing process will be disseminated at a later date.”

That should work out well

There are codes for those “bitten” by a crocodile, “struck” by a crocodile, and “crushed” by a crocodile. There is also a code for injuries sustained through “other contact” with crocodiles. “I just don’t want to know about ‘other contact,’ especially with farm animals,” says Boynton, to sustained laughter. “That joke doesn’t fly in Montana.”

Boynton’s “personal favorite” is code V9027XA: “Drowning and submersion due to falling or jumping from burning water-skis, initial encounter.”

Other fantastic codes are

  • S30867A: Insect bite (nonvenomous) of anus, initial encounter.
  • V0001XD, or, ”Pedestrian on foot injured in collision with roller-skater, subsequent encounter.”
  • X52: Prolonged stay in weightless environment
  • W16.221: drowning in a water bucket
  • Z621 Parental overprotection
  • Y92241: Hurt at the library
  • Y92253 – Hurt at the opera
  • And a super winner: Y34 – Unspecified event, undetermined intent

Now just imagine a medical facility having to spend lots and lots of time dealing with all this gobbledygook.

“There were 9 codes for bites in ICD-9,” says Boynton. “There are over 300 in ICD-10.”

CMS is stating that the date for implementation is October 1, 2014, and that is firm, and God help anyone who refuses to follow the specific dates for Obamacare implementation. Except for CMS. HHS. Obama.

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Robert Gates: Stop Being Mean To Obama Regarding Ukraine

By William Teach March 5, 2014 – 8:30 am

Robert Gates deserves our attention and our respect, but I think he’s missed a few things

(Washington Post) As the Ukraine crisis deepened, Sen. John McCain responded by criticizing President Obama’s “feckless” foreign policy, while Sen. Lindsey Graham called Obama “a weak and indecisive president [who] invites aggression.”

These sharp comments brought to mind a different time and crisis — and a different tone in foreign policy debates. This prompted me to call another prominent Republican who takes a quite different view. I’ll get to that in a moment, but first, a brief historical digression.

So, David Ignatius jumps back in time to the Carter presidency to look for a link, right at the time in 1980 when Iran stormed our embassy and took our citizens hostage and Russia had invaded Afghanistan

What (Sen. Henry M.) Jackson (D-Wash.) said was surprising, even at a distance of nearly 35 years. Rather than demanding tougher statements or more saber-rattling, he said he worried about “overreaction” to events: “We appear to be going from one crisis to another,” with Washington dispensing “red-hot rhetoric at least once a week about the dire consequences of this or that or something else.”

“We need to be prudent,” said Jackson, who was perhaps the most prominent Cold Warrior of his day. “There is a need for the U.S. to make careful decisions, stand by those decisions, and avoid sending false or conflicting signals” to U.S. allies or the Russians.

How’d that work out? Can there be an overreaction to Iran violating our embassy and taking our people hostage? People wanted Carter to be strong in the face of that and the Russian Afghan invasion. As usual, he was tepid. Funny how neither Ignatius nor most in the American media were preaching calm and measured words while Bush was president, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, dealing with North Korea and Iran, and prosecuting the War on Islamic Terrorism.

What does Gates think about the Ukraine crisis? Distilled to its essence, his message would be the same as Jackson’s: Cool it, especially when it comes to public comments.

“I think considerable care needs to be taken in terms of what is said, so that the rhetoric doesn’t threaten what policy can’t deliver,” Gates explained in a telephone interview. Russian President Vladimir Putin “holds most of the high cards” in Crimea and Ukraine as a whole. U.S. policy should work to reinforce the security of neighboring states without fomenting a deeper crisis in which Putin will have the advantage.

What Gates is missing is that much of the criticism is based on wanting Obama to be stronger. We don’t want war. Not at all. There’s no chance at all that we launch military action against Russia. Zip. But we do want Obama to match Putin for tough talk and to be engaged. Skipping his National Security Council meeting Saturday shows weakness. He’s been to fundraisers Friday and Tuesday, with another scheduled for today. When he looks weak he makes America look weak.

And were was Gates when Lefties where assaulting Bush? Beuller? Beuller?

Gates, a Republican himself, urged the GOP senators to “tone down” their criticism and “try to be supportive of the president rather than natter at the president.”

I’d  be happy to do that regarding Ukraine and other international issues when he grows a spine and actually makes these issues a priority. Most international issues seem to be a minor distraction to Obama. And any criticism is well deserved, because most of his foreign policy is a mess, as are his international relations. Wasn’t it the same Washington Post which stated that Obama’s foreign policy was based on fantasy and that his “smart power” was a failure?

Furthermore, I’ll tone it down when Obama tones down his own hyper-insulting rhetoric of insulting private citizens who disagree politically with him.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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A Pause In Warming Doesn’t Disprove Human Caused Hotcoldwetdry Or Something

By William Teach March 4, 2014 – 2:50 pm

Of course not. Because there are no mechanisms built in to “climate change” that allow for the hypothesis to be invalidated

A pause in global warming does not disprove a human role in climate change

A pause in the pace of global warming does not invalidate research that links climate change to human activity, national science academies in the United States and the United Kingdom said in a joint report last week.

While the science in some areas of climate change continues to evolve, man’s contribution to warming, sea-level increases and the decline in Arctic sea ice is “more certain than ever,” according to the academies. The report by the top scientists in two countries is meant to answer common questions on climate change in language non-scientists can understand.

How can the “science” continue to evolve when they specifically, forcefully, constantly told us that “the science is settled”? Sea level is not out of the ordinary for a typical Holocene warm period. The Arctic has been ice free before, and the talking point about it being ice free in 2013 was a pure fail. In fact, the same Washington Post reported that the Arctic hit a 35 year high.

“Our expectation as scientists always was to see very complex changes in the average temperature of the planet, and that’s exactly what we see,” Benjamin Santer, research scientist at California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, said at a briefing. “The key point is that the stasis — slowdown — as people have termed it over the last 15 years, does not fundamentally invalidate our understanding of the human effects on climate.”

Except, 95% of the models have failed. In real science, scientists would look back at their assumptions and the data and reevaluate them. With the “climate change” cult, they instead change the data and their talking points to fit the assumption that the changes are mostly/solely mankind’s fault. And wrap cold and snow are caused by a warming world. And blame nature for the pause

Temporary cooling from increased volcanic activity or other emissions does not undermine climate models that aim to predict the rate of warming, Santer said.

Hmph. So nature can cause the pause, but it can’t be responsible for the warming. Science! Well, cult. What will they say if the “pause” continues for years and possibly decades? If anyone is a denier, it is the Warmists.

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If All You See…

By William Teach March 4, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrible fossil fueled vehicle which No One Else should be allowed to drive, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Right Wing News, with the 2013 RWN Conservative Website Awards.

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Sarah Palin Discusses Obama’s Mom Jeans And Equivocation On Russia

By William Teach March 4, 2014 – 11:09 am

A bit of red meat

(Mediaite) Sarah Palin sat down with Sean Hannity Monday night for a victory lap of sorts, touting her 2008 comments about Russia capitalizing on a weak Barack Obama presidency to amass power. Palin believed she was vindicated, saying Russia exploited “Obama’s weak leadership.”

She said, “Anybody who carries the common-sense gene knows that Putin doesn’t change his stripes.” Palin and Hannity agreed that when the U.S. can’t “feed others with our resources,” people grow more reliant on Russia’s resources and it emboldens them, which is why the U.S. should approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Vladimir Putin, Palin said, is viewed as a man who “wrestles bears and drills for oil,” while Obama’s “potency” is one of “weakness” and said he’s viewed as a man who “wears mom jeans and equivocates and bloviates.”

She bashed Obama for having a policy of “leading from behind” and warned that nations other than Russia are “taking advantage of that weakness in America at this point.” Palin also quipped that if Putin wants to quell uproar about his violations of the law, he should borrow a page from Obama’s playbook and call them “executive orders.”

Video via Politico below the fold

Read More »

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Team Obama May Announce New Obamacare Delay

By William Teach March 4, 2014 – 8:47 am

And it’s all about attempting to protect Democrats for the mid-terms

New ObamaCare delay to help Democrats in midterm elections

The Obama administration is set to announce another major delay in implementing the Affordable Care Act, easing election pressure on Democrats.

As early as this week, according to two sources, the White House will announce a new directive allowing insurers to continue offering health plans that do not meet ObamaCare’s minimum coverage requirements.

Prolonging the “keep your plan” fix will avoid another wave of health policy cancellations otherwise expected this fall.

The cancellations would have created a firestorm for Democratic candidates in the last, crucial weeks before Election Day.

The White House is intent on protecting its allies in the Senate, where Democrats face a battle to keep control of the chamber.

For Republicans, this is a gift either way. Without the delay, provided it is announced, there will be more cancellation notices going out right around election time. With a delay, they can argue that Obamacare creates lots of pain for consumers. Either way, they can point out that Obama lied about keeping your insurance. Also, keeping your doctor. Also, a family saving $2500 a year. Also, that it will reduce the deficit. That it will be revenue neutral. If they’re smart (not always a sure thing with the Establishment GOP), they will simply focus on the easy to understand lies, and note if Obama and the Democrats lied about those and other parts of Obamacare, what else might they lie about?

We were told that Obamacare was supposed to be super awesome, that it would really help Americans. If so, then why does Team Obama continues to initiate delay after delay? Weren’t Dems and Obama upset over the Shutdown, which was about delaying Obamacare? Obama and the Dems want to slow the train wreck and hope no-one notices during the mid-terms. Unfortunately, there are enough low information voters and hyper-partisan fools on the left that they may partially succeed. Though, probably not enough to save the Senate Dems in vulnerable seats, handing the Senate to the GOP.

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Whiny People Sue Over Cross Shaped Memorial In Maryland

By William Teach March 4, 2014 – 8:08 am

Why? Because they’re “offended”, and we wouldn’t want an itty bitty tiny number of people to be offended, so they have to ruin it for everyone

(Fox News) A humanist advocacy group has filed a federal lawsuit to remove a cross-shaped World War I memorial in Prince George’s County, alleging the display violates the First Amendment.

The American Humanist Association says it does not object to the fact that the Bladensburg Cross memorializes soldiers, but rather the placement of the Christian symbol on property owned by a government agency, The Daily Record reported.

“We are certainly recommending coming up with a monument inclusive of all religious groups,” said Monica Miller, a lawyer with the association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center.

Which is a load of mule fritters, because they are demanding that the memorial be removed, rather than changed to include symbols from other religions. The memorial has been there since 1925, and is in honor of the 49 men from Prince George Country who were killed in WWI.

According to the report, the lawsuit names as plaintiffs two local American Humanist Association members and a third individual — each of whom had “unwelcome contact” with the monument.

Steven Lowe, a plaintiff from Washington, said was “shocked” when he first saw the cross and is “upset” whenever he passes it, according to the complaint obtained by the newspaper.

So 3 people, one of who doesn’t even live there, are going all whiny bitch, and because they’re upset, well, the memorial has to go. This is what Robert D. Raiford calls the “United States Of The Offended“, and any time someone is offended they must force their views on everyone else. Of course the Humanists are using the stupid talking point about “separation between church and state“, because these types of people are morons and refuse to read and understand the 1st Amendment and the relevant papers about it from the day. They’re also misreading Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists. And conveniently ignoring that it was a letter, not a law nor Amendment.

Moss, the town administrator, told The Daily Record this is the first time a lawsuit has been filed to remove the Bladensburg Cross. He said the memorial has “historic and patriotic” value.

“There are community members that would be disturbed if the cross were removed,” he said.

Yeah, but the ones who want it up surely don’t matter, because someone else was offended and upset. But, the Humanists wouldn’t be offended if it was on private land. No, really. So, seeing it on government land makes them “upset”, but not on private land? In other words, this is strictly a hardcore leftist movement, and nothing else.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Bummer: Kay Hagan’s Approval Ratings Continue To Drop

By William Teach March 3, 2014 – 6:39 pm

I’m guessing her nuanced position on Obamacare and voting in lockstep with Obama is not working out so well

(WRAL) While President Barack Obama, Gov. Pat McCrory and U.S. Sen. Richard Burr all saw slight improvements in voters’ rating of their job performance in the latest Elon University Poll, U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan continued a year-long slide.

Elon pollsters surveyed 925 registered voters statewide Feb. 23-26 and also found that, despite national trends, a majority of North Carolinians still oppose gay marriage and legalized marijuana. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.22 percentage points.

Forty-nine percent of respondents disapprove of Hagan’s job performance, while 33 percent gave her a thumbs-up, according to the poll. It is her lowest approval number in the past year and includes erosion among registered Democrats – down from 63 percent in November to 55 percent – and women – from 40 percent in November to 33 percent.

The big question: can Republicans avoid shooting themselves in the foot?

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If All You See…

By William Teach March 3, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is a house that was probably damaged from extreme weather due to evil fossil fueled vehicles, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Hockey Schtick, with a post on a new paper regarding warming and the PDO.

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Let’s Rename It “Global Moisture Change”

By William Teach March 3, 2014 – 12:40 pm

How do Climate Realists/skeptics compete with the sheer idiocy, brainwashing, and complete lack of science?

The frigid cold and snow are global climate change. If you wonder where the sun goes at night, as do typical global climate change deniers, you are probably seizing on the hoax story fed to you by big oil.

Big oil and foolish condescension. Check. Blaming cold and snow on warming? Check

Scientists should rename it “global moisture change.” The ocean heat up is pushing moisture — energy — into the atmosphere at an enormous rate. When weather fronts collide, the outcome depends on the energy: temperature differences. More difference, more action.

Does this mean that it was fricking hellishly hot during the last glacial period?

That’s why we are having polar weather; the energy has buckled the jet streams radically, forming record-size vortexes. Remember Hurricane Sandy, the largest geographical sized hurricane. The polar vortex is a polar hurricane.

photo facepalm.gif

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