Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/673060
Everythingabouthealthinsurancewas confusing, stupid and horrible long before Obamacare came along. Just hearing it was time again to choose your healthcare plan for the next calendar year made some business people I know so sick they had to see a doctor. Notreally. We all know the ugly truth about the Affordable Care Act. Its rules and regulations and subsidies and penalties and red tape and false prom- ises and reinsurance programs have only made buying health- care worse for consumers. It's more confusing to sign up for, costs more than Obama promised it would and it's shredding the bottom lines of the already crippled com- panies that provide private health insurance. Some say it's all part of Obama's grand plan to make health insurance and healthcare so expensive that private companies will get out of the business and voters will beg Washington for a mandated government program like like they have in England, Canada or Cuba. If that's Obama's plan, it's working nicely. Earlier this month Unit- edHealthcare announced it was pulling out of most of the 34 state health insurance ex- changes it was participating in under the Affordable Care Act. UnitedHealthcare is the country's largest health insurer. It made $1.6 billion last year, so it's not exactly going broke. But it's not stupid. Thanks to higher healthcare costs and the increased number of sicker people who are signing up for Obamacare, it lost close to $1 billion operating in state insurance exchanges in the last two years. UnitedHealthcare's CEO explained to reporters that the "smaller overall mar- ket size and shorter-term, higher-risk profile within this market segment continues to suggest we cannot broadly serve it on an effective and sustained basis." That sounds to me like CEO speak for "the exchange busi- ness stinks to high heaven and government-run healthcare is such a mess we're bailing out now before we go bankrupt." A very sharp commenter on the Wall Street Journal's web site named James Burke translated what the CEO re- ally meant and, as a public service, added in the missing political spin: - "Smaller overall mar- ket size" (Obamacare will never reach promised critical growth targets) - "Shorter-term" (It's im- possible to keep people pay- ing premiums they don't have to pay) - "Higher-risk profile"(This is not risk-based insurance, it's so- cial welfare and redistribution) - "Within this market seg- ment continue to suggest" (nice word for this program is a failure) - "We cannot broadly serve it on an effective and sus- tained basis" (Neither us, or any other insurer, will ever make money on this ... here comes single payer) Mr. Burke might not agree, but the experts say United- Healthcare's decision is not going to wreck Obamacare's exchanges anytime soon be- cause other healthcare com- panies are still in them and trying to make a profit. But with UnitedHealth- care heading for the hills and other major health insurers talking about merging in or- der to survive, consumers, as usual, will get the shaft. We will see fewer choices and less competition among insurance companies, espe- cially in rural counties, where, because the federal govern- ment allows states to prevent health insurers from compet- ing across state lines, millions of consumers will end up with only one "choice." Here's a safe prediction. Everything to do with healthcare will continue to get worse for Americans every- where because of government meddling in the private sector. Then the Hillarys and Ber- nies of the world will say since the free market can't provide healthcare we have to have "free" government healthcare provided by Washington. We've all seen this govern- ment movie before — and, spoiler alert, it doesn't have a happy ending. MichaelReaganisthesonof President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant, and the author of "The New Reagan Revolution" (St. Martin's Press). Send comments to Reagan@ caglecartoons.com. Follow @ reaganworld on Twitter. MichaelReagan Goingfor broke with Obamacare Cartoonist's take I have two possible subjects for your consideration: The "Trump Foreign Policy Speech" or my recent hip replacement. Let's choose the latter because it will have more benefit to you and your loved ones. We can ignore Trump because he will not have any impact on world affairs. If through some sleight of hand the big oaf is elected President of anything other than the defunct Trump University…such as the U.S., we are doomed. In a pre-surgery conference it will be explained that this is se- rious business and not just an at- tempt get off work for a few days. You will be given an plethora of papers to initial and sign reliev- ing the hospital and people with knives in their hands of all possi- ble negligence because you have been forewarned this is major surgery. This is not simply a real estate contract you are agreeing to. Pay attention. On the day of reckoning you will arrive at the hospital early in the morning, without break- fast or water. You may sip wa- ter if you have to have a pill, but not a drink of water. You will be clutching your driver's license, proof of insurance and a bag with toilet gear and instructed to leave all your valuables be- hind. As I value my life above all other I will ignore their in- struction in this regard. The au- tomatic doors will close silently behind you like in an old Flash Gordon film, and you will real- ize there is no turning back. In the pre-op room you will be instructed to discard your clothing, don a nifty gown, lay on a gurney and place your little body in the hands of your anes- thesiologist or the hands of Je- sus. Results may vary. Assuming the former, he (why are anesthesiologists invariably men) will perform a nerve block with the assurance that you will just feel a little prick. "You mean Donald Trump?," I asked with a false show of bravado. He laughed as though he had heard this analogy before. As icing on the cake you may be given "mini- mal" sedation to make your jour- ney anxiety free. Thus becalmed, you will drop off the face of the earth…and eventually soon hear the noise of the staff in the oper- ating room cleaning instruments and discussing the latest Giants game. Somehow this is reassur- ing even if you don't care who won the game. But then comes the tricky part: Recovery. Your return to awareness and bodily functions. If you are fortunate you will have no incidents. You will strive to orientate with the world that you understood so well a few hours ago, but now seems to come back in bits and pieces. You will probably prefer to sleep but they like to get you on your feet to avoid pneumonia and the like. Suddenly you find yourself walking down the hallway in your skimpy hospital gown, not properly tied, and drafty, but surprisingly decorum is fur- thest from your thoughts. That you are walking on a raw hip socket "concentrates the mind most wonderfully," in the words of Oscar Wilde. However, back in your bed, resting quietly, you might fall victim to hallucinations. I did. One minute I was drifting off to sleep, almost euphoric, the next thing I knew it was dark outside, I was no longer in Marin and was, apparently, in a rehab cen- ter, west of our old meat plant in Red Bluff, was in restraints in a bed with no way to notify my family that I was being held cap- tive against my will. Holly moly. As few enjoy hearing of one's dreams or golf game, so be it with hallucinations. Suffice to say that if they are of great in- tensity, and catch a person at the depth of their vulnerability, it can make one avoid anesthesia like the plague. ••• Moving on to more com- fortable surroundings, I've fi- nally completed the third and final edition of the Autobiog- raphy of Mark Twain. The stip- ulated 100 years have passed since Samuel L. Clemens con- cluded his thoughts on the hu- man race, the hereafter and lack of same, allowing his inner- most thoughts to be in print re- gardless of whose ox they may gore. This poses the question as to what today's readers would like to put down and lock away for a 100 years? The flyleaf to Twain's 3rd vol- ume condenses his views quite succinctly. "When the first vol- ume of this uncensored Autobi- ography was published in 2010, it was hailed as an essential addi- tion to the shelf of his works and crucial document for our under- standing of the mind of the great humorist's life and times. Cre- ated from March 1907 to Decem- ber 1909, these dictations pres- ent Twain at the end of his life: receiving an honorary degree from Oxford University; railing against Theodore Roosevelt, in- credulous at an exhibition of the Holy Grail; credulous about the authorship of Shakespeare's plays in which he felt that acros- tic interpretations indicate Shakespeare's works were those of Roger Bacon. The Autobiogra- phy emerges as a landmark pub- lication in American literature." The comparison with Theo- dore Roosevelt's self-manicured macho image with today's pres- idential candidate Trump is un- mistakable to observant read- ers in this 21st Century. Don't take it from me that this guy is a phony not fit to fill the shoes of his predecessors, if elected. Read George Will, or writers in TIME or The New Yorker. Look behind the scenes and track his record of shams and scams and bankruptcy maneuvers to sense what a liability he would be if he were allowed to vet his bias when it comes to women, race or creed. It is one thing for a critic of mine, such as Les Wolfe, to brand me a member of the "elite." It is quite another to characterize D. Trump as a de- fender of the "working class." Tsk, tsk. Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff, former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine and author of the "The Knocking Pen." He can be reached at rminchandmurray@ hotmail.com. I say Either Donald Trump or a hip replacement? I'll take the latter Everything to do with healthcare will continue to get worse for Americans everywhere because of government meddling in the private sector. GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIAL BOARD How to have your say: Letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and no more than two double-spaced pages or 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@ redbluffdailynews.com Fax: 530-527-9251 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS House Speaker Paul Ryan has identified congressional legisla- tion to reform overly long prison sentences as one of his top pri- orities. The two bills, which have both passed out of their respec- tive judiciary committees, also have support from the White House and the ACLU, as well as a wide-range of advocacy groups. Ryan said that the federal govern- ment needs to "make redemption cool again," and that one way to do it would be to give judges more sentencing discretion in nonvio- lent cases. The bills' stated goals are to strike a balance between reducing mandatory prison terms for some offenders and expanding recidivism-reduction program- ming, while still safeguarding the public. Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said that the legislation addresses legiti- mate concerns about over-incar- ceration, but promises the courts won't show leniency toward the most violent criminals or drug traffickers. According to the Fed- eral Bureau of Prisons, in fiscal year 2015, 77 percent of inmates convicted of federal drug posses- sion charges, and more than 25 percent of inmates convicted of federal drug trafficking charges, were unlawfully in the United States. But when the nonparti- san immigration-reduction group NumbersUSA studied the be- nignly named bills, it found that, should the legislation become law, the most significant consequences would be a dramatic increase in the release of criminal aliens. In- stead of being deported, released criminal illegal immigrants would instead be rewarded with work authorization that would en- able them to enter the labor mar- ket. Neither the House nor the Senate versions have provisions for Immigration and Customs En- forcement to take custody of the freed criminals. Should the Supreme Court rule favorably on President Obama's 2014 prosecutorial discretion ex- ecutive action, the U.S. v. Texas case it heard on April 18, most re- leased felons would qualify for the program, and would also re- ceive work permits, Social Secu- rity numbers and driver's licenses. As well, they could claim earned income tax benefits. joeguzzardi@capsweb.org. Joe Guzzardi Easing of sentencing laws could benefit criminal aliens Robert Minch By Michael Reagan By Joe Guzzardi OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, April 29, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6