So to help you guys understand some of the finer points of the immense tome now on the table, here’s a list of concrete changes you can expect from this new bill.

WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR OF ENACTMENT

• Insurance companies will be barred from dropping people from coverage when they get sick. Lifetime coverage limits will be eliminated and annual limits are to be restricted.
• Insurers will be barred from excluding children for coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
  
• Medicare drug beneficiaries who fall into the “doughnut hole” coverage gap will get a $250 rebate. The bill eventually closes that gap which currently begins after $2,700 is spent on drugs. Coverage starts again after $6,154 is spent.
• A temporary reinsurance program is created to help companies maintain health coverage for early retirees between the ages of 55 and 64. This also expires in 2014.
• A tax credit becomes available for some small businesses to help provide coverage for workers.
• A 10 percent tax on indoor tanning services that use ultraviolet lamps goes into effect on July 1.

WHAT HAPPENS IN 2011

• Medicare provides 10 percent bonus payments to primary care physicians and general surgeons.
• Medicare beneficiaries will be able to get a free annual wellness visit and personalized prevention plan service. New health plans will be required to cover preventive services with little or no cost to patients.
• A new program under the Medicaid plan for the poor goes into effect in October that allows states to offer home and community based care for the disabled that might otherwise require institutional care.
• Payments to insurers offering Medicare Advantage services are frozen at 2010 levels. These payments are to be gradually reduced to bring them more in line with traditional Medicare.
• Employers are required to disclose the value of health benefits on employees’ W-2 tax forms.
• An annual fee is imposed on pharmaceutical companies according to market share. The fee does not apply to companies with sales of $5 million or less.

WHAT HAPPENS IN 2012

• Physician payment reforms are implemented in Medicare to enhance primary care services and encourage doctors to form “accountable care organizations” to improve quality and efficiency of care.
• An incentive program is established in Medicare for acute care hospitals to improve quality outcomes.
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the government programs, begin tracking hospital readmission rates and puts in place financial incentives to reduce preventable readmissions.

WHAT HAPPENS IN 2013

• A national pilot program is established for Medicare on payment bundling to encourage doctors, hospitals and other care providers to better coordinate patient care.
• The threshold for claiming medical expenses on itemized tax returns is raised to 10 percent from 7.5 percent of income. The threshold remains at 7.5 percent for the elderly through 2016.
• The Medicare payroll tax is raised to 2.35 percent from 1.45 percent for individuals earning more than $200,000 and married couples with incomes over $250,000. The tax is imposed on some investment income for that income group.
• A 2.9 percent excise tax in imposed on the sale of medical devices. Anything generally purchased at the retail level by the public is excluded from the tax.

WHAT HAPPENS IN 2014

• State health insurance exchanges for small businesses and individuals open.
• Most people will be required to obtain health insurance coverage or pay a fine if they don’t. Healthcare tax credits become available to help people with incomes up to 400 percent of poverty purchase coverage on the exchange.
• Health plans no longer can exclude people from coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
• Employers with 50 or more workers who do not offer coverage face a fine of $2,000 for each employee if any worker receives subsidized insurance on the exchange. The first 30 employees aren’t counted for the fine.
• Health insurance companies begin paying a fee based on their market share.

WHAT HAPPENS IN 2015

• Medicare creates a physician payment program aimed at rewarding quality of care rather than volume of services.

WHAT HAPPENS IN 2018

• An excise tax on high cost employer-provided plans is imposed. The first $27,500 of a family plan and $10,200 for individual coverage is exempt from the tax. Higher levels are set for plans covering retirees and people in high risk professions.

The Nobel Peace Prize that President Obama recently was awarded.

He’s gotten a lot of flack over this, especially in the conservative media – he even himself stated that he doesn’t really think he deserves it. And he might be absolutely right, and it sure is a strange nomination and award.

But credit must be given to the Nobel comittee, because they’re not dumb. I believe their major reason for awarding Obama with the peace prize was for his quick actions in reaching out to the muslim world and initiating diplomatic negotiations – something the Bush administration actively refused, much to the detriment of the entire worlds stability. His speech in Kairo alone is applaudable.

Over at Salon.com there’s been a very interesting article written about Obamas work towards stability in the world so far. Much of what is written has never been mentioned in the general media, and one can argue that the democrats are pretty much worthless in reporting their own progress.

Some major important points both from that report and generally:

• The withdrawal of troops from Iraq are ahead of schedule. So far he has brought home 22,000 troops out of Iraq.
• He has cut war spending by $30 billion.
• Pakistan has as we speak today launched a major offensive towards the Taliban strongholds within their borders – as much as a response to the new US leadership as anything.
• He has managed to convince Iran to allow in UN inspections, as a result of direct negotiation.
• His effort towards dragging the US, kicking and screaming, toward a modern healthcare system (last country in the western hemisphere) could result in a much more stable and equal society.
• By dismantling the Bush plan of an aging missile defense system in eastern europe, he has opened up unforeseen diplomatic possibilities with Russia – apart from saving billions of dollars while at the same time planning a much more efficient defense plan in the area.
• His promises to close Guantanamo Bay and the administrations refusal to continue previous torture policies is a big move towards human rights in the world.

So give the guy some credit – and don’t listen to the major news outlets all the time. Obama is a force in the world most of us probably won’t acknowledge until years have passed and history can make its judgement. And so far, I honestly believe history will treat him as possibly one of the most important leaders of our time.

If we give him the chance.

Obama also promised to bar the federal goverment from the rampant wiretapping of private networks during the Bush years. But how would we know they’ve stopped..?

Story on NYTimes

-

Due to the recent pause here on WIOD, I am sure our readers would really like to know what they’ve missed!

Well, this President seems to be working in some kind of alternate timespace and it’s hardly possible to list every thing he’s been up to until now, but here’s a (incomplete) list of things that the administration has changed so far:

• Reversed restrictions on stem cell research
• Appointed an assistant to the president for science and technology policy
• Created a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners
• Expanded loan programs for small businesses
• Extended and indexed the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch
• Expanded eligibility for State Children’s Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP)
• Expanded funding to train primary care providers and public health practitioners
• Directed military leaders to end war in Iraq
• Sent two additional brigades to Afghanistan
• As promised gave a speech at a major Islamic forum in the first 100 days of his administration
• Granted Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send money to Cuba
• Restored funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program
• Released presidential records
• Now requires new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions
• Pushed for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act, which expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation and other factors
• Created a White House Office on Urban Policy
• Supported increased funding for the NEA
• Funded a major expansion of AmeriCorps
• Worked to overturn Ledbetter vs. Goodyear
• Banned lobbyist gifts to executive employees
• Pledged to weatherize 1 million homes per year
• Invested in all types of alternative energy
• Enacted tax credit for consumers for plug-in hybrid cars
• Provided grants to encourage energy-efficient building codes
• As promised appointed at least one Republican to the cabinet
• Extended unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspended taxes on these benefits.

Ofcourse, we are still awaiting many of his biggest campaign promises and many of the major issues are still pretty shady on what he’s really going to do with. And to be fair, this list is some of the neat things Obama has done and not the bad – but I would be hard pressed to really find much concrete for such a list as the things that possibly can end up on that side are still in the works (for example the iraq war, bailout, stimulus, gitmo and ofcourse the haunting marijuana legalisation issue).

So far, pretty neat track record.

The faces of Evil according to bank executives.

The House vote sent some employees into a panic about the prospect of, in effect, having to give up money they might already have spent. And it had regulators fearing it could undermine the Treasury’s efforts to stabilize the financial system if banks tried to flee the bailout program or if other firms refused to participate in coming rescue operations to protect their bonuses, some executives said.

Story on NYTimes

Ps! If you happen to be a sad executive, here’s a little tax free bonus from us on WIOD: the streamed Leno interview with Obama.

To ensure that all signing statements previously issued are followed only when consistent with these principles, executive branch departments and agencies are directed to seek the advice of the Attorney General before relying on signing statements issued prior to the date of this memorandum as the basis for disregarding, or otherwise refusing to comply with, any provision of a statute.

“As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons,” Holder told reporters.

Story on ABC

Even as it pulls back from harsh interrogations and other sharply debated aspects of George W. Bush ’s “war on terrorism,” the Obama administration is quietly signaling continued support for other major elements of its predecessor’s approach to fighting Al Qaeda.

In little-noticed confirmation testimony recently, Obama nominees endorsed continuing the C.I.A. ’s program of transferring prisoners to other countries without legal rights, and indefinitely detaining terrorism suspects without trials even if they were arrested far from a war zone.

Story on MSNBC

President Obama, with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., signed the $787 billion stimulus bill at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on Tuesday.

In related news, The President finally OK’d the awaited boosting of troops to Afghanistan.

Story on BBC

In other news, while Obama signed the Stimulus bill his press secretary stated “while there are no particular plans at this point for a second stimulus package, I wouldn’t foreclose it.”

Bill Clinton took the opportunity for some limelight on CNN to say “It’s quite a good bill!” as well.

Maybe we’re progressing from Obamania to Stimulusmania?

Story on NYTimes

“major milestone on our road to recovery.”

Speaking in his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said,

“I will sign this legislation into law shortly, and we’ll begin making the immediate investments necessary to put people back to work doing the work America needs done.”

Story on Google News
Story on MSNBC

The measure was passed on a 246-183, with no Republican “yes” votes. It will now go to the Senate, where a vote is expected later Friday.

Story on MSNBC