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Friday, November 15, 2013

It's a "Blackout" kind of day! Rock with the Scorpions


Friday, November 8, 2013

Check out the the reason I started playing guitar - The Master! Randy Rhoads Here is "DEE"


Ratt "Lay It Down" they don't make guitar players like this anymore!


Okay yes I ROCKED this song after breakups...hell who didn't?


Forgot About this one: Saxon "Broken Heroes" Great Song!


Started my day to this:




Short Blog Post regarding ACA

The Unaffordable Care Act is working just the way the Liberal Democrats want it to work. It is designed to fail in order to give rise to the reason for a Single Payer System...Period!

Let me know what you think about that.



ACA mandates delayed, but reporting requirements are crucial - Articles - Employee Benefit News


By Diane A. Thompson and Sharon M. Marshall
November 8, 2013
 The Internal Revenue Service has issued proposed regulations on reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act. The regulations, released on Sept. 9, address two separate ACA reporting requirements: one relating to the individual mandate and the other relating to the employer mandate. Failure to comply could result in tax penalties unless the failure is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect.
Each of these requirements has been delayed one year. The government is encouraging voluntary compliance for reports due in 2015 (for the 2014 calendar year), but the first mandatory reports are not due until 2016 (for the 2015 calendar year).

The regulations under section 6055 of the Internal Revenue Code impose new reporting requirements on health insurers, sponsors of self-funded group health plans, and others who provide individuals with minimum essential health coverage. These health benefit providers must furnish a report to the IRS and a statement to enrollees containing specific information to be used in the administration of the individual mandate. Although the report and statement are due annually (on the same schedule that applies to Form W-2), they must set forth information on a month-by-month basis.

The regulations under section 6056 require large employers (more than 50 full-time employees or full-time equivalents) to furnish a report to the IRS and a statement to all full-time employees containing information about the employer-provided coverage that is offered, regardless of whether the employee enrolls. This information will be used in the administration of the employer mandate. As under section 6055, the report and statement are due annually (on the same schedule as Form W-2), but present information on a monthly basis. The report also provides the IRS and individuals with information necessary to administer the premium tax credit under section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code.

The two new reporting requirements are in addition to the current requirement to report the cost of coverage on Form W-2. Many are hoping that some or all of these reporting requirements will be combined and simplified. The U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS have not yet found an approach to reconcile the differences among the requirements, but they continue to consider a combined approach, pending the issuance of regulations.

Diane A. Thompson and Sharon M. Marshall practice in executive compensation and business law at Ballard Spahr. Thompson can be reached at thompsonda@ballardspahr.com or 424-204-4334 and Marshall at marshalls@ballardspahr.com or 215-864-8506.
The information in this alert is meant for educational purposes only and should not be taken as specific legal advice.
ACA mandates delayed, but reporting requirements are crucial - Articles - Employee Benefit News

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Video: White House intimidating insurers into staying quiet on the ObamaCare debacle? « Hot Air

I have been wondering where all the CEO's of health insurance companies are??

posted at 12:01 pm on October 30, 2013 by Ed Morrissey

It could be worse, as Audrey Hudson can tell you.  All these insurers are getting are phone calls, not raids by the Maryland State Police seizing their notes on government malfeasance.  CNN’s Anderson Cooper reports that the insurers want to get the real story out about why millions of people will have their policies cancelled, and how they tried to warn HHS of this unnecessary outcome.  For now, they’re outsourcing the job to Robert Laszewski (via Daniel Halper):

Why are they so intimidated? Because the federal government is their biggest customer.  If that doesn’t point out the issues of crony capitalism and transparency on the uses and abuses of power, I’d hate to have to experience a clearer one.
By the way, I’ll have Audrey Hudson on my show this afternoon to give TEMS viewers a first-person perpective on real intimidation.  Maybe a few of these executives can watch and find their intestinal fortitude.

Video: White House intimidating insurers into staying quiet on the ObamaCare debacle? « Hot Air


Thursday, October 3, 2013

Waxman on 10,535 Pages of Obamacare Regs: ‘Is It Important That I Read It?’ | CNS News

 Yes I really do think it is important that you read a law before you enslave the American people to it. This is the mentality of those that are constantly elected and reelected for terms over and over. This is only the beginning people. Look for the nationalization of oil and gas and the madness will not stop there. Anything that can be used as a controlling factor upon me and upon you can and will be used against you by the government of these United States.
Waxman on 10,535 Pages of Obamacare Regs: ‘Is It Important That I Read It?’ | CNS News

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Which Do You Prefer Dental Insurance or Discount Dental Plans (Fee for Service)?


What plan is best for you and your family? If you don't have dental coverage or even if you do have dental coverage, this article is a must read.

Good dental health, as well as correcting dental problems, is essential to overall health. Many Americans are finding themselves without effective dental coverage to treat and maintain their dental needs. This is due in part to businesses increasingly cutting-back or offering inferior dental coverage for prices many can't afford. So what are people to do? As a result, people have started looking for alternatives for their dental coverage needs especially online. The #1 question people are asking is, "What's the difference between Dental Insurance and Discount Dental Plans?"

There are distinct differences between the way dental insurance plans and discount dental plans work. Usually, dental insurance is used by large groups and businesses to cover their employee's dental care. Dental insurance is true insurance where monthly premiums are paid for defined coverage. Dental insurance is not readily available to individuals and families, unless provided by their employer. The pitfalls of dental insurance include annual benefit maximums, deductibles, waiting periods for procedures, and limitations and exclusions. There are also claims forms to fill out and submit. Dental insurance a lot of times doesn't even cover the cost of preventative measure until deductibles are met. You are able to use any dentist but the monthly premiums for dental insurance may be as much as $30 per month for individuals and over $100 per month for family plans.

Discount dental plans or "fee for service" plans, on the other hand, are available for everyone whether or not you are covered by a group plan. Fee for service plans are designed to provide clients dental networks at reduced rates or better yet, pay a certain amount and only that amount for services performed. Discount dental plans are affordable and are the most widely available dental programs for individuals and families. These discount plans work differently than dental insurance plans, yet provide consumers with real and substantial savings on most dental procedures. Discount dental plans are membership-based programs that usually provide coverage on an annual basis.

Consumers pay a membership fee in exchange for secured discounts on most dental services, such as dental exams, routine cleanings, fillings, extractions, root canals, dentures, crowns, and braces. These plans typically save the consumer ten to sixty percent off most standard out-of-pocket fees when visiting a participating network provider. Most discount dental plans provide a "fee schedule" with the discounted fees listed out in the membership materials to ensure consumers will receive their promised savings.

While there are several differences between traditional dental insurance plans and discount dental plans, they can also be used together in certain situations to maximize savings. Gulf Breeze Insurance Inc. offer both plans but prefer to off the fee for service plan for the basic fact our clients like to save money and most need dental coverage now with no waiting period or stipulations on the money they spend. The fact that you know exactly what you are getting and saving is enough to prefer these plans over any other. Many dentists will even tell you at the time you checkout how much you have just saved.

Raul Ramirez
Gulf Breeze Insurance, Inc.

Bad exchange decisions could cost consumers billions | BenefitsPro

October 1, 2013
 
One looming problem for public exchange enrollment under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could be a (very) costly one to consumers.

A study from the Columbia School of Business found that more than 80 percent of consumers unknowingly will choose a higher cost health care plan than they need.
The total bill for these mistakes? $9 billion.

“Consumers’ failure to identify the most appropriate plan has considerable consequences on both their pocketbooks as well as the cost of the overall system,” said Eric Johnson, co-author of the report and co-director of Columbia Business School’s Center for Decision Sciences.

“If consumers can’t identify the most cost-efficient plan for their needs, the exchanges will fail to produce competitive pressures on health care providers and bring down costs across the board, one of the main advantages of relying upon choice and markets,” Johnson said.

Johnson has advised several state health exchange systems on their designs and structure.
To get the estimate, researchers from the school used simulated exchanges modeled on the design of the actual exchanges.

Researchers found the average consumer stands to lose on average $611 — roughly half a week’s salary for a family making $42,000 per year — by failing to choose the most cost-effective option for their needs.
And, because the federal government will subsidize many policies, American taxpayers could pay an additional $9 billion for consumers’ mistakes in choosing more costly plans.

But Johnson and his colleagues identified several mechanisms that significantly improved outcomes for the consumer, they said. And it's a two-way street as both consumers and exchange designers could improve the exchange experience.They suggested consumers “estimate first; peruse the plans second;” educate themselves about the basics of health insurance and have a calculator on hand.

As for the exchanges, researchers suggested exchanges limit the number of choices in health care plans to avoid consumer confusion; include tutorial links and pop-ups that explain basic health insurance terms; and include online tools for the consumer including smart defaults, and cost calculators.

Bad exchange decisions could cost consumers billions | BenefitsPro

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Open for Business: Gov't to Erect $98,670 Outhouse | CNS News

By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
By Eric Scheiner
 Holy Crap!!

Open for Business: Gov't to Erect $98,670 Outhouse | CNS News

Monday, September 30, 2013

The Get Out of Trunk Free Latch

I feel so much safer now. This is in the trunk of the car. If I get carjacked and put in the trunk, I know I will be able to free myself.

Obama's budget calls for big changes to 401(k)s, IRAs | BenefitsPro

September 27, 2013

Set aside for a moment the fight in Washington, D.C., over stopgap spending legislation. In his budget blueprint for 2014, President Obama has proposed a number of tax and other reforms that would mean big changes in how retirement is financed.
What Congress does over the next couple of days could either avoid or trigger a government shutdown. Either way, at some point after the crisis is resolved, the House and Senate are likely take up the following proposals, all of which would have lasting effects on anyone saving for retirement.

Automatic enrollment in IRAs

The president’s 2014 budget would require employers in business for at least two years that have more than 10 employees to offer an automatic IRA option to employees.
Contributions would be made to an IRA on a payroll-deduction basis. If an employer already offers a plan, it wouldn’t have to comply with this regulation, but if its current plan excludes certain segments of its employees from participating in the plan, the employer would have to begin to offer the automatic IRA to those excluded employees, according to an assessment by KPMG.
Obama included this provision in the 2014 budget because he wanted to turn the tide on a rising retirement crisis in the United States. According to a Treasury report, the number of U.S. workers participating in an employer-sponsored retirement plan has remained stagnant for decades at no more than about half the total workforce.
Read More: Obama's budget calls for big changes to 401(k)s, IRAs | BenefitsPro

Thursday, September 26, 2013

HCAN: Anti-Obamacare states cannot sabotage Navigators | LifeHealthPro

September 26, 2013

The efforts of governors and state legislators to block consumers who want to use PPACA Navigators to help them sign up for health care could have “profound effects,” a consumer advocacy group contends in a report released today.
“This is Navigator suppression, and it perpetuates the systematic denial of affordable health care to huge numbers of the most vulnerable individuals in our society, especially those in minority and lower-income populations,” said Ethan Rome, executive director for Health Care for America Now (HCAN).
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), however, said they could understand the decision of states to act.
"While the thousands of Navigators hired will help consumers enroll through a state or federally-facilitated marketplace, consumers will require assistance that goes far beyond registering for a plan," said NAIFA President-Elect John Nichols said.
According to Nichols, agents and brokers do much more than sell insurance. They explain critical differences in plan options and coverage, which may involve substantial research and fact-finding about the client’s needs. They advocate on behalf of their clients, helping people when they have trouble getting procedures approved or claims processed.
"They also review coverage on a periodic basis, suggesting changes when appropriate and counseling on ways to reduce costs," Nichols said. "When purchasing a plan from a marketplace, the companies that sell health insurance should immediately assign consumers an agent. The healthcare system is complex, and coverage does not begin and end with enrollment. Consumers benefit from the expertise that brokers and agents provide in servicing the plan throughout the year. They need to be involved, or customer service surely will be a casualty of healthcare reform.”
HCAN officials said Jay Angoff, a partner at Mehri & Skalet in Washington, is considering filing lawsuits that would stop the recalcitrant states from interfering with the Navigators and acting to stop the states from delaying the work of the Navigators.
Angoff is the former insurance commissioner of Missouri, and the first head of the Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (OCIIO). OCIIO is the office responsible for implementing the insurance reform provisions. He did not return phone call seeking comment.
Those participating in today's conference call said it is unlikely HHS would file its own lawsuits to stop the interference because it is so busy implementing the many pieces of the law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., ranking minority member of the House Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Healthcare and Entitlements of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, discounted the utility of filing lawsuits. Speier said on the conference call that courts would likely not find the suits “ripe for litigation” because the provisions of the law involved have not yet taken effect.
Speier said the feedback she is getting from her district is that when the exchanges are launched Oct. 1, enrollment will probably be slow “as we start out and then gain as times on.”
Speier predicted that the exchanges “will probably see a takeup rate that is quite high.” She said that in her polling of young people, she "was surprised at how important this is to the 20-somehtings; I was surprised at how readily this will be embraced.”
Sabrina Corlette, a health policy expert at Georgetown University, called the state laws "unprecedented." She said they were unnecessary given Medicare's positive history with counselors similar to the Navigators. "It's not to say there aren't legitimate concerns about fraud, or con artists taking advantage of Obamacare," she said. "It's just that these state laws are really barking up the wrong tree … There is no credible evidence whatsoever that Navigators will be a source of fraud."
Corlette said the criminal background check some of the state laws are requiring, as well as additional training are imposing an additional hurdle to the Navigators’ starting their work.
“They are already required to undergo training, training that is quite extensive and includes the providing of a lot of educational material. This involves piling on information they already have.
“All it does is make it more difficult for people to have access to important information on health care options,” she said.
As to background checks, Corlette said the organizations to which the Navigators are associated “had to be vetted through an extensive process.” And, she said, “some of the checks are being required incredibly late in the game, and will not be complied with in time to allow these people to start doing their job on time.”
Read More...HCAN: Anti-Obamacare states cannot sabotage Navigators | LifeHealthPro

List of grants DHHS gave for navigators in Florida

Here is the list of where grants went for Navigators

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on August 15 the entities that were awarded Navigator grants. The following entities were awarded grants in Florida:

  • University of South Florida, College of Public Health
  • Epilepsy Foundation of Florida
  • Advanced Patient Advocacy, LLC
  • Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, Inc.
  • Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners
  • National Hispanic Council on Aging
  • Mental Health America
Individuals interested in becoming Navigators should contact these entities for potential employment opportunities. Navigators are not hired directly by the federal government or the Marketplace.

Friday, September 20, 2013

House Oversight blasts exchange helper incentives | LifeHealthPro

September 19, 2013
A House committee is accusing managers of the new public exchange program of encouraging enrollers to use biased information to hype the program. Holes in enroller compensation rules "raise the risk of massive fraudulent spending on Medicaid and exchange subsidies for individuals who do not meet the eligibility requirements," committee staffers say.

The staff of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee make their case in a report on the risk of fraud at the public exchange outreach campaign.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-chairman of the committee, had his staff look at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) efforts to set up the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) exchange navigator and "in-person assister" programs.

PPACA requires each state's exchange to offer consumers "navigators," or independent ombudsmen, to help the consumers understand how to use the exchanges. The Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO), the arm of HHS running the exchange program, also has created a similar but separate "in-person assister" program.

House Oversight staffers say CCIIO set up the assister program to get around a PPACA provision that requires states to pay for their navigators with their own money. In the District of Columbia, for the example, the exchange expects to spend $100,000 in local money on navigators and $35 million in federal money on assisters.

The committee staffers say CCIIO is creating an opening for con artists to pretend to be exchange enrollers by failing to create an enroller database or giving the enrollers official badges.

Even the official enrollers may go to work with less than 20 hours of training, and no independent entity has had any oversight over the content of the training or the information the enrollers will be giving out, the staffers say.

CCIIO will be letting navigator and assister programs at state-based exchanges pay employees based on enrollment volume, without imposing any requirement that the enrollers tell consumers about the volume-based pay, the staffers say.

Gary Cohen, the CCIIO director, told the staffers in an interview that exchange enrollers will give consumers information about the small value of the PPACA individual coverage mandate violation mandate penalty, and exceptions to the individual coverage ownership requirements, only if consumers ask for that information.
The compensation rules, and the lack of emphasis on giving consumers clear information about mandate exceptions, mean that enrollers may fail to give consumers the information they need to know how to reconcile PPACA requirements with their own needs, the committee staffers say.

Also in the report, the staffers note that the press already has covered one major exchange-related data security incident.

In Minnesota, the staffers say, an exchange employee accidentally released a confidential document that included the Social Security numbers of 2,400 insurance brokers.
See also:
House Oversight blasts exchange helper incentives | LifeHealthPro

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Louisiana official blasts HHS PPACA delays | LifeHealthPro

September 18, 2013

Problems with getting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to answer questions about federal health law details have jacked up implementation costs, a state official testified today.

The official, Kathy Kliebert, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, spoke at a hearing on state implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that was organized by the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform health care subcommittee.

Getting a response from HHS on important questions can take three to four months, Kliebert said.
"We cannot afford to wait months for these answers," Kliebert said.

Kliebert cited efforts to get HHS officials to help state Medicaid programs adopt a new income eligibility testing standard -- a "Modified Adjusted Gross Income" standard -- as an example of a result of the delays.
Most states have to revamp their Medicaid eligibility systems to shift to the MAGI standard.

Federal officials promised in March that HHS would develop a "MAGI in a box" solution that would be free to the states.

Instead, Kliebert said, HHS officials said in June, during a conference call, that the states would have to develop their own MAGI implementation systems instead.

That shift is forcing Louisiana to spend about $750,000 on 5,437 in additional contractor work, Kliebert said.
Kliebert also questioned how well HHS has trained the call center workers supporting exchanges in states like Louisiana that are letting HHS run their public exchange programs.

A call center worker told one Louisiana man that many states are expanding Medicaid eligibility, and that the man should call the Louisiana Medicaid program to see if it was one of those states, even though Louisiana is one of the states that has definitely rejected Medicaid expansion, Kliebert said.
Louisiana official blasts HHS PPACA delays | LifeHealthPro

Friday, September 13, 2013

Former SSA chief doubts exchange hub readiness | LifeHealthPro

September 12, 2013


The former head of the Social Security Administration is scoffing at the idea that new exchange data hub will be ready on time.The former SSA commissioner, Michael Astrue, said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services held up work on the hub while trying to get other agencies to chip in on the bill."CMS struggled to meet its deadline," Astrue testified Wednesday at a data hub hearing organized by the House Homeland Security cybersecurity subcommittee.

The agency’s “failures and delays” were common knowledge within the Obama administration, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was never candid with states when they wrestled with building their own exchanges or letting the feds run things, Astrue said. The hub is supposed to help the public exchanges get information they can use to verify health benefits program eligibility applications from federal and state agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service and SSA.

Astrue noted that, in an August report, Daniel Levinson, the HHS inspector general, said required security findings were set to take place the day before implementation.Levinson devoted just five pages to analyzing the hub performance and only relied on interviews and documents, Astrue said.

Read more....
Former SSA chief doubts exchange hub readiness | LifeHealthPro

$100-a-day penalties: ACA non-compliance can be expensive - Articles - Employee Benefit News


By Keith R. McMurdy
September 13, 2013

While a lot of employers are focused on the penalties associated with not offering appropriate coverage (the $2,000 penalty) or not offering affordable coverage (the $3,000 penalty), what can get overlooked is the myriad of daily penalties that come with non-compliance. Take the Oct. 1 exchange notice requirement as an example. While the regulations do not identify a specific penalty for failing to comply with the notice requirement, the Affordable Care Act has a $100-a-day general non-compliance penalty. Read More...
$100-a-day penalties: ACA non-compliance can be expensive - Articles - Employee Benefit News

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Florida bans navigators from county health offices | LifeHealthPro

September 12, 2013
MIAMI (AP) — The Florida Department of Health has issued a memo telling county health departments to keep Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) navigators out of their offices.
Local health departments can accept public exchange brochures and other exchange outreach material, but they can distribute the materials only if consumers ask for information.

Agency officials said they sent the memo earlier this week to provide clarity for local departments about the exchange navigators because the navigators aren't acting on behalf of the state.
PPACA calls for the new public exchange system to open Oct. 1.

Florida bans navigators from county health offices | LifeHealthPro

PPACA may pack bigger punch than RomneyCare | LifeHealthPro


September 4, 2013

     A University of Colorado economist says new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requirements could hit employers about 12 times as hard as its Massachusetts predecessor. Some PPACA defenders have pointed to the relatively modest effects of the RomneyCare employer and individual mandates as evidence that it would only be a bump in the national economy.

     But the economist, Casey Mulligan, concludes in a working paper circulated by the National Bureau of Economic Research that RomneyCare imposed the equivalent of an increase of just $20 per month, or 0.4 percent of median earnings potential, on the typical Massachusetts labor income tax rate.The RomneyCare increase amounts to a big implicit tax on a small fraction of the Massachusetts population plus a small employer penalty, Mulligan writes.

     PPACA could lead to the equivalent of a 4.9 percent increase in the typical labor income tax rate at the national level, Mulligan estimates. Read More...PPACA may pack bigger punch than RomneyCare | LifeHealthPro

New Roles for “Employers of Choice” | BenefitsPro

 By ,

Admit it. Some days it would be nice if someone else made your difficult decisions, or if a problem would disappear simply by ignoring it. But unfortunately, decisions and problems are not resolved by wishful thinking. This describes the situation for many Americans regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 52 percent of respondents did not know the ACA was a law. Of this group, 12 percent thought Congress eliminated it, 7 percent believed the U.S. Supreme Court got rid of it, and 23 percent did not know whether or not the law existed.
Other recent surveys report that at least 65 percent of employee respondents want to choose their health insurance company, but three out of four expect their employers to help them understand their choices. Read more...New Roles for “Employers of Choice” | BenefitsPro

Workers Nudged to Health Exchanges Seen Costing U.S. Taxpayers

 by: Alex Wayne September 12, 2013

(Bloomberg) — U.S. retirees being pushed out of company-sponsored health plans may prove a harbinger for existing employees as well.
About $6.7 billion in taxpayer money may be at risk if companies raise premiums by as little as $100 a month. That may spur as many as 2.25 million people to drop company coverage and enroll in plans under the Affordable Care Act, Stanford University researchers say.
International Business Machines Corp. and Time Warner Inc. say that they’ll give retirees a stipend to move to coverage in private health exchanges. Rising health care costs and the availability of new government coverage options may spur companies to similarly shift active workers out of employer-sponsored insurance.
The cost of the ACA “is much more sensitive than people previously appreciated” to employers’ decisions to drop coverage, says Jay Bhattacharya, an economist and Stanford associate professor of medicine. He published a study in the journal Health Affairs this week that shows about 37 million workers would get a better deal in the taxpayer-subsided exchanges next year than through their companies as employers raise or redistribute health costs.

Health Insurance Exchange

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Al-Assad Calls Out Obama: ‘You’re Weak!’



Uh-Oh, he went there.
In an interview with a French publication, Syrian Dictator Bashar Al-Assad called out President Obama, calling him weak in the face of pressure within his country.
“If Obama was strong, he would have said publicly: ‘We have no evidence of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian state.’ He would have said publicly: ‘The only way to proceed is through UN investigations. We therefore refer everything to the Security Council.’ But Obama is weak because he is facing pressure from within the United States,”
As Obama delays, Al-Assad gets in his pot shot…but does he have a point? Is Obama weak? Let us know.
____________
Syrian President Bashar Assad called President Barack Obama “weak” in a new interview with a French publication on Monday, saying he is facing pressure from within the country.

Uh-Oh, he went there. In an interview with a French publication, Syrian Dictator Bashar Al-Assad called out President Obama, calling him weak in the face of pressure within his country.

“If Obama was strong, he would have said publicly: ‘We have no evidence of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian state.’ He would have said publicly: ‘The only way to proceed is through UN investigations. We therefore refer everything to the Security Council.’ But Obama is weak because he is facing pressure from within the United States,”
As Obama delays, Al-Assad gets in his pot shot…but does he have a point? Is Obama weak? Let us know.
____________
Syrian President Bashar Assad called President Barack Obama “weak” in a new interview with a French publication on Monday, saying he is facing pressure from within the country.
- See more at: http://americanmilitarynews.com/2013/09/al-assad-calls-out-obama-youre-weak/#sthash.yMx9k5YT.5nd4JoAh.dpuf
In an interview with a French publication, Syrian Dictator Bashar Al-Assad called out President Obama, calling him weak in the face of pressure within his country.

“If Obama was strong, he would have said publicly: ‘We have no evidence of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian state.’ He would have said publicly: ‘The only way to proceed is through UN investigations. We therefore refer everything to the Security Council.’ But Obama is weak because he is facing pressure from within the United States,”
As Obama delays, Al-Assad gets in his pot shot…but does he have a point? Is Obama weak? Let us know.
- See more at: http://americanmilitarynews.com/2013/09/al-assad-calls-out-obama-youre-weak/#sthash.yMx9k5YT.5nd4JoAh.dpuf
In an interview with a French publication, Syrian Dictator Bashar Al-Assad called out President Obama, calling him weak in the face of pressure within his country.

“If Obama was strong, he would have said publicly: ‘We have no evidence of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian state.’ He would have said publicly: ‘The only way to proceed is through UN investigations. We therefore refer everything to the Security Council.’ But Obama is weak because he is facing pressure from within the United States,”
As Obama delays, Al-Assad gets in his pot shot…but does he have a point? Is Obama weak? Let us know.
- See more at: http://americanmilitarynews.com/2013/09/al-assad-calls-out-obama-youre-weak/#sthash.yMx9k5YT.5nd4JoAh.dpuf
In an interview with a French publication, Syrian Dictator Bashar Al-Assad called out President Obama, calling him weak in the face of pressure within his country.

“If Obama was strong, he would have said publicly: ‘We have no evidence of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian state.’ He would have said publicly: ‘The only way to proceed is through UN investigations. We therefore refer everything to the Security Council.’ But Obama is weak because he is facing pressure from within the United States,”
As Obama delays, Al-Assad gets in his pot shot…but does he have a point? Is Obama weak? Let us know.
- See more at: http://americanmilitarynews.com/2013/09/al-assad-calls-out-obama-youre-weak/#sthash.yMx9k5YT.5nd4JoAh.dpuf
In an interview with a French publication, Syrian Dictator Bashar Al-Assad called out President Obama, calling him weak in the face of pressure within his country.

“If Obama was strong, he would have said publicly: ‘We have no evidence of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian state.’ He would have said publicly: ‘The only way to proceed is through UN investigations. We therefore refer everything to the Security Council.’ But Obama is weak because he is facing pressure from within the United States,”
As Obama delays, Al-Assad gets in his pot shot…but does he have a point? Is Obama weak? Let us know.
- See more at: http://americanmilitarynews.com/2013/09/al-assad-calls-out-obama-youre-weak/#sthash.yMx9k5YT.5nd4JoAh.dpuf
Al-Assad Calls Out Obama: ‘You’re Weak!’

3 things business must do to save American jobs

The Great Recession has masked the fact that employers and employees are headed for a “jobs cliff” at breakneck speed. In these excerpts from his new book, “Future Jobs,” workforce development expert Edward Gordon describes the danger of the coming talent train wreck and how to prevent it.

3 things business must do to save American jobs

Monday, August 26, 2013

Our Surgeon General needs to slap a warning label on Facebook

The data now exist for Acting Surgeon General Rear Admiral Boris D. Lushniak, M.D., MPH to place a warning label on the Facebook homepage, not unlike that which exists on packages of tobacco cigarettes.
Facebook has been linked, in numerous clinical trials both here and around the world, to feelings of intense envy, dissatisfaction with life, insomnia, major depression, disrupted friendships and feelings of isolation -- especially in young people.
Facebook may well be addictive, as well—just like tobacco.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Court rules Hobby Lobby can challenge PPACA | BenefitsPro

DENVER (AP) — In a health care decision giving hope to opponents of the federal birth-control coverage mandate, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Hobby Lobby stores won't have to start paying millions of dollars in fines next week for not complying with the requirement.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver decided the Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts chain can proceed with its case and won't be subject to fines in the meantime.
The reprieve gives Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. more time to argue in a lower court that for-profit businesses — not just currently exempted religious groups — should be allowed to seek an exception if the law violates their religious beliefs. The company had sued to overturn the mandate on grounds that it violates the faith of founder and CEO David Green and his family.
The appeals court remanded the case for more argument, but the judges indicated Hobby Lobby had a reasonable chance of success. Read More...Court rules Hobby Lobby can challenge PPACA | BenefitsPro

DOMA ruling complicates benefits administration - Articles - Employee Benefit News

The Supreme Court’s decision striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act is being hailed as a huge victory for same-sex couples, but the ruling makes benefits administration for employers even more complicated than before.
“It’s not even crystal clear that anybody knows what the right legal answer is with respect to those people living in the 38 states that don’t recognize same-sex marriage,” says Todd Solomon, a partner in the employee benefits practice of McDermott, Will & Emery, and author of Domestic Partner Benefits: An Employer’s Guide. “It’s really easy in the other 12 states [that do recognize same-sex marriage] — that’s what we know — but we’ve got a huge, open $64,000 question with respect to the rest of the people. And that’s a big problem for employers. I think they’re going to be very puzzled and they’re going to want guidance from the IRS.”The court decision notes there are over 1,000 federal laws containing provisions specifically applicable to spouses that will be affected by its ruling. At this point, the ruling makes it harder for multistate employers to administer benefits, believes Leslye Laderman, a principal in the Knowledge Resource Center with Buck Consultants. Read More...DOMA ruling complicates benefits administration - Articles - Employee Benefit News

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Serving Florida & Alabama

Proudly serving the states of Florida & Alabama. Group and individual health insurance, dental, vision and AFLAC. Fighting Obamacare every step of the way. Freedom to the individual. 

White House begins big push for exchanges | LifeHealthPro


Americans struggling to understand the exchanges and other components of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act can now get some help from the government.
The Obama administration on Monday launched its a public-outreach campaign to help consumers understand PPACA benefits with a new, consumer-focused HealthCare.gov website and a 24-hours-a-day consumer call center. Read More...White House begins big push for exchanges | LifeHealthPro