It’s a very busy day. Store to Door delivered groceries, which I unpacked and put away. I got a haircut. I was so shaggy that I’m temped to act like a Sheeple and say BA-A-A-A-A-A! Wendy is coming this evening to de-stink the TomCat and help with chores. Carrie’s husband Barry is improving. His kidneys are working again.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:43 (average 5:09). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From YouTube (Parody Project Channel): STORMY (DANIELS) – A parody of "Stormy"
I wonder if Stormy rained on Putin’s Piddle Puppet. RESIST!!
From Washington Post: Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.) sought to defend himself against an accusation of sexual harassment Tuesday, saying he “developed an affection” for a decades-younger staffer he considered his “soul mate” but never sought a romantic or sexual relationship with her.
I don’t buy it. The only souls Republican Congress critters have are the souls they are: ass-souls! RESIST!!
From Think Progress: There’s never been a ballot measure asking voters to weigh funding for the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Medicaid expansion until Oregon’s. On Tuesday, voters statewide were asked to decide whether to keep taxing insurance companies and hospitals to pay for health insurance or tell the state legislature to return to the drawing board and think of something else. They chose the former.
Expanding Medicaid coverage to all people living in poverty has been a decades-long priority for Oregon. But covering everyone — not just pregnant women, kids, seniors, and adults with disabilities — who lives 100 percent below the federal poverty level led to some budget setbacks over the years. So when the federal government agreed to pay for 100 percent of the costs associated, at least for a few years, Oregon opted to further expand Medicaid coverage to people living up to 138 percent of poverty.
Now 94 percent of Oregonians have health insurance — one of the nation’s highest insured rates.
Last year, states needed to start pitching in financially; per the health law, the federal government’s financial share fell to 95 percent in 2017 and will fall to 90 percent by 2020. How Oregon intends to pay for its share is on Tuesday’s ballot.
By voting yes to Measure 101, voters upheld temporary taxes passed by the state legislature and okay-ed by the governor last year. (Three Republican state legislators who opposed the taxes petitioned to get the bill on the ballot.) The 1.5 percent tax on some insurers and managed care organizations and 0.7 percent tax on large hospitals would raise anywhere between $210 to $320 million over the next two years. (Due to a federal labor law, states can’t tax self-insured plans.) The measure also raises revenue for the state’s reinsurance program, which helps lower premiums for plans offered on the Obamacare marketplace.
This actually costs me money, because the Insurance Network, Providence, that offers my Medicare Advantage plan is one paying the tax, and my income is barely above the level required for the benefit. Nevertheless, I was proud to vote for it. Oregon leads the way! RESIST!!
Cartoon:
TGIF!
