The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working toward euthanizing health savings accounts (HSAs). Democrats have barely attempted to hide their preference for a single-payer health insurance system, so it only stands to reason they’d work to pull the plug on the most attractive market option standing in the way.
Democrats have always hated HSAs because they put patients in charge of their own health spending (to a point — in some ways, HSA users are still swimming upstream against the health system’s lack of price transparency.) But the market-driven approach has become increasingly popular in the last decade.
“In the past seven years, [HSA] enrollment has climbed 18% a year on average,” notes Investor’s Business Daily. “Today, there are almost 20 million enrollees who have more than $24 billion in their HSA accounts. Even the number crunchers in the Health and Human Services Department admit that these ‘consumer-directed’ health plans are helping to hold down costs.”
Imagine where we’d be without them.
Back in March, just in time for ObamaCare’s six-year anniversary, HHS issued new rules that will effectively end HSAs. Roy J. Ramthun, an expert on the subject often known as “Mr. HSA” — president and founder of HSA Consulting after having led the U.S. Treasury Department’s implementation of HSAs upon enactment in 2003 — explains the impact of the rule changes:
1) Plans must apply specific deductibles and out-of-pocket limits that are outside the requirements for HSA-qualified plans.
2) Plans must cover services below the deductible that are not considered “preventive care.”
In other words, HSAs will still be legal, but ever fewer plans will meet the requirements. Ramthun writes, “[I]t is only a matter of time before the HSA-qualified plans completely disappear. That could happen as early as 2017 even though the standard benefit designs are optional. By 2018, when the designs likely become mandatory, HSAs will cease to exist in the marketplace.”
So we weren’t the least bit surprised to find out this week that we face a major rate increase this summer for renewing our small business health insurance plan.
Here’s a peek into the window of the internal operations of our humble shop:
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Saturday, April 09, 2016
Under New U.S. Syrian Refugee Surge, Processing Time Reportedly Slashed to 3 Months
(CNSNews.com) – As the Obama administration institutes a “surge” aimed at meeting its goal – currently way off-target – of admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees this fiscal year, the Associated Press has cited an official at the U.S. Embassy in Amman as saying that the time taken to process each admission is being cut to three months.
“While the resettlement process usually takes 18 to 24 months, under the surge operation this will be reduced to three months, [regional refugee coordinator Gina] Kassem said,” the AP reported Wednesday.
With the fiscal year now more than half over, the number of Syrian refugees admitted as of Wednesday stands at 1,353, according to State Department Refugee Processing Center data.
In order to meet the 10,000 target by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, the AP report said that around 600 Syrian refugees were being interviewed daily at a “resettlement surge center” which was opened in Amman last February.
“The U.N. Refugee Agency prioritizes the most vulnerable cases for resettlement, and then refers them to the U.S. to review, Kassem said. She said that priority is given to high-risk groups such as victims of torture and gender based violence and unaccompanied minors,” the AP reported.
Queries sent to the U.S. Embassy in Amman requesting clarity on the reported three-month processing time did not receive a response by press time.
More here
“While the resettlement process usually takes 18 to 24 months, under the surge operation this will be reduced to three months, [regional refugee coordinator Gina] Kassem said,” the AP reported Wednesday.
With the fiscal year now more than half over, the number of Syrian refugees admitted as of Wednesday stands at 1,353, according to State Department Refugee Processing Center data.
In order to meet the 10,000 target by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, the AP report said that around 600 Syrian refugees were being interviewed daily at a “resettlement surge center” which was opened in Amman last February.
“The U.N. Refugee Agency prioritizes the most vulnerable cases for resettlement, and then refers them to the U.S. to review, Kassem said. She said that priority is given to high-risk groups such as victims of torture and gender based violence and unaccompanied minors,” the AP reported.
Queries sent to the U.S. Embassy in Amman requesting clarity on the reported three-month processing time did not receive a response by press time.
More here
HUD’s Proposed RV Rule Causes an Uproar as RV Sales Hit 39-Year High
The proposal garnered praise from the RV industry, which has been pushing for clarification of the regulations for the past decade.
But it has angered thousands of RV and tiny house on wheels (THOWs) enthusiasts.
Both RVs and THOWs are currently exempt from HUD’s Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards for mobile homes designed as primary residences that were developed by the National Fire Protection Association and the American National Standards Institute.
However, according to HUD, some park model recreational vehicles (PMRVs) – defined as being between 320 and 400 square feet – “are being produced with patio roofs, screened in porches, and other extensions that exceed the 400 square foot maximum exemption in the current regulations…[and] marketed as suitable for year round living.”
The proposed rule would “modify the current exemption for recreational vehicles” and re-define an RV as “a factory-built vehicular structure, not certified as a manufactured home, designed only for recreational use and not as a primary residence or for permanent occupancy.”
More here
How Feasible is Trump's Proposed Wall?
The U.S. - Mexican border is like a 2,000-mile roller coaster that weaves through deserts, mountains and rivers. It crosses four states, 45 cities and dips deep into washes only to rise 10,000 feet in the Coronado National Forest. The soil is soft like a sponge near the Rio Grande and rock hard near the granite quarries of San Diego County.
GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump wants to build a 'big, beautiful wall' across the entire border. Is that advisable or even feasible? Fox News asked one group whose opinion actually matters: the men and women who patrol it each day on foot, horseback, ATV, helicopter and SUV -- the U.S. Border Patrol.
"One person makes the stand, 'We need a wall, We need a wall'. Well, you never bothered asking the agents - what all do we need?" asked Art Del Cueto, a long time Tucson Border Patrol agent. "It is not just the wall. There are many things we need to perform our jobs effectively."
After a conference call with agents from several sectors representing every state on the Southwest border, they seemed to zero in on certain conclusions:
-- Whether you call it a wall, or a fence, agents say they work.
-- A cinder block or rock wall, in the traditional sense, isn't necessarily the most effective or desirable choice. Seeing through a fence allows agents to anticipate and mobilize, prior to illegal immigrants actually climbing or cutting through the fence.
Read more here
GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump wants to build a 'big, beautiful wall' across the entire border. Is that advisable or even feasible? Fox News asked one group whose opinion actually matters: the men and women who patrol it each day on foot, horseback, ATV, helicopter and SUV -- the U.S. Border Patrol.
"One person makes the stand, 'We need a wall, We need a wall'. Well, you never bothered asking the agents - what all do we need?" asked Art Del Cueto, a long time Tucson Border Patrol agent. "It is not just the wall. There are many things we need to perform our jobs effectively."
After a conference call with agents from several sectors representing every state on the Southwest border, they seemed to zero in on certain conclusions:
-- Whether you call it a wall, or a fence, agents say they work.
-- A cinder block or rock wall, in the traditional sense, isn't necessarily the most effective or desirable choice. Seeing through a fence allows agents to anticipate and mobilize, prior to illegal immigrants actually climbing or cutting through the fence.
Read more here
More Facebook IDIOTS!
Maryland House overrides Hogan vetoes, again
In a show of political force, the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates overrode two more of Gov. Larry Hogan's policy vetoes Thursday, putting Hogan's record with the chamber at 0-8.
Lawmakers voted 88-52 to reverse the governor's move to strike down legislation that would force him to publicly rate and rank transportation projects before deciding which ones should be included in an estimated $15.7 billion, five-year construction plan.
Hogan and fellow Republicans considered the measure an infringement on the governor's authority and predicted the interference would wreak havoc on the state's transportation planning.
More
Lawmakers voted 88-52 to reverse the governor's move to strike down legislation that would force him to publicly rate and rank transportation projects before deciding which ones should be included in an estimated $15.7 billion, five-year construction plan.
Hogan and fellow Republicans considered the measure an infringement on the governor's authority and predicted the interference would wreak havoc on the state's transportation planning.
More
Conowingo Dam Report Shows Time is Now for Collaboration, Innovation on Chesapeake Bay Cleanup
The assessment also found that the sediment and nutrients swept over the dams during large storm events are among the pollution sources that should be addressed to protect water quality and aquatic life in the Chesapeake Bay. Another major finding is that nutrients that enter the river upstream of the dams – from Pennsylvania and New York – and attach to sediment particles before flowing downstream into the bay have a larger impact on water quality than sediment itself.
“Maryland stands ready to work in collaboration with our upstream neighbors and federal partners to fix the shared sediments and associated nutrients problem,” Maryland Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles said. “We must all embrace innovative and cost-effective solutions to ensure the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay and reduce the Conowingo’s impact on meeting our water quality standards in all bay segments.”
More
This 9/11 Hero Just Endorsed Trump
Donald Trump finally got a formal endorsement from America's Mayor: Rudolph Giuliani. The man who turned New York City around and then ran for the presidency in 2008 believes Trump gives the GOP the best chance to win. As the Daily Beast notes:
Former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani confirmed Thursday that he will vote for Donald Trump in the upcoming New York Republican primary. “I support Trump. I’m gonna vote for Trump,” he told the New York Post. “Trump is a negotiator,” the famed mayor explained. “He negotiates from a high bar to get people’s attention. Threatening to withdraw from NATO will get a better deal with NATO.” Giuliani added that Ted Cruz's attacks on "New York values" irked him because, “It’s New York City. We’re family. I can make fun of New York. But you can’t!”
Source: AAN
Former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani confirmed Thursday that he will vote for Donald Trump in the upcoming New York Republican primary. “I support Trump. I’m gonna vote for Trump,” he told the New York Post. “Trump is a negotiator,” the famed mayor explained. “He negotiates from a high bar to get people’s attention. Threatening to withdraw from NATO will get a better deal with NATO.” Giuliani added that Ted Cruz's attacks on "New York values" irked him because, “It’s New York City. We’re family. I can make fun of New York. But you can’t!”
Source: AAN
Border Patrol's Shocking New Claim on Illegal Immigrants
Art Del Cueto, a Border Patrol agent and Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council, which has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, and National Border Patrol Council Spokesman and Border Patrol agent Shawn Moran stated that illegal immigrants who are not given notices to appear “walk out the front door” and “We don’t know who we’re releasing” in a report broadcast on Thursday’s “O’Reilly Factor” on the Fox News Channel.
During the report, Fox News Channel Senior Correspondent Eric Shawn stated that “agents are under orders from the agency headquarters in Washington to release illegals by not giving them what’s called NTAs, notice to appear summonses, that should send them straight to a deportation judge.”
In response to a question on what happens to those who don’t receive NTAs, Del Cueto said, “They get released back into the United States. They walk out the front door.”
Source: Breitbart News
Source: Breitbart News
Something To Ponder
November 2016 Depends on One Man.
It Is Not Trump. It is James Comey. Ring a bell? He is the head of the FBI. We read on the FBI's site: On September 4, 2013, James B. Comey was sworn in as the seventh Director of the FBI. A Yonkers, New York native, James Comey graduated from the College of William & Mary and the University of Chicago Law School. Following law school, Comey served as an assistant United States attorney for both the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of Virginia. Comey returned to New York to become the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In 2003, he became the deputy attorney general at the Department of Justice (DOJ). Comey left DOJ in 2005 to serve as general counsel and senior vice president at defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Five years later, he joined Bridgewater Associates, a Connecticut-based investment fund, as its general counsel. He knows how the Department of Justice works.
If he decides that Hillary Clinton committed acts that endangered the security of the United States, he can submit this evidence to the Attorney General. This places a very hot potato in Loretta Lynch's lap. She will drop it into President Obama's lap within 24 hours. If Obama does nothing, Comey waits 30 days. Then he calls a press conference. Goodbye, Hillary. Hello . . .
This depends on when he does this. If he does it before the Democrats' convention, Sanders will win the nomination. If he does it after the convention, the Republican will win the election. That probably means Trump. Comey knows how the political game is played. He knows that, as of today, he holds all the cards. He is not holding aces over eights. He is holding four aces. All he needs to do is say nothing for 30 days after he hands the file to Lynch -- no threats. Just silence. If she swears him to secrecy, he can assure her that he will stay silent. Then he breaks his word. After all, it's government. I assume that he will play ball with Lynch. He sounds like an establishment man to me.
Wikipedia reports: "Comey is a registered Republican who donated to U.S. Senator John McCain's campaign in the 2008 presidential election and to Governor Mitt Romney's campaign in 2012 presidential election." He does not sound like a Trump supporter. But what if he thinks she is guilty? What if he faces a cover-up of silence? He is a lawyer. If he thinks Obama is stiffing the FBI for political reasons, he may decide to do what bureaucrats do: defend his agency's turf.
What if he waits until December, after she is elected, but before she takes the oath of office? That would create the greatest foul-up in American political history. She would have zero legitimacy from that time forward. She would reject all calls for her to testify. She would claim executive privilege. Does the word "Watergate" ring a bell? He has leverage on a scale that no bureaucrat ever has. Hoover had leverage, but not on this scale. The issue is public: the security of her emails. Comey risks nothing if he goes public after about a 30-day delay. After the press conference, if Obama fires him, Hillary is toast. So is Obama's legacy. If Obama tells Lynch to stall until January 20, Clinton II's presidency is toast. Obama probably escapes intact. If Comey deep-sixes the findings, the political dance goes on. Will he deep-six it? I don't know. It depends on his sense of justice.
It Is Not Trump. It is James Comey. Ring a bell? He is the head of the FBI. We read on the FBI's site: On September 4, 2013, James B. Comey was sworn in as the seventh Director of the FBI. A Yonkers, New York native, James Comey graduated from the College of William & Mary and the University of Chicago Law School. Following law school, Comey served as an assistant United States attorney for both the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of Virginia. Comey returned to New York to become the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In 2003, he became the deputy attorney general at the Department of Justice (DOJ). Comey left DOJ in 2005 to serve as general counsel and senior vice president at defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Five years later, he joined Bridgewater Associates, a Connecticut-based investment fund, as its general counsel. He knows how the Department of Justice works.
If he decides that Hillary Clinton committed acts that endangered the security of the United States, he can submit this evidence to the Attorney General. This places a very hot potato in Loretta Lynch's lap. She will drop it into President Obama's lap within 24 hours. If Obama does nothing, Comey waits 30 days. Then he calls a press conference. Goodbye, Hillary. Hello . . .
This depends on when he does this. If he does it before the Democrats' convention, Sanders will win the nomination. If he does it after the convention, the Republican will win the election. That probably means Trump. Comey knows how the political game is played. He knows that, as of today, he holds all the cards. He is not holding aces over eights. He is holding four aces. All he needs to do is say nothing for 30 days after he hands the file to Lynch -- no threats. Just silence. If she swears him to secrecy, he can assure her that he will stay silent. Then he breaks his word. After all, it's government. I assume that he will play ball with Lynch. He sounds like an establishment man to me.
Wikipedia reports: "Comey is a registered Republican who donated to U.S. Senator John McCain's campaign in the 2008 presidential election and to Governor Mitt Romney's campaign in 2012 presidential election." He does not sound like a Trump supporter. But what if he thinks she is guilty? What if he faces a cover-up of silence? He is a lawyer. If he thinks Obama is stiffing the FBI for political reasons, he may decide to do what bureaucrats do: defend his agency's turf.
What if he waits until December, after she is elected, but before she takes the oath of office? That would create the greatest foul-up in American political history. She would have zero legitimacy from that time forward. She would reject all calls for her to testify. She would claim executive privilege. Does the word "Watergate" ring a bell? He has leverage on a scale that no bureaucrat ever has. Hoover had leverage, but not on this scale. The issue is public: the security of her emails. Comey risks nothing if he goes public after about a 30-day delay. After the press conference, if Obama fires him, Hillary is toast. So is Obama's legacy. If Obama tells Lynch to stall until January 20, Clinton II's presidency is toast. Obama probably escapes intact. If Comey deep-sixes the findings, the political dance goes on. Will he deep-six it? I don't know. It depends on his sense of justice.
Wicomico County Convention and Visitors Bureau Wins “Locally Created Event of the Year” Award
Grand Rapids, MI — The Wicomico County Convention and Visitors Bureau/TEAM Maryland is the recipient of the 2015 “Locally Created Event of the Year” Award for cities under a population of 250,000 at this year’s National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) Sports Event Symposium being held this week in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The Locally Created Event of the Year award goes to an active member of NASC with the most outstanding locally created event or program. This event can be newly created or a long-standing event, but must be an event/program created by the submitting organization to serve a local community or an organizational need. Wicomico County Convention and Visitors Bureau is being honored for the Governor’s Challenge Basketball Tournament.
In giving the award, the NASC judging panel said, “The Governor’s Challenge Basketball Tournament shows that a community working together can create and grow a grassroots event that can have a significant economic impact and to help an underserved market to gain recognition on a regional and national level. Using a variety of media, including social media, the Tournament was successful in creating excitement leading up to and throughout the event.”
The judges continued, “The Governor’s Challenge created a number of notable ancillary events, including a Selection Show broadcast on a local ABC affiliate which was the official release of the tournament field and schedule, a Media Day and a Tip-Off event.”
The 24th annual NASC Sports Event Symposium is being held April 3-7 at the DeVos Place Convention Center in Grand Rapids. The NASC Sports Event Symposium is the annual meeting for the only non-profit 501(c)3 trade association for the sport tourism industry. For nearly 25 years, the Symposium has been designed for serious-minded sport tourism professionals by sport tourism professionals.
The Locally Created Event of the Year award goes to an active member of NASC with the most outstanding locally created event or program. This event can be newly created or a long-standing event, but must be an event/program created by the submitting organization to serve a local community or an organizational need. Wicomico County Convention and Visitors Bureau is being honored for the Governor’s Challenge Basketball Tournament.
In giving the award, the NASC judging panel said, “The Governor’s Challenge Basketball Tournament shows that a community working together can create and grow a grassroots event that can have a significant economic impact and to help an underserved market to gain recognition on a regional and national level. Using a variety of media, including social media, the Tournament was successful in creating excitement leading up to and throughout the event.”
The judges continued, “The Governor’s Challenge created a number of notable ancillary events, including a Selection Show broadcast on a local ABC affiliate which was the official release of the tournament field and schedule, a Media Day and a Tip-Off event.”
The 24th annual NASC Sports Event Symposium is being held April 3-7 at the DeVos Place Convention Center in Grand Rapids. The NASC Sports Event Symposium is the annual meeting for the only non-profit 501(c)3 trade association for the sport tourism industry. For nearly 25 years, the Symposium has been designed for serious-minded sport tourism professionals by sport tourism professionals.
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