What’s news today folks?
The new health reform rules have been released.
From NBCNews
“Long-awaited federal rules for health insurance plans came out Tuesday, and they make clear that insurance plans that people can buy on the open market next year will look a lot like some of the most popular plans on offer now – with a few big differences.
As the 2010 health reform law requires, insurers will no longer be able to dump patients who are starting to cost too much, they won’t be able to charge women more than men, they have to cover anyone who can pay and they’ll have to pay for maternity care, eye exams for kids and for mental health services.”
“The rules on so-called essential health benefits –specific services that insurers have to offer and conditions they must cover — include 10 areas: Ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment, prescription drugs, rehabilitative services and devices, laboratory services, preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management and pediatric services, including oral and vision care.
“The proposed rule defines essential health benefits based on a state-specific benchmark plan, including the largest small group health plan in the state,” HHS says. These can be the largest plan, for instance, or the largest commercial health maintenance organization in a state.”
Here’s a story most will dislike, and which could cause some problems for foreign relations.
From TheHill
“The United States used U.S.-Israeli spy software to hack into the French presidential office earlier this year, the French cyberwarfare agency has concluded, according to the newsmagazine l’Express.
The magazine reported late Tuesday that the computers of several close advisers to then-president Nicolas Sarkozy – including Chief of Staff Xavier Musca – were compromised in May by a computer virus that bears the hallmarks of Flame, which was allegedly created by a U.S.-Israeli team to target Iran’s nuclear program. Anonymous French officials pointed the finger at the United States.”
“Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano reportedly did not deny the allegations when asked point-blank about them.”
Here’s another on the UN Small Arms Treaty.
Also from TheHill
“Several dozen members of the House have introduced a resolution that calls on President Obama not to sign the United Nations’s Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). It also demands that if Obama does sign it, the government should not spend any time or money on implementation until the Senate approves it.
The resolution, whose main sponsor is Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), argues that the ATT does not recognize the right of American citizens to keep and bear arms, and thus threatens to undermine the Second Amendment of the Constitution. The ATT aims to regulate international trade in conventional arms.
“There is considerable cause for alarm regarding the UN’s renewed efforts to forge an Arms Trade Treaty that could trample the constitutional rights of Americans, and could seriously compromise our national security and the security of our allies, whom we will be less able to arm and less quick to defend due to the restrictions placed on us by the ATT,” Kelly said Friday. “My colleagues and I stand committed to fighting this threat to our sovereignty and to standing up for the U.S. Constitution, which we are all sworn to support and defend.””
Well we know what the House is doing, let’s check on the Senate.
From C/NETNews
“A Senate proposal toutedas protecting Americans’ e-mail privacy has been quietly rewritten, giving government agencies more surveillance power than they possess under current law, CNET has learned.
Patrick Leahy, the influential Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has dramatically reshaped his legislation in response to law enforcement concerns, according to three individuals who have been negotiating with Leahy’s staff over the changes. A vote on his bill, which now authorizes warrantless access to Americans’ e-mail, is scheduled for next week.
Leahy’s rewritten bill would allow more than 22 agencies — including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission — to access Americans’ e-mail, Google Docs files, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter direct messages without a search warrant. It also would give the FBI and Homeland Security more authority, in some circumstances, to gain full access to Internet accounts without notifying either the owner or a judge.
CNET obtained a draft of the proposed amendments from one of the people involved in the negotiations with Leahy; it’s embedded at the end of this post. The document describes the changes as “Amendments intended to be proposed by Mr. Leahy.””
And yet these are the same people who told us they were worried about the Patriot Act stealing liberties. Go figure.
Solyndra Redux?
From CNSNews
“The White House announced the federal government will spend $6 billion over four years for a “sustainable energy future” plan with Asian countries that involves loaning tax dollars to other countries to increase their purchasing power for U.S. technology, services and equipment.
“Recognizing that energy and the environment are among the most pressing issues confronting our region, President Obama, in partnership with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and President of the Republic of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, today proposed the U.S.-Asia Pacific Comprehensive Partnership for a Sustainable Energy Future,” the White House announced Tuesday as Obama visits Asian Pacific countries.
The initiative comes after the Obama administration has been criticized for spending billions to subsidize U.S.-based green energy companies that went on to declare bankruptcy, including Solyndra, Ener1, A123, Beacon Power and other failed renewable energy ventures.”
Sure it’s a failure, so act like Democrats and just throw more money at it. It’s worked so well for Education and such, right?
The Hostess mediation has failed.
From ZeroHedge
“Last week, when discussing the next steps for the company, and specifically the hope that mediation may resolve the epic animosity between management and workers, we stated that “What makes a mediation improbable is that the antagonism between the feuding sides has certainly hit a level of no return: “Several unions also objected to the company’s plans, saying they made “a mockery” of laws protecting collective bargaining agreements in bankruptcy. The Teamsters, which represents 7,900 Hostess workers, said the
company’s plan would improperly cut the ability of remaining workers to use sick days and vacation.” Sure enough, moments ago we learned that mediation has now failed and the liquidation may proceed. And since in America nobody understands that proper sequence of events involved in a bankruptcy liquidation, where the valuable parts always end up being acquired by someone, in this case the Twinkie brand and recipe, let the pointless Ebay bidding wars over Twinkies continue.”
More from the WallSt.Journal
“Hostess Brands Inc. will continue down the path to a full liquidation after a last-ditch mediation session with its striking bakers’ union failed to save the Twinkie maker.
The company, which has already shuttered its plants and sent its workers home, will push ahead with its bid to embark on a shutdown that will leave about 18,500 people unemployed and its iconic brands either in the hands of new owners or gone forever, a company spokesman said Tuesday evening.”
😦
Wandering Views 