The three words on everyone's mind this week: health care reform. Most of us don't have the time or patience to decipher the long-winded, legal-lingo document itself , but we are still wondering what this bill actually means and how it will affect us. Being the business-minded foodie that I am, I've gleaned what I consider to be the top 10 most interesting provisions of the bill and speculated on how these will change both our eating habits and daily lives.
1. Undoubtedly one of the most talked about sections of the bill: the mandatory calorie counts. That's right--restaurants with 20 or more locations as well as vending machines and drive-thrus will be obligated to post the calorie information of each item on the menu (daily specials and condiments not included).
This will certainly make most of us think twice before ordering the large French fries (500 calories!) to go along with our burger. The idea behind these postings? Legislators believe this will help people ration out their recommended 2,000 calories per day. Most people have no idea how many calories those venti Starbucks Moccachinos really pack--this law is the perfect way to open people's eyes.
2. Anyone who has ever worked in a privately owned restaurant can tell you that health insurance is practically unheard of for employees (not to mention the high number of illegal immigrants that man the back of the house). Now, however, restaurants must extend healthcare to all their employees--both full and part-time, regardless of legal status. Although tax credits will be issued, many fear that we may see menu prices rise as a result of the financial stress this law may put on restaurants. But in the end, the restaurant industry should see a more robust and productive restaurant workforce if provided with adequate healthcare.
3. One of the downsides of this reform? There is little incentive for consumers to take better care of themselves, and most of the blame is put on fast-food and insurance companies. In certain countries like the U.K, health insurance companies provide discounted gym memberships to their customers, who in turn have lower rates of obesity and heart disease. But I think we can all agree that more than any politician, Jamie Oliver has done the most to boost awareness and educate our country about the dangers of relying on fast food. And his timing couldn't be better-- the premiere of his new TV show, Food Revolution, is airing the same week the health care bill passed.
4. Keeping with Jamie's philosophy of eating fresh and organically grown foods, the increased availability of food stamps will most likely begin to play an important role with the new reform. Accepted at most local farmer's markets, food stamps will hopefully help low-income families break away from fast food and put fresh, nutritious foods on their tables. To see if you qualify, click here.
5. We've all known (and perhaps ignored) the fact that tanning beds can cause skin cancer for some time now. But now that the new health bill has tacked on a 10% tax to all indoor tanning facilities, it is my hope that our society will finally see that bronzed skin isn't worth the health consequences (or the money for that matter). Who knows, maybe this means that our country is starting to change its standards of beauty?
6. I know I can't be the only one who's wondered how medical marijuana will fit into this new health care bill--it's bound to cause at least a few problems. But believe it or not, it looks like now those problems are actually for those who use it! The new laws protect medical marijuana users from criminalization, but not from trouble at the workplace. This means that although it may be okay with your local police department, your boss still has good reason to let you go if you fail a mandated drug test at work. Maybe requests for Mary Jane won't be skyrocketing after all.
7. If you're wary of what insurance companies are really using all that money for, worry no more. With this new bill, insurers will be required to post balance sheets as well as fully disclose all administrative costs, executive compensation packages and benefits online for everyone to see. This should put an end to any shady bookkeepping or cutting corners that have been going on and depriving customers of health services.
8. As the owner of a small business, I was initially worried about how this bill would affect me and my staff. But it turns out that small businesses who provide complete health insurance for their employees will receive a hefty break come tax season to help out with the cost. This means that up and coming businesses shouldn't suffer financial burdens due to health care.
9. This reform won't only affect business owners and insurance companies, though--students may be feeling the effects too! In an effort to provide more doctors in rural areas and get more primary care physicians (rather than high paid specialists), this bill will be leveling out doctors' salaries so that they all earm approximately the same salaries. Maybe without the promise of a high paycheck, we may see applications to medical school drop.
10. In an attempt to provide complete health coverage, this new bill will also be including family and marriage counseling services in its coverage. For families or couples who otherwise couldn't afford services like this, perhaps this bill will make therapy more accessible and subsequently help lower the sky-high divorce rate in the country.
Regardless of where you stand, it's clear that this bill will have some kind of impact upon all of us in some way or another. In addition to improved health care coverage and (hopefully) healtheir restaurant menus, you can find more tips, tricks and techniques to healthy eating and nutrition at Behind the Burner.
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Lionel Shriver: Healthcare Reform: Fiction Goes Where Congress Fears to Tread
Is that your OPINION, Ms. Gugnani?
Poster mafeddor (below) gave this insight, “Leveling pay is done through reimbursement. Medicare uses a scale that pays doctors of different specialties different amounts for the same diagnosis. Each diagnosis is given a certain pay amount, and then each type of doctor is paid a certain amount of that base rate depending on their speciality. take asthma for example. say the base pay is $500 to treat someone with asthma. an ER may get the full amount, where as a primary care doc may get $250. The primary care doc would be listed as .5, the ER would be considered 1 for that diagnosis. An OB gyn may not get reimbursed at all for the diagnosis asthma and they would be a 0 for that diagnosis. what obama is going to do is raise the primary care doc to say a .75 so the primary care doc for that diagnosis would get paid $375. these are totally arbitrary numbers. doctors can add a diagnosis to asthma such as chest pain and increase the reimbursement. in a nutshell some guy in washington is going to change a few numbers on a spreadsheet and over night primary care doctors will get reimbursed higher rates to bring them closer to specialists.
THAT sounds much more LOGICAL than Ms. Gugnani’s opinion that med school applications will drop because of LOW pay.
I cut back on eating out 2 yrs ago and have no plans to increase OR to pay higher prices. I learned to cook what we were paying other people to cook for us!
Here is a short list of proposed countermeasures to help level the playing field for consumers who are now more than ever at the mercy of the insurance industry that necessitated reform in the first place:
1. Pass HR 4789, Medicare buy-in at cost (www.wewantmedicare.com). Now that we have lost our most basic consumer freedom to opt out, it is not unreasonable to ask for a more competitive, and more cost-effective, menu of insurance options.
2. Prohibit federally mandated insurance purchase. Let the private sector do their own marketing -- that is not the proper role of government. Selling insurance under color of authority is equally unethical as a patrolman pulling you over and trying to sell you tickets to a charity benefit. Even if it benefits a worthy cause, it's an abuse of power.
3. End anti-trust exemptions for the health insurance industry.
4. Allow drug re-importation.
5. Stipulate that any insurance subsidies may be spent only on public option not-for-profit insurance plans – so as to maximize the cost-effectiveness of those subsidies.
Unless you want to call people back into slavery.
This is why this health-care 'reform' was so wrong in the first place because it mandated people to buy a worthless product from a cartel of HMO monopolies that are bankrupt.
That's why they are bankrupt because they ran out of customers, that's why there are anti-trust laws so that bankrupt monopolists don't illegaly use government to mandate it's citizens to keep buying their worthless products!
And as this New World of Neo-Fuedalism and Serfdom unfolds where private HMOs collects a 'tax', many will not 'get over it' but denounce this evil every chance they get.
Merril Lynch says: "...sorry, its the law"
Imagine that, a bankrupt gambling casino lobbyed Congress to pass a bill that mandates a 'tax' to pay for this bail out strategy of Merril Lynch.
This is how Wall Street is looting us with these mandates on healh-care insurance, on worthless 401(k) scams, etc.
When all we had to do was put Merril Lynch into RECEIVERSHIP and the bankrupt HMOs into RECEIVERSHIP!
But no no no ....you think bail outs are cute-n-funny.
Your argument has no sense and makes no sense and is based on mythology and wishful ranting.
And it can only go on for so long after which it gets ugly because a survival instinct happens to human beings when they are pushed too far.
your argument makes no sense.
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Valid point. Duty for caring for a sick person lies with all first degree relatives; and that would include the siblings of the elderly parent. Home-care is a very viable option with the help of visiting nurses or hospice.
If there is a sense of duty and love in ones heart there is always room in ones home. And whatever solution one comes-up with will likely work. "Where there is a will, there is a way."
If there is no love, then there are always excuses; and good reasons to pass on the responsibility to someone else. All this, as we pat ourselves on the back; while making sure that the 'someone else' does a perfect job.
Another important aspect to caring for the indigent relative is for the indigent person to accept help and appreciate it. In today's society, the indigent often feel they have a right to expect from the govt.; because we are Americans living in a rich country. So often the indigent, like many, may be their own adversary.
With the possibility of govt providing, often care-giver and recipient do not feel the need to depend on each-other; expecting an entitlement from the govt.. And the tax-payers pay for it all.
home care is not a viable option at all times. certainly it works just fine in others.
it is nice to say that people should help people out, but i did not see people band together and try to unite against the government and help out their fellow man. all i saw was people band together and complain about taxes and the burden the rest of mankind places on them by not taking responsibility for their own situation. you can't say on one hand that people ought to take care of each other and then on the other hand blame them for their inability to do so and expect to be taken seriously.
"There is little incentive for consumers to take better care of themselves" We can't help people who don't care about their health. Health is it's own reward.
second, where's the link about leveling doctors pay? how is this done?
Typically private insurers will pay a percentage of medicare reimbursement rates. one may pay a doctor 110% of medicare, while another may pay 105% of medicare rates. this change will not only increase reimbursement from medicare but it will increase reimbursement from private insurers as well.
2. Many restaurants already offer health insurance to employees. Could be hard on strapped consumers and businesses if the economy stays weak and eating out becomes more expensive.
3. Health insurance never provides incentives for taking care of yourself. This Bill's idea of "preventive care" is to follow the guidelines of the US Preventive Services Task Force who recommends coverage for "preventive" screenings only if rated A or B.
4. Increased availability of food stamps. No guarantee low income families will go to farmers' markets. Not a good sign for the economy that more food stamps are needed.
5. Even taxed at 10%, tanning junkies will go tan themselves. And as only a fraction of the population, the tax won't generate a lot of income.
6. Medical marijuana: Not a crime for those who need it, but your boss can fire you if you fail a drug test for using it. Makes no sense.
7. Most insurance companies are publically traded entities and have to open their books anyway.
8. Tax break for small businesses, but buying insurance won't be a big bargain -- maybe $1,000 less.
9. Leveling out salaries for one group of professionals is not good. And is it wonderful for applications to medical schools to drop?
10. Yeah, I think by the time this Bill kicks in, people will need a lot of family and marriage counseling.
Between not being covered and having a high deductible and co-pays if covered, the middle class are very vulnerable. Yet like in many situations, we are our own worst enemies. What we all need to do is SAVE the cost of healthcare NOT SHARE its cost. Here are some suggestions:
1. Preventive Care - Stop smoking. Exercise and Prevent obesity and other illness with proper diet and life style. Regular check-ups
2. Care for elderly parents, uncles and aunts saving hospital and nursing home costs. End-of-life care, (last few months), account for 30% to 40% of all healthcare costs.
3. Help relatives cope with their chronic illness which accounts for 75% of medical costs and is responsible for 70% of deaths.
4. Prevent relatives, neighbors and friends making hospitals' ER the first line of care - a very expensive way to access healthcare.
5. Doctors and Hospitals have to end the 40% of over-treatment, under-treatment and in-appropriate treatment .... without further excuses of why it occurs.
We have to stop blaming the govt. and take-over at the grass-roots by doing the right thing, even if it is inconvenient.
how do you prevent your neighbors, relatives etc from going to the ER? do you seriosuly think that is a viable option of any kind that will lower health care costs?
#5 is fine. that is addressed in the bill. there is a committe set to develop by the year 2014 (If i rember the year correctly) that is supposed to weed through the current research and make recomendations based on best practices. this is the concept of evidence based care. the only problem here is many people already see this as too much government involvement. i didn't read through it to thouroghly but i got the impression the committe is to work with each fields medical board and is independent.
http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/reuters_is_excellent_in_diggin.php