Adam Morgan

Key Points to GOP Healthcare Plan

March 11, 2017 By Adam Morgan Leave a Comment

The news is full of all kinds of reports on what’s in and not in the proposed GOP healthcare plan which Republicans hope will replace Obamacare. Realize that most of the reports the public are hearing or reading are coming from ultra-liberal mainstream media outlets who are bent on destroying everything done by conservatives, Republicans and the Trump administration.

The relationship between liberals (mainstream media and Democrats) and conservatives (Republicans and Christians) has been described in terms generally used in divorce cases – IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES.

The American Culture & Faith Institute conducted a survey which clearly displays the deep divide between the two warring political factions in our nation. One interesting facet of the survey is that the single most important issue causing the irreconcilable differences between the two political worldviews has to do with one’s worldview of God.

In the survey, WORLDVIEW SURVEY REVEALS “IRRECONCILABLE” DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSERVATIVES AND LIBERALS, they asked 20 key questions. Their report states:

Drawing from a nationwide survey of adults that measured how many people have a biblical worldview, the research discovered that people who are politically conservative are more than twice as likely as those who are politically liberal to have biblical positions on the twenty belief indicators tested by ACFI. In addition, the survey found that political conservatives are about 60% more likely to hold biblical positions on those indicators than are those who qualify as politically moderate.

There were 15 belief statements among the 20 included in the survey for which conservatives were substantially more likely than liberals to hold a biblical point of view – that is, a difference between the two groups of at least 25 percentage points. Those included the following differences:

Saying that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect creator of the universe who still rules it today (a 43 percentage point difference between the two segments)
Strongly agreeing that the main purpose of life is to know, love, and serve God (40-point gap)
Asserting that everyone is a sinner in need of a savior, repentance and forgiveness (39-point difference)
Believing that the Bible is the word of God, with no errors (38-point gap)
Strongly disagreeing that Satan does not exist but is just a symbol of evil (36-point gap)
Saying that God created human beings in what is pretty much their present form, just as the Bible says (34-point difference)
Strongly agreeing that the Bible is totally accurate in the life principles it conveys (33-point gap)
Believing that God is aware of everything happening and remains actively involved in peoples’ lives (33-point difference)
Believing that the Bible is the most reliable source of absolute moral truth (32-point gap)
Believing that the most important indicator of personal success in life is one’s commitment and obedience to God (31-point difference)
Believing that success is best indicated by commitment and obedience to God (31-point difference)
Firmly asserting that their religious faith is very important to them (31-point gap)
Contending that there are moral absolutes that are unchanging (30-point difference)
Saying it is very important to be engaged in developing a deeper relationship with God (27-point difference)
Saying it is very important to increase their personal understanding of God’s ways, as described in the Bible (27-point gap)

As the report stated:

“The ACFI survey revealed that the link between ideology and beliefs helps explain the recent election results. ‘Election surveys have pointed out how significant people’s candidate preference in the presidential race was to their hopes for the future,’ said Barna. ‘In that light, the Worldview Measurement Project surveys demonstrate the power of worldview, even in elections. Among all adults, those with a biblical worldview were more likely to vote than were those who did not. That is because a biblical worldview informs people that participating in the direction and leadership of society is a personal duty. Further, among voters who have a biblical worldview, 68% voted for Donald Trump and 27% voted for Hillary Clinton. Their primary motivation had to do with restoring traditional moral values. Among voters who do not have a biblical worldview, Mrs. Clinton held a 47% to 44% edge. She was the preference of those without a biblical worldview primarily in the hope of adopting more postmodern values’.”

It also explains why so many liberals are up in arms over everything President Donald Trump says and does. It often has nothing to do with what he actually does or says, but has everything to do with the irreconcilable differences between the two political factions, and until something breaks this deeply divided feud, nothing will ever be accomplished without major turmoil, bickering and lawsuits.

Knowing this, then realize that at this point, many of the details of the GOP healthcare plan are known, many are not and most could be in a state of flux and subject to change. However, here are several key points to report at this early stage:

1) The insurance mandate that penalized taxpayers from not having healthcare insurance goes away.

2) Instead of federal subsidies, individuals may qualify for ‘advanceable’ tax credits to help in the purchase of healthcare insurance. The tax credit amounts will generally range from $2,000 to $4,000 a year for lower and middle income families, depending on income, family size and age. Many critics say that the replacement of subsidies with the tax credits will leave millions of lower class and elderly people without healthcare due to the costs.

3) Pre-existing medical conditions will still coverable, but like Obamacare, nothing in the new plan says the coverage for pre-existing conditions will be affordable.

4) A broader selection of different types of policies will be available, including catastrophic policies.

5) Children up to the age of 26 will be allowed to remain under their parent’s healthcare policy.

6) Although Medicaid may first expand, it will eventually be reduced.

7) Most of the hidden and not-hidden taxes invoked by the Affordable Healthcare Act will be repealed. Some of those taxes involved prescriptions, over the counter medications, medical devices, etc.

8) The coverage for the ten essential healthcare benefits outlined in Obamacare will still be required. However, after December 31, 2019, those essential benefits will no longer be required in all policies, but will still be available depending on the needs of the policy holder. How this may help is an older couple will no longer have to pay for maternity or contraceptive coverages they no longer need, now will individuals be forced to pay for state Medicaid coverage they don’t need.

9) Under Obamacare, tax-exempt health savings accounts were capped at a maximum of $3,400 for individuals and $6,750 for families. The new limits would be raised to $6,550 for individuals and $13,100 for families.

One thing to consider with all the hype thrown at Obamacare and the GOP replacement healthcare is that it really only effects less than 10% of the entire US population. One report says that only 7% of the American population purchases their own healthcare insurance. Based on the population clock kept by the US Census, the current population is approximately 324.67 million meaning that only around 22.7 million are actually affected by the biggest story in the media. If you’re one of those, then it is a big deal and you’ll want to follow along and learn as much as possible of what kind of coverage you’ll get and how much it will cost you.

Your Health Skeletons May Come Back to Haunt You

March 6, 2017 By Adam Morgan Leave a Comment

Everyone has some sort of skeletons hidden away in the closets of their past. Things they’ve done, said, should have done or didn’t do that they don’t want anyone to know about or hide from themselves. Some call it guilt. Others chalk it up to that embarrassing and sometimes uncontrollable time in our lives called youth or our teen years.

Some of these skeletons we hide away may have been something we did that was illegal or just wrong. A sin which we are now ashamed of. Some may be bad habits that we finally grew out of or changed. They tell us that with age comes wisdom, but we’ve all met some people that seem to defy getting any wiser as they grow older.

If someone asked you about the skeletons in your closet, would you even consider the fact that they may be talking about health-related skeletons? How many of you ever consider the fact that these health-related skeletons of our past may have a significant influence on our future health?

Obviously, one of the first skeletons most people think of is smoking. Did you smoke in your youth or sometime in your past, but quit? Did you know that how long your smoked and how long ago you quit may still be affecting your health today or in the future? Ask yourself if you quit smoking over a decade earlier if you are safe now? According to a report released by Fox News:

“You smoked a pack a day a decade ago
Safe: (Eh, almost.) It’s better if you never did. But kicking the habit before age 39 cut men and women’s smoking-associated risk of death from any cause by 90 percent in a 2013 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. That’s the equivalent of nine extra years to pile candles on your birthday cake.”

What about your lack of activity? What if you were lazy or married to your desk job and just didn’t have time to exercise? What if you were a couch potato?

“Your butt used to be glued to your couch
Safe: A 2014 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that when older adults logged just one moderate or vigorous exercise session per week, they were three and four times, respectively, more likely to age healthfully — even if they used to be complete couch potatoes.”

What about your sleeping habits? The news has been filled for years with reports of how important it to your health to get enough sleep every night, but could your lack of enough sleep be one of your health skeletons hiding in your closet?

“You skimped on shut-eye regularly
Safe: Sleep deprivation is no joke. “You’re taking away vital energy that your brain needs to properly function,” Peterson, who also works with the digital health platform Zocdoc, told Fox News. “But luckily, most of the effects quickly disappear after giving your body the time it needs —and deserves — to rest and repair,” she said. The National Sleep Foundation recommends adults younger than 65 aim for seven to nine hours per night.”

Trust me, I know firsthand the effects of too little sleep. Between living in constant pain and having 3 distinct sleep disorders, I feel extremely fortunate if I get between 4-5 hours sleep a night. It’s generally closer to around 3 hours of sleep in an 8-hour period. Consequently, I feel like I have chronic fatigue. I can fall asleep very easy but I can’t stay asleep. A result of my sleep deprivation and chronic pain has resulted in a suppressed immune system, leaving me susceptible to far too many of the illnesses that sweep through the area.

What about stress in your life? Is stress something you used to have, but have finally gotten away from it and hid it in your health closet?

“You let stress build up
Not safe: Unfortunately, getting keyed up from even minor things can drag down your health a decade or two in the future, a 2014 study in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine suggests. However, having a better perspective on those stresses — not letting them bother you — can mitigate those ill effects.”

There are other health skeletons hidden in many closets that can have a direct impact on your current and future health. Too much exposure to the sun or use of tanning beds may have left your skin with enough damage that years down the road can develop into skin cancer.

Diet is another big skeleton in many health closets. Regardless if you are overweight, underweight or perfect weight, your past diet may still have an impact on your future health. Like those salty fries, potato chips and popcorn? If you have or are susceptible to high blood pressure, you need to consider cutting your salt intake as that has a direct impact on your blood pressure which can lead to other serious and fatal conditions.

“You loved your BBQ and burgers
Tie: Loading up on red meat is linked to weight gain and developing diabetes. However, over a four-year period, reducing red meat consumption by at least a half serving per day can drop your likelihood of the disease by 14 percent, a 2014 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests. Peterson advised eating no more than 15 ounces of red meat per week.”

“You considered cookies a food group
Safe: Unfortunately, the sugar industry has historically downplayed the health effects of sugar, research reveals. And while eating too much of the sweet stuff can boost your odds of dying from heart disease by nearly threefold, according to a 2014 study in JAMA Internal Medicine, other research from 2015, in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism suggests you can undo some of the metabolic damage in a week or so of cutting down your consumption.”

Eventually, our past habits, those health skeletons in our closets, may and often to come back to haunt us in the future. What skeletons are in your closet? Are there any that you can eliminate? If not, what can you do now to try to keep them in the closet as long as possible?

See your doctor and get regular check-ups. Be honest with him or her because the more they know of your skeletons, the better they will be able to help you keep them there or help you deal with the ones that won’t stay hidden.

Some of my health skeletons came back to haunt me. I let myself get very overweight, knowing there is a family history of Type 2 diabetes. Once I was diagnosed as having the same, I stayed on a diabetic diet for a while but then stopped. After nearly 2 years of not watching what and how much I was eating, I ended up in the hospital with a severe bout of vertigo. I found out that my blood glucose and blood pressure levels were dangerously high. Once I got home, I took action and made changes. With my doctor’s supervision, I went on a strict diet and began walking 1-2 times a day. I lost over 80pouds, brought my blood pressure and blood glucose levels down and my last A1-C was below the diabetic level.

Democrats Blast Republicans for Trying to Fix Their Disastrous Healthcare System

March 3, 2017 By Adam Morgan Leave a Comment

Photo: cbsnews.com

For reasons, completely unknown, the Democrats decided to tap former Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear to deliver the liberal party’s rebuttal to Trump’s address to Congress. With many prominent Democrats in Washington DC, it was more than a surprise to learn that Beshear was chosen for the sacred honor of ripping the President’s address to shreds. Perhaps one reason is the Beshear is a devout Obamanite disciple and did everything his master asked him to do.

Ask yourself why would the Democrats choose someone who just lost his political office to a Republican political novice who sounds a lot like Donald Trump? Republican Matt Bevin is a businessman who, like Trump, opposed many of the bureaucratic dictates of the Obama administration and defeated Democrat Jack Conway by a 511,374 to 426,620 vote margin.

Steve Beshear was elected governor of Kentucky in 2007. He had a big political following in the good ole boy state since he served in the state House of Representatives, state Attorney General and Lieutenant Governor. Once Barack Obama was elected, Beshear quickly made it known that he supported Obama’s socialist agenda 150%.

He couldn’t wait to implement Obamacare in Kentucky. When he was selected to be the mouthpiece for the Democratic slander of President Trump, Beshear was touted as being a champion of Obamacare in his state. All the media outlets bragged about how Beshear’s implementation of Obamacare lowered the state’s uninsured rate from 20% to 7.5%.

What they didn’t report is how much that was costing Kentucky taxpayers and how some people in Kentucky still could not afford the outrageous premiums associated with Obamacare.

After only a month in office, Bevin announced that he had put a plan in motion to transition from a state healthcare exchange program to using the federal exchange. In his statement, he stated that it makes no sense to pay twice for the same thing, meaning that those of us in Kentucky are paying taxes to support the federal exchange program and we pay state taxes to support the state exchange program. That’s an example of the failed economic plans of the Democrat Party.

Perhaps another reason so many people in Kentucky were able to get healthcare coverage under Obamacare is that they were able to qualify for the federal subsidy. We live in Kentucky and know of a number of residents who were able to purchase healthcare coverage only because they qualified for a federal subsidy. Every one of them said that without the federal subsidy, they would not be able to afford coverage because the costs were so high.

How high are the costs of Obamacare in Kentucky? My wife has a heart valve issue that is controlled with medication. I have Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and am overweight. When we priced an Obamacare policy in the Blue Grass State, we were shocked at the high price. The cheapest plan we could find was a bronze tier plan that had a $4,000 deductible and once that was met, would only pay 60% of covered expenses, which really equates to paying less than 50% of medical costs. How much did this great healthcare policy cost? $816 a month or nearly $10,000 a year. That’s like making a second mortgage payment each month for a plan that would still cost us thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Speaking from a diner in Louisville, Beshear stated:

“Even more troubling is that you and your Republican allies in Congress seem determined to rip affordable health insurance away from millions of Americans who most need it.

“So far, every Republican idea to ‘replace’ the Affordable Care Act would reduce the number of Americans covered, despite promises to the contrary.”

Oh really? Didn’t Obama promise that everyone in America would be covered under the Affordable Care Act? Didn’t Obama promise that the Affordable Care Act would lower the costs of healthcare insurance and increase the benefits, services and options everyone would have.

Millions of Americans lost their healthcare insurance under Obama. Millions saw their premiums skyrocket while the benefits, services and options drastically decreased. Thousands of doctors left the medical profession, numerous medical facilities and hospitals stopped taking Medicaid and other Obamacare patients because they were not getting paid as promised and many insurance companies have dropped policies and withdrawn from Obamacare.

And Beshear has the gall to criticize President Trump and Republicans for wanting to fix what they failed to deliver in the first place? This whole mess was created by liberal Democrats, not Republicans, so why are Republicans being vilified for wanting to fix or replace the Democrat’s disastrous program.

Key Points to GOP Healthcare Plan

Your Health Skeletons May Come Back to Haunt You

Democrats Blast Republicans for Trying to Fix Their Disastrous Healthcare System

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