not over it . election 2020

140,000 new cases reported in US today, 11.11.20

in the wind | tweets from the space ending 09.20.14

foxes in the henhouse | "there is no meritocracy without accountability" http://bit.ly/1q77MqX

U2 | free + clear jimhancock.blogspot.com 

The Daily Show (finally) comes clean on Obamacare jimhancock.blogspot.com 

where credit is due | a microburst of interest today in a pro-adolescent post from last year http://bit.ly/1r4RyfX

Daily Show (finally) comes clean on Obamacare

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The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

OK, so I'm paying more for health coverage each month (sort of)

I'm not gonna lie to you: My monthly health coverage premium is higher now than before the Affordable Care Act — and it's already saving me money.

Before the Affordable Care Act most of the medications in my family were completely out of pocket, charged at full retail, because the law allowed my insurer to exclude coverage of preexisting conditions.

So what?

So...the refills that cost around $200 a pop in 2013 cost less than $50 in 2014. Which means  ObamaCare is working for me.

So...if you haven't already jumped into the insurance pool, come on in, the water's fine...

[btw, an entrepreneur friend — married, 40ish, two young children — told me his monthly premiums are $300 less now, with a lower deductible and better coverage than he had before, so...horror story averted I guess.]

In the wind | tweets from the week ending 01.11.13

read it yourself | Sexting and Sexual Behavior in At-Risk Adolescents | Journal of Pediatrics http://bit.ly/1lPosfG

Christmas Memory | My Father is a...
http://jimhancock.blogspot.com 

what do you teach your youth group?

 http://bit.ly/1lFDF5H [h/t Delancyplace]

read it yourself | CDC guidelines for managing food allergies in schools (+ youth camps!) http://1.usa.gov/1dW2Ltl

7 Media-Savvy Skills for Parents from Common Sense Media http://bit.ly/JM6MWo 

in the wind | tweets from the week ending 12.28.13

the fault is in our...philosophy | John Green on US health care http://jimhancock.blogspot.com 

your kid got a handheld device...now what? Common Sense Media recommends apps for every agehttp://bit.ly/1dd7MNS 

the fault in our philosophy | John Green on US health care

I missed this piece from John Green (The Fault in Our Stars, Mental Floss, brother to Hank Green) on why the US has long spent so much more on health care — including more tax dollars — than other developed economies (we're looking at you Canada, UK, Australia) with so little to show for it. Who's at fault? Insurance companies? Drug companies? Malpractice lawyers? Hospitals? Or is it more complicated than a simple blame game? ("Hint: It's that one," he says.)

For a more thorough examination of US health care expenses, Mr. Green recommends a series at The Incidental Economist: http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wor... The Commonwealth Fund's Study of Health Care Prices in the US http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/med... and this New York Times story: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/hea...

Mr. Green promises this is part one in a series on health care costs and reforms leading up to the full rollout of the Affordable Care Act next year.

in the wind | tweets from the two weeks ending 11.30.13

HoHoHo | Gift ideas (books, movies/tv, apps, games + music) for kids 2-6, 7-12 + 13-17 from Common Sense Media http://bit.ly/1b6fQAQ 

the Batkid should lose his health insurance http://jimhancock.blogspot.com 

the common good | why the guy who "created" the # didn't seek a patent 
http://b.qr.ae/1b6iTZU

finishing what we started | making good on unintended consequences http://jimhancock.blogspot.com 

Nickelodeon study: 8 out of 10 kids say they wish they could spend more time with their parents http://bit.ly/1eoKlkh

sustainably interesting | This Black Friday, Repair, Don't Buy, Says Patagonia http://bit.ly/1iOKYqn

Just back from a remarkable experience with 3k+ youth workers @ #nywc in Nashville. I never tire of this tribe. Thanks @YouthSpecialties

A Proclamation + Invitation to Thanksgiving by Abraham Lincoln | 1863 http://jimhancock.blogspot.com 

THE BATKID SHOULD LOSE HIS HEALTH INSURANCE

And the Batkid's family should lose their home.

That's the effect of the words and actions of people who want to delay, defund or do away with The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — Obamacare.

Tim Dickinson at Rolling Stone helpfully matches the Batkid messaging of 10 Members of Congress — my representative among them — with their voting record and public statements about the Affordable Care Act. 

I'm sending a link to my congressman as a reminder that words have meaning and votes have consequences — his and ours.

in the wind | tweets from the week ending 11.16.13

E-cigarettes on the school yard 
http://wapo.st/1d3wB1b 

with apologies to G.K. Chesterton | sometimes good things are difficult 
http://jimhancock.blogspot.com

will wary advertisers risk Snapchat for a shot at reaching Teens? http://bit.ly/1agCzZ5

to life! | a pretty good start 
http://jimhancock.blogspot.com

will health care reform really work for everyone? | an update

Following the post, all we want is health care that works for everyone | yet another reason I like the Affordable Care Act, a friend responded on Facebook asking, "Will it really work for everyone??" To which I responded:

It certainly is being designed to work for everyone. Off the top of my head, so far:

- We're seeing increased transparency in the wide range that health care providers have been charging us for the same services, which levels the playing field for everyone 

- We can choose to keep our adult children on our insurance till they're 26 

- We can get annual check ups, including women's reproductive health exams and screening at no charge 

- No one can be denied insurance or dropped from coverage because of a preexisting medical condition - Insurers are required to spend at least 80 percent of our premiums on actual health care services or rebate the difference — last year [2012] those rebates amounted to about half a billion dollars back in people's pockets 

And starting in January, insurance exchanges will enable us to get quality healthy coverage at reasonable prices even if we don't have employers who contribute as part of a benefits package. The first-stage introduction of the California insurance exchange looks really good (I wrote about that here, with links to the state exchange information). I'm eager to see the details as they roll out a few weeks from now. 

All that to say, based on what we've already seen in the early phases of the plan, I don't see any reason to think it won't work for everyone.