ObamaCare:  Costs and a Way Out

Nestmann covers some good points regarding Obamacare.  I figure anybody reviewing the literature on that law is courageous.  Here he reviews the costs to him personally and what the source of those costs are as well a way out from underneath Obamacare if you prefer to seek healthcare in your own way and with your own provider.

ONE REASON WHY OBAMACARE IS MORE EXPENSIVE:
"One big reason health insurance has become so expensive is that not enough young and healthy people have signed up for Obamacare. That saddles older folks with higher premiums – even though proponents claimed this wouldn’t be a problem. Sound familiar?"

Okay, so not enough younger folks are signing up for Obamacare.  That is good.  But the political good means a personal cost to those whose healthcare comes under the mandates of Obamacare.

Nestmann continues:
". . . my monthly health insurance premium recently increased by 25%. And my agent predicts that at the end of 2014 my premium will double." 

Obamacare is pricey.

And restrictive:
"Can’t you just purchase a high-deductible insurance policy and pay for medical care out of my pocket like I used to? Nope. The high-deductible policy I used to have is no longer Obamacare compliant. And it’s a big no-no to have a non-compliant policy. If you have a very low income, you’re looking at a $95 fine. Otherwise, you get penalized 1% of your taxable income. That penalty increases to 2% in 2015 and 2.5% in 2016."

This is why Obamacare is law--to take more of the taxpayers' money.  So, Obamacare is pricey.  It's restrictive.  And it's absurd:

"Another reason Obamacare policies cost more is that they must provide a mandated set of benefits – some of them surprising. I just received a letter from my insurance carrier informing me that I was now covered for reconstructive surgery after mastectomy (breast removal). That’s great, but mastectomy is performed only in the event of breast cancer –and 99% of the victims are female."

A WAY OUT
Nestmann concludes that there is a way to exempt yourself from Obamacare: 
"There is, of course, one solution available by which you can not only opt out of Obamacare, but also out of US tax, health care, and other laws . . . permanently. That solution is expatriation – giving up your US citizenship and passport.

Yes, it’s a radical step – one that you shouldn’t take without a great deal of advance preparation and, yes, soul-searching. But it’s the only way to permanently sever your obligations to your Big Brother in Washington, DC."

So, there is a way to exempt oneself from Obamacare if you're so moved.  But you will have to move and surrender your citizenship.  So, next year when someone asks, "Oh, where is that accent from, you'll be saying, 'Southern Italy.'"

FOOD LABELING
I found a terrific article tonight about what the food labeling terms really mean.  Foods that we think are not GMO are, in fact, GMO foods.  Foods labeled as organic, ah, not so much.  So the labeling is itself an industry that serves manufacturers.  Companies can call their food "organic" and charge more.  It has always been a marketing ploy.  And nothing else.  But I want to highlight a few statements on meat labeling that I found shocking. 

Here's one. 
"Hormone-free: This means something with beef, but is nothing but a marketing ploy when you see it on poultry or pork, as the USDA does not allow the use of hormones with those animals.  Hormone-free does not mean antibiotic-free."

Here's another.
"Antibiotic-free: Because of poor and stressful living conditions, factory-farmed animals are very susceptible to illness.  Antibiotic-free means they were not prophylactically treated with antibiotics. This does not, however, mean that the animal is hormone-free."

A third.
"Grass-fed: Grass-fed cows are allowed some access to the outdoors and are not fed grains or corn.  This does NOT mean they are organic, because the grass they are grazing on may have been chemically fertilized and sprayed.  Unless you have actually seen them roaming around the farm, keep in mind their access to the outdoors may not be the lovely rolling pastures that you have in your mind, but a crowded corral with hundreds of other cows."

These comments sound like anti-meat arguments, for they certainly turn me off from beef, Tyson and Foster Farms chicken, and others. 

And I don't know about you, but I have put a lot of faith and meaning in the term "Free-range," but according to the article that label means nothing.  "Free-range: This label doesn’t mean diddly squat.  It means that the animal is allowed a minimum of an hour a day outside.  This could mean that they are crammed into an open area with a billion other chickens, still, without room to move, or that their cage is put outside, leaving them still tightly confined. Like the grass-fed cows above, unless you actually see the farm with the gallivanting chickens or pigs, take the label “free-range” with a grain of salt."

PACKAGED FOODS: IT'S NOT GOOD.
"Nearly every packaged food on the shelf is seasoned with MSG in one of its many names, and many lower calorie foods and diet drinks are sweetened with aspartame.  Both of these are excitotoxins that cause brain cell death instantly, causing decreased IQs, headaches, depression, and seizures."

"The length of the ingredients list in your food is often a direct indicator of the unhealthiness of the item. When an item contains a host of additives, colors, flavors, and preservatives, you can safely bet that most of the nutrients are gone."

FRUITS & VEGETABLES
"If organic produce is not an option, look for the items with the lowest pesticide loads.  (This list by the Environmental Working Group is based ONLY on pesticide loads – some of the items they recommend could be GMOs).  Fruits and vegetables that can be peeled often subject you to less pesticides than thin-skinned items. If you must buy conventional, wash the produce carefully and peel it if possible.  Look to these stand-bys:"

• Apples (peeled)  [I eat these]
• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Cabbage  [I eat this]
• Cantaloupe
• Eggplant
• Grapefruit  [I eat these]
• Kiwi  [I eat these and love these]
• Mangoes
• Mushrooms
• Onions  [I eat onions with meat]
• Oranges
• Pineapples  [Love pineapple]
• Rutabagas
• Sweet Peas
• Sweet Potatoes  [I eat these frequently during winter]
• Turnips

DAIRY PRODUCTS
"Conventional dairy products are absolutely loaded with hormones.  Dairy cattle are given high levels of female hormones to make them produce a greater quantity of milk. This makes little boys develop female characteristics and makes little girls hit puberty at a far younger age than normal, which is the reason you see 4th graders with large breasts and hips.  These hormones can also trigger obesity in both genders.  Because of the public outcry, some dairies have pledged not to use rBST, the most commonly used of the growth hormones.  Do your research to discover if there are any such brands available to you.  The Lucerne brand from Safeway is guaranteed to be hormone free. (It’s interesting to note that Monsanto, the company that pushes rBST, wants the FDA to disallow dairies to put this on their labels, and that the FDA forces those who label their products rBST-free to also put the following disclaimer on the containers: “No significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rBST-treated and non-rBST treated cows.” (source). 

I had thought that this problem was resolved.  I have paid too much attention to the pro-protein diets, like the Zone Diet and the Weston Price Foundation.  The one complaint that I've heard and read about dairy is that the milk proteins are hard to digest for most people.  That it's not just lactose intolerance that develops, but a host of other digestive ailments.  Oh, boy!