Sheepdogs think algorithmically. Using just two fundamental rules, the dogs analyze the state of a given herd and determine the best action to take among a limited set of possibilities.
The resulting effectiveness is so astounding that a description of these dog algorithms could have profound uses in not just herding and livestock management, but in controlling crowds.
This is according to a new study in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface describing a general algorithm derived from sheepdog/herd behaviors by which a single individual can influence the group behavior of a massive and unwilling crowd.
URGENT!!! Healthcare plans available on the Obamacare marketplace for 2016 will shrink up to 12%
It is beginning. The shrinking of the marketplace. Remember the ACA was supposed to increase the marketplace and force insurers to compete for your business which according to the principles of supply and demand would drive the cost of healthcare downwards.
PPO plans will shrink in 2016. Up to 40%. PPO’s offer customers the most flexibility in where they can get medical services covered by their insurer.
There will be an increase in the number of so-called HMO plans, which do not as a rule cover costs incurred by customers outside of the plan's network of health providers.
Just one year ago federal officials were claiming a 25 percent increase in the number of insurers offering plans for 2015.
The reduction in healthcare plans signal the economic reality that insurers are facing in the ACA market, with existing customers plans costing more than had been anticipated.
The existing plans on the exchange are often purchased by people with lower incomes, benefitting from the subsidies and other assistance available on the government-run insurance exchanges. PPO plans are more likely to be purchased by people who earn more money, who tend to get less in subsidies or no subsidies at all.
All research agrees that there is going to be a net decrease in plans available on HealthCare.gov, and a much more dramatic decline in the number of preferred provider organization plans.
In Texas, the state's biggest insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, decided in July not to offer PPOs as Obamacare plans for 2016 citing the data shows a 41 percent drop in the number of PPO plans.
And the number of insurers on HealthCare.gov is definitely going to be down, from 4,688 in 2015, to 4,125 for 2016.
The number of preferred provider organization plans available on HealthCare.gov is dropping from 1,899 this year, to 1,123 plans.
HMO, or health maintenance organization plans, are increasing from 2,008 this year to 2,181 for 2016, which represents a 9 percent rise.
And extended provider organization plans are increasing by 42 percent, from 271 plans this year to 385 next year. Like HMOs, EPOs tend not to cover services by providers outside of the plan's network, meaning that consumers have to foot the entire bill themselves for such services.
The decrease in PPO plans and the increase in HMO plans is because the HMOs are less risk to the carrier than the PPOs. When they look at the population they are trying to service, they have more [control] where the people are receiving their treatment [under HMOs] and that helps them control costs."
Is less choice a good thing?
“A lion doesn't concern itself with the opinion of sheep.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
“There is a very real danger that financial regulation will become a wolf in sheep's clothing.”
--Henry Paulson
Do you recall the following promises of Obamcare:
The promise emphasized three promises when promoting the health-care law.
First, it will provide “universal coverage.”
“But what would universal coverage even mean? One complicating factor was that the recession increased the number of the uninsured by 6 million. So when Obama officials set as their goal the signing up 7 million people for insurance in the first year, they were in fact setting a low bar for success—they were only aiming for a net increase of 1 million people who had never been insured before. In addition, the Congressional Budget Office originally estimated after the passage of the law that, in 2019, there would be 54 million uninsured if it did not pass. After its passage, the CBO predicted, there would be only 22 million uninsured, a reduction of 32 million uninsured individuals. Of those 32 million, the CBO said half would be covered by the new “exchange” system, and half through the expansion of Medicaid. Then, in 2013, before the law was even implemented, the CBO came up with the new estimate: There would be 31 million uncovered Americans in 2019.”https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/the-three-failed-promises-of-obamacare/
Second, it will “bend the cost curve”—Reduce Costs
.“This is not going to be the case. Using the same methodology that the administration used to come up with the $2,500 figure, health-care expert Avik Roy (working with Chris Conover) found that costs per family of four would increase by $7,450 by 2022. Furthermore, the cost hikes in certain states are going to be far worse, including a 41 percent increase in average premiums for Ohioans in 2014, a 72 percent increase for Indianans, and a whopping 198 percent increase for Georgians. That figure is clearly an outlier; a recent Manhattan Institute analysis shows an overall average increase of 41 percent. Whatever that is, it’s not a $2,500 decrease.
ACA proponents note that higher premiums will not be felt because the law will provide subsidies to offset the increases. That’s nice, but premiums will still be higher under the new law. The subsidies only mask the impact of the premium increases for certain individuals. Others, not eligible for the subsidies, will get the double hit of paying more for insurance (which they are now required by law to purchase) and of paying higher taxes, now and in the future, to cover the costs of the subsidies to others. https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/the-three-failed-promises-of-obamacare/
Finally, it will not take away your current health-care plan if you want to continue with it.
“During his year of salesmanship, President Obama mentioned it nearly every time he spoke about the act, often stating it more than once in the same setting. The exact wording of the comment varied over time, but the political strategy behind the statement was clear: If you were among the 85 percent or so of Americans who already had insurance, ACA would have its impact on other people, not on you.” https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/the-three-failed-promises-of-obamacare/
You judge for yourself.
Have your premiums increased?
Has your coverage changed?
Do you have more money in your pocket?
Post A Comment:
0 comments: