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Vol. 28, No. 1 • January, 2010 / www.Freeman-Spicer.com
Health Care Explanation by Newsweek Magazine . . . . . . It’s a long way from law (a conference committee will work out the differences between the House and Senate versions), but House negotiators are expected to largely acquiesce to the Senate, where Democrats can’t afford to lose a single vote. Here’s what to expect:
• You will be required to buy health insurance. You must file proof of insurance with your tax return in 2014 - or pay a $95 penalty to the IRS. The fine jumps to $350 in 2015 and $750 in 2016.
• Medicare will serve more people. Anyone under 65 who makes less than $14,400 a year will be eligible. (Currently, the program is open only to certain categories of those with low income, like pregnant women and people with disabilities.)
• Riskier Customers cannot be charged astronomical premiums. Older people will pay a maximum of 3 times more than their younger counterparts, and smokers only 1.5 times more than nonsmokers; gender can no longer be considered a risk factor. (As it stands, insurers routinely charge the elderly, smokers, and women exponentially more.)
• Medicare drug benefits will improve. Drug manufacturers must discount brand-name drugs by 50 percent for those spending between $2,700 and $6,154 annually on prescriptions (a.k.a. the Medicare coverage gap).
• Exchanges will provide affordable plans. Individuals and small businesses can buy insurance through government-regulated health-insurance exchanges. Insurers must provide coverage that in 2010 would cost no more than $5,950 for an individual, $11,900 for a family.
• Costs will be capped. Out-of-pocket expenses will be capped based on income. A family of three earning $73,240 in 2009, for instance, would be required to pay no more than $7,733.
• The Government may help you pay your premiums. People earning up to $43,320 (up to $88,200 for a family of four) will receive credits throughout the year to subsidize premiums.
• Your kids can stay on your insurance longer. Insurers typically cut off dependents upon their graduation from high school or college (20-somethings account for 30 percent of the uninsured). The age would be extended to 26.
• You cannot be denied coverage based on a preexisting condition. Until this regulation goes into effect in 2014, the government will spend $5 billion to subsidize a high-risk pool for those with preexisting conditions who have been uninsured for more than 6 months.
• “Cadillac” plans may be eliminated. That portion of a premium exceeding $8,500 for an individual ($23,000 for a family) will be subject to a 40 percent tax paid by the insurer, discouraging such plans. Goldman Sachs offers a plan in excess of that - but so does California’s West Contra Costa Unified School District. (Sources: Newsweek Magazine, January, 2010)
How Much Is Your Jewelry Worth? . . . . . Use this worksheet to estimate a fair price for your gold:
1. Start by weighing your gold on a kitchen scale. ______ grams.
2. Multiply that number by the current price of gold (cnnmoney.com/data/commodities)
$_________per ounce.
3. Divide by one of these: 10k ÷ 74.8 / 14k ÷ 53.2 / 18k ÷ 41.5 / 24k ÷ 31.1
4. Multiply by 0.50 and 0.08 $______ - $______ A fair price is somewhere within this range. (Money Magazine)
Small Tips to Help You Through Life . . . . . . . * If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, you’ll be afraid to cough. * You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn’t move and should, use WD-40. If it shouldn’t move and it does, use the Duct tape. * If you can’t fix it with a hammer, you’ve got an electrical problem. * Some people are like Slinkies - not really good for anything but they bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.
(M. Coffey)
Top Gripes: What Bugs America Most: . . . . . . Your complaints - scores are based on a 10-point being the most annoying: ► Hidden fees - 8.9 ► Not getting a human on the phone - 8.6 ► Tailgating - 8.3 ►Cell-phone use by drivers - 8.0 ► Incomprehensible bills ► Dog poop - 7.6 ► Unreliable Internet service - 7.6 ►Discourteous cell-phone use - 7.6 ►Waiting for repair people - 7.5 ► Computer Spam - 7.5 ► Shrunken products - 7.2 ► Very slow drivers - 7.0 ► Unreliable cell-phone service - 7.0 ► Traffic jams - 6.9 ► Noisy neighbors - 6.9 ► Poor airline service - 6.9 ► Shouting on TV or radio shows - 6.5 ► Checkout lines - 6.4 ► Speeding drivers - 6.1 ► Passwords and PINs ► Inaccurate weather forecasts 4.3. (Differences of fewer than 0.4 points are not meaningful.) (January, Consumers Reports)
Cutting a Diamond . . . . . . No other gem stones disperse colors as well as diamonds. The challenge is to cut them so they shine as brightly and colorfully as possible. One man contributed more than anyone to our understanding of how to cut a diamond and why. Marcel Tolkowsky (1899-1991), born into a Antwep diamond family, published a remarkable book entitled Diamond Design while a graduate student studying engineering. His elegant analysis of the paths followed by light rays inside a diamond produced a recipe for a diamond cut with 58 facets in order to produce the most spectacular visual effects. He called it the “Brilliant” cut. (Math Explains Your World)
Magic Number . . . . . The next time you’re at dinner with nothing to say, or sitting in a bar wishing you had enough money for one more drink, try this one: Ask someone to think of a number. Then have them double it, add 12, divide by 2, and subtract the original number. Before they’re done, tell them the answer is 6. It will always be 6. (I just knew this one.)
The Average Guy at Christmas . . . . . . . . ♦ Men who deck their halls: 76% ♦ Value of the average guy’s outdoor light show: $533 ♦ Amount spent on outdoor holiday decorations each year: $8.3 billion ♦ Hopefuls who hang mistletoe: 1 in 5 ♦Sentimental men who hang the same stocking they had as a kid: 2 in 5 ♦Most common cause of holiday pain: Falling from a ladder ♦ Number of live Christmas trees sold in 2008: 282 million ♦Men who prefer their firs fake: 54% ♦ First man to hang Christmas lights outside: Thomas Edison, 1880. (Men’s Health)
Rich Glas . . . . . . . . Basketball coach at Division II North Dakota, on motivating his players before a game with No. 4 - ranked Kansas: “I told our guys, ‘They put their pants on the same way we do. They just pull them up two feet higher.’” (Sports Illustrated - Quote from Nov. 27, 2000)
Some History . . . . . . . The Motorcycle: German engineer Gottlieb Daimler was a driven man. Intent on inventing a high-speed, gas-fed, internal combustion engine, he and his partner, Wilhelm Maybach, tested their motor on the simplest vehicle they could find - a wood-wheeled bike. They pulled off the pedals, affixed their engine to the frame, and, with a trial run, the easy rider was born. The duo didn’t monetize their motorized bike; instead, they went down a different road and created a car (and founded what later became the Daimler AG Company). But tinkerers took their idea and ran with it. The result: an estimated 200 million motorcycles on the roads today. (Good Housekeeping)
Crabby Old Man . . . . . . .
When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in North Platte, Nebraska, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value. Later the nurses found this poem. Remember this poem the next time you meet an older person who you might just brush aside. There is beauty in the world we can’t often see or touch:
What do you see nurses? . . . .. . What do you see?
What are you thinking . .. . . . when you're looking at me?
A crabby old man . . . . . not very wise,
Uncertain of habit . . . . . with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food .. . . . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . . . . . 'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice . . . . . the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . .. . . . lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . . . The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking? . . . . . Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse . . . . .. you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am. . . . . . As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, . . . . . as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten . . .. . . with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters . . . . . who love one another.
A young boy of Sixteen . . . . with wings on his feet.
Dreaming that soon now . . . . . a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . . . my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows . .. . . . that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . . . I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . . . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . . .. . With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons . . . . . have grown and are gone,
But my woman's beside me . . .. .. . to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more, babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . . . my wife is now dead.
I look at the future . .. . . . shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing . . . . . young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . . . and the love that I've known.
I'm now an old man . . . . . and nature is cruel.
'Tis jest to make old age . . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles . . .. . . grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone . . . . where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . . . . . a young guy still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys . . . . . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living . . . . . life over again.
I think of the years, all too few .. . . . . gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people . . . .. . open and see.
Not a crabby old man . . . Look closer . . . see ME!!
(Unknown) (Submitted by Davey and Foti)
Sincerely,
Edward C. Levy
President