And the issue is obscene. This chart doesn't even begin to describe the fraud these for profit health insurance companies have perpetrated on the American public. The bush prescription drug bill increased the cost of Medicare (your tax dollars and mine) by 38% - but what they never told you was that 350 billion was set aside for these for profit insurance companies.

It's late and I could go on for days about this. But yes, truly WTF.

Or maybe I am. Been here since 2001 (the beginning) and have read here everyday. Thousands of posts, but some Kerry supporter MIRT moderator tombstoned me back in 2005 because I had the temerity to say, 6 months after the election, that Kerry ran a bad campaign in 2004 because he wouldn't stick up for his military record and got swiftboated. I was suggesting we nominate someone with a stronger spine next time if we wanted to win.

I took advantage of the recent amnesty that allowed me to sign back up.

Just happy to have you back ...

350 billion? That's how much they stole from the public? WTF doesn't cover how I feel. Infuriated is more like it.

One of the goals of criminally insane bush, cheney, and their criminally insane neocon cronies was to steal our hard earned money. And what pisses me off even more is that they stole the election twice. As a matter of fact, they are/were experts at stealing, lying, cheating, and murdering.

... Allocated to for profit insurance companies to privatize Medicare (subsidies to so-called Medicare advantage plans). All paid for by the tax payer.

If they can privatize it they can move to Ryan's voucher program. The next step in eliminating Medicare altogether.

The ACA actually backs most of these subsidies out (another reason why republicans loathe the ACA). Obama has delayed some of the back out, but it will eventually happen.

I'll do an ask me anything about Medicare policy when I can.

... calculating a 20% deductible when the policy calls for a 10% deductible (or similar cheating). Call and complain, hang on the phone for hours and they MAY fix it, but will make the same "mistake" on your next claim.

Amazing what personality cults can be made to believe.

Couldn't locate it on pnhp.org, so I had to poke around with tineye.com to find this: https://www.upworthy.com/the-government-should-stay-out-of-healthcare-unless-you-want-it-to-be-you-know-c

Googling led me to this partial debunking: http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2011/06/30/the-myth-of-medicares-low-administrative-costs/