Disqus - Latest Comments for davecluley

Re: Supermassive black holes help with star birth

davecluley — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 18:01:36 -0000

Thank you for the explanation, Theresa. It was very helpful.

Re: Cutting The Gordian Knot Of Employee Health Care Benefits And Costs: A Corporate Model Built On Employee Choice

davecluley — Sun, 27 Jun 2021 17:18:25 -0000

"...enabling them to select from a larger set of ACA compliant plans and
insurers than currently offered. Both they and insurance firms would be
motivated to design and select more cost effective plans because
employees could retain any unspent ESI funds as income."

There may be a lot of motivation in the proposed plan from the employees' perspective. I don't see the motivation for insurance firms.

Insurance firms want to maximize profits. Part of this is keeping potential competitors out of their markets.

I may be jaded but I find it hard to believe that a new start-up competitor would find most established markets easy to crack unless it had a substantial bankroll. Existing companies might lower their prices and absorb losses until the competitive threat was removed but then the price increases would come back with a vengeance. This would more than negate any savings realized.

If I'm missing something here, I'd appreciate learning what it is.

Re: Supermassive black holes help with star birth

davecluley — Sun, 27 Jun 2021 16:55:40 -0000

How can the IGM be thin but 'extremely hot?' What is the heat source and how is the heat retained?

Re: What happened before the Big Bang? | Space | EarthSky

davecluley — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 14:19:57 -0000

No argument about the mechanics your refer to everyone observing. It's the unit of measurement that may not be universal. Would a non-human intelligent being measure time or even have it as a concept?

What you are advocating for is an example of inductive reasoning. The assumption is that how we measure and refer to as 'time' on Earth is universal. I have no proof to say that it is or isn't. At this point, no one on Earth does either.

On another level, the theological, space and time are said to be the body and mind of the Creator. If the Creator is without beginning or end; i.e., timeless, time may exist but only as something we perceive. Yes, we can 'measure' it, but that may only be quantifying a perception that exists in our realm but not everywhere else in the universe.

The Creator can create and bring that which was created to an end. That specific subset of the general is measured by us and its span noted as time. However, that span may not have any meaning elsewhere in the broader universe.

Would a being on body in space, whether it be always light or always dark on that body, with a fixed and unchanging relative position to all other celestial points of reference know 'time?'

Re: Warp drives: Physicists give chances of faster-than-light space travel a boost

davecluley — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 19:53:38 -0000

I agree that Einstein was on to something with having two geometries.When dark matter and energy are understood, we'll likely have a new geometry for them as well. That may ultimately lead to Grand Unification.

Re: What happened before the Big Bang? | Space | EarthSky

davecluley — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 19:48:18 -0000

We have no proof of time existing elsewhere in the universe. The concept derives from human perception of seasonal and lunar changes on Earth. Time units will be different on Neptune, for example. Just because things move and we frame our math based upon our perception of time, doesn't mean that is so everywhere. We have no confirmed universal unit of time. It may exist but we haven't proven its existence.

Re: Cutting The Gordian Knot Of Employee Health Care Benefits And Costs: A Corporate Model Built On Employee Choice

davecluley — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 19:39:46 -0000

I fail to see how the proposed plan would control costs; let alone what
costs would be reduced. I also don't understand why, instead of
continuing to rely on government subsidy via the tax code, the proposal didn't remove the employer tax deduction, and propose grossing up employee
wages for the value of the former health insurance premiums that would
be received as wages.
The argument about carrier competition lowering premiums is also suspect as the majority of markets have lost competitors by acquisition so that very few now have more than three or four viable options. Despite any new competitor who may enter a market, no carrier will stomach offering a plan that is 20% cheaper than anything currently available. First, carriers would lose money. Second, the contracting entities; hospitals, physicians, PBMs, medical equipment, etc. would not agree to a 20% haircut. Third, in light of the previous two points, the resultant plan design would be worse than unsavory as the purchaser would have even greater financial exposure than today.
The only solution to lower health insurance premiums is lowering the cost of health care.

Re: Warp drives: Physicists give chances of faster-than-light space travel a boost

davecluley — Tue, 11 May 2021 14:54:30 -0000

Einstein called it the space time continuum. I'm not so sure that time exists on a universal scale. We define time based on our observations revolving around the sun, the phases of the moon and seasons. All of these things are very anthropomorphic and do not necessarily reflect the universal reality.

Einstein's theory is expressed as E=mc^2. We've managed to crack the atom but not attain c^2. Alternatively, the equivalent forms of Einstein's equation: m=c^2/E and c=(E/m)^1/2 have not, to my knowledge been proven. In fact, I'm not confident the original equation has truly been proven. It didn't require a mass accelerated at the speed of light squared to set off the atomic bomb. Only a critical mass of nuclear particles focused on a target.

If matter and energy are two different states of the same thing, isn't the equation defining what are supposed to be different things in terms of itself? Also, to go faster than light implies that Einstein's equation is inadequate to explain how to do so. The speed of light is fixed and light is a form of both matter and energy. This suggests a natural; if not, man made, limit to how fast one can travel.

Thus, bending or warping space may be the solution. Doing so may make it seem like it takes less time. But, that would be deceiving ourselves.

Re: Thousands more satellites will soon orbit Earth – we need better rules to prevent space crashes | Human World | EarthSky

davecluley — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 10:37:41 -0000

This is an area where a global law/regulation is needed to foster collaboration/cooperation to minimize clutter and collisions. Perhaps, one place to start would be a requirement that whoever sends up a satellite must physically retrieve it as opposed to letting it simply fall and burn up?

Re: Hospitals lose appeal in price transparency case

davecluley — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 11:40:55 -0000

Price transparency is only half of the picture. Meaningful quality data is also needed so patients have a complete picture and can make truly informed decisions.

Re: OSF HealthCare CFO

davecluley — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 11:37:36 -0000

Increasing markets isn't the only solution to reduced revenues. Indeed, carried to the maximum, it means only one hospital per market, reduced patient access and higher prices. The alternative is reducing expenses to increase margins on lower revenue. For at least the last 20 years,
from an expense perspective, if hospitals had operated as if they were receiving 100% Medicaid reimbursements, every hospital would be flush with cash.

Re: The 6 Retirement Planning Myths

davecluley — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 10:13:25 -0000

Annuities are great at providing a guaranteed income stream. If they not only guaranteed an income stream but also guaranteed the income would keep up with inflation to maintain its purchasing power, annuities would be even better.

Re: Supreme Court to hear ObamaCare arguments one week after November election

davecluley — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 15:10:27 -0000

Why do people continue to insist that Obamacare plans are health 'insurance' when they are not? They are prepaid health plans. Insurance only exists when there is risk underwriting. Obamacare eliminated risk underwriting for individual health plans. Therefore, it also eliminated individual health insurance. Thus, if the Court overturns Obamacare, 20 million people will not lose their health insurance as one cannot lose what one never had. What will be lost is their prepaid health plans or their health care coverage, the third party intermediary that pays for their health care. With 20 million people unable to afford needed services, doctors and hospitals will be compelled to either accept what people can afford to pay or cause harm by not doing so. For the former, that would breach the Hippocratic Oath. For the both, it will require budgetary and structural changes that will have ripple effects on many co-dependent economic partners.

Re: Earth's magnetic field may change faster than we thought | Earth | EarthSky

davecluley — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 11:50:36 -0000

If this information doesn't prompt more attention on strengthening the electric grid, nothing will. IMHO, taking the grid off the internet, or making it less reliant on it, would be a big step in the right direction.

Re: Hoyer: House will vote soon on bill to improve ObamaCare

davecluley — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 21:02:44 -0000

As the bill was rammed down Congress' throat without Members being allowed to first read it, it is likely that happened to avoid providing the opportunity for said amendments and watering down because it was known the bill would have been DOA for Republicans. Of course Republicans are opposed to affordable universal health care because there is no way for it to be both universal and affordable. The two terms in this context are antithetical. Yes, I agree with you about the middleman insurance companies. The most recent figure for the referenced total is $25,000. In the individual market, thank the ACA for this as insurance no longer exists in that arena; only pre-paid health plans exit. Guaranteed issue with no risk underwriting is, by definition, not insurance.

Re: Hoyer: House will vote soon on bill to improve ObamaCare

davecluley — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 20:50:43 -0000

Health Care is not a human right. It's a personal responsibility just the same as food, shelter and clothing. Of course, many people don't countenance responsibility for themselves as it's easier to blame others in an effort to divest themselves of accountability and have others foot their bills.

The President's health care is an employee benefit. He, like the Congress and all federal employees, work for the taxpayers. Like most employees, they receive employer provided benefits.

Re: Hoyer: House will vote soon on bill to improve ObamaCare

davecluley — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 12:23:46 -0000

'Stabilized' health care costs, perhaps, but shifted them to higher health insurance premiums; including deductibles, copays and coinsurance. I would hardly call that 'stable.' That's only looking at one side of the coin; not the whole picture.

Re: Hoyer: House will vote soon on bill to improve ObamaCare

davecluley — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 12:20:07 -0000

That may be because the GOP recognizes the government has no business being involved in health care. The role of government is to create an environment where the private sector can thrive. That also means the minimum necessary regulation to make that happen. Medicaid expansion and putting more burden on the states, along with increasing Medicare premiums and deductibles are strong indicators the federal government wants to exit the health care business; other than for the military, veterans and the IHS.

Re: Hoyer: House will vote soon on bill to improve ObamaCare

davecluley — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 11:27:34 -0000

No. It performed exactly as intended. If Pelosi had allowed sufficient time for reading the bill before ramming it through Congress, it either would not have passed or passed only after significant revisions.

Re: Hoyer: House will vote soon on bill to improve ObamaCare

davecluley — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 11:23:31 -0000

No. The original plan was to reduce the cost of health care. When Obama met with too much resistance from the vested interests (doctors, hospitals Pharma, med equipment manufacturers, etc.), he switched horses mid-stream to reduce the cost of health insurance. That was a fool's errand as health insurance is expensive because health care is expensive. He slapped a bandage on a bleeder so he could claim he did something. All he succeeded doing is making things worse.

Re: Hoyer: House will vote soon on bill to improve ObamaCare

davecluley — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 11:17:45 -0000

I did, too, before I lost my job due to budget cuts. As expensive as COBRA is, it's still less expensive than a comparable ObamaCare plan.

Re: Hoyer: House will vote soon on bill to improve ObamaCare

davecluley — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 11:14:19 -0000

If they want to make health insurance premiums affordable, I hope they've figured out a way to lower the cost of health care without imposing price controls. Health insurance is expensive because health care is expensive.

Re: Black holes are like a hologram

davecluley — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 11:21:12 -0000

It's always good to define something in terms independent of the subject.

Like magnetism and friction, gravity is a force. As such, they are likely without dimension and neither particle nor wave-like.

Understanding forces and the how and why they work as they do may be more fundamental than the most elementary quantum particle.

Re: Supreme Court divided over fight for Trump's financial records

davecluley — Tue, 12 May 2020 16:46:37 -0000

I couldn't agree with you more about this state of affairs.

See my response to Kevin Niall. Do you have anything to offer that will improve upon that suggestion?

Re: Supreme Court divided over fight for Trump's financial records

davecluley — Tue, 12 May 2020 16:41:25 -0000

The resolution to this would be for Congress to pass a law stating that any party's presidential nominee must release their tax returns from the past five years before their name can appear on the ballot. Not releasing all of those returns in their entirety by the deadline would immediately disqualify candidates who fail to comply.