RUTHFULLY YOURS

The Affordable Healthcare Act is apparently the gift that keeps on giving. A series of new revelations are highlighted by the idea that if you like your current ObamaCare plan you can keep it—but it will likely cost you more, and you may have trouble finding a doctor who will treat you.

A devastating expose by the National Journal reveals that Americans who decide to stick with their current ObamaCare plan “are at risk for some of the biggest premium spikes anywhere in the system. And some people won’t even know their costs went up until they get a bill from the IRS.”

At the heart of this daunting new reality are the taxpayer-financed premium subsidies that Americans receive to offset the true costs of their health insurance. Because of the way the law is written, many Americans will have to switch their plans to maintain their current costs. That in and of itself is a major headache, because it means another visit to the infamous HealthCare.gov website. Healthcare experts already question how many Americans will re-visit that ordeal, especially when the Obama administration has set up an automatic renewal process for one’s current policy.

Yet that current policy may end up costing enrollees considerably more because of changes in the law triggered, ironically, by increased competition among insurers that will bring lower-priced products to the marketplace. Newer plans offered by this competition will change the entire structure of subsidy payments because those subsidies are tied to what is called a “benchmark” insurance plan. As its stands now, lower-income consumers are only required to pay a certain percentage of their total income to acquire health insurance. The rest of the premium is paid by the government subsidy. Those who choose a more expensive policy pay the difference out of their own pocket.

There are no silver bullets. The price of freedom is hard work and vigilance.

West Bank
Rocket hits house in West Bank Photo: screenshot
Hours before Israel accepted the Egyptian-brokered cease-fire deal on Monday night, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu traveled to the south to try to allay the fears of area residents.

It’s not at all clear how successful he was.

Residents of the communities bordering the Gaza Strip who evacuated their homes are skeptical of the IDF’s claims that it is safe for them to return.

In an interview with NRG website, Yael Paz-Lahiany, a mother of three young children from Kibbutz Nahal Oz just across the border from Gaza professed profound confusion and concern.

“I really don’t understand what is happening here and don’t know what to think. Just on Saturday we had 10 red alerts at Nahal Oz and I don’t know what to say. I also don’t understand what the prime minister said [Saturday].

How many times have you heard on television or read in the media that the Gaza Strip is “the most densely populated area in the world”? Repeating this statement, however, does not make it true. There are dense parts of Gaza, especially Gaza City, Beit Hanoun and Khan Younis, but there are far less dense areas in Gaza between these cities. Just look at Google Earth, or this population density map.

(Image source: Peace Now)

The fact that these sparsely populated areas exist in the Gaza Strip raise several important moral questions: First, why don’t the media show the relatively open areas of the Gaza Strip? Why do they only show the densely populated cities? There are several possible reasons. There is no fighting going on in the sparsely populated areas, so showing them would be boring. But that’s precisely the point—to show areas from which Hamas could be firing rockets and building tunnels but has chosen not to. Or perhaps the reason the media doesn’t show these areas is that Hamas won’t let them. That too would be a story worth reporting.

Second, why doesn’t Hamas use sparsely populated areas from which to launch its rockets and build its tunnels? Were it to do so, Palestinian civilian casualties would decrease dramatically, but the casualty rate among Hamas terrorists would increase dramatically.

Italian journalist Gabriele Barbati said he was able to speak freely about witnessing a Hamas misfire that killed nine children at the Shati camp, confirming the Israel Defense Forces version of events, but only after leaving Gaza, “far from Hamas retaliation.”

On Twitter, Barbati, Jerusalem Correspondent for Radio Popolare Milano, and a former reporter for Sky Italia, in Beijing, said, “Out of #Gaza far from #Hamas retaliation: misfired rocket killed children yday [yesterday] in Shati. Witness: militants rushed and cleared debris.”

He said, “@IDFSpokesperson said truth in communique released yesterday about Shati camp massacre. It was not #Israel behind it.”

On Tuesday, the IDF released aerial photos showing how a rocket from Gaza targeting Israel hit the Shati camp, run by the UNRWA, and Al Shifa Hospital, which has become a de-facto Hamas headquarters, against international rules of war.

Barbati said he was unable to speak about the Al Shifa hit, but he was certain that it was a Hamas rocket that hit the Shati camp, and a witness saw militants rushing to clean the debris.