Insurance Companies Could Fix This

Why aren’t insurance companies punishing unvaccinated customers? Surcharge, denial of benefits, or at least lowering premiums for vaccinated. Unvaccinated idiots must be costing them a fortune.

Meanwhile…

CNN: C-17 pilot in Kabul yesterday with 900 refugees on board asked by air traffic control if he had enough power to take off answered “Watch me”. Nothing more kick ass than our Air Force pilots! 

Share
Avatar photo

Author: craigcrawford

Trail Mix Host. Lapsed journalist, author & retired pundit happily promoting nothing but the truth for Social Security checks.

50 thoughts on “Insurance Companies Could Fix This”

  2. hard to choose between the above and this one for the morning’s cartoon. tho’ this one better amplifies the mood of fearless leader’s thread:

     

     

  3. https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/25/business/delta-unvaccinated-insurance-cost-increase/index.html
    “The airline said that as of November 1, unvaccinated staff will pay up to $200 a month more for their company health insurance, depending on the coverage. It will also limit the number of sick days unvaccinated employees are allowed to take if they contract Covid-19. It will also require unvaccinated employees to take weekly Covid tests.“

    Of course, Greg Abbott has issued an EO banning vax mandates by most state-run agencies and businesses. I wonder how it would impact American Airlines, since DFW is their hub? Maybe that would mess with a tax subsidy?

    https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/25/texas-covid-19-vaccine-mandates-ban-greg-abbott/

    Hospitals should start doing triage based on vax status. You don’t get admitted without one. Vaccinated folks may have need of an ICU bed, too.

  4. voices from the edge (make that over the edge)

    Is it fascism? Is it communism? It is somehow both? Jordan Klepper hits the streets of NYC to see why some people are up in arms about the new vaccine mandate. #DailyShow #JordanKlepper

  6. craig, don’t forget increased co-pays which might be a way to go for the medicare/medicaid recipients who are unvaccinated.  

    on the surcharge front:

    Unvaccinated workers could end up paying $50 more for health insurance — per paycheck – CBS News

    Workers who have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19 could soon be paying as much as $50 more per paycheck for health insurance as companies across the U.S. try to protect their employees — and themselves — from outbreaks of the disease.

    […]

    There’s precedent for raising insurance premiums on individuals who are deemed a greater health risk. Take smokers, who are more likely to die of cancer and tend to face higher health costs than nonsmokers.

    “The point is that personal choices have financial consequences,” said Sheldon H. Jacobson, a professor of computer science who focuses on risk at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “In COVID-19, the decision to not take a vaccine is not just a personal decision.”

    [continues]

  7. From WaPo:

    Federal judge in Michigan orders pro-Trump lawyers disciplined over lawsuit seeking to overturn 2020 election

    By 
    Rosalind S. Helderman

    Yesterday at 7:12 p.m. ED

    A federal judge in Michigan has ordered that Sidney Powell, L. Lin Wood and seven other attorneys who filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election be disciplined, calling the suit “a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process.”

    In a scathing 110-page opinion, Federal District Judge Linda V. Parker wrote that the lawyers had made assertions in court that were not backed by evidence and had failed to do the due diligence required by legal rules before alleging mass fraud in the Michigan vote.

    “This case was never about fraud,” she wrote. “It was about undermining the People’s faith in our democracy and debasing the judicial process to do so.”

    She ordered the lawyers to pay the attorney’s fees for their opponents in the case — the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan. She also wrote that she will require them to attend legal education classes. And she referred the group to the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission, as well as attorney disciplinary committees in the states where each attorney is licensed, which could initiate proceedings that could result in the lawyer’s being disbarred.
    […]

    Good on her.  Nothing is as kick ass as a pissed off Federal judge.

  8. One of my favorite emails I get is from the folks at the “Task and Purpose” blog. A news blog on all things military. 
    They pointed me to this article that is about a training program , as they describe it,  for “how not to marry to marry an asshole”.
    It is a reminder that the military deals in reality and has a unique ability to take young people who have trouble fitting in our mdern society and makes useful productive employees out of them.

    During this most recent workshop at the V Corps retreat, soldiers talked about how “not to fall in love with a jerk or a jerk-ette,” according to Pfc. Javen Owens — an important lesson to be sure. But they also discussed what healthy relationships look like and what kind of work they can do on themselves to be a good partner. 

    Jack
     

  9. So whatever happened to the Arizona vote “audit”? I haven’t heard anything about in at least a couple of weeks.

  11. Never mind – I did some surfing and found info on it.  This won’t likely be resolved for months – and CyberNinjas is stepping into what to me sounds like deeper doo than they thought.  They are getting ready to experience what they most fear – sunlight.

    And from CNN:

    (CNN)The report detailing the findings of contractors who conducted Arizona’s sham “audit”of last year’s election results — which had been expected Monday — will be late because three of the five members of the auditing team have tested positive for coronavirus, the state’s Republican Senate leader says.

    Cyber Ninjas Chief Executive Officer Doug Logan, whose firm was hired by the Republican-led Arizona Senate to audit the 2.1 million votes cast in Maricopa County in 2020’s presidential race, and two other members of the five-person audit team tested positive “and are quite sick,” Senate President Karen Fann said in a statement.

    Logan and other members of his team were often seen during the recount process without masks. It is not clear whether those who tested positive had been vaccinated. CNN reached out to Cyber Ninjas requesting comment.

    Ain’t irony wonderful?

  12. It looks like the American people, are  promasks.  If it is that way in Florida it is that way across the nation
    If the Democrats don’t run with this one in every state, they just need to go home.
    From the Plum Line at WaPO

    The Quinnipiac poll finds:

     

    A plurality of Florida residents believe DeSantis is hurting efforts to slow the spread of covid-19 in the state, 46 percent to 41 percent.
    73 percent think the spread of covid in the state is a serious problem, 59 percent say the spread is out of control, and 61 percent say it was preventable.
    60 percent support requiring students, teachers and staff to wear masks in schools, while only 36 percent oppose it. And by 54 percent to 44 percent, Floridians say schools, not parents, should make the decision on masks for kids.
    59 percent support requiring mask-wearing in indoor spaces, while only 39 percent oppose it.

  14. The supplemental policies for Medicare will hit the unvaccinated in the wallet if nothing else.

    The insurance companies taking the lead is absolutely the way to go. My employer, like many, will only say it’s important in meetings…just like strongly recommending masks in meetings. Let the insurance company be the bad guy.

  16. Explosion at Kabul airport.

    Do we have low jack on the helicopters and humvees we’re leaving behind, if not kill switches.
    It would be nice to bomb the crap out the artillery left behind, making it useless to them.

  18. 4 U.S. marines killed

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/kabul-airport-explosion-kills-four-us-marines-amid-evacuations/ar-AANLzDs?ocid=msedgntp

    The U.S. ambassador in Kabul has told staff there that four U.S. Marines were killed in an explosion at the city’s airport and three wounded, a U.S. official with knowledge of the briefing said. Two explosions ripped through crowds of Afghans trying to enter the airport on Thursday.

    At least three U.S. troops were injured, a U.S. official said. Witnesses reported multiple fatalities among the Afghans, many of whom were trying to enter the airport because they had assisted U.S.-led coalition efforts and feared persecution by the Taliban.
    […]
    Since Aug. 14, the day before the Taliban took control of Kabul, the U.S. has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 95,700 people from Afghanistan, the White House said. In the 24 hours ending at 3 a.m. ET Thursday, about 13,400 people were evacuated, approximately 5,100 of them on U.S. military flights, it said.
    [continues]

  19. so will potus’ threat of “swift and forceful” response also apply to isis-K (or whoever sent in the suicide bomber) for killing 4 marines and injuring 3 others?

  20. wapo as of 1:35 pm

    The deaths marked the first U.S. military fatalities in Afghanistan since February 2020, when two American soldiers were killed in an insider attack by an Afghan soldier. The Trump administration signed a deal with the Taliban a few weeks later that included a promise that the militant group would not target U.S. troops.

     
     

    U.S. officials believe the attack outside Kabul international airport was carried out by an affiliate of the Islamic State known as ISIS-K due to communications that were made by the group around the time of the attack, a U.S. official familiar with the matter told The Washington Post. A second U.S. official said the ISIS-K is the leading suspect in the attack.

    According to Kirby, the first blast took place right outside the airport’s Abbey gate and the second at the nearby Baron Hotel. Scattered gunshots were heard after the blasts.

    Large crowds of Afghans have been gathering daily at the airport in hopes of fleeing the country following the Taliban takeover. Kirby did not give precise figures, but Reuters cited Taliban officials as saying that up to 13 people could have been killed, including children.

  22. Insurance companies suckin’ up more dollars. That’ll fix it.
    I know, I know, any old port’s friend of my enema and such. 

  24. I’m sorry but American citizens still in Afghanistan should have gotten out since Trump’s February Taliban deal to abandon. Not worth another American soldier’s life for them. Get our troops out now! 

  25. State Department has been sternly warning Americans all year to get out of Afghanistan. Irresponsible to stay and now endanger our troops. Just like the unvaccinated. 

  27. Tried to go to that public meeting Tuesday,  drove around looking for a parking space . Since a trip to the dumpster  is  a big deal now , I failed to get with in my logistical range .  Turned tail and drove home. 

  29. NASA’s Willis and his team were not actually flying around to survey the melting on the mainland. As part of NASA’s Oceans Melting Greenland mission, they’re currently dropping sensors into the seas around the giant island’s coast, to measure how the relentlessly warming ocean is eating away at some of the largest glaciers on Earth. 

     
     
     
    NASA scientists spot troubling, extreme melting in Greenland from a plane
     


     

    But while flying over Greenland en route to pick up more equipment, Willis and his team were “stunned” by Greenland’s current melt. Their captain, Jim Haffey, said he’d never seen this scale of melting before.
    “He’s been flying over the ice sheet for 25 years and he’s seen pretty much everything,” said Willis. “As a scientist, I always want to look at the data before taking someone’s word on what they’ve seen. This time, the records told the same story as the pilot.”

     

  32. One last item about that rainfall event in Greenland last week  –

    Summit Camp, also Summit Station, is a year-round staffedresearch stationnear the apex of theGreenland ice sheet. The station is located at 3,216 metres (10,551 ft) above sea level.[1]The population of the station is typically five in wintertime, and has a maximum of 38 in the summer.

    Wiki 
    The old Dr. Jeff Masters blog  at Weather Underground  had a moderator named “Gate Keeper” ,  his trademark phrase was …………..
     
    “Faster and Faster”

  33. OM – Sorry you didn’t get to speak your piece. You could always email or write a letter. It’s a worthy idea. I’d love to know what other ideas they came up with to spend that money.

  34. This summer is the biggest  event in the last 12,00 years in Greenland. 
    The funny thing about it all is gravity , as large mass loses weight  it releases the sea level around it.  The ocean around Greenland  has been higher due to it’s mass.  As it’s mass melts that water spreads out across the oceans . That same force is at work in Antarctica on a completely different scale. 
    It’s a one two deal more water into the sea , and less gravity drawing the sea up around the ice mass. 
     

  35. If you don’t have Paramount Plus, it is worth getting if only for The Good Fight 

    It just gets better every season.

    Last night’s episode was the judicial war between the majority/historical and the individual rights.  One can be unjust but the other leads to chaos and destruction.

    One divide mentioned that I am very familiar with is the Eastern side of Washington actually belonging in Idaho in representation of issues. Several states are have similar issues.  The final scene of the destruction of the courtroom by flag waving freedom fighters was both hilarious and terrifying.

     

  37. Jamie –
     I read about  that movement to join Idaho .  When I drove over the road, I was based at Lewiston . Idaho .  So I saw a lot of Eastern Washington. truly amazing landscapes , but dry as bone.  Their winter wheat economy is in the crapper . 
    These fights will become  the new normal in the West as climate change  grabs everyone by the throat  . 
     
    The worst air quality in the world the last few days  is at Lake Tahoe. 
    As the fires near the lake , all that ash and scorched soil will be washed into it  for years to come. 
     
     

  38. Jamie – That means you’ll get to see the Tony Awards. I did a free trial of Paramount; I watched almost nothing except the Grammy Awards. I had three months of Peacock Premium for free…and watched one movie. I’d love a freebie of Apple so I could watch the second season of “Dickinson,” but nothing else interests me.

  39. 13 dead Marines , and 90 Afghans. hundreds wounded .  In Afghanistan  they rush you to the  hospital in a wheelbarrow. 
     
    It feels like we are headed back to that here. 
     
    Did Joe screw the pooch ?  Yes.
    Did Abbott, and DeSantis  kill their own voters ? 
    Absolutely,  in far greater numbers.  And their  sin is not slowing down .

  40. Blues hurricane  post  –

    Name
    today
    yesterday
    minimum
    maximum
    weather

    Cancun
    84.7°F
    84°F
    83.5°F
    86.5°F
    89.6°F

    Corpus Christi
    88°F
    87.6°F
    81.5°F
    87.6°F
    91.4°F

    Galveston
    88.5°F
    88.7°F
    82.9°F
    88.9°F
    89.6°F

    Havana
    85.1°F
    84.7°F
    82.9°F
    87.6°F
    93.2°F

    Key West
    86°F
    85.8°F
    83.3°F
    88.2°F
    87.8°F

    Naples
    86.4°F
    86.4°F
    83.8°F
    89.1°F
    91.4°F

    Pensacola
    86.9°F
    85.8°F
    81.5°F
    88°F
    87.8°F

    Tampa
    87.4°F
    86.5°F
    83.1°F
    88.3°F
    91.4°F

    Tampico
    83.8°F
    84°F
    80.8°F
    86.9°F
    89.6°F

     

    Veracruz
    85.1°F
    85.8°F
    83.3°F
    86.4°F
    84.2°F

     

  41. This one is going to be bad , very bad  . 
    These SSTs are insane .  If the wind shear is low , and it is , this one will be a beast.  And it will get stronger as it nears the landfall .
     
    I have seen this cartoon before. 
     
    This is 4th ann. of Harvey  a $120 Billion disaster. 

  45. joe vs fox’s doocey.  wonder how much of this will appear on faux news. probably only a snippet and that will be whatever part that sounds bad.

     

  46. so the 2 errant congress critters have changed their tune according to politico:

    — Iraq War veteran Reps. SETH MOULTON (D-Mass.) and PETER MEIJER (R-Mich.) were roundly condemned for their stealth fact-finding mission to Kabul. But what hasn’t received nearly as much coverage is that when they returned, they reported that the trip had changed their minds, and both now agreed with the Biden administration about the prudence of sticking to the Tuesday deadline.

    In a joint interview with the NYT’s Catie Edmondson, Moulton said this: “Almost every veteran in Congress wants to extend the Aug. 31 deadline, including us, and our opinion on that was changed on the ground, because we started the evacuations so late. There’s no way we can get everyone out, even by Sept. 11. So we need to have a working relationship with the Taliban after our departure. And the only way to achieve that is to leave by Aug. 31.”

    They are clearly not happy with how Biden handled this. But they were chastened enough by the facts on the ground to change their minds about the policy going forward — and they’re now off Team “Extend the Deadline.”

  47. Mike Pompeo takes his own arrows over the Afghanistan collapse – POLITICO

    Trump’s former secretary of State played a key role in the deal with the Taliban. He says Biden botched it. Other Republicans aren’t letting him off the hook.

    […]

     

    The negotiations Pompeo helped conduct as secretary of State resulted in a four-part withdrawal deal with the Taliban that committed the U.S. to a phased, conditions-based removal of all troops in a 14-month period. The U.S. called on the Taliban to cut ties with the terrorist organization al-Qaeda and refrain from any threats to the U.S. or allies, but it also made concessions, like the release of 5,000 combat and political Taliban prisoners and a review of sanctions against the organization. The Afghan government was not involved in the negotiations, a move that critics say undermined the country’s leadership and legitimacy.

    Those close to Pompeo say he recognized early on that a withdrawal deal could be a political quagmire but that he followed President Donald Trump’s order to get American troops out of Afghanistan immediately.

    [continues]

  48. If the Taliban wants us to keep to our timetable, they need to effing help with security.   Someone let that ISIS-K suicide bomber through.   Sadly, 9/11 is upon us and that will amp up the amount of crazy.

  49. OM – My guess is that IDA will be bad enough to retire her name.  New Orleans will get another punch.  

Comments are closed.