• Fiscal Cliff,  John Boehner

    The House Fiscal Cliff Strategy: Shut Up and Pass a Bill

    Boehner and Obama What Should the GOP House Do About The Fiscal Cliff?

    epublican House Speaker John Boehner and President Obama at the White House on November 16, 2012

    Earth speaking to Republican House Speaker John Boehner on the “Fiscal Cliff” – shut up and pass a bill. You are not winning the discourse with the President.

    I told you before what to do and it is very simple.

    Pass an extension of the Social Security payroll tax cut and block its automatic rise from 4.2 percent of wages to 6.2 percent. To raise that tax now and scoop off the discretionary income of most of America’s families in this anemic economy makes no sense economically or politically.

    The House should then vote to extend the Bush tax cuts for another year, with a pledge to do tax reform — lowering tax rates in return for culling, cutting or capping deductions for the well-to-do in the new year.

    Then let Harry Reid work his will. If the Senate votes to let Social Security taxes rise, let Harry and his party explain this to the middle class that gets hammered in January. If the Senate votes to let the Bush tax cuts lapse for those over $200,000, decide in the caucus whether to negotiate — or to go home for Christmas and New Year’s.

    As for the automatic sequester that would impose $100 billion in cuts next year, half in defense, do nothing. Let it take effect. The budget has to be cut, and while these cuts are heavy on defense, the depth and mixture can be adjusted in the new year.

    Another week has gone by and nothing really has happened, except Obama has been beating up on the Republican brand. Boehner, you are not going to be doing any better than the above.

    So, just do it and get it over.

  • Obamacare

    The Troubles with ObamaCare Implementation

    Obama in white coat ObamaCare: Only a Third Favor Obamas Health Reform Law

    Oh and there are plenty of problems with ObamaCare as Noemie Emery points out in her piece.

    Obama won on the claim we had come through the worst of the crash and recession, and that things would slowly but surely start to improve. But wait for the downturn that’s likely to hit when smaller business embark on a new wave of cutbacks, to avoid moving north of Obamacare’s 50-employee limit, above which the federal mandates to provide workers with health care kick in. New hires will not happen, full-time employees with benefits will become part-timers without out them, and some jobs may even be axed. For two years, businessmen have postponed their decisions — now they will make them. Wait until voters find their jobs, their hours cut, their premiums rising, their insurers going out of business and their employers dropping health coverage because of Obamacare.

    Employment will be hurt first as any recovery in the unemployment rate numbers will stall. Then, folks will discover that their medical insurance will suddenly cost more – a lot more or their physicians may either retire or no longer accept Medicare.

    Then, the political recriminations will begin as more and more states refuse to implement the Medicaid expansion portion of the law. The waiting lines for Medicaid patients to see a medical specialist will grow astronomically. There will be stories about rationing of care for the poor.

    The problems are coming folks and coming soon.

  • Dentistry

    American Dental Association Releases Updated Dental Radiograph (X-Ray) Recommendations

    ADA Dental Radiographic Examination Recommendations

    These dental radiograph recommendations were released on November 28.

    In an effort to decrease radiation exposure to patients, the American Dental Association’s (ADA) Council on Scientific Affairs collaborated with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to update the ADA’s recommendations for dental X-ray examinations. The recommendations were released recently.

    The ADA’s “Dental Radiograph Examinations: Recommendations for Patient Selection and Limiting Radiation Exposure” are intended to be used in conjunction with dentists’ professional judgment to determine whether and when dental X-rays are needed. Dental X-rays help dentists evaluate and diagnose oral diseases and conditions, but the ADA recommends that dentists weigh the benefits of taking dental X-rays against the possible risk of exposing patients to the radiation from X-rays, the effects of which can accumulate from multiple sources over time.

    “As doctors of oral health, dentists are in the best position to make decisions on whether to prescribe dental X-rays after an oral examination and with consideration of the patient’s health history. Prescribing dental X-rays should be an individualized process,” said ADA President Robert A. Faiella, D.M.D., M.M.Sc. Since 1989, the ADA has recommended the ALARA principle in relation to dental X-rays—that radiation exposure to patients is “as low as reasonably achievable.”

    A downloadable copy of the recommendations can be obtained here.

    So, what is new?

    • Removing a stronger recommendation for thyroid collar use for children, women of childbearing age and pregnant women. The strength of the recommendation is now the same for all patients.
    • A new section that was not in the 2004 document, which expands upon the 2006 CSA report, “The Use of Dental Radiographs: Update and Recommendations.”
    • New topics that were not covered in the 2006 CSA report such as receptor selection, handheld X-ray units, technique charts and radiation risk communication.
    • Changing the recommendation for shielding to be consistent with the National Council on Radiation Protection & Measurements.

    All dentists should review the updated recommenations and, of course, utilize their best professional judgment for individualized care for their own patients.

  • Twitter

    Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2012-12-04