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Kanye West
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Watch Kimmel and Kanye West feud
Are Jimmy Kimmel and Kanye West at war?
Jimmy Kimmel and Kanye West either are engaged in a bitter feud or a wild parody of one.
A skit poking fun at West on ABC's 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' on Tuesday provoked an irate call from the rapper about an hour and half before Thursday's show, Kimmel said in his monologue.
'He is very angry because of a bit we aired this week,' Kimmel said, in which a child re-enacted an interview that West gave to Britain's BBC. It was 'pretty innocuous,' the late-night host said.
But West ordered him to make a public apology and said Kimmel's life would be 'much better' if he did so, Kimmel said, adding that West also called himself the most powerful voice in media.
Then came more than a half-dozen tweets posted on West's official Twitter site. One called Kimmel out of line for spoofing what West called 'the first piece of honest media in years,' and another referred to photographers trying to get shots of West's baby daughter with Kim Kardashian.
'Jimmy Kimmel, I don't take it as a joke. ... You don't have scum bags hopping over fences trying to take pictures of your daughter,' West tweeted. Other tweets used profanity and coarse language, while one mocked Kimmel by saying his former girlfriend Sarah Silverman is funnier than him:
SARAH SILVERMAN IS A THOUSAND TIMES FUNNIER THAN YOU AND THE WHOLE WORLD KNOWS IT!!!
- KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) September 27, 2013
YOU CAN'T PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES. YOUR FACE LOOKS CRAZY... IS THAT FUNNY?... OR IF I HAD A KID SAY IT WOULD IT BE FUNNY???
- KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) September 27, 2013
Go to West's Twitter page here to see the flurry of tweets.
'Finally, I'm in a rap feud. I always wanted to be in a rap feud,' a smiling Kimmel said.
Kimmel also continued to address the supposed 'feud' on Twitter:
I swear, @kanyewest one more of these I WILL unfollow you #warning #Goshdarnit
- Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) September 27, 2013
Representatives for Kimmel in Los Angeles and West in New York didn't immediately respond to requests for comment made early Friday, outside of business hours.
In a tweet Kimmel posted before the show, he said West's attack was 'not a prank, I promise,' unless West was playing one on him. Kimmel has done his share of high-concept comedy, including a show in which Matt Damon tied him up onstage and took over as host.
West is known for his outbursts, not his humor.
The incident capped a big week for 'Jimmy Kimmel Live,' with shows including Hollywood street concerts with Paul McCartney and Justin Timberlake.
Kanye West unhinged: Rapper goes on vicious rant against Jimmy Kimmel ...
Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel smiles during ceremonies unveiling his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood January 25, 2013.Reuters
Jimmy Kimmel and Kanye West either are engaged in a bitter feud or a heck of a parody.
Kimmel's monologue Thursday night was devoted to discussing what he called a 'very angry phone call' he received from West about an hour and a half before taping ABC's 'Jimmy Kimmel Live.'
Kimmel said that West called to complain about a comedy bit Kimmel's show did this week in which a child re-enacted an interview by the rapper.
According to Kimmel, West told him to apologize publicly and that his life would be better if he did.
Kimmel then cited tweets posted Thursday on West's official Twitter site that forcefully take Kimmel to task, some using profanity.
Requests for comment made early Friday to representatives for Kimmel in Los Angeles and West in New York weren't immediately returned.
Jimmy Kimmel Strikes Back At Kanye West After Crazed Twitter Rant
Kanye went on a outrageous Twitter rampage on Sept. 26, dissing Jimmy by tweeting personal and vulgar statements. The talk show host spoofed Kanye's Sept. 25 BBC interview in a funny video, which was the reason why Kanye, 36, was so mad - and we have EXCLUSIVE details on how Jimmy reacted!
Jimmy Kimmel, 45, spoofed Kanye West's interview with the BBC and it angered Kanye so much that he attacked Jimmy in a slew of extremely rude tweets! However, a source EXCLUSIVELY revealed to HollywoodLife.com about how Jimmy reacted to Kanye's crazed tweets. Read on for all the details and watch the spoof for yourself!
Jimmy Kimmel 'Will Be Getting Back' At Kanye West
Jimmy responded to Kanye with a few tweets of his own, trying to keep the awkward and unbelievable situation lighthearted enough.
'I'll tell you the whole story about @kanyewest tonight on the show - this is not a prank, I promise (unless it's being played on me).' He then retweeted one of the shocking images that Kanye tweeted about him. Then, he tweeted, 'I swear, @kanyewest one more of these I WILL unfollow you #warning #Goshdarnit.'
He ended with,'@joshgroban @kanyewest you've done enough already,' with a link to Josh Groban singing Kanye West's tweets.
Even though Kanye said terrible things about Jimmy, never tweeting his handle once, a source revealed EXCLUSIVE details to HollywoodLife.com about how Jimmy's handling the situation like a pro!
'Jimmy laughed it off and will be getting back at him through comedy, which Kanye doesn't apparently have an ounce of in his entire body,' our source revealed.
We can't wait to see how Jimmy will humorously play Kanye's Twitter rant out on his show, and if the two stars can resolve this crazy situation!
Kanye West's Jimmy Kimmel Twitter Rant
Kanye tweeted 10 furious messages in the span of 56 minutes on Sept. 26 about Jimmy Kimmel's parody video that was shown on Jimmy Kimmel Live of his BBC interview on Sept. 25 - and yikes! These tweets are out of control!
'JIMMY KIMMEL IS OUT OF LINE TO TRY AND SPOOF IN ANY WAY THE FIRST PIECE OF HONEST MEDIA IN YEARS'
'JIMMY KIMMEL, I DON'T TAKE IT AS A JOKE.... YOU DON'T HAVE SCUM BAGS HOPPING OVER FENCES TRYING TO TAKE PICTURES OF YOUR DAUGHTER'
'JIMMY KIMMEL PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES ... OH NO THAT MEANS YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN TOO MUCH GOOD P***Y IN YOUR LIFE...'
'YOU CAN'T PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES. YOUR FACE LOOKS CRAZY... IS THAT FUNNY?... OR IF I HAD A KID SAY IT WOULD IT BE FUNNY???'
'SHOULD I DO A SPOOF ABOUT YOUR FACE OR YOU F**KING BEN AFFLECK...#NODISRESPECTTOBENAFFLECK #ALLDISRESPECTTOJIMMYKIMMEL!!!!'
'I LIKE YOU, YOU KNOW ME, I WENT TO YOUR FAMILY'S WEDDING'
'WHO YOU MADE IT CLEAR TO ME WASN'T YOUR FAMILY WHEN I WAS ON THEN PHONE WITH YOU 5 MINUTES AGO, YOU MANIPULATIVE MEDIA MUTHERF**KER.
'SARAH SILVERMAN IS A THOUSAND TIMES FUNNIER THAN YOU AND THE WHOLE WORLD KNOWS IT!!!'
Kanye also tweeted two questionable images of Jimmy Kimmel that were extremely rude and distasteful!
What do YOU think, HollywoodLifers? Are you team Kanye or Jimmy? Watch the video and VOTE!
WATCH: Jimmy Kimmel's Recreation Of Kanye West's BBC Interview
- Ivy Jacobson More Jimmy Kimmel & Kanye West News: Kanye West Attacks Jimmy Kimmel In Wild Twitter Rant Kanye West Raves About Kim Kardashian: 'She Gave Me A Family' Kim Kardashian 'Bored' Staying At Home With North West - ReportTake Our Poll
Jimmy Kimmel Talks Kanye West Twitter Rant: "Finally, I'm in a Rap Feud"
Jimmy Kimmel Responds To Kanye West With Kim Kardashian Diss
Oh, Kanye. The rapper unleashed on Jimmy on Twitter on Sept. 26 in response to a spoof video the late-night comedian recently made, but shouldn't he have known that his rant was just giving Jimmy more comedic fuel?
made sure the world knew about his utter disgust with Jimmy Kimmel when he attacked him with a flurry of angry tweets on Sept 26. So all eyes were on Jimmy when he took the stage for Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the late night star didn't exactly beg for forgiveness - instead he fired back and even dissed Kim Kardashian!
Jimmy Kimmel Fires Back By Dissing Kim Kardashian
Jimmy decided to address the Yeezus-sized elephant in the room right off the bat on his Sept. 26 show. Explaining to the audience that Kanye was upset with him because of a clip they aired spoofing Kanye's video interview with the BBC, Jimmy then revealed that Kanye actually called him and threatened him before the Twitter rant.
'He called me - he said a lot of things. He told me I had two choices: Number one - apologize publicly... and that was really the only choice,' Jimmy joked. 'The other choice he gave was he said, 'Your life is going to be much better if you apologize.''
Jimmy then read all of Kanye's tweets and responded to each one. Though Jimmy wasn't exactly lashing back at Kanye in his responses, his deadpan reading of them got the point across and emphasized just how wild Kanye's tweets were.
But there's definitely one new diss by Jimmy - involving Kim K - that's going to make Kanye raise his eyebrows. Responding to the tweet, 'JIMMY KIMMEL PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES ... OH NO THAT MEANS YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN TOO MUCH GOOD P***Y IN YOUR LIFE...,' Jimmy said, 'I've seen the video, I know,' obviously referencing Kim's sex tape.
Oh boy, this feud may have just been taken to the next level.
Jimmy Kimmel 'Will Be Getting Back At' Kanye West
To be fair though, Kanye was forewarned that Jimmy would be responding. 'Jimmy laughed it off and will be getting back at him through comedy, which Kanye doesn't apparently have an ounce of in his entire body,' a source close to Jimmy Kimmel Live told HollywoodLife.com exclusively.
Before his show Jimmy also tweeted, 'I'll tell you the whole story about @kanyewest tonight on the show - this is not a prank, I promise (unless it's being played on me).'
Jimmy is a professional comedian - getting into these kinds of arguments is his job! Kanye might be furious with the him, but the rapper's rant really just dug him into a deeper hole. Because we're pretty sure that Jimmy can go diss-for-diss for however long Kanye wants.
What do you think, HollywoodLifers? Watch Jimmy's response below and let us know!
WATCH: @JimmyKimmel @KanyeWest Feud
- Andrew Gruttadaro Follow @AndrewGrutt More Kanye West News: Kanye West Raves About Kim Kardashian: 'She Gave Me A Family' Kim Kardashian & Kanye West Kick Back At Liberty Ross' Birthday Party Kanye West: Is He Afraid Of Going To Jail After Battery & Theft Charges?Take Our Poll
A Health Care Fight That Punishes Federal Workers
One can think of the Affordable Care Act as a highly complex patch on the even more complex and fragmented health insurance system.
Thinking of it that way helps explain why even people who have no ideological dog in the hunt have such difficulty getting their mind around this complex legislation, especially from a worm's-eye view. It does not help that Americans are bombarded daily with misleading information about the act.
Viewing the law from a distance, one discerns two main objectives:
1. To facilitate easier and affordable access to health insurance to Americans who do not now have health insurance (and that latter phrase warrants emphasis).
2. To help reorganize the delivery of health care in the United States to enhance its cost-effectiveness by lowering the cost of producing a given level or quality of care or by enhancing the quality of care for a given cost, or both.
To the best of my knowledge, nowhere in its many pages does the law, either in its spirit or its wording, suggest that employers who currently sponsor health insurance for their employees and who make contributions to the premiums for that coverage are expressly forbidden to do so come Jan. 1.
And yet, seemingly serious adults seem to believe that this is exactly what Section 1312(d)(3)(D)of the law dictates. Among them are the editors of The Wall Street Journal, Michael Cannon of the Libertarian Cato Institute and Robert Moffitt, Edmund Haislmaier and Joseph Morris of the Heritage Foundation.
These longstanding critics of the Affordable Care Act assert that its Section 1312(d)(3)(D) expressly forbids the federal government from sponsoring health insurance for members of Congress and their staffs; they accuse the Office of Personnel Management of the Obama administration of breaking the law by exempting the targeted federal employers from the supposed prohibition. Writing on the opinion page of The Wall Street Journal, for example, former Secretary of Education William Bennett and Christopher Beach speak of 'The Hypocrisy of Congress's Gold-Plated Health Care.'
Traditionally, members of Congress and all federal employees have been able to choose their private health insurance coverage from a wide array of policies offered by private health insurance on a federal health insurance exchange, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, operated by the Office of Personnel Management of the executive branch.
The premiums on this exchange have for decades been fully community-rated, as they are within companies under most employment-based health insurance systems, certainly among large employers. This means the premium quoted by a particular insurer was the same for every individual (and analogously for families), regardless of the health status or age of the insured.
The federal government has contributed to coverage of members of Congress and of all federal employees 72 percent of the average premium bid made by the various insurers on the exchange, or 75 percent of the premium of the health policy chosen by the employee, whichever is lower.
Most large private-sector employers make similar contributions, albeit a bit more generous, toward coverage for their employees. In that regard, the federal program is not really 'gold-plated coverage' as Mr. Bennett and Mr. Beach suggest.
Effective Jan. 1, Section 1312(d)(3)(D) of the law forces members of Congress and their personal staff out of the exchange and onto the state-run or federally run, state-based health insurance exchanges established under the law, there to seek whatever coverage is offered on the relevant exchange.
These new exchanges, it must be emphasized, were not even intended for the great majority of employed Americans and their families who already have job-based, group health insurance with premiums that are community-rated within the company (although some smaller employers currently with small-group coverage and those with many low-wage workers may in the future take advantage of the federal subsidies offered on the new exchanges).
Rather, the new exchanges were designed mainly for the minority of Americans who have to buy coverage in the nongroup market, many millions of whom have pre-existing medical conditions and hitherto could not afford the high premiums they were quoted or were refused coverage outright.
For what it is worth, I view the requirement spelled out in Section 1312(d)(3)(D) as dubious, because it will create many avoidable headaches regarding the interface with Medicare and the Internal Revenue Service. To get a feel for these headaches, I refer readers to a lucid column written by Prof. Timothy Jost of the Washington and Lee School of Law on Aug. 7 and posted on the Health Affairs blog.
It may be helpful to present the relevant Subsection D of Section 1312(d)(3)(D), or the more intrepid can read the entire Section 1312 (starting on Page 64). Subsection D reads as follows:
(D) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN THE EXCHANGE. (i) REQUIREMENT. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, after the effective date of this subtitle, the only health plans that the Federal Government may make available to members of Congress and congressional staff with respect to their service as a member of Congress or congressional staff shall be health plans that are:
(I) created under this act (or an amendment made by this act); or (II) offered through an exchange established under this act (or an amendment made by this act).
(ii) DEFINITIONS. In this section:
(I) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. The term 'member of Congress' means any member of the House of Representatives or the Senate. (II) CONGRESSIONAL STAFF. The term 'congressional staff' means all full-time and part-time employees employed by the official office of a member of Congress, whether in Washington, D.C., or outside Washington, DC.
That's it. Does it state in the section that the federal government may not continue to make the traditional employer-provided contributions to the targeted employees' health insurance?
As I read this short section, it says absolutely nothing about this issue, and I am by no means the first to assert this. Indeed, as early as April 2010, about a month after the act was signed into law on March 23, 2010, the legal staff of the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, Congress's research arm, came to a similar conclusion in response to an inquiry on this point from Representative Tom Price, Republican of Georgia.
The legislative attorneys composing the carefully worded memo suggested to Mr. Price that the intent of the law was not to forbid the government from making contributions to the insurance coverage of the federal employees covered by the section. But they looked to the relevant federal agency to clarify the questions raised by Section 1312(d)(3)(D).
It may be asked how this dubious section ever found its way into the law. It was added by an amendment proposed by Senator Charles Grassley, Republican of Iowa.
Whatever Senator Grassley's motive for his amendment, by design or inadvertently, he helped lure the supporters of the bill into the kind of public relations ambush into which Democrats so frequently stumble. Was it really Senator Grassley's intention to punish all of his colleagues and their staff because some of them had supported the act?
Years ago, former Representative Pete Stark, Democrat of California, somewhat facetiously introduced a bill in the House of Representatives providing that all members of Congress should lose their employer-based insurance coverage until they had legislated a truly universal health insurance system in this country.
We now have the spectacle of Senators David Vitter, Republican of Louisiana, and Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, eagerly seeking to abolish employer-based coverage for their colleagues and, if Senator Cruz has his way, for all personnel on the federal government's payroll, because Congress had tried at long last to extend insurance coverage to more Americans.
It would all be quite amusing, were it not so serious an issue.
Kim Kardashian Sports Sexy Jumpsuit On Lunch Date
It's been just over three months since Kim Kardashian gave birth to her first child, and slowly but surely the reality star has been spotted more frequently in public, thus ensuring paychecks for the throng of paparazzi who follow her every move.
On Tuesday, the 32-year-old was spotted heading into Stanley's Restaurant in Sherman Oaks, Calif., to grab lunch with her sister Kourtney and her boyfriend Scott Disick, as well as friend Blac Chyna, whom you may remember as the stripper on whom Amanda Bynes was reportedly hell-bent on modeling her style.
Kardashian recently tweeted a back-to-work photo, and she was again filming scenes for 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' on this particular lunch date. The new mom looked radiant in an army green jumpsuit that revealed her signature curves and a hint of cleavage. And when she was asked by TMZ's cameramen if it feels good to be out of hiding, she replied:
'I wasn't exactly in hiding.'
Also on HuffPost:
Kanye West Rips Jimmy Kimmel Sketch
Kanye West Rips Kimmel Sketch 'SHOULD I SPOOF YOUR FACE OR YOU F***ING BEN AFFLECK'
BREAKING NEWS: Kanye West can't take a joke ... and he's ripping Jimmy Kimmel a new one online right now in an epic rant to end all rants.
In case you didn't see it last night, Kimmel mocked Kanye's BBC Radio 1 interview with a reenactment sketch that replaced Kanye with a whiny child ... and Ye did NOT take kindly to the insult.
The rapper is currently going all-caps meltdown mode on Twitter, ripping Kimmel for the jab, saying things like, 'JIMMY KIMMEL PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES ... OH NO THAT MEANS YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN TOO MUCH GOOD P**** IN YOUR LIFE...'
'YOU CAN'T PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES. YOUR FACE LOOKS CRAZY ... IS THAT FUNNY? ... OR IF I HAD A KID SAY IT WOULD IT BE FUNNY???'
And our personal favorite ... 'SHOULD I DO A SPOOF ABOUT YOUR FACE OR YOU F***ING BEN AFFLECK...#NODISRESPECTTOBENAFFLECK #ALLDISRESPECTTOJIMMYKIMMEL!!!!'
Kanye then dragged Kimmel's ex Sarah Silverman into it, saying she's WAY funnier than Kimmel, and even posted a meme calling Kimmel a 'no good p****.'
The irony ... Kimmel's entire point was that Kanye acted childish in the interview ... and Kanye just reaffirmed it.
Kanye West Attacks Jimmy Kimmel In Wild Twitter Rant
Kanye went on a wild and harsh Twitter rampage on Sept. 26, majorly dissing Jimmy in every way he possibly could, after the talk show host spoofed Kanye's Sept. 25 BBC interview in a funny video - and we have EXCLUSIVE details on how Jimmy reacted!
Everyone knows that humorous talk show host Jimmy Kimmel loves a good spoof video - but his latest spoof of Kanye's interview with the BBC pushed Kanye to his limits. However, a source EXCLUSIVELY revealed to HollywoodLife.com about how Jimmy reacted to Kanye's crazed tweets. Read on for details and watch the video to decide for yourself if it's offensive!
Kanye West's Jimmy Kimmel Twitter Rant
Kanye tweeted 10 furious messages in the span of 56 minutes about Jimmy Kimmel's parody video of his BBC interview on Sept. 26 - and ouch! These are truly harsh tweets!
'JIMMY KIMMEL IS OUT OF LINE TO TRY AND SPOOF IN ANY WAY THE FIRST PIECE OF HONEST MEDIA IN YEARS'
'JIMMY KIMMEL, I DON'T TAKE IT AS A JOKE.... YOU DON'T HAVE SCUM BAGS HOPPING OVER FENCES TRYING TO TAKE PICTURES OF YOUR DAUGHTER'
'JIMMY KIMMEL PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES ... OH NO THAT MEANS YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN TOO MUCH GOOD P***Y IN YOUR LIFE...'
'YOU CAN'T PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES. YOUR FACE LOOKS CRAZY... IS THAT FUNNY?... OR IF I HAD A KID SAY IT WOULD IT BE FUNNY???'
'SHOULD I DO A SPOOF ABOUT YOUR FACE OR YOU F**KING BEN AFFLECK...#NODISRESPECTTOBENAFFLECK #ALLDISRESPECTTOJIMMYKIMMEL!!!!'
'I LIKE YOU, YOU KNOW ME, I WENT TO YOUR FAMILY'S WEDDING'
'WHO YOU MADE IT CLEAR TO ME WASN'T YOUR FAMILY WHEN I WAS ON THEN PHONE WITH YOU 5 MINUTES AGO, YOU MANIPULATIVE MEDIA MUTHERF**KER.
'SARAH SILVERMAN IS A THOUSAND TIMES FUNNIER THAN YOU AND THE WHOLE WORLD KNOWS IT!!!'
Kanye also tweeted two questionable images of Jimmy Kimmel that weren't nice!
Looks like Jimmy is either going to need to do some major damage control soon - or Kanye is going to need to majorly apologize for his burns about Jimmy's personal life - even saying that ex-girlfriend Sarah Silverman is funnier than he is!
Jimmy Kimmel Responds To Kanye West: 'I WILL Unfollow You'
Jimmy responded with a few tweets of his own.
'I'll tell you the whole story about @kanyewest tonight on the show - this is not a prank, I promise (unless it's being played on me)'
He then retweeted one of the shocking images that Kanye tweeted about him.
Then, he tweeted, 'I swear, @kanyewest one more of these I WILL unfollow you #warning #Goshdarnit'
Followed with, '@joshgroban @kanyewest you've done enough already' with a link to Josh Groban singing Kanye West's tweets.
Even though Kanye said terrible things about Jimmy, never tweeting his handle once, a source revealed EXCLUSIVE details to HollywoodLife.com about how Jimmy's handling the situation like a pro!
'Jimmy laughed it off and will be getting back at him through comedy, which Kanye doesn't apparently have an ounce of in his entire body.'
We can't wait to see how Jimmy plays Kanye's Twitter rant out on his show, and if the two stars can be friends again after this bizarre fight!
WATCH: Jimmy Kimmel's Spoof Of Kanye West's BBC Interview
So what was Kanye so upset about in Jimmy's video that he made about an interview Kanye gave?
In an hour-long radio interview with the BBC, Kanye mentioned how he's upset that the paparazzi stalk his family.
Kanye voiced that he thinks celebrities should be paid every time a photographer takes their picture and vows that his three-month-old daughter North West will be wealthy by the time she's six!
'I'm going to tell my daughter, by the time she understands what it is, 'Man, me and your mother were in a completely different situation than you're in. People could take pictures, people could climb over your fence, and you wouldn't even get paid for it. You see all these checks that you're getting at the age of six because people are taking your picture? I made that happen, Nori.' That's what I'm going to tell her,' he stated in the interview.
Jimmy then took the transcript and hired two children to act it out and break down what he thought Kanye really meant - but obviously, Kanye did NOT find it funny!
What do you think, HollywoodLifers? Do you think Kanye is out of line for his outrageous tweets or that Jimmy's spoof was funny and harmless? Sound off!
WATCH: Jimmy Kimmel's Recreation Of Kanye West's BBC Interview
- Ivy Jacobson More Kanye West News: Kanye West Raves About Kim Kardashian: 'She Gave Me A Family' Kim Kardashian 'Bored' Staying At Home With North West - Report Kim Kardashian & Kanye West Kick Back At Liberty Ross' Birthday PartyTake Our Poll
The Savvy Patient's Guide to Health Care Reform
President Barack Obama's signature on the health insurance reform bill at the White House, March 23, 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)The next phase of health care reform will begin in less than a week with the opening of the health insurance exchanges.
Although political battles are escalating and technological challenges remain, the basics of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also called 'Obamacare,' are unlikely to change. The nearly 1,000-page legislation is an arduous read - for doctors and patients alike. Here is a simplified version, broken down into five major policy parts: Part No. 1: Providing Coverage For The Uninsured The first set of provisions in the ACA addresses the approximately 48 million individuals who don't have health care insurance. It provides access through a combination of Medicaid expansion for low income individuals and a new insurance market for higher earning individuals and small businesses.
The 25 million uninsured individuals who earn less than $15,000 per year (up to $32,500 for a family of four) will be eligible for Medicaid in those states that have opted to expand their participation.
In addition, beginning Oct. 1, 2013, approximately 18 million uninsured individuals earning less than $46,000 per year (up to $94,200 for a family of four) will be eligible for federal subsidies by enrolling in state or federally run 'health insurance exchanges' (also known as insurance marketplaces). Each participating state will offer two exchanges - one for individuals and another for small-businesses to offer coverage for their employees.
Through the exchanges, individuals will be able to enroll in a variety of health insurance plans, all with standardized coverage of medical services. Each participant will be able to select from one of four 'metal' tiers.
Individuals who enroll in 'platinum plans' will have the highest premiums and will pay, on average, 90 percent of the total cost through their premium. The remaining 10 percent of the expected total cost will be paid by the individual at the point of care. Plans in the 'bronze' tier, the lowest premium option, require the individual to pay on average only 60 percent of the projected total cost through the premium. However, these individuals would assume responsibility for the remaining 40 percent through higher co-payments and deductibles.
This is similar to the choice car owners have. They can purchase an insurance policy with a larger premium and less first-dollar exposure or buy a lower-priced insurance policy with a higher deductible. Once fully implemented, the number of insured Americans is likely to increase by more than 10 percent.
Part No. 2: 'Guaranteed Issue' For All Regardless Of Health Status Prior to the ACA, individuals with pre-existing conditions often were denied coverage when purchasing health insurance on the individual market. Those who were not denied underwent extensive medical underwriting and were quoted premiums based on their health 'risk.' The ACA now bans denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions and limits how much insurance companies can charge those who are older and sicker, compared to those who are younger and healthier.
From a medical perspective, this 'guaranteed issue' is positive since those who are most in need of health care will be able to obtain more affordable coverage in the future. From an economic perspective, the impact is less certain. If purchasing health insurance were strictly voluntary, there would likely be a rise in the average premium paid as more people with pre-existing conditions became eligible and bought insurance when they required care. The determinant of overall pricing through the exchanges will be whether the younger and healthier individuals choose to participate. This brings us to part three. Part No. 3: The 'Individual Mandate' Penalizes The Uninsured Legislators recognized that without a requirement to purchase insurance, those who are young and healthy may assume they won't need medical care and avoid buying health insurance until they become sick or get injured. This is particularly problematic in the context of 'guaranteed availability.'
Imagine being able to buy fire insurance once your home was on fire or car insurance after you've totaled the car. The cost of insurance would be very high and defeat the purpose of insurance altogether.
To avoid unbalancing the health insurance risk pool, the ACA requires nearly everyone to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. If everyone purchases coverage, this would uphold the structure of insurance. But many worry that the penalties of $95 starting in 2014 are too low to achieve the desired outcome.
This provision, termed the 'individual mandate,' was one of the most contentious provisions of the ACA. Challenged on constitutional grounds, the individual mandate was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012. Legislators determined that the mandate constituted a tax and that the Constitution afforded the right of taxation to the federal government.
Part No. 4: Financing The Added Expense Of The ACA The bill contains several new sources of revenue to cover the expansion of coverage and associated subsidies. They include decreasing Medicare payments to doctors and hospitals and imposing new taxes on the commercially insured, medical device manufacturers, high-income individuals and the benefit-rich ' Cadillac plans.'
At this point, it is anyone's guess what the impact of the ACA legislation will be on the overall rate of increase of U.S. health care costs. On one hand, more people will have health insurance, implying that more people will use health care services. This could lead to higher expenses in the near term. On the other hand, the increased access to routine primary care and preventive services could eliminate costly emergency-room visits and lead to improved health through preventive care. This is predicted to reduce the incidence and severity of chronic diseases with their associated long-term costs.
Part No. 5: Investing In Five Innovations For The Future The provisions detailed above will have a significant impact on doctors, hospitals and patients over the next three to five years.
Obamacare: Your guide to health insurance terms
(CNN) -- If you don't know what all those health insurance buzz-words like 'co-pay' and 'premium' mean, you're not alone. Most Americans probably don't understand all the basic health care terminology, which could be a serious disadvantage when choosing a plan during open enrollment.
A recent study in the Journal of Health Economics found only 14% of those polled could identify basic health insurance terms. Only 11% of those surveyed could calculate the price of a four-day hospital visit when given a hypothetical plan.
The people surveyed all had health insurance. Presumably they had some familiarity with the terms, or thought they understood their insurance.
Now imagine what could happen when the 48 million uninsured Americans -- many of whom have never had any experience with health insurance -- are confronted with having to choose a plan to meet the requirements of Obamacare next year.
'Insurance is fundamentally complicated,' said George Loewenstein, a professor of economics and psychology at Carnegie Mellon University and a co-author of the study. 'I have a Ph.D. in economics and I consult with insurance companies, but there are elements I can't understand, so it didn't surprise when I saw the average person struggle with these terms.'
Not knowing these terms can be expensive.
'We know from other research that people make disastrously bad insurance choices because they don't understand this basic language,' Loewenstein said. 'I seriously hope people will ask for help and can find good advice on finding the plan that is right for them.'
Here are some terms you may want to learn before you dive into a decision about your health insurance for next year. This information is compiled from the Health and Human Services and Employee Benefits Security Administration's guidance on terms.
Complete coverage: Health care in America
1. Deductible
The amount you owe before your health insurance benefits kick in. For example, if your deductible is $500, your insurance won't pay for anything until your costs are more than $500.
A co-payment, or co-pay, is the amount the insured person pays every time he or she receives a health service. For instance, if your co-pay to see a doctor is $25, you pay that amount each time you see him or her. The insurance takes care of the rest.
Your part of the costs of a health service that is covered by insurance. It is calculated as a percentage and you pay it in addition to whatever deductible you may owe. For example if your plan allows $100 for a doctor visit and you've already met your deductible, your co-insurance payment of 20% would be $20. The insurance plan picks up the rest of the cost.
4. Out-of-pocket maximum
The most you pay during the period of your policy (most policies go for a year) before your insurance plan begins to pay 100% of the allowed amount. This total does not include your balance-billed charges, your premium, or the health care services your plan doesn't cover. Some plans don't count the out-of-network payments, co-insurance payments, co-payments, other expenses or deductibles toward this amount, so read the plan instructions carefully.
5. Premiums
The amount you must pay for your insurance plan.
6. Claim
The bill you or your doctor or health care provider submits to your health insurance company.
7. Allowed amount
This may also be called an 'eligible expense' or 'negotiated rate' or 'payment allowance.' It is the maximum amount on which payment is based for health care services that are covered by your insurance.
An in-network provider is a health care office that has contracted with the health insurance company to provide services for people on that insurance plan. An out-of-network provider is someone who does not have such a relationship with the insurance company. Typically, insurance will only cover the cost of services from health care providers who are 'in-network.'
9. Essential health benefits
This is the set of health care services that must be covered by certain plans starting in 2014. There are 10 categories in which insurance plans must provide services and items: Maternity and newborn care, prescription drugs, rehabilitative services and devices, lab services, ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, wellness and preventive services, chronic disease management, and pediatric services that include vision and oral care.
10. Preventive care
Routine health care that includes regular checkups, patient counseling and screenings to prevent disease, illness and other health complications.
Map: Options under Obamacare
Kim Kardashian: Dumped by Kanye West?!?
In a recent interview, Kanye West said he loves Kim Kardashian because the reality star gave him everything.
But the rapper was clearly lying because In Touch Weekly makes it clear: Kardashian has been dumped by her baby daddy!!!!!
And when was the last time In Touch Weekly reported a falsehood?
'It's making her miserable,' an insider tells the magazine of Kim's plight. 'She feels trapped and lonely. She doesn't want to do this by herself.'
But she clearly has no choice, as the tabloid says West 'has no problem spending time about from Kim and Nori,' adding that he recently opted to 'hit New York Fashion Week, attend John Legend's wedding in Italy, promote his own career in London, and travel to Paris for a concert' as opposed to 'nesting with his family.'
Seriously, the nerve of this guy.
We'd feel bad for Kim if this story were remotely true, but Kanye and Kim looked pretty happy together while hanging with Oprah over Emmys weekend, didn't they?
Miley Cyrus Calls Out Taylor Swift, Kanye West and Steve Carell in 'Rolling ...
Miley Cyrus doesn't only grace the recent cover of Rolling Stone magazine but also spills the beans about some of her famous acquaintances too!
Totally giving her fans a look into her life like never before, Miley talks about Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and Steve Carell in the new interview. And you'll probably be surprised by what she had to say about them like we were!
When it comes to Kim Kardashian's baby daddy, Miley had nothing but awesome things to say about Yeezus. She admitted that they're 'homies' and that after the VMAs, she told him that a pair of her expensive slippers were falling apart and he bought her five more.
We're pretty sure Miley slammed Kanye's BFF (not!), Taylor, in the interview too. When talking about her VMAs she said, 'We could have even gone further, but we didn't. I thought that's what the VMAs were all about! It's not the Grammys or the Oscars. You're not supposed to show up in a gown, Vanna White-style.'
Of course, everyone assumed that line was about Taylor especially because she was seen freaking out in the audience over Miley's raunchy performance that night...and she wears cute gowns to events all the time!
Miley had a lot to say about her good friend Bieber in the interview as well.
'I'm not much older than him, so I never want it to feel like I'm mentoring him. But I do mentor him in a way. Because I've been doing this sh-t for a long time, and I already transitioned, and I don't think he's quite done it yet. He's trying really hard. People don't take him seriously, but he really can play the drums, he really can play guitar, he really can sing. I just don't want to see him f-ck that up, to where people think he's Vanilla Ice. I tell him that. Like, 'You don't want to become a joke. When you go out, don't start sh-t. Don't come in shirtless.' But the thing is, I think boys are, like, seven years behind. So in his head, he's really, like, 12.'
She was quick to make sure Justin and his fans didn't take her words the wrong way and sent him a tweet to clarify her statement. Read about that here.
Our favorite quote from her interview is one about funny actor Steve Carell! As much as you'd think he would be the coolest neighbor ever to have, Miley revealed that that's not the case at all.
'He always gives me the stank-eye because I drive so fast,' Miley said.
'The other day I was trying to reverse and I almost hit a thousand things, and I was getting nervous because I could see him going-' and here she crossed her arms and sighed loudly to demonstrate. LOL!
Click to read more of Miley's Rolling Stones interview and to see her topless magazine cover too!
Are you shocked she openly talked about the other celebs? What are your thoughts about what she had to say? Kanye, nice? Taylor, fake? Bieber, a joke? Steve, grouchy?
Navigating the Affordable Care Act, whose health insurance exchanges open ...
'American Dad' lands Kim Kardashian guesting as a furry alien
'She can love me without asking for money': Kanye West on why Kim Kardashian ...
Best Kanye Interview Ever
Obama Lied, My Health Plan Died
By Michelle Malkin
- September 25, 2013
Like an estimated 22 million other Americans, I am a self-employed small-business owner who buys health insurance for my family directly on the individual market. We have a high-deductible PPO plan that allows us to choose from a wide range of doctors.
Or rather, we had such a plan.
Last week, our family received notice from Anthem BlueCross BlueShield of Colorado that we can no longer keep the plan we like because of 'changes from health care reform (also called the Affordable Care Act or ACA).' The letter informed us that '(t)o meet the requirements of the new laws, your current plan can no longer be continued beyond your 2014 renewal date.'
In short: Obama lied. My health plan died.
Remember? Our president looked America straight in the eye and promised: 'If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what.'
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also lied when she pledged: 'Keep your doctor, and your current plan, if you like them.'
This isn't just partisan business. It's personal. Our cancellation letter states that Anthem is 'not going to be selling new individual PPO plans.' When we asked whether we could keep our children's doctors, an agent for Anthem told my husband and me she didn't know. The insurer has no details available yet on what exactly they'll be offering. We either will be herded into the Obamacare federal health insurance exchange regime (launching October 1), a severely limited HMO plan, or presented with costlier alternatives from another insurer. If they even exist.
My family is not alone. Across the country, insurers are sending out Obamacare-induced health plan death notices to untold tens of thousands of other customers in the individual market. Twitter users are posting their Obamacare cancellation notices and accompanying rate increases:
Linda Deright posted her letter from Regency of Washington state: '63 percent jump, old policy of 15 yrs. cancelled.' Karen J. Dugan wrote: 'Received same notice from Blue Shield CA for our small business. Driving into exchange and no info since online site is down.' Chris Birk wrote: 'Got notice from BCBS that my current health plan is not ACA compliant. New plan 2x as costly for worse coverage.' Small-business owner Villi Wilson posted his letter from HMSA Blue Cross Blue Shield canceling his individual plan and added: 'I thought Obama said if I like my health care plan I can keep my health care plan.'
Few among Washington's protected political class are paying attention, because they enjoy their lucrative government benefits and are exempted from Obamacare's destructive consequences. But one of my state's congressional representatives, GOP Rep. Cory Gardner, also lost his individual market plan. Unlike most politicians on Capitol Hill, Gardner chose not to enroll in the federal health insurance program. He told me that he opted to participate in the private market 'because I wanted to be in the same boat as my constituents. And now that boat is sinking!'
Gardner points to recent analysis showing individual market rate increases of 23 percent to 25 percent in Colorado. 'After my current plan is discontinued,' he wrote last week, 'the closest comparable plan through our current provider will cost over 100 percent more, going from roughly $650 a month to $1,480 per month.' He now carries his Obamacare cancellation notice with him as hardcore proof of the Democrats' ultimate deception.
Maryland announced that its post-Obamacare individual market rates could also rise by a whopping 25 percent. The National Association for the Self-Employed is recommending that its small-business owners and freelancers plan for at least a 15 percent increase nationwide. One of the reasons for those rate hikes, of course, is that Obamacare's mandated benefits provisions force insurers to carry coverage for items that individual market consumers had deliberately chosen to forgo.
Americans who had opted for affordable catastrophic coverage-style plans now have fewer and fewer choices. This includes a whole class of musicians, photographers, artists, writers, actors and other creative people who purchased health plans through the individual market or through small professional organizations. As St. Vincent College arts professor Ben Schachter reports in the Weekly Standard, groups like the College Art Association, Modern Language Association and the Entertainment Industry Group Insurance Trust are dropping their plans. Young, healthy members of these groups 'are far more likely to see their rates go up -- or to face the individual mandate penalties.'
Thanks to Obama, access is down. Premiums and health care spending are up. Research and development on lifesaving drugs and medical devices are down. Hours and benefits have been cut because of Obamacare costs and regulatory burdens by at least 300 American companies, according to Investor's Business Daily. And the Obamacare layoff bomb continues to claim victims.
Obamacare is destroying the private individual market for health insurance by design, not accident. For hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of self-employed job creators, three fundamental Obamacare truths are becoming as clear as Obama's growing nose: 1) You can't keep it. 2) We're screwed. 3) The do-gooders don't care.
Kanye West's vaulting ambition does him – and others – a disservice
Kanye West doesn't do many interviews these days but he knows how to make each one count. That is, of course, if you can define what happened on Radio 1 last night as an interview. Zane Lowe was less an interrogator than a hostage negotiator trying to process a series of outlandish demands while maintaining at least a veneer of normality.
Kanye has never been hobbled by a lack of self-belief. The only time I met him, back in 2005, when he still consented to answer questions instead of barking out monologues, he explained that his hyperbolic claims were a strategy to goad himself into living up to them, and it worked. He has released six strikingly different solo albums, produced or collaborated on several more, and changed the sound of hip-hop at least three times. His insistence to Zane Lowe that he is 'the No 1 rock star on the planet' may sound like typical Kanye hoopla but really, who else in the past decade has been this outrageous, compelling, artistically daring and central to pop culture?
What seems to be driving him to distraction now is the refusal of other citadels of culture to bend to his will - he compares himself to J im Carrey at the end of The Truman Show, banging his head against a painted sky. It's an extreme example of the sense of entitlement bred by success. Celebrity culture insists that if someone is gifted in one area then they should naturally be allowed to make fragrances or write children's books, as if talent were an infinitely transferable resource. Because of this expectation, and because Kanye will not admit to having limitations, any failure or rejection must be somebody else's fault. If he wants to design shoes or water bottles or, goddammit, entire buildings (has he been reading The Fountainhead?) then people should let him and if they don't, well, they must be resentful bigots trying to keep him in his place.
The idea, cautiously ventured by Zane Lowe, that these fields require years of training and experience does not compute. Pop music may be unusually sympathetic to the plucky amateur with more imagination than know-how but architecture, for various reasons including not wanting people to be crushed or burned to death, has somewhat higher barriers to entry. Most of the important figures Kanye namechecks in the interview were brilliant at one thing and maybe capable at a couple of others. Hedi Slimane, who annoys him so much, isn't trying to be a rapper. Steve Jobs didn't try to write a Broadway musical. Even the biggest egos usually stop somewhere.
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Kanye is not alone in feeling snubbed by cultural gatekeepers in other disciplines: just ask any thin-skinned pop star whose ventures into painting or classical music have ended badly. What leaves a sour taste is his half-assed attempt to frame his setbacks in terms of racial politics, a doomed effort because no argument can escape the tractor beam of his Death Star-sized narcissism long enough to reach a satisfying point. He draws his conclusions from a sample set of one. I'm sure, for example, that when he ventures outside the music business he encounters racism. Wealth and power may trump race in the short run but once you've arrived in elite circles you can't help but notice that most of the faces are white. However, it's also possible that the right people genuinely didn't like his leather jogging pants and, if his pitching style is anything like his interviews, conceivable that they didn't relish working with him. Similarly, it's true that US radio has become increasingly unfriendly to black artists, but there are more prosaic reasons why daytime radio hasn't taken to the uncompromising harshness of his latest album Yeezus.
When Kanye does reference the wider African-American experience he applies such berserk logic and nonsequiturs that he only makes things worse. 'We're seriously, like, in a civil rights movement,' he says, tantalisingly, before talking about his courageous decision to wear tight jeans. Or there's this, regarding airplay: 'My mom got arrested for the sit-ins, and now we're more like the sit-outs, like sit off of radio, and say, 'Hey, radio, come to us.'' These are the same kind of crass false equivalences you find on the Strange Fruit-mutilating Blood on the Leaves, an artistic nadir that I wish Lowe had had the time or inclination to bring up in the interview. It's particularly hard to take Kanye's claims seriously since he backtracked on his criticism of President George Bush after Hurricane Katrina, the one moment in his career when he did actually make a stand for black people who aren't called Kanye West.
Unwilling to engage with politics in any meaningful way, he therefore claims that his music is, in itself, a social good: 'If you're a Kanye West fan you're not a fan of me, you're a fan of yourself.' While that may be true of the occasional can-do anthem like Touch the Sky, it's nonsense when you listen to the embattled, claustrophobic Yeezus, a record that barely acknowledges the existence of other people. Kanye's music has many virtues but generosity and empathy are not among them.
And yet Kanye still has many qualities that make him more than an ego on legs. He can a laugh (a bit) at his own excesses. He likes to support smaller artists, from long-serving mid-table rappers (Pusha T) to young British producers (Hudson Mohawke). He gives credit where it's due, constantly thanking Jay-Z for helping to launch his career instead of pretending he built it single-handedly. He is sincerely committed to innovative, risk-taking music when other artists of his stature, especially in hip-hop, tend to play safe. And he touches on many interesting points in the interview about race, power, celebrity and culture, even if he's too impatient to develop any of them.
Of course, it's the impatience, the unguarded stream-of-consciousness ranting, the exposed nerves, the mad, overheated tangle of thoughts, that makes him compelling and provocative in ways that he doesn't even intend. He's a creature of our times, the quintessential product of the cult of self-belief, ambition without restraint. He's a genius and a clown. As a music fan I wish he'd devote more of his energy to making brilliant music and less to designing leather jogging pants. On a political level, I flinch at the self-absorbed way in which he invokes the spirit of the civil rights movement. But I still think that, like those other difficult egomaniacs Prince and Michael Jackson, he does more good than harm. Simply by being so spectacularly unreasonable, he encourages other artists to sail towards the painted sky.
Commander In Chief, Explainer
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