Marriage Proposal: A Legally Binding Contract?

Ms. Shell, who left her $80k/yr job in Florida to move in with Mr. Gibbs, decided to sue Mr. Gibbs after he called off the wedding. A jury in Georgia awarded Ms. Shell $150k for the financial detriment she incurred relying on Mr. Gibbs' marriage proposal. She even got to keep the engagement ring. Here is the article.

The issue here is whether Mr. Gibbs' marriage proposal amounted to a binding contract. First off, this smells like a frivolous lawsuit with possibly dangerous slippery slope concerns. Folks call off weddings all the time. It seems if this case is cited often enough, it will make it into the corpus juris, and, in turn, will have a chilling effect on folks thinking about popping the question. (Ok, I admit, this may strike some as silly). But at the least, it just makes for an awkward situation like having a prenuptial agreement. You really don't want one, but you sort of need one just in case. Plus, such a personal decision in my opinion should be kept out of the courts, or at least should be rendered in-actionable under contract law. Contract law should be kept to business and commercial disputes.

Well, without the benefit of reading the court's jury instructions, let's see if we can do a quick and dirty contract law analysis here and see if the elements are present. So the ultimate question again is, can this oral promise to marry be enforced by law? First, let's consider this in a standard contract theory. Generally speaking, the three elements of a binding contract is that there must be an offer, acceptance, and "consideration" for the transaction.

For example, Scenario #1: I see my neighbor's beautiful classic mustang convertible and I go over and offer $100k for it. My neighbor accepts. Assuming we put the offer and acceptance in writing and sign the document, the $100k is my necessary consideration that now creates a binding contract. My neigbor's consideration is of course his classic mustang. This is the simplest form of a binding contract.

However, not all contracts are created equal. Scenario #2: Say on Monday I go over to my neighbor and offer $100k for the car, and my neighbor accepts. We decide that the actual transfer of money and car will take place on Friday. I've made an oral promise. Say further that my neighbor, relying on my oral promise, goes to a car dealer and picks out a beautiful BMW and signs a contract to consummate the transaction on Saturday. He is now bound by that contract and must purchase the BMW on Saturday. But what if I rescind my offer? My neighbor's got some problems since now he is legally obligated to buy that BMW but now that I've backed out of my promise to pay him $100k for his classic mustang, he cannot purchase the BMW. He won't have the money by Saturday.

This scenario seems pretty analogous to the marriage proposal situation (although its absurd at the same time to compare a purchase of an auto with a marriage). Mr. Gibbs offered Ms. Shell a two-carat engagement ring (the consideration) for her hand in marriage. Relying on Mr. Gibbs' promise, Ms. Shell left her lucrative career in Florida and moved in with Mr. Gibbs. Mr. Gibbs, however, calls off the wedding and now Mrs. Shell is left with a $30k job in Georgia.

There seems to be 2 ways that Ms. Shell could have framed her complaint - 1) arguing that Mr. Gibbs' oral promise created a binding contract, and, in the alternative, 2) that his oral promise is legally binding under the promissory estoppel doctrine.

Here, and in Scenario #2, we don't have a written contract, but an oral promise. But if the engagement ring is considered Mr. Gibbs' consideration for Ms. Shell's hand in marriage, then it seems to me there could be a binding contract and relying on a promissory estoppel theory is obviated. But it also seems the easier, and probably the more effective theory to go on would be promissory estoppel.

There are four elements of promissory estoppel: 1) the promise had to have been unequivocal, 2) the promisee justifiably relied on the unequivocal promise, 3) the promisee's reliance was substantial and of definite character, and 4) enforcing the promise will serve the interests of justice, ergo, society.

Well, let's see here, I presume Mr. Gibbs' proposal was unequivocal. I picture him getting down on a knee, popping open the jewelry box, and bling bling, "Will you marry me." That's pretty unequivocal. And I can't imagine how you could muddy a marriage proposal. So element one, check. Did Ms. Shell justifiably rely on the proposal? Well, obviously she said yes. And she quit her lucrative job in Florida and moved in with Mr. Gibbs in Georgia. Although I'd argue that this was simply bad judgment on her part, and, therefore, unjustified, I guess a sympathetic jury could, and probably did, find that her reliance was justified. Was it substantial and of definite character? I haven't checked case law on the meaning of the words "substantial" and "definite character," but, it wasn't like she left her job in Florida and never got a job thereafter. She got a job making about $30k at a community college in Georgia. Again, it's arguable. Lastly, will enforcing his promise be in the interest of justice? I think this is the most subjective of all four elements and depends critically on the make-up of the jury. I'd argue that engagements are called off all the time and holding Mr. Gibbs legally liable for his decision to call it off and Ms. Shell's bad judgment contributes to an already litigious society and has dangerous slippery slope implications. And therefore, the deleterious effects on society by holding Mr. Gibbs liable outweighs any such effect from a contrary holding (such as, I guess, holding men liable in order to protect vulnerable women after they have made a bad call? Which seems terribly paternalistic and completely contrary to a feminisit mindset, although I guess women propose marriage too, in which case it would be protecting vulnerable men). But once again, reasonable arguments could be made for both sides.

Ultimately, (without knowing what law was given to the jury) I think this jury got it wrong. I suspect the jury used their hearts more than their heads. I leave you with a similar hypothetical: Say I promise Beautiful to take her to the prom. She relies on my promise and buys a prom dress. The day before, I decide to take More Beautiful instead. Yea, it's a boorish thing to do, but would you be comfortable allowing her to sue me for that? I mean, come one, we can't rely on the law to right every wrong. The law is not the answer to all injustices in life. There is a dangerous slippery slope here and it only adds to an already litigious society.

My Basis of Thought....And Why Someday I Might Buy This Coffee..

Response to the Coffee Company with a preface about my personal views, in general.

As a proud Zionist, I have followed Meir Kahane and his group for over 20 years. I am anonymous to the organization. They request support regularly which they definitely deserve. I openly market their webpage and message to others. I have video taped their show and collected articles about them for years. I felt my position was expressed by my profile (on this blog page) but no information about how I came to it. Here is a picture of two books in my possession authored by Kahane and autographed. The group has been media blitzed as a lunatic fringe or maybe as an equivalent to Hamas or Hezbullah. These accusations are ridiculous! The two Muslim "freedom fighter" groups are unarguably terroristic organizations based on their tactics and ideology. The JTF have used discretion at every opportunity to push their cause without the murderous actions and torturous shenanigans that are commonplace elsewhere.







My life experience traveling to Israel, living in New York, and Florida, combined with speaking with Holocaust survivors and living amongst people from across the country and globe of all faiths allows me a unique insight. School, way back when, encouraged someone to look inside and out in order to make a proper and profound conclusion, not a prejudicial one.
When peace-loving, anarchist, liberal, elitist say they want everyone to love one another, I get frustrated because fantasy-land ideas have never prevailed. For example, people are jealous of their own neighbors from time to time! How could anyone expect all the world's people are to peacefully coexist?! It's a lofty goal, but virtually unattainable! The same people that spin this message of universal love usually state that the "hatred for others" is entrenched in traditional religious based books and beliefs and change is necessary in the religious institutions themselves if universal love is to be achieved. (Using past wars as examples here.) Bullshit!! Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor...is the bread-and-butter of the doctrines of the world's religions. Hindus and Buddhists treat all life as sacred. Jews preach the practice of mitzvah, to do something for another without expecting compensation of any sort. Christianity states "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Islam asks their believers to do the same...but only to other Muslims. All religions except Islam preach love and tolerance for others. All the great moral ideas that exist today are rooted in those same religions. While some have partially changed over the years, which is Testament (no pun intended) to the tolerant nature and inclusiveness they always taught, the overall ideas remain unchanged. Intolerance of other people is the consistent message of Islamic culture and leadership (both cleric and governmental). Where are the Muslim entrepreneurs looking for universal love. (silence) I am not a pessimist nor am I cynical. I choose to make my opinions based in reality, not hope. I hope companies like this coffee company prevail in proving me wrong and world peace is the final result. On the other hand, sticking my head in the ground is no way of looking to the future. Everyday, terror attacks perpetrated by Muslims all over the world kill and maim others. Families celebrate the malicious attacks, rejoicing with candy and much fanfare. Maybe condemnation by some groups associated with the same religion which perpetrated the attacks would provide some solace and give Leftists ammunition for there insane position. Working together on coffee is so far from making world peace, its not even a small step.
I noticed that the company was formed by Americans with Jewish and Christian backgrounds. Why did no Muslim organizations pitch the idea? Why have all philanthropist ventures hoping to improve life in impoverished areas of the world stemmed from Western countries? Islamic people usually benefit the most from these ventures whenever they are tried. Little is done to reciprocate this from wealthy Muslim countries. Do the Saudis try to help Hindu people in poverty? Do the Iranians help Israelis? Islamic countries do little to help their poor? They hold multiple seats in the UN yet waste valuable time condemning Israel for defending itself. Israel has given land to the Arabs multiple times in good faith with NO success in peaceful, final negotiations. Israel has helped the Jordanians in utilizing the Dead Sea for economic prosperity. The cold peace they share is little consolation in my view. Pakistan is the Hindu "land for peace" deal that only lead to war over Kashmir. The lust for world domination is insatiable for Muslims. This is apparent by their actions in the past AND present. No outcry for the victims of Islamic aggression by Islamic groups, only jeers.
I hope your coffee company is the beginning of a great capitalist venture that does bring world peace. As a matter of fact, I will do a commercial for the company if it ever begins to change any minds at their request. I want the entire world to be a John Lennon metaphor. But I have my doubts. While Hindus, Jews, Christians and others get the flack from living on the global front of the modern street-to-street third world war that is Islamic conquest rooted in Khilafah dreams, I hold out our cynical hand to your company: I am buying the coffee as soon as I see it in stores! GOOD LUCK!!

But..if you stick your head in the ground when events happen to justify our position, I am sticking my size 13 boot in your ass-sumption that everyone respects one another!


Ronald Reagan said, " Trust but verify." He held the communists to this and they complied. I hold the terrorists who say they want peace to the same standard.


Links
Muslim attack 7/30/08
Islamic attack on Hindus
Islam in Russia

Thanksgiving Coffee Company responds...

Paul Katzeff, CEO of the Thanksgiving Coffee Company, and Holly Moskowitz, the Director of National Sales and Outreach of the Thanksgiving Coffee Company commented on my post below, as did others affiliated with the company. I appreciate everyone's comments. I certainly think the most effective way to combat poverty is through supply and demand, as opposed to simply throwing money at the problem like government likes to do.

Anyways, the first comment is from Paul and the second one is from Holly. I thought their comments were worth putting up as separate posts.

"It is interesting to note the original comment that started this discussion. It was [American Confucius] that could not believe that something good was not something either fake or a lie to make money. It speaks to the depths our society has sunk . Good news has been co-opted so often by multinational corporations that we have begun to suspect anything that is done in the business sector is a ruse on the American People.

When I got the call from Uganda describing the multi racial make up of the coffee coop I believed it immediately. Because it was too good to be true, I explored it further and decided to purchase the coops entire crop which was then(2004) 37,500 pounds. I purchased it without tasting a sample because I believed that people with so much love to share, would be people who would give much attention and love to their coffee trees. It is that attention and love that creates good coffee . I flew to Uganda and met the farmers, signed a long term contract and began to spread the word about them and their amazing story of religious tolerance and love. This for me was the moment I had been unknowingly waiting for. The chance to use coffee to promote peace through prosperity. I thought I was God's gift to this coffee but I soon discovered that this coffee was God's gift to me and that I needed to consider just how important it was to market this coffee in a way that respected the intrinsic values it contained. It was not about the product, but about the people.

Who ever you are and where ever you are [American Confucius], it can be said that you have a deep rooted cynical bent that may be a healthy way to live in our demoralized society, but to really be effective in helping you become the righteous person you wish to become, you will be best served by leaning a bit more to the optimistic and do us all a favor and use your voice to help my little company of 30 people sell this coffee for the farmers who now produce 112,500 lbs yearly. Last year we were able to sell 25,000 lbs as Mirembe Kawomera and that generated $25,000 extra for the cooperative's members. Help us with your voice. This economic model is a fair and honest one you can trust.

Paul Katzeff
CEO,
Thanksgiving Coffee Company"

*************************************

"Thank you for responding to the posts. First to comment on Marsha’s comment, I think her point is that the $1.61 is the “fair” cost of the coffee. If you buy conventional coffee, which is not certified Fair Trade, or if the farmers don’t have a Fair Trade buyer which means they end up selling at the local market to a middleman, the farmer could be making as little as 25 cents a pound for their coffee. So the fact that TCC pays above FT market price, it sort of is altruistic. It’s unfortunate that the rest of the world doesn’t pay a fair price, but we are trying to raise awareness. If you haven’t already done so, you should watch the movie “Black Gold.” It is about the international coffee trade and price crisis.

To answer your question, yes, the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish farmers work together on a regular basis. Each faith is represented on the Cooperative’s executive board. Through our profit-sharing partnership, the community built a school together, which children of the Cooperative, regardless of their faith, can attend. Earlier this year, the Peace Kawomera Cooperative and Thanksgiving Coffee Co received The Tufts Institute for Global Leadership’s Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award. The award was given for innovative and powerful efforts on behalf of alleviating poverty, creating accountable and sustainable trade practices, encouraging community peace and promoting interfaith harmony.

This link is to the trailer of a documentary that is in progress on the coffee project. It’s 7 minutes long, and gives insight to what happens on the ground. http://www.mirembekawomera.com/movie"

Holly Moskowitz
Direct of National Sales and Outreach
Thanksgiving Coffee Company

Marketing Ploy: "It's for a Good Cause."

Just for a a little context, my liberal friend recently sent me an e-mail with a link to the Thanksgiving Coffee Company, which purports to better the lives of poor African coffee farmers by buying coffee from them at the Fair Trade price and to bring together Christians, Muslims, and Jews by having them plant coffee together. She wanted me to start buying my coffee from this company because it was for a "good cause." Below was my reply:

"This is interesting Laurie. Well, as sort of a coffee snob, I'm always looking for great coffee. I visited the website more out of an interest in the coffee than out of an interest in the company's purported "good cause." My government taxes me aplenty and sends much of it as aid to Africa and beyond, and obviously, no one appreciates our generosity, so, forgive me if I'm not constantly looking for ways to give away my hard-earned money.

At any rate, I noticed a couple things about this company. But here's my preface: I praise the creative entrepreneurial spirit of the CEO. It seems these days, for good or ill, companies are finding that a great way to sell a product (that perhaps wouldn't survive in a competitive market that runs purely on quality) is to tap into people's conscience. As a free-marketeer, I don't have any qualms about that. A great example of such a company is the Ethos Water Bottle Company recently bought up by Starbucks. It purports to give "a portion" of the price to help a "good cause." Well, the founders got a huge payout by Starbucks when it was bought out. (But I've always wondered whether they knew that their plastic bottles were a large contributing factor to the world's pollution problem.)

Anyway, you can correct me if I'm wrong, since I only briefly perused the website, but they purport to purchase a pound of coffee (16 oz) from the cooperative at the Fair Trade price of $1.61. And they also purport to send the cooperative an extra $1 for every pound as part of their profit-sharing plan, which, by the way, they make it sound like the farmers are seriously partners to this enterprise (uh, not quite).

The company then sells 12 oz (less than a pound) at a range from $10.50 up to $25! So, looking at this in the light most favorable to the company, for every 12 oz of coffee they sell at $10.50, they're giving back less than $1. Don't forget the $1.61 is their overhead. So in essence, the company is marking up their product almost seven-fold! Just to put this in perspective, this mark-up is very similar to how much big (bad) multi-national companies like Walmart and Nike mark up their products after buying them from third world countries like Africa. What would people say if the CEO of Nike said, well, we're giving jobs to these poor indigents, giving them a better life, so buy from us. People would laugh.

Moreover, they have a coffee bag with Che Guevara on it, and appear very proud of it. I mean come on, he was to Castro what Himmler was to Hitler - his chief executioner! He killed hundreds and thousands of people with his travelling death squad. He set up death camps where he killed gays, dissidents and people with AIDS. To spin it in another way, he was a miserable failure. He was Castro's bitch his whole life and nothing but a wanna-be revolutionary. I mean, if you want to lionize a totalitarian on your coffee package, put Stalin, or Mao, or Hitler.

Point being, don't get sucked into their marketing campaign. Like all other marketing campaigns, this one is solely to turn a profit, and a big one at that. Again, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with turning a profit, but, I do have a problem with companies feigning righteousness and trying to pull a quick one over consumers, when, in fact, they're like any other company operating out of self-interest and profit. For these reasons, I won't buy coffee from this company. But who knows, their coffee could be really really good, in which case, they don't have to feign anything! Sad...

By the way, this is good material for my blog. :) Thanks."

Barak Hussein Obama Utilizes "Jackie Mason" Style Tactics To Win Votes

IS MY CANDIDACY ABOUT CHANGE? O BOY, IS IT EVER!



I..AM..FOR..CHANGE! I'M FOR SOME CHANGE, BUT NOT ALL CHANGE!



WE'LL HAVE A LITTLE CHANGE HERE, A LITTLE CHANGE THERE. I DON'T KNOW ANY SPECIFIC CHANGES OR EXACTLY HOW MUCH I'M CHANGING, BUT DON'T WORRY! I'M DEFINATELY CHANGING.



IS IT GOOD CHANGE ..OR BAD CHANGE? I DUNNO.....AND I DON'T WANNA KNOW. BUT WE'LL CHANGE.




IF THE CHANGES DON'T WORK, WE'LL KEEP CHANGING! WE'LL CHANGE BACK, ...MAYBE STOP SOME CHANGES, I DUNNO.



HEY MISTER! DO YOU UNDERSTAND MY CAMPAIGN IS ABOUT CHANGE?.....CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE!



OY VEY! WE CHANGED AGAIN?!! WHAT'S WITH ALL THE CHANGE? WE'LL CHANGE SO MUCH SO FAST, I CAN'T KEEP UP WITH IT! AND IF I DID, I CAN'T DECIDE WHICH ONES I SHOULD TELL YOU. THAT'S HOW MANY CHANGES WE'LL MAKE!



IN CLOSING, ITS POSSIBLE IF WE CHANGE ENOUGH...WE COULD BE BACK WHERE WE STARTED AND NEED TO START CHANGING ALL OVER AGAIN!!

WHAT NERVE? TERROR ATTACK IN JERUSALEM!! BRING ON THE LAWYERS!!

The nerve of the Israeli people shooting a construction worker who happened to go a little postal. Haven't they learned anything from the United States? Obviously, when it comes to dealing with terrorism, the Israelis need to be shown how to treat these people. First, shooting them violates the SECOND AMENDMENT! Therefore, either strict gun control or ban gun ban should be in place. Second, this poor, poor, poor Arab was not a terrorist! NO! He was having a bad day and happened to take it out on several people of Jewish origin ONLY. Therefore, no terror or hate crime is present. Third, he should have been ONLY subdued. Then, after a short stay with a therapist to see why he is upset, he will be sent to a jail for where he can pray 5 times a day, wash his feet whenever necessary, be provided new Korans, and Halal food buffet style so "cruel and unusual punishment" can't be implemented by the Military Police. The usual ping pong tables, Basketball courts, weight lifting equipment with spa facility are naturally provided. Then, he can be provided lawyer representation at the cost of the Israeli taxpayer to be represented in court vigorously because its his right. If he loses in court, his "live" body can eventually be exchanged along with 1000 other "live" terrorists for the "dead" bodies of honorable Israeli soldiers. Then, he can sue the manufacturer of the bulldozer for "sudden acceleration" ala Audi motorcars. And of course, collect "unemployment" because of the loss of the job. H-O-L-Y S-H-I-T!

My real feelings: Pink Floyd "Meddle" said it best=1st song on the album="I'm going to cut you up into little pieces"

Where is the condemnation?! Shouldn't the Palestinian leader condemn this act? Why is everyone silent about pressing the matter? If Israel threatened an incursion into Arab land the press would be ballistic. If a Jew attacked an Arab, the Israeli leaders would be on TV in 20 minutes apologizing. And the people around the world would be rioting. As a Jew, I feel the Talmud has the answer: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

Jerusalem Post

Barak Obama is in Israel right now. I wonder while he is visiting if another attack will take place with a bulldozer near him.

JUST SAY NO! TO DRUGS? WELL, YEAH...MAYBE I SHOULD SAY JUST SAY NO ....TO COMPROMISE!! NEW LINK!! NEW LINK!!! NEW LINK!!!

Well, I have seen impressive and thorough investigative work before, but this site is far and away a leader. The articles are so exquisite in information that they are all worthy of reading. The list of guests on the accompanying talk radio show is a who's who of anti-terrorism insiders. The "no holds bar" style of the show allows guests to freely speak about their expertise uninhibited. After hearing the cataloged "old" shows, I find information available here that may be too risque for traditional media. Cutting edge talk, PERIOD!

No Compromise
"If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing."
Margaret Hilda Thatcher

"Splitting the check increases the pain"

For my first post for the month of July, I've decided to write a little about an interesting segment I heard on NPR the other day. Here is the transcript.

Dan Ariely, a behavioral scientist at MIT, has conducted a study about the pain of paying. He has concluded that in the long term it is less painful for one person to pay for the entire bill rather than everyone splitting, also known as "going Dutch." He reasons that the degree of pain does not increase proportionally to the increase in the price of the meal. For instance, quantitatively speaking, the pain I feel in paying for my $10 meal does not double if I pay $20 for both of us.

But there are some obvious assumptions here which Dan Ariely points out - that there needs to be same participants for regularly scheduled meals, eating at the same restaurant, ordering the same priced meal. These assumptions however don't appear to be unattainable. My buddies and I could form sort of "guys night out" group and pick one place we all really like, schedule regular get-togethers, and we could all take turns paying for the entire group.

But there's an additional assumption that Ariely leaves out, inadvertently or not. That is, the beginning degree of pain will likely differ for each member of the group. For instance, if I'm a student in debt up to my eyeballs, well, it will be more painful for me to pay than my friend who makes six figures, regardless of what type of restaurant we go to. However, like the other assumptions discussed above, it doesn't seem impossible to adjust for this differential. When it is my turn to pay, we could go to a fast food joint, but when it is my friend's turn to pay, we could go to an a la carte steakhouse.

However, delving deeper into the analysis, perhaps in the long run, such adjustment won't even be necessary. It seems to me that, as we enter the labor force, our social network, for better or worse, naturally becomes homogenized, particularly for income and status. For example, as a member of the legal profession, my closest friends, who make up my social network, are either attorneys or other white collar professionals in business and medicine. Therefore, if I create a group from my social network, then our incomes will probably be at least somewhat similar, so our initial degree of pain will also be similar.

Anyway, I thought this was an interesting read.

ERIC BURDEN AND THE ANIMALS!!! HERMANS MERMITS!

Wow! A triple header of a concert. This was a concert that took place on June 9th in a town called Afula. Afula is located 10 minutes south of Nazareth. There is a small population in this small city and its the last place tourists would hang out for lack of real well known attractions. Still, Marmalade, Herman's Hermits, and The Animals obviously felt this is a worthy place to tour. It took place in a small open park that was recently built. Its a beautiful park and I became friendly with the owner's daughter. If you are in the area, email me about the location. My son loves it!

YO! CYPRESS HILL!

This was a poster posted in Tel Aviv in a condemned building facing the main drag. They are very popular in Israel. I have been told the Ethiopian Jews in Israel mimic the tough behavior of rappers but they really can't pull it off. Dont ya love that picture!

CONCERTS IN ISRAEL WHILE VISITING!LOOK AT THESE HUGE GOUPS!!

BLONDIE!!!

Here is a concert by the band Blondie. Obviously still touring but outside the US. I couldnt believe of all places they are in Israel.

NEW LINK!! PREPARE TO GET ZONKED!!

The latest and greatest addition I recommend to read is THE NEW ZONKA. The site is originating out of Denmark. The site explores the wrestling match between Denmark itself and the militant Islamic population invading it. PAY PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE COUNTERJIHAD SUMMIT!!!!

*** COUNTERJIHAD SUMMIT*** *** COUNTERJIHAD SUMMIT*** *** COUNTERJIHAD SUMMIT*** ***COUNTERJIHAD SUMMIT***

The extreme detail underlying their posts involved in this gives hope to others that some Europeans recognize the danger of unabated immigration of Muslims. If you read one article today, make this one it! I encourage everyone reading this to expose the site so the information can used to spread the proper message and start motivating people to get involved before its too late.

Thanks Zonka!
http://beta.kimcm.dk/

HEALTH CARE CRISIS EXPLODES IN DOCTORS FACES. MEDICARE IS DEAD!

CHECK OUT LINKS AT END OF THIS POST FOR INFORMATION ON THIS IMPORTANT MATTER!!


Well, I hope that opening got your attention. The deadline is today!! TODAY!! Congress is supposed to vote to repeal a bill already passed for a proposed 10.6% decrease in medicare allowable payments to doctors for treatments rendered to patients. This was enstated as of July 1, 2008 with a stipulation for reconsideration which has a deadline today. What are the ramifications as a result of this order?

The CRISIS is a crisis to doctors because their practices have to factor in a net loss of 10% immediately. The loss of 10% now must be made up in patient volume equal in the new allowable fees. Plain english: 10% loss cannot be made up in 10% increase in patients. It will take at least 11% increase in patient load and the overhead costs of operating to make it up. The time alone means more time spent in the office doing the additional paperwork, increased liability, and treating time. In addition, the insurance companies paid by medicare like HMO, PPO, HSA, PFFS, etc (anyone over 65 and insured) will also be reimbursed 10% less. The insurance companies are like a middle man and pay doctors a discounted fee schedule after they take their share out. Now the discounted fee schedule the middle man uses is additionally discounted 10%.

The average patient is under the misconception that "all doctors are rich." Therefore the cry for help from doctors is falling on deaf ears. The view the patients have is of a time pre-HMO and pre-third party administred health care which has been around for over 20 years. The percentage of overall patients on these plans over the last 20 years has exploded into a majority stake. Personally, I have been cashing checks from companies that pay less THAN 10 CENTS a patient after a co-pay of $10 or less. That is $10.10 per patient!! Patients see a busy office and assume the doctor is still being paid the fees they were 20 plus years ago per patient which calculates into a typical $40 or more. Now at $10 on the average, the doctor has taken a loss equivalent to a 50 year pay cut.

What would the average auto worker do if he or she took a 50 year paycut? How could anyone contend with further cuts as being implemented this month?! And another bill is in the works for another 5.4% CUT in Jan 2009!! And another in 2010 of another 5%!! And another 5% in 2012!!!

Doctors in my state average age is approx 55 years old themselves. They have been toying with the possibility of retiring before anything gets much worse. The aggravation of running an office is creating a feeling of anger making practicing impossible. Add lawyers, problem patients, increased energy costs, insurance woes, and more!! No other profession provides such a vital service yet has to contend with such red tape.

Doctors locally are now starting to take action by taking out ads encouraging people to write their congressman. Since the average attitude is "Doctors are all rich", I feel any threat about denying access to patients to one's private practice is futile. All plans have a contract that takes a minimum of 60 days to opt out. Threatening not to take Medicare patients will only encourage patients to leave Medicare and go on a private insurance which pays less anyway. Thereby, losing one's best patients.. Or they could go to another doctor!

At this juncture, patients do not feel the pressure because access to a provider hasnt been a problem. When will they get involved? John Q Public feels they are entitled to health care and it should be free or low cost. The public has been toying with the idea for years. Private insurance plans with tremendous discounts have brainwashed the average patient into paying only low co pays and anything higher is robbery. Socialized medicine is so ingrained into the fabric of public thought, both Republicans and Democrats believe a socialized system is the only way forward. Getting everyone on a discount plan is believed to contain costs for the government. Further wrongly believed, the financial distress to the average medical provider will magically work its way out eventually.Meaning the doctor can absorb the lost revenue after adjustments are made to his/her practice. I forsee a mass retirement and closing of all private practices across the country. With the overhead to practice today, doctors can no longer maintain a viable practice. With the aging baby boomers flooding the sytem, the decrease in admissions to medical schools, and the problems listed here to new practitioners when graduating, the CRISIS is coming fast.....

If you live in Palm Beach County, check out Sunday's paper for an article addressing this matter and who you should contact in the state of Florida. The New York Times on July 7 2008 has an article "Doctors press Senate to undo Medicare Cuts."
Further, CQ Politics has an article entitled "Medicare Pressure On Republicans" by Drew Armstrong. And while not complete, if you desire a better understanding about how private insurers are involved see the article "Two Insurers Increase Bet on Medicare" in the New York Times Dec 5 2007.
Government link which provides information on the voting!! Here!!

More info links Please read!
Medicare pay cuts

Doctors lobby cuts link
Adminstration delay payments/cuts link

Pharmacists weigh in link

G-D BLESS AMERICA!!!

I Hope everyone had a great holiday. The holiday deserves more attention than it gets. I had my flag out in front of my house. This patriotism of each and every citizen is something to be shown everyday. Never forget our PROUD history! G-d Bless the United States!! Happy 4th of July!

NEW LINK!! ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION!! STOP THIS CRISIS!

Well, I found this site about illegal immigration which does a great job getting the problem in perspective. If anyone can support illegal immigration after reading this is beyond me. CITIZENS COME FIRST, SECOND, LAST and every spot in between. Illegals deserve the big boot in the ass! This issue touched my life in a personal manner I choose not to make public. But I understand better than most the frustration dealing with this problem. The overload on our health system, judicial system (courts and jail), educational system, and job loss/wages is out of control. This issue touches everyone in taxes alone. Take care of home before ever giving a dime to outsiders who leech us without a second thought! Look at this site and keep a barf bag close by!

becomeanillegal.com

becomeanillegal.com

becomeanillegal.com