We’ll see how long it takes to get all the paperwork, card, and everything else now.

If the way our current Medicaid health care in America is any indication of how shitty the heath care will be when it is provided by the United States Government (OBAMA) then I have to say we are in a sorry state of getting heath care!  Up until I was put into the hospital we always paid for our health care, when we had it, either through our employer or out of pocket.  In other words, we’ve always had Blue Cross, HAP, or some other type of medical health insurance.  That is until I was admitted into the hospital and wasn’t allowed to return back to work.  Because I wasn’t able to return to work, our medical coverage was cancelled and we had to apply for Medicaid.  Thankfully we met the requirements, well at least me and Thaddeus did, they won’t cover hubby.

Anyway, I filled out all the paperwork online while I was still in the hospital (my insurance was still active but I knew it was going to get cancelled at the end of the month) and we were told that we would have our answer within 45 days via the mail.  Within two weeks we had been accepted (me and Thaddeus) and we had our Medicaid cards.

Sounds great right?  Well it was, until I had Xavier and have tried to get him added for over a month now.  I call the case worker (6/26 or 5/27) and only get his voice mail.  I call again, same thing, no answer just voice mail.  I decide I’ll fax the information over so there is some proof (6/1).  No response.  I call again, and again, and again.  No response, no answer, nothing.  I then call his supervisor (June 9th).  She takes the information and starts to add Xavier to our case to help the worker out.  I figure the supervisor is working on it and I’ll wait for the information to come in the mail.  About a week or so later the hospital calls to get the Medicaid information on Xavier.  I still don’t have it, I explain to them that I’ve been calling and waiting and getting no where.  They tell me that they will give them a call and see what is going on.

I call my worker on 6/21 and left another message.  Still nothing.  I call again today and left a message for the manager.  I call the main number to see what I can do and she tells me to come in and set up an appointment, can’t do it over the phone because of identity issues.  Ummm, you can’t set up an appointment because I may not be me????

I then call the main office in Lansing.  What am I told?  The case workers are told not to answer the phones and not to worry about the phones, just work on what is in front of you.  She tells me that I have to send something in writing.  When I tell her I did that via fax she then tells me that it has to be through the mail because it can get lost and not given to the correct worker.  WTF?  I address the fax to the worker, send it to the fax number listed on my paperwork, and he’s not going to get it even though all the pages have my case number on it because they don’t give the faxes to the correct people?  She then proceeds to give me the wrong section manager and district managers phone numbers!

I call the correct section manager after talking to the wrong district manager, who was nice enough to give me the correct numbers, and you guessed it.  I had to leave a message because she apparently isn’t at her desk either!

So here we sit, waiting to get a 5 week old baby who’s in the NICU added to Medicaid after over a month of trying!  Oh and it does get worse, but I’ll leave that for another Medicaid rant another day.

So if you think we’ll be better off with this government health care that Obama will be forcing onto us (unless we want to spend thousands of dollars each month for private insurance or we are lucky enough for our employer to provide us with insurance) you better be ready for what will be coming because I’m going to guess that it’s going to be just as bad, if not worse than it is now!  It would be just our luck if this is just how it is here in Michigan and it’s much better in other states.

Well, there you have it.  These fricken morons in the House have passed the Obama Care and now it is going to the Head Moron to be signed.  We are all in a shitload of problems now! You people just have absolutely no idea what this is going to cost you in the long run.  Those cheering for this only look at it as you can now get health care.  Only problem is you are WRONG!

This health care IS NOT going to be affordable.  Let me repeat that.  This health care IS NOT going to be affordable!  You are going to be FORCED into buying health care one way or another, either through the government or through your place of employment.  IF YOU DO NOT, YOU WILL BE FINED! Yeah, that’s right!

For the first time, most Americans would be required to purchase insurance, and face penalties if they refused. MSN

There are all kinds of figures going around about how much this government provided health care is going to cost, but the average is about $500 per month!  Do you have $500 to spare each month?  NO?  Guess you are SOL because you’ll either have to pay that $500 anyway or you will be fined.  Who knows how much you will be fined, it could be $100 or $1, 000 (they haven’t come out and said if it would be a monthly or yearly fee).  Oh and let’s not forget that when you purchase this health insurance, you will still have a $5,000 deductible, which means you have to pay $5,000 out of pocket BEFORE the insurance coverage kicks in.  This may only apply to non-regular check-ups, but your kid breaks an arm or leg and you are paying the first $5,000 to get that fixed before the insurance will cover the rest.

YEAH, THAT’S AFFORDABLE!

Let’s not also forget that because this is government it is going to require businesses to offer health insurance to their employees.  If they don’t, they will be fined UP TO $2,000 PER PERSON.  This will force businesses to close down because 1) they can’t afford the insurance, and 2) they won’t be able to afford the fine.  Just remember that if you voted for any of the Democrats in office that voted for this, that it is your fault when the company you work for shuts down, you have no job, and you are still REQUIRED to purchase this health plan!  Don’t blame the Republicans or the few Democrats who voted against this bill.

Don’t plan for this to happen quickly, it could take years before this plan happens AND even though you will be FORCED into buying health insurance your TAXES are going to go up also!

But this is what YOU wanted.  YOU wanted another part of our freedom run by the government. Why?  Because they are doing such a great job at Medicare, Social Security, and everything else they run.

FIX WHAT WE HAVE, NOT CREATE MORE PROBLEMS! Force the insurance companies to lower their costs.  Force ALL hospitals and doctors to charge the same price for procedures!

About the book

Get the skills you need to move into the fastest-growing—and recession-proof—industries

Despite the current job market, there are industries that are still extremely successful and open to new job seekers. Prominent career adviser Joe Watson shows you how to delve into the top 7 industries for stability, profitability, and job satisfaction.

Where the Jobs Are Now is a one-stop resource and reference guide that breaks down these growth industries (health care, biotechnology, energy, education, government, security and information technology) and their roles in a clear, down-to-earth way, and most importantly, shows how you can quickly gain the necessary skills for a long and profitable career in any of these fields. Regain your feelings of security and confidence and take control of your future.

• Gives a detailed breakdown of career opportunities in the fastest-growing industries
• Offers the most recent information on how to get the training you need to start in or transfer to one of these industries – with minimal disruption

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (December 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 007170339X
• ISBN-13: 978-0071703390

You can purchase a copy of Where The Jobs Are Now from Amazon today!

The catch-phrase on the back of the book sums it up pretty well, “The 7 Best-Kept Secrets Of The Job Market.”

I was looking through Shawn Ann’s stack of review materials when I saw Where The Jobs Are Now. After finding out what the book was about I asked her if I could read it and do the review, I’m glad I did. Being out of work myself and looking to get into a new career this book gave me a lot of useful information, and a place to start.

The introduction lines it all out for you; unemployment rates are at a 26 year high, and the numbers are going up. Even when the economy does take a turn for the better the rate at which jobs come back will be much slower than the rate at which they have been lost. And even when the jobs do start to come back, we can’t expect the “same” jobs. Times are changing, the economy is changing, and the old rules of job hunting are changing. The manufacturing jobs (as in my case) that once were the backbone of the workforce are giving way to the new breed of employment fields. But there are a few fields, 7 in fact, that analysts have shown will be booming in the future, and getting into these fields is what us out of work people should really consider.

Where The Jobs Are Now goes into depth describing the seven work fields; Health Care, Government, Biotechnology, Green Energy, Education, Security, and Information Technology. And instead of just saying “here is a field, now go get a job in it”, the author (Joe Watson) partitions the various aspects of the field out for you. For instance, “Health Care” isn’t just for doctors or nurses. It’s a growing field that will require accountants, technicians to maintain facilities, service people, computer systems administrators, people in their legal department, and even people with bi-lingual skills (just to name a few). The author also included real-world examples/testimonials of people who gave up one career for another in one of these 7 fields with great success. I for one plan on using my earlier career in Information Technology (which I got bored of, that’s why I went into Manufacturing) to seek a new career in the stable and booming field of Health Care.

Where The Jobs Are Now is full of information, and the appendix makes a great reference for furthering your “quest for knowledge” by providing website URLs, information for student aid, job search sites, industry news, career information, etc.

Where The Jobs Are Now is a good read and doesn’t bore you to death with nothing but statistics and numbers and then telling you what you should do. Instead it gives you the information you need to make your own decisions, and then goes a bit further. I really enjoyed it, and am glad I got the chance to review it. And I’m glad my little boy was nice enough to give me some peace and quiet today in order to finish reading it.

Disclosure: I would like to thank Jocelyn at Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc. for providing a copy of this book for the purpose of this review.

The Giveaway

Jocelyn has graciously offered to give one of Shawn Ann’s World readers their very own copy of Where The Jobs Are Now!

To Enter:

Valid for Residents of the U.S.  and age 18 or older. Please no PO Boxes.

Mandatory Entry:

• Subscribe to Shawn Ann’s World, your subscription must be activated so be sure to check your email and activate it.

Extra Entries:

• Follow me on Twitter.
• Tweet about this Giveaway.  You may tweet once a day until the end of the giveaway for extra entries.  Leave the link to your tweet in your comment for each entry.
• Become a fan of Shawn Ann’s World on Facebook.  Leave your ID in your comment.
• Follow Joe Watson on Twitter.  Leave your ID in your comment.

This Giveaway will end on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 11:59PM EST.

The Winner will be chosen by Random.org. I will post the Winner here on Shawn Ann’s World, as well as, email directly. You will then have 48 hours to claim your Prize.

We’re going to pass a health care plan written by a committee whose head says he doesn’t understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn’t read it but exempts themselves from it, signed by a president that also hasn’t read it and who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn’t pay his taxes, overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that’s nearly broke.

What could possibly go wrong?

Now, I didn’t write this, it was sent to me by someone who received it, etc.  But shall we take a look at this little paragraph.  I mean, everyone who doesn’t have insurance and can’t afford insurance wants government health care so they have insurance.  But I’m wondering if these same people actually know what they are in for if this health care plan is passed.

I do NOT know what is written in the actual health care plan and to be honest, I probably won’t read it if it’s available.  I will give you my opinion on what is quoted above and my opinion on a government provided health care plan.

First, let’s look at the quoted paragraph.  How true is the paragraph?  Well, I can tell you that at least some of it is completely true.  Has it been written by a committee whose head says he doesn’t understand it?  Don’t know, as I’ve said, I haven’nt read it nor read/seen anything where real people talked about it.  Has it been pass by Congress, who hasn’t read it and wants to exempt themselves from it?  Again, don’t know but I wouldn’t doubt that they want to exempt themselves from it…they have the best damn health care our taxpaying dollars can buy.  If it’s passed by Congress will the president read it and sign it?  Probably, he’s a moron.  And yes, he is/was a smoker so it would be interesting to see what it says about smokers in it, although not that it would matter to him, like Congress the taxpayers are paying for the best coverage for his health. The funding is being admistered by a treasury chief who didn’t pay his taxes.  THIS IS A FACT.  Well, he’s probably paid them now, BUT NO HE DID NOT PAY AT LEAST SOME OF HIS TAXES FOR FOUR OR FIVES YEARS!!! And when questions about it during his confirmation hearing admitted that he didn’t pay them on time and used the excuse that he didn’t know he was supposed to pay those taxes.  Now, I know I’m not the brightest, but even I learned in Introduction to Taxation that you are required to pay all of your taxes!  Would this plan be overseen by an obese person?  Don’t know and doesn’t really matter unless it states somewhere in the plan that if you are obese then you won’t be covered. Will it be financed by a broke country?  Ummm, YES!  The United States of America is so far in debt that it isn’t even funny.  Yeah, blame Bush because of the war.  If that’s the best you got then you have major problems because you obviously DID NOT really read the quoted paragraph!

Now, let’s look at my opinion.  Do we need a government health care plan?  NO.  Why?  Because those of us who are paying our taxes every week/month (pay period) don’t need another tax burden!  I’m tired of my tax dollars going to other people!  I already have to cover welfare with my taxes why should I be responsible for someone elses health care?

You give me a plan that EVERYONE MUST put money into in order to use and only those that are using it and I’ll think about it.  But I WILL NOT pay the same amount of money for my family of three as someone with 8 children!!!  I WILL NOT pay for someone elses kids!

Don’t get me wrong, I think everyone has the right to insurance, but it shouldn’t be on my dime.  I have to pay for my health care, everyone else should too.  What I think the government should be working instead of trying to control us even more with their own health care plan is to fix what we already have!  Tell these insurance companies that they can’t charge us these outrageous amounts for health care and not give us anything in return.  We pay A LOT for our insurance and then we still have to pay co-pays, deductibles, and for things that the insurance won’t cover.  Then take a look at medicare and fix that.  Make it work.  That is supposed to be the health care for those making too little to afford the private insurance, but yet you have too damn many rules to be approved and where you can go, etc.  If both my husband and I were to lose our jobs today we’d be shit out of luck for any insurance because we would have made too much money this year to get medicare, yet we aren’t working and can’t get private.  How messed up is that?

FIX WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE INSTEAD OF TRYING TO CREATE SOMETHING NEW!!!