Horrible but Secret Processing Delays of Obamacare Paper Apps: HHS should tell the truth

Obamacare Customers Can File Appeals if They Miss 12/23 Deadline Due to Government Incompetence and Inaction See www.obamacarerundown.blogspot.com/

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Plan presented to Congress and White House that pays for public option w/o new taxes or fees



http://www.youtube.com/user/greenspaceguy
A simple plan that allows the government to pay for a public option for healthcare without new taxes or fees. It also cuts the governments carbon footprint by 50%.

The Federal government pays for almost one billion square feet of office space. Most office space is very expensive yet it sits unused 70% of the time because most white collar work is scheduled for only one shift per day or only 45 hours out of a 168 hour week. 30% efficiency is completely unacceptable in today's economic and ecological environment. Most buildings are open for 12 hours each day from 6 am to 6 pm. By keeping buildings open an additional 4 or 5 hours each day, we could schedule 2 shifts of white collar workers, thus increasing our efficiency by 100% and reducing our carbon footprint by 50%. We could cut the cost of overhead for each employee by 40 to 50%, half as much infrastructure, half as much office space, half as many computers and supplies. With the overhead for each of our 2 million Federal workers approaching $50,000 per year, the potential savings could be $50 billion per year, enough to pay for health care reform.
If adopted by government and private industry this simple plan will help in the following ways:

•Save federal gov a trillion dollars in next 10 years
•Exactly amount needed for universal healthcare
•Reduce white-collar overhead costs by 50%
•Reduce carbon footprint of office space by 50%
•Reduce budget deficits for most state governments
•Reduce our dependence on foreign oil
•Make American workers competitive in the global economy
•Improve profits for all businesses and
•Increase tax receipts for state/fed governments
•Businesses can hire more employees & lower product prices

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Would the Senators have voted down the public option if they knew that Our government already has money To pay for UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE

This simple plan will help our government and private industry to:
• Save the federal government a trillion dollars in the next 10 years
o Exactly what is needed for universal healthcare coverage
• Reduce the cost of overhead for our white collar workers by 50%
• Reduce the carbon footprint of our office space by 50%
• Reduce the budget deficits for most state governments
• Reduce our dependence on foreign oil
• Make our workers more competitive in the global economy
• Improve profits for all businesses and
o Increase tax receipts for state and federal governments
o Allow businesses to hire more employees and lower prices
The 50 million individuals with no health insurance are not just Americans; they are our relatives, neighbors, and friends. Just as the majority of us have no idea what it is like to live with a deadly disease or injury, we also cannot imagine what our lives would be like if we had to face such suffering and pain with no health insurance. We must stop using our mouths to fight and argue over which souls will be covered; we must put our hearts and minds together and find the funds to pay for their care. That would be the American way.
The Federal government leases or owns close to ½ billion and 1 billion square feet of office space. Most white collar workers work an eight hour shift each day even though most buildings are open for 12 hours from 6 am to 6 pm. The office space that the government is paying for is normally used by White collar workers for about 9 hours a day during the week for a total of 45 hours a week. The office space is available 168 hours per week or 24/7. The space is under-utilized about 123 (168-45) hours per week. Under current practices, the federal government has additional free space available of about 270% more than we are currently using. (123/45=2.7). Overall these expensive facilities sit unused 60 to 70% of the time during the week. Managing billions of dollars worth of infrastructure at only 30% efficiency is unacceptable. We would not install a furnace that is only 30% efficient. By keeping buildings open an additional 4 or 5 hours each day, we could schedule 2 shifts of white collar workers, thus increasing our efficiency by 100% and reducing our carbon footprint by 50%. We could cut the cost of overhead for each employee by 40 to 50%, half as much infrastructure, half as much office space, half as many computers and supplies. With the overhead for each of our 2 million Federal workers approaching $50,000 per year, the potential savings could be $25 to $50 billion per year. By extending this new paradigm to independent contractors and state offices where the Federal government pays the state a percentage of the cost, the savings could be between $50 and $100 billion per year. This could be used as the seed money to help pay the cost of covering the currently uninsured.
In the last century, Henry Ford applied the advantages of mass production and interchangeable parts to build a car that every family could afford. We can learn from the past. In this new century we are still in the information age and we must apply what we learned from the industrial revolution to create a health care system that every family can afford. In the 1960’s I work a blue collar job and we represented 90% of the workforce. The white collar workers at the factory worked 9-5 and their work space sat empty the rest of the time. However, today the situation is reversed and white collar workers represent 80 to 90% of the work force. We cannot afford to let their space sit unused 70% of the time. We must abandon the old 9-5 paradigm for white collar workers as they ARE the new assembly lines. We must manage all resources efficiently. We must stop all wasteful practices. The challenge to make this simple paradigm shift comes not from the fact that we are Americans, or that we are Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative: it comes from the fact that we are all part of a Civilized Society.
Mr. President, in a recent radio address you stated that the only way for us to dig our way out of the rut we are in is through innovation. I wish for you and Congress to consider this policy change. We all know that bureaucracy moves slowly, but I believe that our government employees and management are responsive and dynamic enough to implement the paradigm change quickly. I believe that when this policy change is adopted by the federal government and the sates, it could have the greatest impact on our society, the economy, and the environment of any other event of Obama's first term. If adopted by private industry, it would be like finding vast new reserves of oil and metals in the USA, enough to construct as many buildings as we have in the last 150 years. Almost all buildings can be retro-fitted for the white collar work of the 21st century. It would also stop the giant sucking sound and make American workers competitive again in the global economy. Outsourcing and the movement of our jobs overseas could be reversed.
I suggest that we phase in a program to utilize the under-used space we already paid for by beginning second and third shifts in many of our offices. We no longer have thousands of paper forms, documents, and files to store in each office since they are electronic. The second and third shifts could on answer the 800 number phone calls, work on electronic claims files, disability claims, and applications and post-adjudicative work received from our internet portals. The time is now for this sea change in this white collar paradigm:Because of tight budgets, we can no longer afford the luxury of providing white collar workers with work space that is utilized only a third of the time. We could not afford to have all government owned vehicles to run on idle 24 hours a day even when not in use.With the prospect of ongoing high unemployment, workers will be willing to adjust to shift work. It is better than not working at all. Many medical offices already use this concept as they may be occupied by a different specialist each day of the week. With the prospect of universal health coverage on the horizon, we could almost instantly provide the office space, infrastructure, customer service counters, and computer networks that will be needed to administer such a program. We already have the technology to make a fairly seamless transmission. Even on a limited basis, the federal government could save the capital expense of more office space by using some of the $418 billion dollars in under-utilized space we have already paid for. The savings could be the billions of dollars.

We would be better utilizing safety, security, furniture, and systems investments and thus, greatly reducing the federal government's carbon footprint. We could help create jobs for a new industry for retro-fitting billions of square feet of empty buildings to three-shift office space. Why waste our money on thousands of new buildings and destroy even more land when we already have the space. Globally, we would be setting an example for hundreds of other government and non-government organizations and millions of private businesses. Were they to follow suit the savings could be in the trillions of dollars. By facilitating this simple yet bold paradigm shift we could create jobs, speed up the availability of universal health coverage, and help save the environment.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

A Citizen's Response to President Obama's Health Care Speech



http://www.youtube.com/user/greenspaceguy

My fellow Americans,
Distinguished guests,
Honorable Representatives,
Mr. President,

Thank you for your hard work and dedication.
The 50 million individuals with no health insurance are not just Americans; they are our relatives, neighbors, and friends. Just as the majority of us have no idea what it is like to live with a deadly disease or injury, we also cannot imagine what our lives would be like if we had to face such suffering and pain with no health insurance. We must stop using our mouths to fight and argue over which souls will be covered; we must put our hearts and minds together and find the funds to pay for their care. That would be the American way.

Mr. President,
In a recent radio address you stated that the only way for us to dig our way out of the rut we are in is through innovation. I wish for you and Congress to consider the following policy change. Anyone that has questions or comments or thinks that this will not work, can leave me a comment at www.whitecollargreenspace.blogspot or send me an email at whitecollargreenspaceguy@hotmail.com
We all know that bureaucracy moves slowly, but I believe that our government employees and management are responsive and dynamic enough to implement the paradigm change quickly.

The Federal government leases or owns close to ½ billion square feet of office space. Most white collar workers work an eight hour shift each day even though most buildings are open for 12 hours from 6 am to 6 pm. Overall these expensive facilities sit unused 60 to 70% of the time. By keeping buildings open an additional 4 or 5 hours each day, we could schedule 2 shifts of white collar workers, thus increasing our efficiency by 100% and reducing our carbon footprint by 50%. We could cut the cost of overhead for each employee by 40 to 50%, half as much infrastructure, half as much office space, half as many computers and supplies. With the overhead for each of our 2 million Federal workers approaching $50,000 per year, the potential savings could be $25 to $50 billion per year. By extending this new paradigm to independent contractors and state offices where the Federal government pays the state a percentage of the cost, the savings could be between $50 and $100 billon per year. This could be used as the seed money to help pay the cost of covering the currently uninsured.

This is Do-able because most office work is now electronic or web-based. Our agencies are customer oriented and we try to offer services as close to 24/7 as possible through our excellent internet sites and 800 number services. Immediate budget savings would come by cancelling some leases and postponing new construction projects until a full utilization analysis is done.

In the last century, Henry Ford and others applied the advantages of mass production and interchangeable parts to build a car that every family could afford. We can learn from the past. In this new century we are still in the information age and we must apply what we learned from the industrial revolution to create a health care system that every family can afford. We must abandon the old 9-5 paradigm for white collar workers as they ARE the new assembly lines. We must manage all resources efficiently. We must stop all wasteful practices. The challenge to make this simple paradigm shift comes not from the fact that we are Americans, or that we are Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative: it comes from the fact that we are all part of a Civilized Society.

I stand ready and willing to answer any questions, to discuss any concerns, or to help in any way I can. As Americans, we must never cease to persevere.
We CAN Do It.
Labor Day is near and recently I talked to former GM blue collar employee who retired after 32 years with the company. He has no health insurance. He was not in the union.

I am Tim Albright from West Branch, MI. I represent no specific group, organization or corporation. Thank you for listening.
Stay tuned for another episode real soon.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Using shift work for white collar jobs to greatly reduce the fiscal and environmental cost of new office space

This policy change could help cover the uninsured and also cut the governments carbon footprint by 20% to 50%.

I believe that when this policy change is adopted by the federal government and the sates, it could have the greatest impact on our society, the economy, and the environment of any other event of Obama's first term. We are looking for a national spokesperson. If adopted by private industry, it would be like finding vast new reserves of oil and metals in the USA, enough to construct as many buildings as we have in the last 150 years. Almost all buildngs can be retro-fitted for the white collar work of the 21st century. It would also stop the giant sucking sound and make American workers competetive again in the global economy. Outsourcing and the movement of our jobs overseas could be reversed.

The General Services Administration (GSA) owns and leases over 354 million square feet of space in 8,600 buildings in more than 2,200 communities nationwide. 354 x $40/sq ft = $14.1 billion x 10 years = $141 billion.
The office space that GSA is paying for is normally used by White collar workers for about 9 hours a day during the week for a total of 45 hours a week or 2340 hours per year. The office space is available 168 hours per week or 24/7. The space is under-utilized about 123 (168-45) hours per week or 6396 hours per year. Under current practices, the federal government (GSA) has additional free space available of about 270% more than we are currently using. (6396/2340=2.73). This additional space could be worth $381 billion. ($141 billion x 2.7= $381 billion) GSA is planning to build numerous new office buildings in the coming years.
GSA lived throught the end of the Industrial Revolution and at the beginning of the White Collar Era. We have grown up during the Information Age which morphed into the Digital Age that we are in right now. We seemed to have forgotten the basic concept that made the Industrial Revolution one of the most important events in human history. "Interchangeable parts." Sure our software and hardware take advantage of this concept, but what about our brick and mortar, our great investment in land, buildings, and interior space. In order to achieve mass production and manufacture a profitable product, Henry Ford and others made capital investments in factories with assembly lines. The industrial revolution would not have been successful if they only used these expensive investments 8 hours a day for five days a week. They greatly reduced their ongoing overhead by operating three shifts a day and some shifts on weekends. Almost all office space now is used by workers only about 9 hours a day five days a week. Most of the processing and storage of documents needed by our agency's technicians exist in an electronic environment. Within the next five to ten years more than 50% of the work done by federal agencies will be in an electronic environment including work from phone calls and internet sites. Most agencies have nationwide integrated telecommunications networks which have the ability to route calls on demand to a multitude of different offices nationwide. These services are already available outside normal business hours and could be expanded to 24/7.

I suggest that we phase in a program to utilize the under-used space we already paid for by beginning second and third shifts in many of our offices. We no longer have thousands of paper forms, documents, and files to store in each office since they are electronic. The second and third shifts could on answer the 800 number phone calls, work on electronic claims files, disability claims, and applications and post-adjudicative work received from our internet portals. The time is now for this sea change in this white collar paradigm:Because of tight budgets, we can no longer afford the luxury of providing white collar workers with work space that is utilized only a third of the time. We could not afford to have all government owned vehicles to run on idle 24 hours a day even when not in use.With the prospect of ongoing high unemployment, workers will be willing to adjust to shift work. It is better than not working at all. Many medical offices already use this concept as they may be occupied by a different specialist each day of the week.With the prospect of universal health coverage on the horizon, we could almost instantly provide the office space, infrastructure, customer service counters, and computer networks that will be needed to administer such a program. We already have the technology to make a fairly seamless transmission.
Even on a limited basis, the federal government could save the capital expense of more office space by using some of the $418 billion dollars in under-utilized space we have already paid for. The savings could be the billions of dollars.

We would be better utilizing safety, security, furniture, and systems investments and thus, greatly reducing our the federal government's carbon footprint

We could help create jobs for a new industry for retro-fitting billions of square feet of empty buildings to three-shift office space. Why waste our money on thousands of new buildings and destroy even more land when we already have the space.
Globally, we would be setting an example for hundreds of other government and non-government organizations and millions of private businesses. Were they to follow suit the savings could be in the trillions of dollars. By facilitating this simple yet bold paradigm shift we could create jobs, speed up the availability of universal health coverage, and help save the environment.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Stay tuned for an earth-shaking paradigm shift that could save jobs, universal health care, and the environment

The Information Age finally talks to its older brother,the Industrial Revolution.
Interchangeable parts in a virtual world.