The negative equity gap

From DSNews:

Does Home Price or Location Impact Underwater Mortgages?

In total, 1.8 million American homeowners currently owe more on their home loans than their property is worth. Though this is the first time the number has dropped below 2 million since 2006, it’s still much higher than pre-crisis levels. At the end of 2005, just 750,000 borrowers owed more than their home was worth.
According to Ben Graboske, EVP of Data & Analytics at Black Knight, rising home prices are continuing to improve homeowners’ equity stakes.

“This is plainly visible in the number of borrowers who are underwater on their mortgages, owing more than their homes are worth,” Graboske said. “Over the past year, we’ve seen a 35 percent decline in the total underwater population, with a 16 percent decline in that population over the first three months of 2017 alone. Home prices rose 2.3 percent in the first quarter, as compared to 1.8 percent over the same period last year, helping an additional 350,000 borrowers regain equity in their homes.”

The report also showed that almost half of all borrowers with negative equity own homes in the lower 20 percent of the market, price wise. In fact, homeowners in this price tier are twice as likely to be underwater as those one tier up and a whopping 6.5 times more likely than Americans who own homes in the top 20 percent price range. That’s the highest differential in negative equity since Black Knight launched its Mortgage Monitor in 2005, Graboske said.

“What stands out is the disparity we see in this improvement,” Graboske said. “As has been the case for some time now, negative equity has become more and more a localized phenomenon. But it’s also becoming concentrated among a particular class of homeowner. Nearly half of all borrowers who remain underwater own homes in the lowest 20 percent of prices in their respective markets. While the nation as a whole now has a negative equity rate of just 3.6 percent, among owners in that lowest price tier, it’s over 8 percent.”

Underwater borrowers also tend to be more concentrated in geographic areas, according to the report, which shows that Detroit, Cleveland, and Memphis, Tennessee, account for more than 25 percent of all underwater borrowers in the lowest price tier. Detroit borrowers with a home in the bottom price tier are also 50 times more like to be underwater than those whose homes are in the top 20 percent.

This entry was posted in Demographics, Economics, National Real Estate. Bookmark the permalink.

93 Responses to The negative equity gap

  1. grim says:

    From NJ1015:

    Business leaders cautious about NJ economy, love where U.S. is headed

    New Jersey’s top business leaders are optimistic about the national economy and the direction it’s headed in this year.

    But they remain cautious about New Jersey’s immediate economic future as the state elects a new governor this November.

    The results of a new survey released by Rutgers University’s Real Estate and Policy Research Consortium shows 80 percent of respondents rate the U.S. economy as “good or excellent.”

    But Rutgers University professor James Hughes says New Jersey’s percentage was half that — only 40 percent rated the state’s economy as “good or excellent.”

    He says there is the same disparity looking forward as well. The positive responses regarding the national economy six months out doubled compared to New Jersey.

    When asked how the respondents would rate New Jersey as a place of doing business, the business leaders rated it below one third for several reasons. Hughes says it’s related to ” the cost of living in New Jersey, the cost of housing in New Jersey, government regulation, congestion and high labor cost.”

    “We have a great geography in terms of the northeastern markets. We have a highly educated workforce that they are satisfied with, although they don’t like the cost of the workforce,” says Hughes.

    They also like the business and customer markets that exist in New Jersey and they really like the communities that they live in. They rate the communities higher than they rate the state as a place to live, he adds.

    There were some bright spots in the survey, says Hughes. More than half of the executives surveyed said they plan to hire more employees and nearly 80 percent said they expect revenues to increase over the next 12 months.

  2. Grab them by the puzzy says:

    Move to Kansas or Oklahoma – no taxes and 4-day school week. somalia even better, no school services

    want topnotch education services for free, yes give me a unicorn with that

    anything around $20k is a bargain

    The Great Pumpkin says:
    July 9, 2017 at 6:40 pm
    Just because the property is cheap, doesn’t mean the cost of living (taxes) is. You are still living here, therefore must pay the costs of everything that comes with it. The price is a reflection of what the people in that market can afford, the taxes are a price of what it costs to live there. Don’t get it twisted. Just because they bought a much cheaper house doesn’t mean they are entitled to a cheaper cost when it comes to paying the costs of keeping society going.

    If you think corruption is the cause for the high costs in this state, try hiring your own security or pay for your own emergency services and see how much it costs. Hell, just look at education; daycare costs how much, and they are paying their teachers min wage.

    So when you complain about high taxes and high cost of living, you are really complaining about the declining state of living in this country and no politician in this country can save you from that. No one will tell you this (they will make every other excuse in the book like corruption, welfare, and govt workers. The hard truth is that the declining stadard of living is to blame, but NO POLITICIAN OR NATIONAL FIGUREHEAD wants to talk about what to do about income inequality. Easier to blame than address this difficult problem.

  3. Grab them by the puzzy says:

    podhoretz was reagans speechwriter

    @jpodhoretz
    If daughter sits in at G20,
    you can’t then say that son’s meetings have no meaning.

  4. Phoenix says:

    From below:
    “Young people will not/can not buy. Seniors therefore cannot sell.”

    Really? Cannot sell or don’t want to sell at market price? Not buying that argument.
    Price is what the market will bear. When one buys a house they should be looking at all of the factors. Grandpa can just lower his price to an appealing number and it will go. Yeah, I get it, he bought his house when Eisenhower was president, it still looks inside like it did when Eisenhower was president, but it should magically be worth 20x what he paid for it and some dumb young schmuck should pay that unicorn number.

    Lower the price. Maybe you really have a jem and there will be a bidding war. Take a chance.

    Steve says:
    July 9, 2017 at 5:35 pm
    Nine thousand dollars in annual property taxes on a $139,000 house. What a deal! If one were to do a traditional 30 year mortgage, you would pay about 2.5 -3x the value of the house in PROPERTY TAXES ALONE (depending on how fast the property taxes rise each year). Everybody else is getting hosed too.

    It is one giant circle jerk. People brag about their salaries, then give it away on overpriced dwellings, ridiculous taxes and fees.

    This is the ridiculous corner this state has painted itself into.

    Young people will not/can not buy. Seniors therefore cannot sell. The fat cats in Trenton and these little thiefdom townships are ruining an otherwise nice geographical area to live: Oceans, parks etc.

  5. D-FENS says:

    Ugh…give it a rest anon. It’s become so routine…

    Trump has a good meeting in Poland, with the 3 Seas initiative, and at the G20…

    Next Monday morning info is “leaked” about the Russian narrative in an attempt to bury good news. No one believes it anymore. No one cares.

  6. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Almost pissed my pants…..give me a unicorn with that!

    People think good schools and emergency services are free in a high cost state. Just like the business leaders are not up to reality. They want the great geography this market brings, and they want the highly educated workforce, only problem, they want the costs associated with this location to be on par with east bumble fu3k middle america. How the hell is this money location going to pay workers the same as low cost locations that have nothing to offer, but low cost?

    ““We have a great geography in terms of the northeastern markets. We have a highly educated workforce that they are satisfied with, although they don’t like the cost of the workforce,” says Hughes.”

    Grab them by the puzzy says:
    July 10, 2017 at 7:48 am
    Move to Kansas or Oklahoma – no taxes and 4-day school week. somalia even better, no school services

    want topnotch education services for free, yes give me a unicorn with that

    anything around $20k is a bargain

  7. D-FENS says:

    I think the 3 seas initiative is a big deal…and should be getting way more press.

    It is a direct threat to Russia’s influence over former Soviet countries in Eastern Europe. The United States would be able to sell domestically produced Oil and Gas to that region…which gets most of it’s energy from Russia today.

  8. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I stopped listening to both sides. It’s clear both sides are playing the same game. If you pick a side, you just become a puppet. One day positive news for trump, next day reversed. Over and over and over again. I’m so sick of it that I don’t even waste my time reading about it anymore.

    “Next Monday morning info is “leaked” about the Russian narrative in an attempt to bury good news. No one believes it anymore. No one cares.”

  9. Phoenix says:

    GPumpkin,

    I’ll bite. Did you ever watch Warren’s video I had posted a while back? It seemed rational to me. I did not run the numbers or the figures-to me she made a logical argument. Your “declining standard” of living started years ago.

    As far as Govt vs Public. Read the article I posted a couple of days ago about some infighting within a police department. If you don’t like that one, pick another state, pick a school, pick another govt entity-your choice. Explain to me why their infighting, corruption, or mistake should be passed on to the taxpayer instead of them having some sort of malpractice insurance. An example is the article below. Plaintiff won a settlement. Tell me who paid that bill? Was it the person who caused the problem? What if this had been a private business, who would have paid the bill? Yes govt workers and corruption are part of the problem. There is the same problem with private also-they are not an innocent party either. Those wealthy enough buy their way out of trouble. The difference is one group is better insulated against these types of issues and also more insulated against economic issues than the other.

    “One officer, Justin A. Volpe, admitted in court in May 1999 that he had rammed a broken broomstick into Mr. Louima’s rectum and then thrust it in his face. ”

    “Mr. Louima won $8.7 million in settlements with the city and the police union — the largest police brutality settlement in the city’s history. Afterward, he moved to Florida.”

    “So when you complain about high taxes and high cost of living, you are really complaining about the declining state of living in this country and no politician in this country can save you from that. No one will tell you this (they will make every other excuse in the book like corruption, welfare, and govt workers. The hard truth is that the declining stadard of living is to blame, but NO POLITICIAN OR NATIONAL FIGUREHEAD wants to talk about what to do about income inequality. Easier to blame than address this difficult problem.”

  10. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Phoenix, there is corruption. No doubt about it, and I hate it with a passion. My point is that corruption is not to blame for the high costs. 8 million sounds like a lot of money, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s a drop in the bucket. Yes, it played a role in raising costs, but it is not the sole reason for taxes being high. The main reason is that we live in a very high cost of living state, which equals high costs. It’s as simple as that. I have read that corruption is worse in those small towns in middle america, but it’s just at such a smaller scale, that it gets ignored. Our corruption makes headlines because it’s obviously going to be tied to a bigger pile of money, since this economy is huge.

  11. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    If you didn’t see the last 20 minutes between Cuomo and Kelly Anne Conway you missed the best TV of this century, so far. I’m marking it on my DVR as “don’t ever delete”.

  12. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    It was more like 35 minutes. Holy crap did Cuomo ever get himself destroyed. His first words after the interview was to his co-host stating, “You were awfully quiet.” Her answer, “I went to work out. I often don’t have time to work out, but I just did.” LOL Best…TV…Ever. I’m sure you can get some highlights on Fox News tonight.

  13. Bystander says:

    Dufus does not get it yet again. Executives want front office and sales in rich metro area but any and all support functions?? Well they have cheap global options that can be setup fairly quickly. The only thing keeping non-front jobs in Northeast is big state tax subsidies, which puts state like NJ and CT deeper in the hole. Income is flatlining and the differentiation between folks is simply high income dual earners, rich parents or rich foreign investors. They are smaller chunk of population but reason why high end does not sink further.

  14. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    I read where Trumpcare is dead. As predicted, the moment I read the highlights of his plan.

    There are certain laws in DC that that are so sacred that they dare not be touched without risking one’s political career. This includes, a women’s right to choose, the tax treatment of the traditional IRA (ROTH probably too), a decent level of basic healthcare, the right to a free public education, Social Security and of course, Medicare. Lot’s of politicians will threaten to tinker with all of these to rile up their supporters and haters as well as the press. But none dare actually change them. Which is why every time I see my friends panic when changes to these things are mentioned, I don’t pay it a thought. Neither should you.

  15. Phoenix says:

    Steam,
    Is Medicare socialized medicine?

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  17. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    ” Is Medicare socialized medicine?”

    Absolutely. Don’t kid yourself that the US does not have socialized healthcare. Though, right now, it’s only for the poor and the retired. Go to any hospital with a serious ailment and THEY WILL treat you, even if you don’t have insurance. When it’s time for your family to pick you up, if no one comes to get you, they’ll provide you with a place to stay.

  18. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    As much as I hate our government, single payer is truly the solution with a private supplemental option to the public policy. And get the private insurers out of the public policy. If you have the money, you can get the care sooner and at a higher level. If you don’t, well the basic public policy will still be pretty good. I believe everyone has the right to BASIC healthcare. Not to the BEST healthcare. The BEST healthcare is destroying our country since they have bought our government.

  19. Phoenix says:

    Steam,
    I agree. I could tell you lots of stories. Also your comment “treat you” is correct. Hospitals have to stabilize you no matter what. Once you are stable all bets are off. You can go home, become unstable again, return to hospital, rinse and repeat.

    Also you can come from another country, use trigger words that will require hospitals to perform certain tests like cat scans, mri, etc, get your result and bail out. Keeps you from waiting to long for these types of tests in your home countries. I have heard about many of these stories but have not seen actual definitive proof myself.

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  21. Phoenix says:

    Steamturd,
    You propose Basic Vs Best healthcare.
    Would you consider Medicare today to be basic, best, or something in the middle?

  22. Phoenix says:

    Steam,

    Penile implant-basic or best?

    #1“Does Medicare cover penile implant surgery?”

    Yes – Medicare or Medicare Advantage Plan provides coverage for penile implant surgery and all other Coloplast devices, as long as they meet criteria for being medically necessary. Your doctor should be able to help you understand these criteria. Patient payments are estimated between $2,500 and $3,000.

    #2“I am covered by my State Medicaid or Medicaid Managed Care program.”

    Medicaid coverage for Coloplast products varies a great deal, particularly for penile and testicular prostheses. Your physician should be able to advise you about local coverage, or you can contact the Medicaid program directly for answers about coverage.

  23. Phoenix says:

    Steam,

    Plan limits- would no limits be basic or best?

    Q. Is there a cap on the amount of Medicare services you can use? I’ve had several expensive surgeries, and I’m worried that my benefits may run out.

    A. In general, there’s no upper dollar limit on Medicare benefits. As long as you’re using medical services that Medicare covers—and provided that they’re medically necessary—you can continue to use as many as you need, regardless of how much they cost, in any given year or over the rest of your lifetime.

  24. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    Medicare is a little too good in my book, but closer to basic than to best. Which is why everyone I know who can afford it purchases a supplemental policy.

    But admittely, I’m not the best judge as I lack emotion for such things. I’m the kind of person who laughs at funerals. Even on my pet dog, I would never be willing to pay more than $1,000 for a repair, especially after he reached midlife. I can always buy a new healthy dog. Perhaps if I had money to burn, I would think differently. Fortunately, my pooch is now approaching 13 and has never gotten sick. Though, I do give him a mutli-vitamin that may be helping. His breeder swore by it and so far, it’s worked incredibly. Or the dog is just lucky. We do keep him thin and only feed him dry kibble.

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  26. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    Phoenix, my brothers gf who seeks out doctors for opiod prescriptions managed to get over 50 cat scans last year on the government’s dime.

  27. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    Phoenix. Healthcare is very tricky, which is why it is nearly impossible to reform without going single payer. It’s doubly tricky when your health care company owns your government’s decision making.

    Do you replace the knees or perform a heart transplant on a 95 year old? We can do both, but then the taxpayer will never have any money for discretionary spending. If you’re wealthy, you pay into a policy to that performs such stupid procedures. If you are poor or indigent, you don’t have the procedure. It’s simply unfair to ask the whole population to continue to keep spending more and more of their discretionary dollars on procedures with little benefit.

    Over the last decade, the increases to my healthcare premiums have eaten up almost all of my salary increases. Simultaneously, my out-of-pocket maxes have increased, my co-pays have doubled and the healthcare has not changed. And I make a decent salary. The blue collars in my company are getting killed! They make less now than they did a decade ago. At some point, you can’t live to pay for limitless healthcare.

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  29. Fabius Maximus says:

    D-FENS

    Trump had a bad G20. This Aussie sums it up quite nicely.

    https://t.co/TnfUwAPkOP

  30. Fabius Maximus says:

    “I believe everyone has the right to BASIC healthcare. Not to the BEST healthcare. ”

    Funny, I’ve been saying that for years. And if you want to pay you can fast track and get better service.

  31. Fabius Maximus says:

    And now that Donnies back they clean up has started.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40552571

  32. D-FENS says:

    If you and an Australian are pissed off about the G20, then Trump had a great G20.

  33. soutwin says:

    union sources have stated their willingness to negotiate P&B reforms with Murphy IF COLAs are reinstated. The tentative talks include a sliding scale COLA tied to base allowance pension. As would the implementation of ALL retiree premium share for ‘gold type’ health coverage prior to Medicare eligibility. Upon turning 65 a stipend for purchasing a medigap plan would be provided. Sticking point is a new hybrid plan for non vested and new hire employees. Preliminary estimates suggest a $75B reduction in unfunded liabilities over 40 years but this includes the hybrid plan. All this must be done before the ballot question on guaranteeing pension contributions from taxpayers .

  34. D-FENS says:

    Free healthcare hasn’t worked out so well for veterans.

  35. Phoenix says:

    Steam,
    Is this why Romney wanted vouchers? Was he pandering to a certain age group? Obama was supposed to be the “divisive”one, and in some ways he was. Is this also not being divisive? The current system is unlimited. Why should one group get “unlimited” healthcare and another not?

    “Under the current system, the federal government pays doctors and hospitals fees for particular services. That would end under the Romney-Ryan Medicare plan. Instead, beneficiaries would have the choice of receiving a fixed subsidy from the federal government that could go toward a private insurance plan or a plan similar to traditional Medicare. We should note the plan would only apply to people who are under 55 today, not current seniors.”

  36. 3b says:

    Pumps you are in full contradictory mode again today.

  37. 3b says:

    Steam in your opinion what is the single biggest hurdle to implement ing single payer?

  38. 3b says:

    Fab Australia? And you talk about America being racist??!! I was there once never again. Dull beyond belief.

  39. D-FENS says:

    Turkey now looking to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord…seemingly because the US won’t be bankrolling it…

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-g20-climatechange-turkey-idUSKBN19T11R?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5961652104d301110c14ff47&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

    The U.S. decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement means Turkey is less inclined to ratify the deal because the U.S. move jeopardizes compensation promised to developing countries, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

    Erdogan was speaking at the G20 summit in Germany where leaders from the world’s leading economies broke with U.S. President Donald Trump over climate policy, following his announcement last month that he was withdrawing from the accord.

    Erdogan said that when Turkey signed the accord France had promised that Turkey would be eligible for compensation for some of the financial costs of compliance.

    “So we said if this would happen, the agreement would pass through parliament. But otherwise it won’t pass,” Erdogan told a news conference, adding that parliament had not yet approved it.

    “Therefore, after this step taken by the United States, our position steers a course towards not passing this from the parliament,” he said.

  40. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    “Steam in your opinion what is the single biggest hurdle to implement ing single payer?”

    The stupidity of the American voter and our susceptibility to marketing/propaganda.

    Listen. Every elected official in DC benefits greatly from the health insurance lobby, which is by far the largest of the lobbies. https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?indexType=s

    There is a reason no one is pushing hard for single-payer in DC. It would destroy the unnecessary and incredibly profitable middle man in healthcare which is the health insurance company. In 2015…the top ten insurers profit (not revenue) was reported to be 15 billion.

    So when Obama had his mandate, he probably could have pushed a bit harder for single-payer. So why didn’t he? Well the industry did contribute 14 million to his presidential campaign in ’08. Paybacks not a b1tch. It’s received every time. Which is why I was such a hard-ass about HRC’s Wall Street lovefest.

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  42. Grab them by the puzzy says:

    “I believe everyone has the right to BASIC healthcare. Not to the BEST healthcare. ”

    Any 90 yr old that requires an organ transplant should pay out of his own pocket

  43. D-FENS says:

    Charlie Gard is literally the picture boy for socialized medicine.

  44. D-FENS says:

    Socialized medicine is not about better healthcare. It’s about control…and power.

  45. 3b says:

    Thanks steam. That’s what I thought. You always cut through the b.s. on here.

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  47. LurksMcGee says:

    Very accurate Steam

  48. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    “Socialized medicine is not about better healthcare. It’s about control…and power.”

    Not!

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  51. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    The Charlie Gard case is fukced up. But it’s a one-off and can’t be used as an everyday example. Find me 1,000 more and then we’re talking.

  52. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Other way around, bud. Privatized medicine is about control, power, and profit. Exactly why they are so scared of a socialized platform, go ask anyone in the health field how they feel about medicaid. They will complain like crazy because medicaid stops them from charging whatever they want. When health insurance isn’t paying, it’s kind of hard to charge $1200 for a band-aid.

    D-FENS says:
    July 10, 2017 at 11:56 am
    Socialized medicine is not about better healthcare. It’s about control…and power.

  53. D-FENS says:

    This is the most ignorant statement I’ve ever read. How on earth can an insurance company be profitable if it lets hospitals charge whatever they want?

    The Great Pumpkin says:
    July 10, 2017 at 12:27 pm
    Other way around, bud. Privatized medicine is about control, power, and profit. Exactly why they are so scared of a socialized platform, go ask anyone in the health field how they feel about medicaid. They will complain like crazy because medicaid stops them from charging whatever they want. When health insurance isn’t paying, it’s kind of hard to charge $1200 for a band-aid.

  54. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    ha

  55. The Great Pumpkin says:

    They try to scam the insurance companies, it’s not rocket science. Yes, insurance companies have finally started to play hardball, but how long did that take? How many years did the insurance companies pay these outrageous costs that have been documented time and time again.

    Why don’t the insurance companies push for price transparency if they are so concerned about the bottom line price?

  56. The Great Pumpkin says:

    How come doctors offer a cheaper price to someone paying cash as opposed to insurance?

  57. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Just raise our premiums, right? You have me fired up!

  58. D-FENS says:

    They don’t. It’s completely the opposite.

    The Great Pumpkin says:
    July 10, 2017 at 12:40 pm
    How come doctors offer a cheaper price to someone paying cash as opposed to insurance?

  59. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    If anyone wants to test out the success of one’s propaganda, simply publish it in the USA Today and wait for Blumpkin to respond here.

  60. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    The issue is THIS.

    Do you trust your government?

  61. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    It always comes down to the lobbyist model, doesn’t it? Everyone is fretting over the Paris Accord, when the purchasing of government favor will destroy the earth way before and climate change does.

  62. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I’ve heard many cases, but maybe they were all lying to me.

    D-FENS says:
    July 10, 2017 at 12:42 pm
    They don’t. It’s completely the opposite.

  63. D-FENS says:

    Lobbyists are the reason sh1thead GOP wing of the Uniparty are unable to do anything on healthcare. They’re all bought and paid for.

  64. Grab them by the puzzy says:

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  65. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    This whole Russian thing so played out already. But to keep it front and center is akin to claiming that Obama was a Muslim. It must feel good to look and sound as stupid as them!

  66. The Great Pumpkin says:

    “In perhaps the most interesting reaction to cash discounts, a patient who was unaware of the discounted cash pricing last month filed a lawsuit against Blue Shield of California for unfair business practices, breach of good faith and misrepresentation over her medical bills after she was charged $2,336 for a CT scan that would have cost her $1,054 in cash.

    Blue Shield said it “cannot promise or represent that there could not be providers who will charge someone less out-of-pocket cost for a service than she would pay if the Blue Shield contract rate applies.”

    In my mind it is only fair that, when it comes to medical bills, the cash price gets a discount. I must admit the size of the discounts being offered certainly raises my eyebrows. However, it is just the latest in a long string of things that don’t make sense when it comes to healthcare pricing in America.”

  67. The Great Pumpkin says:

    “Here are two examples of MUCH LOWER medical bills when you pay with cash

    1) A recent article in the Los Angeles Times reported a CT scan of the abdomen costs about $2,400 for patients insured by Blue Shield of California, while the Los Alamitos (Calif.) Medical Center cash price is only $250. That is a 89% discount by my calculation.

    2) Another local California hospital charges insured patients $415 for blood tests that cost only $95 in cash. This time it’s a mere 77% discount.”

  68. D-FENS says:

    Blue Shield is a non-profit insurer.

  69. D-FENS says:

    The next time you go to the doctor…and use your company’s insurance plan….read the EOB (Explanation of benefits) mailed or sent to you electronically by your insurer.

  70. Grab them by the puzzy says:

    New Yorker had article about very expensive, wasteful procedures on half dead 90 yr olds

    liberals should take off by 90 at the latest
    conservatives by no later than 65

    The Great Pumpkin says:
    July 10, 2017 at 1:14 pm
    “Here are two examples of MUCH LOWER medical bills when you pay with cash

    1) A recent article in the Los Angeles Times reported a CT scan of the abdomen costs about $2,400 for patients insured by Blue Shield of California, while the Los Alamitos (Calif.) Medical Center cash price is only $250. That is a 89% discount by my calculation.

    2) Another local California hospital charges insured patients $415 for blood tests that cost only $95 in cash. This time it’s a mere 77% discount.”

  71. The Great Pumpkin says:

    D, I’m just pointing out that health insurance is part of the problem. Everyone in the healthcare industry is a part of the problem, whether they realize it or not. Everyone just goes with the flow as long as they are getting paid. They know it’s wrong, but who cares right? Not my problem.

  72. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    Any tips on Noise Cancelling Bluetoof in ear headphones? Under $125.

  73. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Jeez, what’s with all these celebrities going broke? Read about Mayweather and Johnny Depp going broke. Mayweather can’t pay his taxes till after his next fight. Johnny Depp was spending 2 million a month (30,000 on wine alone). Wow, at least they lived it up!

  74. The Great Pumpkin says:

    “Of course blue collars will not find a savior in #45. He will rape them worse than anyone did for a while. He is a narcissist and a pathological liar. Had any of his voters followed him during his campaign like I did, long before the election you would know that he lies all of the time. I was looking for an alternative to Hillery. I really wanted it to be him, so I followed the articles about him in the news. (Xenophobia. Hmm not good. Grandiose ideas that will never come true…pandering to the hopes of his followers that are blinded by confirmation bias. Misogynistic actions and proud of it? Definitely lacking the character of a moral person. Race baiting and encouraging violence of his followers against those that were protesting against him? Uh oh! More fascist than democratic) If he lies about everything else, why should he tell the truth about saving middle Americans? You can’t. But so many of them were willing to ignore all of his lies and believe his claim that he would change everything because of confirmation bias. They wanted to believe that he would make a difference, that they ignored all of the glaring facts that screamed that he was going to screw everyone. When you find the same characteristics mentioned in almost everything you read, you can be fairly certain that you are getting a more truthful insight into someone character.”

  75. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    Actors and athletes tend not to be intelligent. I am not surprised by any stories of blown war chests. It’s also why I find it so annoying when they use their pulpit for political causes. Like I should listen to someone because they can read lines or shoot a medium sized ball through a large sized hoop.

  76. leftwing says:

    So for the last couple weeks or so I’ve not even looked at Spunky’s posts. Made for a much more pleasurable blog experience.

    This afternoon I’m in a good mood and think, hey, they can’t be that bad.

    So in the first one I read, from this morning, is this gem:

    “The main reason is that we live in a very high cost of living state, which equals high costs.”

    Never changes, lol. Hey donkey, ever hear of tautology? Fu3king eeyore.

  77. Steamturd supporting the Canklephate says:

    I skip them almost entirely. There are really only about three different posts anyway.

  78. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    Xenophobia? The left hasn’t stopped with xenophobia again Russia. Meanwhile, we would like foreigners who come here to pay taxes like we do.

  79. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I wouldn’t have to simplify it in a repeating manner if people could grasp the reason their taxes are so high in a high cost of living area. They think they are getting ripped off because they compare low cost areas that are only beginning to develop as evidence of nj taxes being too high. So sorry I had to break down what high cost of living means in the same sentence.

    “The main reason is that we live in a very high cost of living state, which equals high costs.”

    Never changes, lol. Hey donkey, ever hear of tautology? Fu3king eeyore.

  80. The Great Pumpkin says:

    It’s an expensive state, how can you not expect high taxes? It blows my mind. It’s like going to some cool spot in the city and crying about 18 dollar cocktails. What do you expect?

  81. The Great Pumpkin says:

    It’s an expensive state, how can you not expect high taxes? It blows my mind. It’s like going to some cool spot in the city and crying about 18 dollar c@cktails. What do you expect?

  82. The Great Pumpkin says:

    “Since this New York Magazine article (“The Uninhabitable Earth”) is getting so much play this morning, I figured I should comment on it, especially as I was interviewed by the author (though not quoted or mentioned).

    I have to say that I am not a fan of this sort of doomist framing. It is important to be up front about the risks of unmitigated climate change, and I frequently criticize those who understate the risks. But there is also a danger in overstating the science in a way that presents the problem as unsolvable, and feeds a sense of doom, inevitability and hopelessness.

    The article argues that climate change will render the Earth uninhabitable by the end of this century. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. The article fails to produce it.

    The article paints an overly bleak picture by overstating some of the science. It exaggerates for example, the near-term threat of climate “feedbacks” involving the release of frozen methane (the science on this is much more nuanced and doesn’t support the notion of a game-changing, planet-melting methane bomb. It is unclear that much of this frozen methane can be readily mobilized by projected warming: http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2012/01/much-ado-about-methane/).

    Also, I was struck by erroneous statements like this one referencing “satellite data showing the globe warming, since 1998, more than twice as fast as scientists had thought.”

    That’ just not true. The study in question simply showed that
    one particular satellite temperature dataset that had tended to show *less* warming that the other datasets, has now been brought in line with the other temperature data after some problems with that dataset were dealt with.

    Ironically, I am a co-author of a recent article in the journal Nature Geoscience (see e.g. this piece in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/jun/28/climate-scientists-just-debunked-deniers-favorite-argument), using that very same new, corrected, satellite dataset, that shows that past climate model simulations slightly **over-predicted** the actual warming during the first decade of the 21st century, likely because of a mis-specification of natural factors like solar variations and volcanic eruptions. Once these are accounted for, the models and observations are pretty much in line–the warming of the globe is pretty much progressing AS models predicted…which is bad enough.

    The evidence that climate change is a serious problem that we must contend with now, is overwhelming on its own. There is no need to overstate the evidence, particularly when it feeds a paralyzing narrative of doom and hopelessness.

    I’m afraid this latest article does that. That’s too bad. The journalist is clearly a talented one, and this is somewhat of a lost opportunity to objectively inform the discourse over human-caused climate change.

    http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/climate-change-earth-too-hot-for-humans.html

  83. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Grim, comment in mod def worth sharing.

  84. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Author of the comment was Michael E. Mann.

  85. Fabius Maximus says:

    D-FENS,

    I wouldn’t have said that the Aussie was “p1ssed off” with Trump at the G20. I would have put the tone an more “disappointed”

    All sides will spin the outcome to try and make their side look good. Here is a piece going the other way from your TOI piece.
    http://time.com/4850421/g20-trump-paris-agreement-climate-change/

    Yes Turkey may pull out, but this is more telling.
    “Even traditional laggards like Saudi Arabia did not see it in their interests to cross the Germans and the other champions of the agreement to back Trump.”

    And, while most environmental groups argued that the U.S. should stay in, with Trump in office, many people who support addressing climate change argued that U.S. withdrawal would be the best path forward to avoid America undermining its implementation.

  86. Njescapee says:

    So how did the governor do on sports radio today?

  87. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    If he posts less than 4 lines and less than 4 posts in a row I might glance at the doofus blather. But mostly I just scroll on by, especially when he is in auto-jizz mode.

    So for the last couple weeks or so I’ve not even looked at Spunky’s posts. Made for a much more pleasurable blog experience.

  88. Bagholder says:

    ‘Next Monday morning info is “leaked” about the Russian narrative in an attempt to bury good news. No one believes it anymore. No one cares.’

    Nope. The White House leaked it, probably to soften the new email story.

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