7 lucky number
7 lucky number
Kashmir University on Sunday postponed all exams scheduled for Monday because of the inclement weather. The information was shared by the institution in a statement. ET Year-end Special Reads What kept India's stock market investors on toes in 2024? India's car race: How far EVs went in 2024 Investing in 2025: Six wealth management trends to watch out for University spokesperson said new dates for the postponed exams will be notified later. Kashmir received heavy snowfall on Friday and Saturday, resulting in some areas of the valley getting cut off. Snow has been cleared from main highways and arterial roads, butthe work is still on in some of the remote areas of the Union Territory. Snowfall in Kashmir The Kashmir Valley received the season's heaviest snowfall on Saturday which threw normal life out of gear, affecting air, rail and road traffic as well as disrupting power and water supply, officials said. Chief minister Omar Abdullah reviewed the snow clearance operations in a video conference meeting with all deputy commissioners. Artificial Intelligence(AI) Java Programming with ChatGPT: Learn using Generative AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Basics of Generative AI: Unveiling Tomorrows Innovations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Generative AI for Dynamic Java Web Applications with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Mastering C++ Fundamentals with Generative AI: A Hands-On By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Master in Python Language Quickly Using the ChatGPT Open AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Performance Marketing for eCommerce Brands By - Zafer Mukeri, Founder- Inara Marketers View Program Office Productivity Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance A2Z Of Money By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Marketing Modern Marketing Masterclass by Seth Godin By - Seth Godin, Former dot com Business Executive and Best Selling Author View Program Astrology Vastu Shastra Course By - Sachenkumar Rai, Vastu Shashtri View Program Strategy Succession Planning Masterclass By - Nigel Penny, Global Strategy Advisor: NSP Strategy Facilitation Ltd. View Program Data Science SQL for Data Science along with Data Analytics and Data Visualization By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Web Development A Comprehensive ASP.NET Core MVC 6 Project Guide for 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Pam Moore By - Pam Moore, Digital Transformation and Social Media Expert View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI-Powered Python Mastery with Tabnine: Boost Your Coding Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Mastering Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and 365 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital marketing - Wordpress Website Development By - Shraddha Somani, Digital Marketing Trainer, Consultant, Strategiest and Subject Matter expert View Program Office Productivity Mastering Google Sheets: Unleash the Power of Excel and Advance Analysis By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Financial Literacy i.e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By - CA Rahul Gupta, CA with 10+ years of experience and Accounting Educator View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program RECOMMENDED STORIES FOR YOU Moderate to heavy snowfall was recorded across Kashmir from Friday, including the season's first snowfall in Srinagar city and other plain areas. In South Kashmir, heavy to very heavy snowfall was recorded in the plains, while central Kashmir's plains received moderate snowfall. The plains of North Kashmir received light to moderate snowfall, officials said. The upper areas of the South Kashmir district received over two feet of snow, they added. Though the snowfall was welcomed by locals and tourists, it threw daily life out of gear. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )All-Area Volleyball Player of the Year: WDC’s Gravelle makes a statement with sophomore season
Rajasthan Govt Dissolves 9 Districts Formed During Ashok Gehlot's TenureAP Seoul A South Korean legislative push to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law fell through on Saturday after most lawmakers from his conservative governing party boycotted the vote. The defeat of the motion is expected to intensify public protests calling for Yoon’s ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment. Yoon’s martial law declaration drew criticism from his own ruling conservative party, but it is also determined to oppose Yoon’s impeachment apparently because it fears losing the presidency to liberals. Impeaching Yoon required support from two-thirds of the National Assembly, or 200 of its 300 members. The opposition parties who brought the impeachment motion had 192 seats, but only three lawmakers from PPP participated in the vote. The motion was scrapped without ballot counting because the number of votes didn’t reach 200. National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik called the result “very regrettable” and an embarrassing moment for the country’s democracy that has been closely watched by the world. “The failure to hold a qualified vote on this matter means we were not even able to exercise the democratic procedure of deciding on a critical national issue,” he said. Opposition parties could submit a new impeachment motion after a new parliamentary session opens next Wednesday. There are worries that Yoon won’t be able to serve out his remaining 2 1⁄2 years in office because his leadership took a huge hit. Many experts say some ruling party lawmakers could eventually join opposition parties’ efforts to impeach Yoon if public demands for it grow further. If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him from office. If he is removed, an election to replace him must take place within 60 days. Woo repeatedly urged ruling party members to return to the chamber to participate in the vote, waiting several hours for them to come. At one point, Democratic Party leaders visited a hall on the floor below the main chamber where PPP lawmakers were gathered, attempting to persuade them to vote. After being blocked from entering, they angrily accused the conservatives’ leadership of preventing its lawmakers from voting freely. Earlier Saturday, Yoon issued a public apology over the martial law decree, saying he won’t shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration and promising not to make another attempt to impose martial law. He said would leave it to his party to chart a course through the country’s political turmoil, “including matters related to my term in office.” “The declaration of this martial law was made out of my desperation. But in the course of its implementation, it caused anxiety and inconveniences to the public. I feel very sorry over that and truly apologise to the people who must have been shocked a lot,” Yoon said. Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through an opposition-controlled parliament and grappled with low approval ratings amid scandals involving himself and his wife. In his martial law announcement on Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” bogging down state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces.” On Saturday, tens of thousands of people densely packed several blocks of roads leading up to the National Assembly, waving banners, shouting slogans and dancing and singing along to K-pop songs with lyrics changed to call for Yoon’s ouster. Protesters also gathered in front of PPP’s headquarters near the Assembly, angrily shouting for its lawmakers to vote to impeach Yoon.
Daniel Penny doesn't testify as his defense rests in subway chokehold trial
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Kindle Paperwhite SE: One-minute review The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is a mainstay on our list of the best Kindles , and the new Paperwhite offers just enough improvements to keep the e-reader feeling fresh while still leaving me wanting a bit more. It’s a little brighter, a little sharper, and a lot faster, and it turns out that speed truly makes a difference if you read a lot. The main factor behind your choice of e-reader is where you get your books. If you buy books from Amazon or subscribe to Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited service, the Kindle is your only choice, and the Kindle Paperwhite is the best Kindle for most people. It’s bright, durable, and even water-resistant enough to survive a splash of salt water if you want to read in the sand. Of course, the color Kindle is here, but don’t look at the Kindle Colorsoft if you don’t yearn for color when you read. It’s hard to go back to black and white once you’ve seen it, and the Colorsoft costs a lot more than the Kindle Paperwhite. That’s fine because the Kindle Paperwhite does everything you’d expect from a Kindle, no more and no less. If you want a bit more, my review sample was the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, which includes wireless charging and maxes out the storage. I didn’t once charge the Kindle wirelessly except to test that it works, but you can buy a dock from Amazon to prop your Kindle at your bedside and let it charge while it shows you the cover of the book you’re reading. That’s if you pay a little extra for the Kindle Paperwhite without lockscreen ads. I’m not a fan of Amazon’s common lockscreen ad scheme. I don’t like my phone, tablet, or e-reader serving me ads as a privilege of ownership. It feels cynical, and even though you can save $20 / £10 (and why is it so much cheaper in the UK?!) by allowing Amazon to take over your Kindle lockscreen with advertisements, I’d rather see my book covers or even just Amazon’s pleasant reading-themed wallpapers. Thankfully, the Signature Edition doesn't have lockscreen ads. If you get your books from the library (yes, your local library will lend you an e-book) or if you buy from a seller other than Amazon, you have more choices, but the Kindle Paperwhite is still one of the best. I wish it had real buttons to turn pages, like the Kobo Libra e-reader. Buttons just feel more reliable than tapping or swiping, especially if I’m in the tub and my fingers are soapy. The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition exceeds other e-readers in its speed and responsiveness. Turning pages feels fast now, much faster than it was on older Kindle devices, and zooming into a chart or a picture happens almost as quickly as it would on a smartphone. I didn’t think a performance boost would make such a huge difference for a Kindle, but it’s really noticeable and makes the e-reader better. Besides the library, Amazon’s Kindle book store is also the most robust place to buy books. You’ll find every title you want, and the store is great at making suggestions. I was slightly disappointed by the Kindle Unlimited content offering, though, so I wouldn’t recommend the subscription service unless reading is your passion and not just a pastime. The new Kindle Paperwhite is an easy e-reader to recommend because the Paperwhite wasn’t broken, and Amazon didn’t fix it. It’s just a bit better, but it does everything I need an electronic book to do. The only thing I miss is color, and I suspect that the next Paperwhite upgrade that comes along in a few years will satisfy that craving. Kindle Paperwhite SE review: price and availability $159.99 / £159.99 for the Kindle Paperwhite with 16GB of storage, with ads $199.99 / £189.99 for the Signature Edition with 32GB and wireless charging No Australia launch date yet The Kindle Paperwhite and Paperwhite Signature Edition are a bit more expensive than the Kindle Paperwhite from 2021 , and you don’t really get anything new. It’s a better device, to be sure, with a brighter screen and a more responsive interface, but I don’t like that it’s creeping up in price, especially since it’s an excellent vessel for Amazon to sell you more Kindle books. Never fear! Because the Kindle Paperwhite will likely get discounted often. I’m finishing this review just before the 2024 Black Friday deals season starts, and the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition already has its first discount: it’s $45 / £35 off at Amazon . That’s a good start! I’m sure we’ll see this e-reader drop in price every time Amazon has a sale day, or a holiday, or a day that ends in 'y.' Is it worth the price? Compared to what? There aren’t any other e-readers that synchronize perfectly with Amazon’s book store, unless you buy a more expensive device that runs Android and can load the Kindle app. That’s a bridge too far, on my reading journey. You can find a Kobo Clara e-reader with a smaller display for less money; you can even get a Kobo Clara Color e-reader for less than a Kindle Paperwhite, let alone the Signature Edition Paperwhite. The Clara has a smaller display, and you should definitely explore Kobo’s book library before you commit if you’re making a switch. Value score: 4 / 5 Kindle Paperwhite SE review: Specs Kindle Paperwhite SE review: design Looks nicer with Signature Edition metallic paint No page turning buttons, and power button is poorly placed The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is a very simple e-reader, and Amazon hasn’t improved the design at all except to offer some brighter paint options, especially if you spring for the Signature Edition with its metallic paint. That’s the review sample I have, and I like the look much more than the basic matte black finish, as you’ll find on the Paperwhite and the Kindle Colorsoft. What happened to Kindles that felt premium? The Kindle Oasis lingered for years as a premium model, clad in metal with real page-turn buttons. I guess Amazon gave that all up to cut prices, or maybe readers just didn’t want to pay more for a luxurious electronic book. In any case, I hope Amazon offers an alternative to the bland plastic Kindle Paperwhite slab in the future. I also hope Amazon brings back page buttons because pressing a button is easier than swiping or tapping on the correct spot. If I held the Kindle Paperwhite SE too high, I’d open a menu instead of turning the page. Just give me a button. There's only one button on the Kindle Paperwhite SE, and it’s the unfortunately placed power button. If you rest the Paperwhite on a desk while reading or rest it heavily on a finger for balance, you might turn off the screen by accident. The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is certainly simple; I just wish there were more elegance to be found. Design score: 2 / 5 Kindle Paperwhite SE review: display E Ink Carta 1300 display Full set of white and amber LEDs for reading at night The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition uses the latest E Ink black and white Carta 1300 display, which doesn’t offer more sharpness than past Kindle screens, but the Kindle already looks great when it’s displaying text and writing. Pictures look good enough in 16 levels of grey, but if you want better graphics, you should go for the Kindle Colorsoft. The display does an impressive job keeping up with the improved performance inside. I expected to see a lot more ghosting and residual characters as I zoomed in and out of a page, but the Paperwhite SE gave me a lighter version of my screen for panning, then flashed briefly and gave me a darker, final version when I was steady. The Kindle Paperwhite SE can get plenty bright, so be warned that the incredible 12 weeks of battery life only applies when you are reading at half brightness. If you are in a well-lit room you won’t need any light at all, but reading before bed is my personal habit, so I use the light frequently. There’s a full set of amber lights and white LEDs inside so that you can eliminate all the blue light before bedtime. Display score: 4 / 5 Kindle Paperwhite SE review: software Amazon’s Kindle software keeps things very simple Better performance makes menus and libraries move faster If you buy books through Amazon, the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition does a perfect job delivering those books to your device. The Kindle can synchronize your progress easily if you read across multiple devices. It can also report your reading to Goodreads automatically or connect you to the social service to write your own reviews. There isn’t much more to the Kindle Paperwhite SE. If you have books from other sources, you can connect the Kindle Paperwhite to your computer directly or just synchronize through Amazon’s web-based software. There is a web browser, but it’s dreadfully simple, maybe thankfully so. You won’t find yourself distracted and browsing your favorite websites on this e-reader. I could barely get TechRadar.com to load beyond some text boxes. The big thing that I’m missing with Kindle software is the ability to annotate my books right on the page. The Kobo Libra can use a stylus to take notes on a book. Not just highlighting or sticky notes but actually drawing in the margins and on the page. It’s a nifty trick that Amazon really needs to adopt, especially for the Kindle Scribe . User experience score: 4 / 5 Kindle Paperwhite SE review: performance Surprisingly fast performance on E Ink Improved scrolling, moves faster than before Amazon gave the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition a dual-core processor inside, which makes this electronic book more powerful than the Apollo 11 lunar lander. That means it can turn pages very quickly. I joke, but in fact, the difference is noticeable if you’ve ever owned a Kindle and been annoyed by slow page turns. The only place where the Kindle still lags behind modern technology is in touch sensitivity. The E Ink display is not very sensitive, and I still felt a delay between tapping the screen, like when I needed to enter my Wi-Fi password, and when the character appeared. Menus were faster when I was scrolling, but still not totally reliable when tapping through them. Frankly, there’s not much more I could ask for with Kindle performance. I’ve seen E Ink displays that try to do a lot more, and they overcomplicate simple technology like e-paper. I’m happy that Amazon made the interface more responsive. The next frontier is touch response. Performance score: 4 / 5 Kindle Paperwhite SE review: battery Excellent battery life, if you follow the rules Avid readers will get a week of battery life or more The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition will last for 12 weeks on a single charge, if you’re a casual reader. Amazon’s 12-week claim calls for 30 minutes of reading with the screen at just under half brightness. If you read all day in bright sunshine, the Kindle Paperwhite SE might last longer. If you read in the dark New England winter nights, the Paperwhite will need to charge more often. The good news is that you will get over 40 hours of screen time between charges, and the battery won’t die if you put the book down for a few weeks. If you read at a good pace, you’ll be able to read a couple of books before you need to charge the Kindle Paperwhite, and that’s exceptional for any modern electronic device. The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition features wireless charging. I like the wireless option as an elegant solution for keeping your Kindle topped up on a bedside stand, but it’s not essential at all. Battery score: 5 / 5 Should I buy the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition? Buy it if... You want a new Kindle Amazon hasn’t given us a proper new Kindle for reading in years. Time to rejoice! New Kindles have arrived. You’re a serious reader You can buy the cheaper Amazon Kindle, but serious readers want brighter displays with better battery life, and the Paperwhite is the one. You’ll be reading in harsh, beach-like conditions The Kindle Paperwhite is IP67 rated, so it can resist sand and even salt-water (with a proper rinse after). Don't buy it if... You read comics or graphic novels If you don’t care about color, don’t worry about the Kindle Colorsoft. But who doesn’t care about color?! You want to take notes on your books E-readers from Kobo can write directly on the pages, and there’s always the Kindle Scribe if you need a pen. You expect a real web browser The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite still keeps things simple. This device is for reading without distractions, not doomscrolling. Also consider Kobo Clara Colour You can save a bit of money and even check out a color E Ink display with the Kobo Clara Color. As long as your books aren’t all on Kindle, it’s worth a look. Read our in-depth Kobo Clara Color review Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) The base model Kindle Paperwhite doesn't have wireless charging, which I never needed, and it comes with only 16GB of storage, which is more than enough for most avid readers. Check out the Kindle Paperwhite at Amazon How I tested the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition Testing period - three weeks Subscribed to Kindle Unlimited and Comixology Tested books, comics, audiobooks, and bathtub reading I used the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition for three weeks before I published this review. I read two novels, multiple short stories, Japanese manga, and a number of other materials, including cookbooks and magazine. I used the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition for listening to audiobooks from Audible, and for listening while I read the same book. I used the Paperwhite in the bathtub to test its water resistance, and because reading in the bathtub is the main reason I like to review Kindle Paperwhite devices. I did not have a dedicated wireless charging dock, but I tried charging the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition with a Qi-compatible wireless charging adapter that attaches magnetically to the back of a smartphone. Before my review period I charged the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition using the USB-C port, and I only charged it one more time before this review was completed, even though I read daily and usually for more than an hour a day. I used the Kindle Paperwhite without a case, and the photos in this review reflect its condition after daily use without a case, which is pretty good. I subscribed to Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited service and Comixology, and I also loaded books into my collection through the Overdrive library borrowing system and my local library. Read more about how we test [ First reviewed November 2024 ]Will 2025 be the year we say goodbye to desktop PCs?
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JIMMY Carter was a former US president who was elected to office in 1976 and served in the White House from 1977 to 1981. Here’s more about the beloved 100-year-old and his remarkable life in politics and beyond. Advertisement 2 Jimmy Carter was the oldest living former US President at the age of 98 Credit: Reuters Who was Jimmy Carter and how old was he? James Earl Carter Jr – known affectionately as Jimmy – was the 39 th President of the United States, serving one term in office from 1977 to 1981. The Democrat stalwart served as a Georgia State Senator from 1963 to 1967 and as the 76th Governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975. Jimmy remained active in public life after leaving the White House. In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in co-founding the Carter Center. Advertisement He paid tribute to his former Vice President Walter Mondale after his death at 93 on April 19, 2021, hailing him as "the best vice president in our country's history." Jimmy was raised in a wealthy family of peanut farmers in the southern town of Plains. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1946 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He went on to join the US Navy where he served on the submarines. Advertisement Following his father’s death, he returned home to take over the family peanut business. As he went on to expand the business, Carter was motivated to oppose the political climate of racial segregation and support the growing civil rights movement. In the early 1960s, he became an activist within the Democratic Party and made his first foray into the world of politics. Carter was sworn in as the 76th Governor of Georgia on January 12, 1971. Advertisement He declared in his inaugural speech that "the time of racial discrimination is over. ... No poor, rural, weak, or black person should ever have to bear the additional burden of being deprived of the opportunity for an education, a job or simple justice." President Carter then went on to live a relatively modest life in his old two bedroom house in his Georgia hometown. He died on December, 29, 2024, in Plains, Georgia - the same spot where he was born back on October 1, 1924. Who was his Jimmy Carter's wife, Rosalynn? Jimmy’s wife Eleanor Rosalynn Carter was born on August 18, 1927, and served as the First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981. Advertisement The former First Lady, who was married to her husband for 75 years, was a leading advocate for numerous causes throughout her lifetime. She was politically active during her White House years, sitting in on Cabinet and policy meetings as well as serving as her husband's closest adviser. Rosalynn also served as an envoy abroad, with posts in Latin America. 2 Jimmy Carter, seen here with his wife Rosalynn, served as US President from 1977 to 1981 Credit: AFP or licensors Advertisement She and Jimmy first dated in 1945 while he was attending the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. It's believed Rosalynn had a crush on him after seeing him in his navy uniform. She agreed to marry her husband-to-be in February 1946 when she went to Annapolis with his parents. The two scheduled their marriage to take place on July 7, 1946 in Plains and kept the arrangement secret. Advertisement The couple shared four children: John William "Jack" (b. 1947), James Earl "Chip" III (b. 1950), Donnel Jeffrey "Jeff" (b. 1952), and Amy Lynn (b. 1967). Due to Jimmy's military duties, the first three were born in different parts of the country and away from Georgia. They returned to Georgia when Jimmy’s father was dying. Advertisement After purchasing their first television set, the couple became fans of the New York Yankees and claimed they never went to bed arguing with each other. Following their time in the White House, the couple established the Carter Center, a non-profit organisation in Atlanta. They were unable to attend Joe Biden's inauguration. This was the first time they have missed the ceremonies since Jimmy was sworn in as president in 1977. Advertisement Rosalynn is a member of the Center's Board of Trustees and participates in many of the Center's programs, but gives special attention to the Mental Health Program. Upon the death of Barbara Bush on April 17, 2018, 91-year-old Rosalynn became the oldest living former First Lady at the time. How did Jimmy Carter die? Jimmy Carter died on Sunday 29, December, 2024 nearly two years after going into hospice care. His official cause of death is yet to be announced but his son Chip released a heartfelt statement confirming the death of his father. Advertisement He said: “My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love. “My brothers, sister, and I shared him with the rest of the world through these common beliefs. "The world is our family because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honoring his memory by continuing to live these shared beliefs.” Advertisement Carter, the beloved Democrat and Nobel Peace Prize winner, had experienced several health issues in recent years including melanoma that spread to his liver and brain. In 2015, he beat brain and liver cancer , but in 2019, his health began to suffer again. Advertisement He chose hospice care over continuing medical treatment, the Carter Center announced on Saturday, February 18, 2023. AdvertisementYou have three days left, if you got suckered in by those omnipresent ads for Medicare Advantage and left regular Medicare for the siren song of cheaper coverage, “free” vision, hearing, or dental, or even “free” money to buy groceries or rides to the doc. The open enrollment period for real Medicare closes at the end of the day Saturday, December 7th; after that, you’re locked into the Medicare Advantage plan you may have bought until next year. If you’ve had Medicare Advantage for a year or more, however, the open enrollment period is still “open” until December 7th, but you will want to make sure you can get a “Medigap” plan that fills in the 20% that real Medicare doesn’t cover. Companies are required to write a Medigap policy for you at a reasonable price when you turn 65, no matter how sick you are or what preexisting conditions you may have, but if you’ve been “off Medicare” by being on Medicare Advantage for more than a year, they don’t have to write you a policy, so double-check that and sign up for a Medigap policy before making the switch back to real Medicare. So, what’s this all about and why is it so complicated? When George W. Bush and congressional Republicans (and a handful of bought-off Democrats) created Medicare Advantage in 2003, it was the fulfillment of half of Bush’s goal of privatizing Social Security and Medicare, dating all the way back to his unsuccessful run for Congress in 1978 and a main theme of his second term in office. Medicare Advantage is not Medicare. These plans are private health insurance provided by private corporations, who are then reimbursed at a fixed rate by the Medicare trust fund regardless of how much their customers use their insurance. Thus, the more they can screw their customers and us taxpayers by withholding healthcare payments, the more money they make. With real Medicare, if your doctor says you need a test, procedure, scan, or any other medical intervention you simply get it done and real Medicare pays the bill. No muss, no fuss, no permission needed. Real Medicare always pays, and if they think something’s not kosher, they follow up after the payment’s been made so as not to slow down the delivery of your healthcare. With Medicare Advantage, however, you’re subject to “pre-clearance,” meaning that the insurance company inserts itself between you and your doctor: You can’t get the medical help you need until or unless the insurance company pre-clears you for payment. These companies thus make much of their billions in profit by routinely denying claims — 1.5 million, or 18 percent of all claims , were turned down in one year alone — leaving Advantage policy holders with the horrible choice of not getting the tests or procedures they need or paying for them out-of-pocket. Given this, you’d think that most people would stay as far away from these private Medicare Advantage plans as they could. But Congress also authorized these plans to compete unfairly with real Medicare by offering things real Medicare can’t (yet). These include free or discounted dental, hearing, eyeglasses, gym memberships, groceries, rides to the doctor, and even cash rebates. You and I pay for those freebies, but that’s only half of the horror story. Give a gift subscription This year, as Matthew Cunningham-Cook pointed out in Wendell Potter’s brilliant Health Care un-covered Substack newsletter, we’re ponying up an additional $64 billion to give to these private insurance companies to “reimburse” them for the freebies they relentlessly advertise on television, online, and in print. And here’s the most obscene part of the whole thing: the companies won’t tell the government (us!) how much of that $64 billion they’ve actually spent. They just take the money and say, “Thank you very much.” And then, presumably, throw a few extra million into the pockets of each of their already obscenely-well-paid senior executives. For example, the former CEO of the nation’s largest Medicare Advantage provider, UnitedHealth, walked away with over a billion dollars in total compensation. With a “B.” One guy. His successor made off with over a half-billion dollars in pay and stock. Good work if you can get it: all you need do is buy off a hundred or so members of Congress, courtesy of Clarence Thomas’ billionaire-funded tie-breaking vote on Citizens United , and threaten the rest of Congress with massive advertising campaigns for their opponents if they try to stop you. And while the companies refuse to tell us how much of the $64 billion that we’re throwing at them this year to offer “free” dental, etc. is actually used, what we do know is that most of that money is not going to pay for the freebies they advertise. As Cunningham-Cook noted , in one study only 11 percent of Advantage policyholders who’d signed up with plans offering dental care used that benefit. Another study showed over-the-counter-drug freebies were used only a third of the time, leaving $5 billion in the insurance companies money bins just for that “reimbursable” goodie. A later study found that at least a quarter of all Advantage policyholders failed to use any of the freebies they’d been offered when they signed up. That’s an enormous amount of what the industry calls “breakage”; benefits offered and paid for by the government but not used. Billions of dollars left over every month. And, used or not, you and I sure paid for them. In my book The Hidden History of American Healthcare: Why Sickness Bankrupts You and Makes Others Insanely Rich , I lay out the story of this scam and how badly so many American seniors — and all American taxpayers, regardless of age — get ripped off by it. And now it looks like things are about to get a whole lot worse. When he was president last time, Donald Trump substantially expanded Medicare Advantage, calling real Medicare “socialism.” Project 2025 and candidate Trump both promised to end real Medicare “immediately” if Trump was re-elected; at the very least, they’ll make Medicare Advantage the “default” program people are steered into when they turn 65 and sign up for Medicare. These giant insurance companies ripped off us taxpayers last year to the tune of an estimated $140 billion over and above what it would’ve cost us if people had simply been on real Medicare, according to a report from Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) . If there was no Medicare Advantage scam bleeding off all that cash to pay for executives’ private jets, real Medicare could be expanded to cover dental, vision, and hearing and even end the need for Medigap plans. But for now, the privatization gravy train continues to roll along. The insurance giants use some of that money to buy legislators, and some of it for expensive advertising to dupe seniors into joining their programs. The company (Benefytt) that hired Joe Namath to pitch Medicare Advantage, for example, was recently hit with huge fines by the Federal Trade Commission for deceptive advertising. The FTC news release laid it out : And what was it that the Federal Trade Commission called “sham insurance”? Medicare Advantage . Nonetheless, the Centers for Medicare Services continues to let Benefytt and Namath market these products: welcome to the power of organized money. And it’s huge organized money. Medicare Advantage plans are massive cash cows for the companies that run them. As Cigna prepares for a merger, for example, they’re being forced to sell off their Medicare Advantage division: it’s scheduled to go for $3.7 billion . Nobody pays that kind of money unless they expect enormous returns. And how do they make those billions? Most Medicare Advantage companies regularly do everything they can to intimidate you into paying yourself out-of-pocket. Often, they simply refuse payment and wait for you to file a complaint against them; for people seriously ill the cumbersome “appeals” process is often more than they can handle so they just write a check, pull out a credit card, or end up deeply in debt in their golden years. As a result, hospitals and doctor groups across the nation are beginning to refuse to take Medicare Advantage patients. And in rural areas many hospitals are simply going out of business because Medicare advantage providers refuse to pay their bills. California-based Scripps Health, for example, cares for around 30,000 people on Medicare Advantage and recently notified all of them that Scripps will no longer offer medical services to them unless they pay out-of-pocket or revert back to real Medicare. They made this decision because over $75 million worth of services and procedures their physicians had recommended to their patients were turned down by Medicare Advantage insurance companies. In many cases, Scripps had already provided the care and is now stuck with the bills that the Advantage companies refuse to pay. Scripps CEO Chris Van Gorder told MedPage Today : Similarly, the Mayo Clinic has warned its customers in Florida and Arizona that they won’t accept Medicare Advantage any more, either. Increasing numbers of physician groups and hospitals are simply over being ripped off by Advantage insurance companies. Traditional Medicare has been serving Americans well since 1965: it’s one of the most efficient single-payer systems to fund healthcare that’s ever been devised. But nobody was making a buck off it, so nobody could share those profits with greedy politicians. Enter Medicare Advantage, courtesy of George W. Bush and the GOP. While several bills have been offered in Congress to do something about this — including Mark Pocan’s and Ro Khanna’s Save Medicare Act that would end these companies’ ability to use the word “Medicare” in their policy names and advertising — the amounts of money sloshing around DC in the healthcare space now are almost unfathomable. So far this year, according to opensecrets.org , the insurance industry has spent $117,305,895 showering gifts and persuasion on our federal lawmakers to keep their obscene profits flowing. It’s all one more example of how five corrupt Republicans on the US Supreme Court legalizing political bribery with Citizens United have screwed average Americans and made a handful of industry executives and investors fabulously rich. They get away with it because when people choose to sign up for Medicare Advantage at 65 (or convert to these plans in their 60s or early 70s) they’re typically not sick — and thus cost the insurance companies little. Tragically, the people signing up for these plans have no idea all the hassles, hoops, and troubles they might have to jump through when they do get sick, have an accident, or otherwise need medical assistance. And since the last three years of life are typically the most expensive years for healthcare, the insurance denials are more likely to happen then — long after the person’s signed up with the Advantage company and it’s too late to go back to real Medicare. This is why it typically takes a few years for people to figure out how badly they got screwed by not going with regular Medicare but instead putting themselves in the hands of private insurance companies. The New York Times did an exposé of the problem in an article titled “ Medicare Advantage Plans Often Deny Needed Care, Federal Report Finds .” It tells the story of “Kurt Pauker, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor in Indianapolis” who’d bought an Advantage policy from Humana: This is not at all uncommon, the Times notes : If you have “real” Medicare with a heavily regulated Medigap policy to cover the 20% Medicare doesn’t, you never have to worry. Your bills get paid, you can use any doctor or hospital in the country who takes Medicare, and neither Medicare nor your Medigap provider will ever try to collect from you or force you to pay for what you thought was covered. Neither you or your doctor will ever have to do the “pre-authorization” dance with real Medicare: those terrible experiences dealing with for-profit insurance companies are part of the past. But if you have Medicare Advantage — which is not Medicare, but private health insurance — you’re on your own. As the Times laid out: Buying a Medicare Advantage policy is a leap in the dark, and the federal government is not there to catch you. And it’s all perfectly legal, thanks to Bush’s 2003 law, so your state insurance commissioner usually can’t or won’t help. Thus, here we are, handing billions of dollars a month to insurance industry executives so they can buy new Swiss chalets, private jets, and luxury yachts. And so they can compete — unfairly — with Medicare itself, driving LBJ’s most proud achievement into debt and crisis. Enough is enough. Let your members of Congress know it’s beyond time to fix the Court and Medicare, so scams like Medicare Advantage can no longer rip off America’s seniors while making industry executives richer than Midas. And if you got hooked into switching out of real Medicare and now find yourself in a Medicare Advantage plan, you have three days to back out and return to real Medicare. For more information, you can also contact the nonprofit and real-Medicare-supporting Medicare Rights Center at 800-333-4114. NOW READ: Agenda 47: Alarm sounded about Trump’s dystopian plans for his second term
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