Hits and Misses
Practice does not make perfect; meditation does.
New study: Cat people are smarter than dog people.
“Walking school buses” being used to combat obesity.
Random thoughts don’t necessarily provide valuable insights.
Author Archive
Jun 10, 2014 | 10 comments | by Devon Herrick
Hits and Misses
A mouthwash you can swallow: Red wine fights cavities!
Social traits of thrift, docility and nonviolence have been bred within agrarian societies.
Most emergency room “frequent fliers” have a substance abuse addiction.
Alcohol triggers junk food cravings.
New pill designed to treat symptoms of hunger (I thought that was called celery).
May 22, 2014 | 12 comments | by Devon Herrick
A Diagnostic Laboratory You Can Carry in Your Purse!
Hardware and software medical applications are increasingly being developed for smartphones. This one is a convenient mini-laboratory powered by a smartphone. As reported in MedCity News:
Although molecular diagnostic devices tend to be expensive, Biomeme figured out how to build one that uses a smartphone and sells for roughly $1,000. In addition to STD testing…it’s developing tests for dengue fever, yellow fever, and malaria, among others.
One of the interesting things about the company is how wide the applications are for healthcare sectors and beyond. It currently has 10 partnerships with groups in agriculture, environmental monitoring, along with military uses.
Apr 09, 2014 | 14 comments | by Devon Herrick
Are Medicinal Leeches Making a Comeback?
They’re $13.50 apiece (shipping and Leech Mobile Home® extra).
Source: Leeches U.S.A.
Apr 08, 2014 | 25 comments | by Devon Herrick
Hits and Misses
Rahm Emanuel on ObamaCare: The president didn’t follow my advice.
Is being underweight just as dangerous as being overweight?
Why is your blood pressure higher when measured by doctors rather than nurses?
Soda taxes have little effect on obesity; once you factor in the substitution effect.
Mar 31, 2014 | 15 comments | by Devon Herrick
CMS Backs Down from Medicare Part D Changes
Seniors should celebrate the administration’s decision to reverse its proposed restrictions of the Medicare Part D drug benefit plan.
By virtually all measures, Medicare Part D has been a great success. Seniors’ satisfaction rates average about 90 percent to 95 percent.
In January, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced plans to change how Medicare Part D plans are regulated. To save money, CMS wanted to block seniors’ access to drug plans that offer lower premiums (and lower copays) in return for patronizing a preferred pharmacy network. The changes would also have limited seniors’ access to certain medications.
After criticism launched from many fronts, including the NCPA, CMS this week announced it had backed away from its earlier recommendations to micromanage Medicare Part D drug plans.
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Mar 12, 2014 | 16 comments | by Devon Herrick
Why Is Choice a Bad Thing?
Medicare bureaucrats believe seniors have too much choice! Last month the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed sweeping changes to the Medicare Part D drug program. Released without fanfare, buried in a 700 page veritable plethora of regulations published in the Federal Register were three significant changes to the Medicare drug program. These proposed regulations include: 1) Any willing pharmacy regulations to prohibit exclusive networks; 2) reducing the number of protected classes of drugs covered in each plan; and 3) reducing the number of drug plans that plan sponsors are allowed to offer in each service region.
Any willing pharmacy regulations prevent plan sponsors from creating exclusive pharmacy networks. The proposed regulations would require drug plans to allow participation by any pharmacy willing to abide by the terms of the “winning” bidder in the network contract. This weakens drug plans’ bargaining power to negotiate the lowest prices from pharmacies competing to be included in a network.
I’d do anything
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Mar 05, 2014 | 21 comments | by Devon Herrick
A New Front in Obama’s War on Seniors
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will undoubtedly reduce seniors’ access to care. A huge chunk of the funding for ObamaCare is derived from cutting $716 billion from the Medicare program over the next decade. For instance, one provision cuts the fees paid to physicians who treat Medicare enrollees by 25 percent. Another provision — the Independent Payment Advisory Board — will have the power to slow Medicare spending by curtailing increases in Medicare provider payments. A third strike reduces funding for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, which cover one-quarter of Medicare beneficiaries. Compared to traditional Medicare, MA plans provide approximately $825 annually in added benefits to (mostly) moderate-income enrollees.
In early January the Obama administration announced yet another attack on seniors’ pocketbooks. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) wants to block seniors from choosing Medicare Part D drug plans that offer lower premiums (and lower co-pays) in return for patronizing a preferred pharmacy network.
Reducing Seniors’ Choices. Since its inception, the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) mandated a statutory, non-interference clause. The MMA specifically blocked Medicare from taking sides in the negotiation process (i.e. interfering) between the plans and plan vendors. Contract negotiations between drug makers, pharmacy networks and drug plan sponsors were strictly left to the respective parties. However, some Medicare administrators remain skeptical of provisions in the MMA prohibiting it from interfering in the negotiation process — something the MMA explicitly prohibits.
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Feb 26, 2014 | 27 comments | by Devon Herrick
