Category: Interesting Links

Medicare Actuaries: Health Care Costs Will Go Up, White House: Health Care Costs Will Go Down, and the I-Never-Took-Economics Quote of the Day

Medicare’s Office of the Actuary:  The nation’s health care tab will go up — not down — by $265 more per person in 2019 as a result of President Barack Obama’s sweeping health system overhaul.

Estimate is optimistic: It presumes a 30 percent reduction in Medicare physician payments takes effect over the next two years.

White House (Nancy-Ann DeParle): Costs will go down, not up, by $1,400 per person.

Understatement of the day:  “When you cover the uninsured and they get the care they need, you have to spend more money.” — Karen Davis

I-never-took-economics quote of the day:  “Insurers are using the consumer protections in health reform as a cover for their own greed.” — Pete Stark

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Sep 09, 2010 | 8 comments | by

A Coffee a Day Keeps the Doctor Away, Brewed Tea Is Healthier, and What People Ate 10,000 Years Ago

Daily coffee limbers up heart: at least in seniors.

Exercise reduces overeating: at least in obese rats.

Bottled tea beverages less healthy than brewed tea: fewer antioxidants.

What people ate 10,000 years ago in Utah: Sagebrush seed mush. Grinding stones made it possible.

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Sep 08, 2010 | 4 comments | by

Health Claims on Packaged Foods Not Supported by Science, Rejection Pill, and “Friendly” Bacteria

Supermarket snake oil: Should food makers have to prove their health claims?

Can a pill relieve the pain of rejection by friends, coworkers, lovers, etc? Apparently, Tylenol can.

 Is the birth control pill responsible for fewer men graduation from college? Economist Tim Harford says it is.

Are hygienic and medical advances killing bacteria, viruses and fungi that are essential to our health? “Many of these microscopic guests are really ancient allies.”

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Sep 07, 2010 | 10 comments | by

5 Million Uninsured Children Eligible for Free or Low-Cost Coverage, Defensive Medicine, and Democrats Run Away from Health Care

Five million uninsured children are eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP, but not enrolled. 39% are in California, Florida and Texas.

More than half of the 354 million annual doctor visits are not with a patient’s primary physician. More than a quarter take place in hospital emergency rooms.

Defensive-medicine costs $45.6 billion per year. (gated)

Officials in Washington can’t identify a single House member who’s running an ad boasting of a “yes” vote on health reform. Even though 219 Democrats voted yes.

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Sep 07, 2010 | 6 comments | by

The Obesity Paradox, MIT Scientists Beaming, and New York’s Life Expectancy Gap

The Obesity Paradox: While overweight people are more prone to heart failure, patients with heart failure have lower mortality rates if they are obese.

MIT scientists are trying to enable Type I diabetes patients to test their blood sugar levels with light. It beats using a needle.

New York female/male life expectancy gap is wider than in the rest of the country. Reason: New York women have healthier lifestyles.

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Sep 02, 2010 | 6 comments | by

Federal Government to Pay Medical Bills for Fortune 500, Nebraska Gov. Urges Educators to Support Repeal of ObamaCare, and Unemployment Insurance

Guess whose medical bills the federal government is paying? General Motors, General Electric, Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Alcoa, Intel, and Pfizer.

Nebraska Governor to educators: Help repeal ObamaCare or face spending cuts.

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Sep 01, 2010 | 17 comments | by

Majority of Companies Anticipate Losing Grandfathered Status under ObamaCare, Your Doctor’s Religion Matters, and Hospital EMRs Not Up to Standard

Do you know the religion of your doctor?  It may affect your end-of-life care.

Only 11.9% of U.S. hospitals have adopted at least basic electronic medical records, and only about 2% meet government standards.

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Aug 31, 2010 | 8 comments | by

Skim Milk Lowers Blood Pressure, Auto-Refill Prescriptions Gaining in Popularity, and Text Message Reminders for Birth Control

Does skim milk lower blood pressure? Apparently.

Can patients be “nudged” into signing up for auto-refill prescriptions? Yes.

Do text message reminders get women to take their birth control pills? No.

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Aug 30, 2010 | 3 comments | by

Stimulus Package Rivals Cost of War in Iraq, Loss of Your Medical Privacy, and Critics Condemn Bowel Cancer Drug Rejection

Did the stimulus package cost more than the Iraq War? One researcher says “yes.”

Steve Wynn: China is more friendly to capitalism than the United States. (Great video interview with CNBC.)

More EMRs mean loss of privacy. “More than five million people have been affected by breaches of medical information in the last 18 months.”

Britain’s comparative effectiveness agency (NICE): £21,000 is too much to spend for an extra 6 weeks of life.

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Aug 27, 2010 | 6 comments | by

Superheroes, Robot Teachers, Falls Kill

Are superheroes bad role models for young boys? “Today’s superhero is too much like an action hero who participates in non-stop violence; he’s aggressive, sarcastic and rarely speaks to the virtue of doing good for humanity.”

What kills more people than car crashes and suicides? In Wisconsin, it’s falls. (HT to Health Business Blog.)

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Aug 26, 2010 | 11 comments | by
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