Diabetes: Drugs, Diet and Data
May 27, 2008
Picnic season is upon us – a time for cookouts and gatherings around the grill or at the park. This means burgers and hot dogs, potato salad and chips, ice cream and lemonade. This means we’ll be tempted to pack on pounds even as we’re trying to cram ourselves into shorts and bikinis.
For those Americans with diabetes, all the starch and sugar that come with summertime meals and outings are a serious hazard not just for their waistline but also for their health.
Can You Profit from Health Care? Part 2
May 21, 2008
A couple weeks ago WhatIf explored whether the U.S.’ largest industry – health care – is recession-proof. It seems health insurance companies’ profits are starting to slip. Rising health care costs means that insurers must pay out more to cover health services, which means they raise the price of their policies to recoup these costs. As a result, the number of employers purchasing insurance is decreasing.
Even so, the nation’s largest publicly-traded health plans say they will continue to raise premium prices and reduce provider payments in order to please Wall Street. “We will not sacrifice profitability for membership,” WellPoint President and CEO Angela Braly said recently.
New WhatIf Content on CT Scans
May 19, 2008
How many times in the past year have you or a loved one had a CT scan? At the time, did the doctor ordering the scan have a conversation with you about its radiation risks compared to that of a typical x-ray? What about other kinds of x-ray based scans - like a mammogram? Or the kind that trace contrast materials through your GI tract or your heart?
Our newest piece To Scan or Not To Scan makes the case that it’s time we start having these discussions with our doctors.
And maybe our doctors need to be getting more informed as well.
When Insurers Take Their Toys and Go Home
May 10, 2008
For the past few years there has been work in cities and states across the country to improve our citizens’ access to health care. From San Francisco to Vermont, 39 states and a number of cities are in the process of creating legislation that would help address their numbers of uninsured.
Washington, D.C. is one of these. A look at the trouble our nation’s capital is facing on this issue may shed a light on why the words “health care reform” are often greeted with less than a smile.
Gentle Humor: Doctors and Lawyers
May 10, 2008
Guy at a party upon meeting a lawyer: “See that woman across the room? She’s a doctor. At a party last week, I told her my knee had been giving me trouble and asked her opinion, and a few days later she sent me a bill for $100 for `consultation’. Can she do that legally?”
Lawyer: “Yes.”
One week later, the guy received a bill for $100 - from the lawyer.
Can You Profit from Health Care?
May 7, 2008
…..let’s see…
…it used to be the steel industry…and for awhile it was AT&T
…then in the 90’s, the place to put your money was dot.coms
…is it now health care?
With all the talk lately of economic downturn and recession, in many people’s minds (at least those over 50) lurk the tales of the Great Depression and the infamous 1929 stock market collapse. Heck, we don’t even have to go back that far! Remember the early part of this decade when all the Silicon Valley dot.com stocks plummeted and recently millionaired 25-year-olds found themselves trading in their Porsches for middle management jobs at Starbuck’s?
Gentle Humor: Second Opinion
May 7, 2008
Today’s bit of medical humor, brought to you by http://www.ahajokes.com/medical_joke_of_the_day.shtml
A patient has a sore throat and goes to a doctor to get treatment for it.
Doctor: Your tonsils gotta come out.
Patient: I wanna second opinion.
Doctor: Okay, you’re ugly, too.
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