Clipmarks | BobbyDelray's 'health' clips

4 Ways to Save on Your Medical Bills

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:44:30 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

The report, "Losing Ground: How the Loss of Adequate Health Insurance Is Burdening Working Families," paints a pretty bleak picture of how high healthcare costs are not only causing people to avoid getting the medical care they need but also straining their ability to pay for basic necessities like housing and food.

Make your health plan pay its share. This sounds obvious, but too often people don't demand their due. When they get a notice saying their claim has been rejected, or that the insurer will cover only a portion of the cost, they simply pay up instead of questioning the charge. Don't do that.

Check out government programs

Negotiate with your providers.

Consider prompt payment discounts carefully

Need some help? The Access Project offers free assistance to help consumers deal with medical debt.

Obama Says Single-Payer Health Care Makes Sense

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:38:54 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

Barack Obama said he would consider embracing a single-payer health-care system sometime in the future as his plan for broader health coverage evolves, the WSJ’s Amy Chozick reports from the campaign trail.

“If I were designing a system from scratch, I would probably go ahead with a single-payer system,” Obama told some 1,800 people at a town-hall meeting on the economy in
Albuquerque, New Mexico.

But critics, including every Republican we can think of, cringe at the elimination of competition and deep government involvement in the private sector.

“People don’t have time to wait,” Obama said. “They need relief now. So my attitude is let’s build up the system we got, let’s make it more efficient, we may be over time—as we make the system more efficient and everybody’s covered—decide that there are other ways for us to provide care more effectively.”

Will You Marry Me for Health Insurance?

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:06:20 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

Seven percent of Americans said that in the past year they or someone in their household decided to tie the knot mainly so one spouse would be eligible for the other’s health coverage.

That astonishing figure came from a survey out today from the Kaiser Family Foundation

Is marrying for health-care convenience the new marrying to get a Green Card?

There are 114 million households in America,according to the Census Bureau.

But the total number of marriages in 2005, the most recent year for which complete national figures are available, is only 2.25 million, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. That puts the total number of people who get hitched — for love, for money, for health insurance, for whatever — at about 4.5 million annually.

“What people are good at reporting is their perception,” she said. “The broad implication is the cost of health care is important enough that benefits are part of peoples’ life decisions.”

U.S. Wastes More Than Half of Health Spending

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:16:02 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

Health care isn’t exactly known for its efficiency, but a new analysis from PricewaterhouseCoopers puts the value of the waste sloshing around in the system at a whopping $1.2 trillion a year.

That’s right. Trillion–with a T. The findings of the firm’s Health Research Institute suggest that up to that much “wasteful spending” could be going on, more than half the $2.2 trillion spent on health care in this country.

including ineffective use of information technology ($81-$88 billion), claims processing, ($21-$210 billion) and defensive medicine ($210 billion). Medical errors cost $17 billion and badly-managed diabetes is tied to $22 billion.

the analysis adds to a growing pile of other research (including the granddaddy of the genre, the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care) focused on unnecessary health-care expenditures.

Army Worried by Rising Stress of Return Tours

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:14:17 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: I wonder when people are going to ask themselves about their own patriotism? We sit back comfortably and watched as the same men and women are sent to Iraq over and over.

What sacrifice has the American public made to support our efforts in Iraq?

What is the real definition of Patriotism?

When is the public going to say that these practices go against everything we believe and stand up against?

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Army leaders are expressing increased alarm about the mental health of soldiers who would be sent back to the front again and again under plans that call for troop numbers to be sustained at high levels in Iraq for this year and beyond.

Among combat troops sent to Iraq for the third or fourth time, more than one in four show signs of anxiety, depression or acute stress, according to an official Army survey of soldiers’ mental health.

President Bush has signaled that he will endorse General Petraeus’s recommendation, a decision that will leave close to 140,000 American troops in Iraq

But in a meeting with Mr. Bush late last month in advance of General Petraeus’s testimony, the Joint Chiefs of Staff expressed deep concern about stress on the force, senior Defense Department and military officials said.

Among the 513,000 active-duty soldiers who have served in Iraq since the invasion of 2003, more than 197,000 have deployed more than once

more than 53,000 have deployed three or more times

Tags: iraq, war, patriotism

Wellness Mart

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:21:26 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: A good example of the innovative kinds of health care that are now springing up all over the country.

Clip Source: www.wellnessmart.com

WellnessMart stores are owned and operated by Medical Doctors. These MDs use their years of experience to ensure you receive the highest quality preventive healthcare according to the latest medical recommendations. Think of our staff as your friendly neighborhood medical professionals, trained to help you stay healthy.

WellnessMart is your healthcare home. With easy, affordable access to a wide variety of tools and information, we give you the power to manage your health.

Tags: wellness

In San Francisco, Health Care Shows Up on Restaurant Bills

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:13:03 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

Eating out in San Francisco? Besides the tip, you’ll have to figure in the cost of health care.
The city’s health-care mandate is now showing up as a surcharge on some restaurant bills, MarketWatch reports.

Since the beginning of the year, San Francisco businesses have been required to offer health insurance to employees or pay a fee to the city to fund health care.

Some restaurants are passing the fee on to consumers in the form of a health surcharge, which shows up on the bill as a flat fee ($1 per person, or so) or as a percentage (like sales tax).

Other state and local governments have been keeping an eye on the situation. If the court winds up ruling that only the feds can set benefit requirements, it could force would-be health reformers in statehouses and city halls around the country to reconsider their plans.

Oregon Holds Health Insurance Lottery

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:08:29 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Oregon is conducting a one-of-a-kind lottery, and the prize is health insurance. The state will start drawing names this week for the chance to enroll in a health care program designed for people not poor enough for Medicaid but too cash-strapped to buy their own insurance.

"It's better than nothing, it's at least a hope," said Shirley Krueger, 61, who signed up the first day.

An estimated 600,000 people in Oregon are uninsured, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services.

At its peak in 1995, the program covered 132,000 Oregonians. State budget cuts forced the program to close to newcomers by 2004, but it now has several thousand openings.

The health insurance lottery winners will be chosen in a series of drawings that could take a few months.

"This is such a wonderful opportunity," said Ellen Pinney, director of the Oregon Health Action Campaign. "We've heard absolutely no complaints, just a lot of hope that they are the ones who will be selected."

Bad Service Cost UnitedHealth 315,000 Customers

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 20:33:27 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

UnitedHealth had its own analyst day in New York yesterday — and the company told investors that it lost 315,000 customers this year because of poor customer service, the AP reports.

CEO Stephen Hemsley said the company will continue to lose customers into the first quarter of next year.

UnitedHealth’s been diversifying beyond traditional insurance. It’s a big player in administering the Medicare drug benefit, and it also sells Medicare fee-for-service plans.

Trackback URL: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2007/12/05/bad-service-cost-unitedhealth-315000-customers/trackback/

Tags: united, health, care, cusomter, service

Insure Everybody, One Way or Another

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 20:38:00 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

This country can keep private insurance and require everybody to buy in. Or we can cover everybody with a government-funded, single-payer system. But one way or another, the American College of Physicians argues in this new paper, we have to cover everybody.

But as the Philadelphia Inquirer notes, many docs have historically been wary of a single-payer system, which some have worried would give the government too much control.

now that covering the uninsured has become a high-profile issue in the presidential race, the ACP may have figured the moment is opportune to jump into the public debate. In fact, the ACP also put out this guide to where the candidates stand on health care.

What should the federal government do about the uninsured?

Require everyone to have insurance coverage, but keep private insurance.
Adopt a single-payer, government-funded system.
The government shouldn’t require everyone to have health care.

Tags: health, care, insurance, private, physicians

Keeping seniors healthy, Medicare solvent

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 22:22:22 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.usatoday.com

A new partnership between a company that provides housing to seniors and a private health insurer is helping to cut Medicare costs, The Dallas Morning News reported. The pilot program offers supplemental private insurance to residents of Erickson Retirement Communities, which owns 18 facilities nationwide, the newspaper said.

The premiums are used to pay for on-site physicians and nurses. Because physicians work where residents live, it's easier for residents to visit them and for staff to alert doctors of potential problems. By keeping closer tabs on patients and catching problems early, the number of costly hospital stays paid for by Medicare is reduced.

Currently, 2,300 seniors are enrolled. "The only question is whether Erickson can continue that success as the number of enrollees grows," Jeffrey Kramer, director of the Center for Health Care and Insurance Studies at the University of Connecticut, told the newspaper.

Tags: medicare, heakth insurance, seniors

Edwards Would Ban Consumer Drug Ads for 2 Years

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 19:36:35 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: Good or bad idea? Would you miss those Viagra ads?

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

Add one more health-policy prescription to a presidential campaign that’s been full of health talk. John Edwards yesterday rolled out a plan to impose tighter rules on the direct-to-consumer drug ads that have played an increasingly important role in the drug industry’s marketing arsenal.

Under Edwards’s plan, a drug would have to be on the market for two years before it could be pitched directly to consumers. The plan would also require prior FDA approval of “major ad campaigns” and beef up rules about disclosing how well a drug stacks up against a placebo, according to Edwards’s Web site.

“You’ve seen these ads. You know who’s paying for them, right? You are,” Edwards said yesterday at a speech in New Hampshire, the AP reported. He added that the ads are “driving up demand for the most expensive and most profitable drugs.”

In the 2008 presidential race, the health-care sector has given $6.5 million to Democrats and $4.8 million to Republicans, the New York Times reports.

Tags: edwards, would, ban, consumer, drug, ads, for, 2, years

Sex Diseases Still Rising, Chlamydia is Leader

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:13:19 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The incidence of gonorrhea, which had declined sharply, has risen in the last two years in this country while the number of chlamydia and syphilis cases continue to rise, federal health officials said yesterday.

Chlamydia and gonorrhea are the two most common diseases among those doctors must report in the United States. And the 1,030,911 cases of chlamydia in 2006 are the highest ever recorded for any nationally reported disease in any year, the officials said in releasing their annual report on sexually transmitted diseases. They said that because of underreporting, a more accurate estimate is 2.8 million new chlamydia cases annually.

Times Health Guide: Syphilis

Times Health Guide: Chlamydia

Times Health Guide: Gonorrhea

About 19 million new cases of all kinds of sexually transmitted diseases occur in this country each year

Genital herpes, papillomavirus and trichomonas infections account for the vast majority of cases, but doctors are not required to report them nationally.

Tags: sex, diseases, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, genital herpes, trichomonas

Patients Can't Recall Their Medications To Tell Doctors

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 17:14:53 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: I can tell you from experience, not only couldn't my mother name the drugs she was taking, she was not taking them as prescribed. I investigated this when her behavior first started to change and show signs of dementia. Why is this important? Is my belief that if my mother had been taking her hypertension drugs as prescribed she would be much healthier today and the onset and development of her Alzheimer's might have been delayed.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

New research from Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine has found that nearly 50 percent of patients taking antihypertensive drugs in three community health centers were unable to accurately name a single one of their medications listed in their medical chart. That number climbed to 65 percent for patients with low health literacy.

Patients Can't Recall Their Medications To Tell Doctors

Tags: patients can't recall medications tell doctors, alzheimer's,

Genetic Crystal Balls Arrive on Internet

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 02:57:29 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

Tests that assess broad panels of genetic markers to predict a person’s risk of illness and death are becoming as simple as sending a sample of saliva to a lab and logging on via the Web for the results.

Then there are concerns about discrimination on the job or by insurers if a patient’s privacy is breached. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, is whether tests, such as one from a California start-up called Navigenics, will empower patients to make healthier choices or terrify them with misleading or discouraging information.

Navigenics isn’t the only company to tap the newly accessible information from the decoded human genome for health predictions. Another company, 23andme, backed by Genentech and Google, hopes to launch another direct-to-consumer test with genetic information taken from ancestries. DeCode already sells tests to for heart risks.

Would you pay $2,500 for a roadmap to your genetic health risks?

Tags: genetics, markers, tests, genetic crystal balls.

Clipmarks | BobbyDelray's 'health' clips

4 Ways to Save on Your Medical Bills

Obama Says Single-Payer Health Care Makes Sense

Will You Marry Me for Health Insurance?

U.S. Wastes More Than Half of Health Spending

Army Worried by Rising Stress of Return Tours

Wellness Mart

In San Francisco, Health Care Shows Up on Restaurant Bills

Oregon Holds Health Insurance Lottery

Bad Service Cost UnitedHealth 315,000 Customers

Insure Everybody, One Way or Another

Keeping seniors healthy, Medicare solvent

Edwards Would Ban Consumer Drug Ads for 2 Years

Sex Diseases Still Rising, Chlamydia is Leader

Related

Times Health Guide: Syphilis

Times Health Guide: Chlamydia

Times Health Guide: Gonorrhea

Patients Can't Recall Their Medications To Tell Doctors

Patients Can't Recall Their Medications To Tell Doctors

Genetic Crystal Balls Arrive on Internet