February 9th, 2010 by Richard Cooper, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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Commenting on the President’s budget, an editorial in the Times on Feb 2nd juxtaposed three of our nation’s dilemmas: the deficit, jobs and health care.
“President Obama got his priorities mostly right. The deficit, compared with what it could have been, is $120B. That’s a lot of money. But it’s not too much at a time of economic weakness, when deficit spending is needed to put Americans back to work.”
“Medicare and Medicaid will cost $788B; that should be another reminder of why the country needs health care reform.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at PHYSICIANS and HEALTH CARE REFORM Commentaries and Controversies*
December 2nd, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in News, Opinion
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What does America’s economic recession have to do with a school teacher in Kenya? A lot more than you realize. If there’s one thing I learned at the World Bank’s World AIDS Day event yesterday, it’s that our lives, economies, and health are all inextricably intertwined on a global scale.
Beldina Atieno (second from the left in the photo) traveled all the way from Nairobi to offer her first hand account of life as an HIV+ school teacher in Africa. Ms. Atieno’s story was both heart-wrenching and eye-opening. She was first diagnosed after her youngest daughter became very ill from an opportunistic infection, which prompted HIV testing in both daughter and mother. After discovering that they were both positive, she was abandoned by her husband and was plunged into poverty and despair. Read more »
November 22nd, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in True Stories
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I was traveling on an Amtrak train to a dinner meeting in Philadelphia. Two portly business men wedged in next to me and had an animated conversation about which companies do well despite a down economy. Here’s how the conversation went:
Businessman #1: You know, I’ve taken such a beating on the stock market, I just don’t know where to put my money to protect it and grow it. But I was thinking – one thing’s for sure – lots of people are going to continue dying despite the recession.
Businessman #2: So what kind of business insight is that?
Businessman #1: Funeral Homes, dummy. That’s where the action is. People still have to cremate or bury their loved ones, even in tough economic times.
Businessman #2: Nah, that’s not really scalable. I mean, you can’t save on costs with more volume. It’s fixed – a coffin costs what it costs. What you should really get into is Assisted Living facilities. Now THAT’s a growth market.
Businessman #1: No way, people can’t afford to pay for assisted living after the market crash. Their savings won’t last long enough to make it worth my while to take them in. Then when it runs out, what can I do? You can’t put them out on the street so you’re stuck with them till they die.
Businessman #2: You don’t have to be stuck with them, when their cash runs out you can transfer them to a lower quality facility. Then Medicare will pay for it.
