November 10th, 2009 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy
Tags: Congress, Federal, Healthcare reform, NAIC, State, State Insurance Regulation, Taxes
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As I have been predicting for a long time, state insurance regulators were unlikely to remain silent for long in the face of efforts to federalize major parts of state insurance regulation. They’re talking now, and they’re mad.
Last week, Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Sullivan testified in Congress on behalf of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. He said that federal regulation must not displace the current system of state regulation. Calling the proposed legislation a “regime change,” he said it would result in “redundant, overlapping responsibilities will result in policyholder confusion, market uncertainty, regulatory arbitrage and a host of other unintended consequences.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
November 10th, 2009 by DrWes in Better Health Network, True Stories
Tags: AARP, Cardiac Electrophysiology, Cardiology, Cost, Medicare Advantage, Medication, Part D, Prescription Cost, Tier III
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“Doc, I’ve got good news and bad news.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, I’ve lost six more pounds!”
“Wonderful! What’s the bad news?”
“Well, you know that new-fangled drug you gave me that works so well for my atrial fibrillation?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll, I’m part of that AARP Medicare Advantage Part D drug plan, and I just got the “partial” approved drug list for 2010 in the mail. My drug’s not on the list, so I called and found the drug’s been moved from a Tier II drug to a Tier III drug. That means it will cost me twice what I paid for it this year. That’s gonna be tough, doc. I can’t afford it.
But I also read that if you call this ‘800’ number and speak to them, they’ll allow me to obtain an exemption to keep the drug on Tier II for next year.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
November 9th, 2009 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Above Average, Anxiety, Depression, Mean, Over Achievement, Pressure, Psychology, Teen, Test Scores
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My heart is going out to teens these days, especially in my high-achieving community. It seems school districts and parents alike have lost the sense that “average” is really OK, and in some cases, much healthier than “above average.”
An emotional goal of adolescence is to answer the question “who am I” acquiring self-certainty as opposed to self-consciousness and self-doubt. Most teens approach life expecting to succeed and achieve their goals rather than being paralyzed by feelings of inferiority. On a normal path, adolescents seek out people who inspire them and gradually develop a set of ideals and goals for their future. This is all perfectly normal, and if all goes well, teens become young women and young men who believe they can do whatever they set their minds to and are willing to work hard enough for. This process gets stunted if the expectations set for them are unreasonable. Read more »
This post, All Teens Under Pressure To Be Above Average, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
November 9th, 2009 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Humor
Tags: Advice, Doctor Patient Relationship, Geriatrics, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics
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Top 10 lists are back!
I forgot about this kind of post, and a reminder by a reader is bringing them back. They are really a fun and easy kind of post to write, so you may see a fair number of them (read: Rob is getting lazy). I thought I’d start back with some suggestions for disgruntled patients (or gruntled ones, for that matter) to make their doctor’s day much worse.
1. Require the doctor to keep things secret from your child or your elderly parent. Insist that they can’t know about their cancer, depression, ADD, or foot fungus. Call the medication the doctor prescribes “vitamins.” Alternatively, you can threaten your child by saying that if they don’t behave better, the doctor will give them a shot. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
November 9th, 2009 by Hsien-Hsien Lei, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Exercise, Francis Collins, Genes, Genetic Testing, Genetics, Gym, NIH
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A little over two years ago, I confessed that I was “just a little scared of genetic testing.” I have two young children and almost every day I see traits in them that I’m pretty sure they inherited from me whether via genes or behavior. If you’re a parent, I’m sure you can imagine that there’s a lot of self-blame going on in our house.
So when it comes to genetic testing, I should want to know but I don’t. At least not right this minute. Haven’t I got enough to worry about?
From Middletown Journal’s month-long series on the battle against cancer – Many with cancer gene don’t want to know. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Eye on DNA*
