February 21st, 2010 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, Humor, True Stories
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Yesterday, the mail arrived. There were catalogs for clothes (mmmm, can’t wait until May!), letters from friends, the crappy bills that keep arriving even though we didn’t forward them to our new address, and oh yeah, that one bill from my mail order pharmacy.
For a thousand dollars.
Dated January 30, 2009.
So, being the rational and patient woman that I always am, I ripped up the envelope it came in, cursing under my breath like my temperamental buddy, Yosemite Sam. Punctuated each tear of the paper with “fricka-frakin’ insurance bill dagnabit …”
And then I called the mail order pharmacy company.
“Thank you for calling Byram Health Care. Your call is important to us.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
February 18th, 2010 by BobDoherty in Better Health Network, Health Policy
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Tom Toles’ editorial cartoon in todays Washington Post says it all.
Washington has become a place where nothing can move, advance or happen. Having been paralyzed by a huge snowstorm over the weekend, the federal government has been closed since Monday, our roads are clogged with unplowed snow, our Metrorail system won’t run above-ground trains, the schools are closed (until June, it seems)–and to top it off, another 10-20 inches of snowfall is expected in the next 24 hours. (Yes, our trains really don’t run when we get more than a few inches of snow. You Chicagoans can stop laughing now.)
Of course, the snow and ice will eventually melt, and Washington will get back to normal. Not so the partisan gridlock that apparently will prevent anything from getting done even when the government reopens for business. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
February 17th, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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“I’m from Massachusetts,” I told the audience. “So depending on how you feel about reform, I will say either ’sorry,’ or ‘you’re welcome.”
The audience, made up of large employers and benefits professionals seemed to like this. But it was clear that they were pleased that the health care reform legislation is Congress is pretty well dead now.
Now, if it’s true that health care costs are rising (they are) and this heavily impacts employers (it does) why would the death of a bill meant to address this problem make those people happy?
I’ve written before that part of the problem with the reform bills in Congress is the huge divide between what benefits professionals know about the real world of health care and the things that get “policy wonks” excited. And so a big reason why these bills never really had widespread support among professional benefits people was because they never made a whole lot of sense to them. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
February 17th, 2010 by AlanDappenMD in Primary Care Wednesdays
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Introduction: As we pick up with this ongoing series, here’s a synopsis for those of you new to the story: Mrs. Doctor, a primary care physician, has been going to marriage counseling alone since here husband, Mr. Insurance, has refused her pleading to attend the sessions together. He claims she is too spoiled and is threatening to find a new partner and a happier union, not to mention to find someone new who can help take care of their children (Patient 1, Patient 2, Patient 3 …).
Previous therapy sessions went well — until the last one, when the therapist seemingly accused Mrs. Doctor of being to blame for her marriage crises. At this point in time, the therapist asked her to return explaining why she should be at fault, and this is where we pick up:
Mrs. Doctor: I’m upset with you. I don’t know if I’ll continue therapy.
Therapist: I’m sorry you feel that way. Let me get this straight, you can’t decide whether to stand up for your kids (Patient 1,2,3) or abandon them … or whether stand up to your husband, Mr. Insurance, or abandon him … or whether to stay with therapy or not.
Read more »
February 15th, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced this week he has had enough of rising health care costs.
So he is proposing a novel solution: make them illegal.
Well, it’s not fair to call this idea “novel.” Governments have tried price controls for 40 centuries. And even though they don’t work, they keep trying. The explanation isn’t complicated. It’s an easy way for a politician to seem to do something about rising prices. In this case, it won’t do much about the underlying problem, but it is a terrific way for a governor to look like a man of action. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
