“By now you know that Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) has offered a ‘Call to Arms’ for healthcare reform by way of a 98-page policy document. There is much to think about in Baucus’ proposal, so you might have missed the section where he talks about increasing payments to primary care providers at the expense of compensation for specialists. … Baucus rightly recognizes that primary care is ‘undervalued’ in our healthcare system. … Doing something to a patient (procedural care) is compensated much more than is doing something with a patient (cognitive care).” [editor’s note: As is often the case, Mahar is focusing on an important aspect of the healthcare mess, one not often addressed when comparing the field to other “business endeavors” — Western medicine is demonstrably slanted toward “treatment” of ignorant “patients” … and away from providing “information” that might make such treatment less necessary - SAT] (11/14/08)

http://www.healthbeatblog.org/2008/11/spread-the-weal.html

“The US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health has in place means for awarding approval to new medical devices. The FDA’s mission in this regard is ‘Ensuring that medical devices are reasonably safe and effective.’ The agency acknowledges that no system is perfect, especially since safety and effectiveness testing cannot be conducted indefinitely. … Still, once the products do get to the market — even though they are all approved — those within a particular class are not necessarily equivalent. As such, healthcare practitioners want to know which devices are best, and actively seek recommendations from supposedly impartial organizations. Since the matter of infection control affects virtually all medical devices, let’s examine how one aspect of this has been handled.” (11/16/08)

http://tinyurl.com/685nxy

“InsureBlog consistently points out that healthcare and health insurance are different animals. When media and pundits and politicians confuse the two – and it happens with depressing frequency – we think that’s misleading, and we say so. Maybe you believe that’s just semantics. Or maybe you reply, so they’re different, so what? Well, let’s look at it. 1.) Observe that high health insurance premiums result from high healthcare costs. If healthcare were not expensive, health insurance would not be expensive. … 2.) The problem of high healthcare costs is not solved by finding clever ways to shift costs to somebody else via insurance premiums. Insurance is inherently a cost-shifting device, whether private or public.” [editor’s note: This blog continues to cut to the chase on this issue, debunking the notion that all we need to reform healthcare is to somehow create insurance for all Americans! - SAT] (11/15/08)

http://tinyurl.com/65679a

“Call it the best-kept secret in Massachusetts medicine: Health insurance companies pay a handful of hospitals far more for the same work even when there is no evidence that the higher-priced care produces healthier patients. In fact, sometimes the opposite is true: Massachusetts General Hospital, for example, earns 15 percent more than Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for treating heart-failure patients even though government figures show that Beth Israel has for years reported lower patient death rates. Private insurance data obtained by the Globe’s Spotlight Team show that the Brigham, Mass. General, Children’s Hospital and a few others are, on average, paid about 15 percent to 60 percent more than their rivals by insurance companies such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.” (11/16/08)

http://tinyurl.com/5uef92

“What’s cholesterol? It’s a type of lipid or fat. In our bodies, it travels through our blood stream in particles called lipoproteins. Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are considered bad cholesterol because they can lead to a buildup of plaque in your arteries. A mass of plaque can narrow your arteries and restrict blood flow – much like trying to sip juice through a clogged straw. Eventually, the plaque ruptures and a blood clot forms, cutting off the flow of blood, oxygen and nutrients to the brain. Hello, heart attack and stroke!” (111/16/08)

http://tinyurl.com/5lvwf3

“We’ve been vocal proponents of Consumer Driven Health Plans (CDHP) for a long time, and have seen some of the positive results of putting consumers into the health care driver’s seat. Since these plans are relatively new, long term trends have been difficult to ascertain, but that’s beginning to change. Recently, health insurance leviathan WellPoint (WP) published a report that showed some interesting (and hopeful) results. The folks at WP surveyed almost 8,000 of their groups that offered some kind of CDHP in 2007, and made some startling finds.” (11/13/08)

http://tinyurl.com/6fsrcr

“The sweeping health reform plan proposed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) suffers from several expensive and fatal flaws. The Baucus proposal is a blueprint for economic disaster in health care coverage for Americans. Moreover, it would: * Destroy any choices that consumers have to select health coverage that meets their individual needs. * Stick consumers with a government-designed and regulated health plan that will drive up costs and limit access for too many consumers. Whenever these types of regulations are imposed at the state level, premiums have jumped two to three times the national average. Mandated coverage would force consumers to buy plans with benefits they may not want at prices they cannot afford.” [editor’s note: Once more, a politician seeks to “fix healthcare” by making insurance mandatory, thereby only ensuring a stronger rein over wellness in the hands of Big(ger) Insurance - SAT] (11/13/08)

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=17249

“The NFL Network announced a new initiative this week to improve and maintain physical education programs at schools across the nation. Not to mix sports metaphors, but it’s about time someone stepped up to the plate with a children’s health project that might actually accomplish something. We’ve been saying for years that kids aren’t getting enough exercise, and we couldn’t be more pleased to see pro football doing something to get them excited about sports. The Keep Gym In School program will refurbish school gyms, supply athletic equipment, and improve training for phys-ed teachers. Additionally, the NFL will award a $10,000 grant to a school in need of a better P.E. department.” [editor’s note: Watch the effects of this common-sense approach, which is long overdue! - SAT] (11/11/08)

http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/headline/3765

“Let’s assume you are an elderly gentleman, rather frail, whose wife is seriously ill with hard-to-control diabetes. You do not feel capable of providing her with proper care, and decide to hire a nurse to look after her, at least during the day. The first candidate you interview has excellent credentials in most respects, but thinks it is a waste of time to check the patient’s blood sugar frequently. She believes that diabetics suffer enough, and should be allowed to indulge themselves with candy and cookies ad lib. She regards meticulous care of the feet as foolishness, and encourages her patients to remain in bed most of the time. Would you hire her, knowing her beliefs, with the expectation that if your wife’s condition worsened under her care, you could always hire another nurse? I don’t think so. But this is the way we hire presidents. We give the job to someone who tells us in advance he isn’t going to do his job properly.” (11/13/08)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/hein/hein198.html

“After the Democrats took over Congress in 2007, Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) was a bit of a buzzkill, watering down progressive legislation regarding the minimum wage and prescription drug costs. And in the next Congress, as Ezra Klein suggested last week, Baucus could be expected to take a ‘center-right’ approach on healthcare, setting up a possible ideological tussle with the other Senate committee chair with jurisdiction on health care, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.). But past performance does not always predict the future. Baucus sprung out of the gate today with a healthcare proposal that would guarantee healthcare coverage for all by providing a public plan option that competes with private companies, which would no longer be able to cherry-pick younger healthier recipients.” (11/12/08)

http://tinyurl.com/5pltq9