American Healthcare

[crux]

Thanks Fangz for the kind tone! I DO seek to comprehend the issue. In regards to the article you linked to though, would you acknowledge the fact that the 55 million dollar number, and the difference of it and a BILLION dollars as "ROUNDING ERROR", was really an OFF description by the author? (remember the chart from the study shows an average of 55 billion for ONLY STAGE 3 TRIALS!!)

As well, do you think the 4 years to develop an approved drug is an ACCURATE assertion?

As to the cost of dead end drugs, will you comment on it's NON inclusion in the costs for APPROVED drugs?

I am happy to read and comprehend, but will you address these?

Thank you,

crux

[crux]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/appeals-court- ... 29777.html

TODAY. UNCONSTITUTIONAL. whoa...

[Pselden]

[bFIREFIGHTERS LISTEN UP
]SHARING A MESSAGE CLOSE TO MY HEART AND SOUL FOR THE PROFESSION

[/b]Today kicks off National Firefighter Health Week, a time for you and your department to focus on your health and take the steps necessary to stay strong for life. This year’s theme is “When it comes to your health, you’re always on duty.”

Each day this week has a special focus topic to help you take the steps you need to get and stay healthy. These include identifying your health risks as a first responder, creating a support system, making a health and wellness plan, putting that plan into action, and continuing a healthy lifestyle in the long term. The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) will be sending out a daily email throughout the week with tips and tools to help you make the most out of that day’s focus topic.

The National Firefighter Health Week Resource Center contains additional tools and information, daily activity ideas, promotional materials, tips, podcasts, and more to help you and your department participate. Visit www.healthy-firefighter.org/healthweek.

The NVFC will be hosting two health and wellness webinars this week. Register to attend at https://nvfc.webex.com by clicking on Upcoming Sessions. Both webinars are free and last approximately 1 hour, but space is limited so register now!


Webinar on Heat Stress – Choosing the Right PPE
Sponsored by TECGEN
Monday, August 15 at 2 pm Eastern
Understand the physiology of heat stress and how the total heat loss rating of your PPE applies to real world situations.

Webinar on Obesity in the Fire Service
Friday, August 19 at 2 pm Eastern
First responders face many threats to their health and safety, but heart disease remains the number one cause of on-duty deaths. Obesity is a major contributor to heart disease, yet the extent of its effect on the fire service remains largely unknown. The NVFC has partnered with the HOPE Health Research Institute to study obesity in the fire service. Learn about the findings outlined in the study along with recommendations to combat obesity and improve overall health.


Five Six Flags theme parks are also providing a special discount to first responders and their family and friends this week. Learn more and find participating parks at www.healthy-firefighter.org/sixflags.

National Firefighter Health Week 2011 is supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through a Fire Prevention and Safety Grant. It is sponsored by Georgia-Pacific, Six Flags, and TECGEN.

[fangz1956]

Every once in a while, something comes along that makes you stop, think, and remember that there are still people doing good works in the world. Who ever would have dreamed this possible a mere 20 years ago?

A Significant Leap Forward

[Wise One]

That is a fascinating development, giving a hint at what is to come, a testament to the power of science in revealing reality and then using knowledge to practical ends.

Therapies tailored to the individual, built on advances in our expanding understanding of the genetic basis of biological systems, will explode in the next decade or so. For example, there is much talk of altering a virus by adding DNA fragments from the patient, culturing that modified virus, and injecting millions into the patient. Thus might medicine mobilize millions of "robots" to seek and destroy specific cells in a specific individual.

But will the young recoil at the growing hordes of oldsters tapping pensions/social security/medicare? Will they spurn the new medicine to emulate the Inuit who pushes grandma on her ice floe out to sea?

[Sam]

Found the article interesting but am scratching my head over the statement on the young by WO. Will social security be around for the younger generation? I have my doubts. Think I need a Jack Danials

[Wise One]

So Sam, it sounds as though you are resigned to being pushed out on your ice floe by whippersnappers who want your dough. You may be right. Watch out, they may steal your Jack too.

[Sam]

No I am not resigned what I am concerned about are my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. What does their future hold in regards to their retirement. I keep telling them they should not count on social security but save for their own retirement. You may find me old etc or may not take me seriously but I am deeply concerned.. I will add that my grandson just made me a proud great grandfather on 9/11. Not once but twice. Twin grandsons. Now that calls for a celebration.

[coondog]

Let us not confuse health care with retirement.

Providing for old people who no longer participate in the work force and providing for sick people who may be of any age (employed or not) are two different things.

Before we decide how to deal with the sick and injured, we first have to decide whether we are to sincerely adopt an attitude toward as to whether we are responsible, as a society, to provide for people.......or not.

I found Ron Paul's response in the Tea Party Debate somewhat fascinating. With regard to the hypothetical case of a 30 year old in a comma who opted out of health insurance, his response seemed to indicate that, "Hey, that's his Karma!" Presumably, this guy is to be left out on the street until some church group decides to pick up the tab. This from a physician whose oath actually prescribes that this irresponsible 30 year old receive care, regardless. Herein lies a paradox.

Because......in order to insure that the streets outside hospitals are not lined with gurneys filled with the sick and the lame and the comotose waiting for the benevolence of the righteous, we must either institute a mandate, provide for socialistic government involvement or continue to pick up the tab indirectly through ever increasing costs. Actually, the option of leaving them out on the street is not likely to be adopted by many hospitals. It's bad PR! But, our choices, as a society, remain the same.

Allowing the irresponsibile to remain irresponsible is, basically, the status quo. Hence, extraordinaty health care costs and high insurance premiums. Taking care of the irresponsible is a self imposed mandate by the medical community. Therefore, the social ramifications of the existing situation require either a mandate or fully socialized medicine. There is no third alternative.

Because this paradox has a detrimental affect on society as a whole, it falls within the pervue of the federal government. It is, therefore, fitting that the federal government either institute a mandate (which they have done) or implement a single payer system (which they have not). The attitude, which we can call libertarian, right wing or republican, that both remedies are unconstitutional provides no solution beyond the unsustainable status quo.

The answer to retirement, much like that of health care, is that individual retirement and health accounts are great if one has the extra money to put into them. The difference is that old folks homes have no oaths to honor and will leave you to fend for yourself with impunity. The fact that we, as a civilized nation, have recognised that providing for the aged and no longer employable is beneficial to all is a tribute to our heritage. Social Security works. It needs to be sustained.

But the world is rapidly changing. Social Security has to be reformed to reflect current needs and realities in a way that insures it's continued existance. Individual retirement accounts and health reserves, like everything else the republicans advocate, are only a benefit to the rich. Not everyone can afford to do it! Where are they to end up, otherwise?

I'm not concerned about grandchildern or great grandchildren. When they get old like us, the world will have changed so much that we wouldn't recognise it. They will find their own solutions. We best find some solutions of our own....and soon.

Coondog

Hey doc! I've got this rash..........

[crux]

Because this (paradox) has a detrimental affect on society as a whole, it falls within the pervue of the federal government. It is, therefore, fitting that the federal government either institute a mandate (which they have done) or implement a single payer system (which they have not). The attitude, which we can call libertarian, right wing or republican, that both remedies are unconstitutional provides no solution beyond the unsustainable status quo.

Individual retirement accounts and health reserves, like everything else the republicans advocate, are only a benefit to the rich. Not everyone can afford to do it! Where are they to end up, otherwise?

The BOLDED statement is troubling in and of itself. The mandate will likely be deemed unconstitutional for obvious reasons.

The UNDERLINED is disproven by frugal hardworking responsible people, throughout the ages... Retirement and health savings accounts are OPTIONS available to all. The status quo, is mutable, and ever changing for the individual, despite their CURRENT station in life. Even an indolent couch potato will be content with Federally granted food, clothing, and shelter, for only so long, in many cases.
__________________________________________________________________

Hey, did you regurgitate your breakfast yesterday morning after the Special Election results in New York? I have no doubt you just slurped it up again once you caught your breath. Dogs....

[Neck-aint-red]

What a great analysis of Virginia's troglodyte stance! And just as the benefits of improvements in health insurance law are displaying their positive effects.

Buffoon Cuccinelli speaks for radical (former Dixiecrat) Republicans but he doesn't speak for me.

[crux]

Well, HALF of Obamacare's ILLUSIONARY savings are GONE. This provision of Obamacare just imploded.
Did you even notice?

http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer. ... -wiped-out

[fangz1956]

Just a couple of reads looking at where we are now.........and some serious and significant changes must be made ASAP.

Rising Premiums Equal Less Care

Why 99% of Healthcare Should Be Angry

A personal note on the second article........healthcare professionals are definitely angry. We try through every outlet available to us to make our voices heard. Unfortunately, with every attempt by the majority to discuss the elephant in the living room, the elephant labels the vocal ones as malcontents and troublemakers......and then works on ways to take your job away from you.

[Wise One]

Thanks for that. I particularly enjoyed Dr. Roy Poses' piece on fee structure. I don't really know whether, on balance, things are better or worse than they would be if Medicare's RBRVS were operated in strict compliance with FACA but the arguments he makes are attractive, at least at first glance. If "proceduralists" (I assume this means specialties like surgery) are indeed skewing payments toward themselves maybe this is a bad thing. On the other hand, if payments for the bulk of procedures escalates as a consequence of more "balanced" input, maybe that would blow the budget.

It's all very complex, with expertise and counsel in the public interest needed by medical practitioners, government, citizens, and finance. (That last one is probably already over-represented.)

On a different subject, I'd like to get insurance companies out of the business of health insurance altogether. They perform a very simple function of transferring money from citizens to medical providers. But they add nothing to the quality of medical services delivered, while subtracting a lot from all our bank accounts only to enrich a few executives and stockholders. When one looks only at the function of payments administration, the federal government (Medicare) has an excellent record of efficiency compared to private insurers. Opponents of single-payer administration always deflect by changing the subject to non-administrative subjects as "reasons" to reject.

[fangz1956]

Senate Probe of Stark Act Violations

This will be very interesting to watch. I've worked for one of the companies under scrutiny and I will say that some of their practices are definitely illegal. Things that are done on a routine basis not only violate the law, they violate medical ethics. Situations such as this make me think that a single payor system is definitely the way to go.

[Uji]

Thanks for this discussion. The entire subject has been -- and is -- so politicized that sane voices get entirely drowned out.

And thank you for speaking out, Fangz. Your experience is one the rest of us can't help but learn from.

I have nothing to contribute beyond my continued conviction that single payer option is the only one that has a chance to work. No one complains about "socialism" when they pay their electric bill...

[coondog]

I'm wit youse guys!

Some things are of national interest....and health care is among the most imperative. There is too much altruism in the underlying concept of health care to leave it to profit oriented entities.

The problem with governmental programs like Medicare, or quasi-governmental operations like the Post Office is that our elected representatives choose to use their reveunes like community piggy banks to fund various & sundry unrelated projects. But, as I've said many times, as long as there's but one Republican remaining in the Senate........

Coondog

Membership in the 99% is not optional!

[fangz1956]

Uji!!!!!!!

Wonderful to read a post from you. I have surely missed your perspective around here.

[Wise One]

Indeed!

It is a breath of most refreshing air to see Uji again. Weary of doctrinaire blowhards carrying only a slab of dead meat on their shoulders, I deeply appreciate the contributions of thoughtful persons like Uji. Don't be a stranger.

[fangz1956]

One Smart Cookie

Finally.......a sane voice who actually understands the problem!