Technology Alone Will Not Save Health Care

Technology Alone Will Not Save Health Care - Forbes: " . . . The business system of health care is profoundly inefficient, and the market is broken (or never existed). This means that resources are allocated to the wrong activities and consumers and plan sponsors pay too much for services they buy, and hence their finite money does not buy all the care they need. The result in the U.S. has historically been average outcomes at 2x the cost level of peer countries. In the future, now that money is becoming scarce and we are less able to pay twice what the other developed countries pay, the result will probably be sub-par care . . ."

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Welfare for the Medical-Industrial Complex

Welfare for the Medical-Industrial Complex
" . . . why does Obamacare run through the private sector? Raw political necessity: this was the only way that it could get past the insurance industry’s power. OK, that was how it had to be. But you should really be outraged at the efforts of some states to ensure that the Medicaid expansion is done not via direct government insurance but run through the insurance industry. What you need to understand is that this is a double giveaway, both to the insurers and to the health care industry, because private insurers don’t have the government’s bargaining power. It is, bluntly, purely a matter of corporate welfare for the medical-industrial complex. Oh, I guess you might believe that the relevant politicians sincerely believe that the magic of the market will somehow lower costs, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary — and that rewarding their friends has nothing to do with it. Hey, I have this bridge to sell you.

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Wages and Health-Care Costs

the role of health costs in suppressing wage growth--

What Republicans Misunderstand About Health-Care Costs - Bloomberg: "The research that conservatives cite, in other words, doesn’t show that wage stagnation is nothing to worry about. It helps explain a troublesome trend. If you ignore the role of health costs in suppressing wage growth, you might be tempted to rely too much on other explanations, such as a technology slowdown or the decline of unions. The data also make clear that reducing health inflation would go a long way toward boosting wages. President Barack Obama’s health-care law is supposed to bring costs down, although there is reason for skepticism. Conservatives have their own ideas, but Republican politicians haven’t done much to advance them, partly because they haven’t paid much attention to the link between health costs and wages. (In fairness, Democrats sometimes get this link wrong, too.) Conservatives shouldn’t say that the wage-stagnation problem is an illusion because health benefits have been rising. They should say, instead, that the problem is real and that surging health costs are a major cause. The American dream isn’t to pay ever-higher health premiums."


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What you were not told about Medicare

Bad news, good news--

Jenkins: None Dare Call It Default - WSJ.com: " . . . Under the Paul Ryan plan, the affluent would pay more. Under the Obama plan, the affluent would flee Medicare to escape the waiting lists, shortages and deteriorating quality as Washington economizes by ratcheting down reimbursements to doctors and hospitals. Don't call either default. You don't have a legally enforceable right to the free care you imagined you were promised. "Don't worry" was President Obama's implicit message during the campaign: If cutting subsidies for Big Bird is unthinkable, a joke, how much more so cutting benefits for middle-class voters? Don't go running to a judge when this doesn't pan out. The courts do not overrule changes in government policy just because citizens find their promised free lunch isn't forthcoming. Nor will it be fruitful to appeal to politicians' sense of "fairness." Politicians can be relied on to do what will get them re-elected. And, believe it or not, that is the good news. . . "

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Health care waste: Fraudsters and patients aren’t the problem

Health care waste deconstructed: Fraudsters and patients aren’t the problem

If anybody ever tells you we can't afford health care for everybody, consider the following: Every other wealthy country in the world provides health care for all at an average of about half the per-person cost in the United States. Their health care ... The mission of private health insurance companies is to create wealth for their owners. To do so, they spend ... In doing so, they have overhead approaching or exceeding the 20 percent limit imposed by the Affordable Care Act. This is where ...
Bangor Daily News

Baldwin, Thompson spar over health care in spirited debate
Chicago Tribune
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson and Democratic challenger Tammy Baldwin sparred over Medicare, health care reform and sanctions against Iran in a freewheeling second debate Thursday for Wisconsin's open U.S. Senate seat.

The issues in their own words: Health Care
Washington Post
Listen to President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney as they lay out their competing visions of how they will tackle an overhaul of America's ailing health-care system.

When health insurance falls short in Canada
Vancouver Sun
Having health insurance is not the same as having the best access to health care, Burke warned this week. "I am worried that health coverage in Canada is looking more and more like HMO (a  health-care plan in the United States)," Burke said. ...

Power 30: health-care honchos
MarketWatch
Even though he didn't write the law, which has since become the blueprint for the Affordable Care Act, Patrick, 56, is given much of the credit – to some degree, because Romney has distanced himself from the idea of an individual mandate to buy insurance.

Community health workers: A new health-care workforce for the era of health ...
Philadelphia Inquirer (blog)
Last week, 2,217 hospitals were docked millions of dollars under President Obama's Affordable Care Act for having high rates of readmissions — patients who leave the hospital and return soon thereafter because of infections or other complications from ...

Philadelphia Inquirer (blog)

Michael Fredrich, MCM Composites Owner, Plans To Lay Off Workers To Avoid ...
Huffington Post
Christine Eibner, senior economist at RAND Corp. who has analyzed health insurance costs for small businesses and studied the health care law, and said Fredrich may not face such a "dire tradeoff" in 2014. She believes he could maintain his current ...

The meningitis outbreak and health care for profit
World Socialist Web Site
The CDC is in crisis mode, identifying the fungi involved, urging health care providers to notify all those at threat for infection so they can be monitored and receive treatment as needed as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the estimated 14,000 people who ...

Officials: Many Health Care Providers In Pa. And Del. Received ...
By Chelsea Karnash
The Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) are now saying that many state health care providers received tainted medications linked to the fungal meningitis outbreak.
CBS Philly

Walmart Moves Health Care Forward Again | The Health Care Blog
By Brian Klepper
The press release also noted that Walmart's COE program is “working with all the health care organizations to collectively share best practices that will allow collaboration around best measures of service and new industry findings in comparison to industry practices.” Think about that. ... If it were, then it could not legally offer one kind of health insurance for executives, another (lesser) type of health insurance for folks in the mail room. When it .... INSIDE THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT ...
The Health Care Blog

Family Health Insurance Plans – Aetna
Find affordable, quality health insurance plans for you and your family. Coverage for preventive ...health coverage FAQs · Health Care Reform for Consumers ...
www.aetna.com/individuals-families-health.../index.html

Diet Chef's Diet Together Program Offers an Incentive for Weight Loss Partners
Diets In Review (blog)
It's been long established by now that fitness and weight loss goals are more successful when there's accountability. Diet Chef, a UK-based company, is tapping in to that truth to help users losemore weight by encouraging them to do so with a partner.

Weight Loss Does Not Lower Heart Disease Risk From Type 2 Diabetes
eNews Park Forest
An intensive diet and exercise program resulting in weight loss does not reduce cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke in people with longstanding type 2 diabetes, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health ...

Weight loss group programs more effective than individual efforts
VOXXI
A new study published in the journal Obesity found that weight loss programs like WeightWatchers, and similar ones where dieters lose weight with a group, can be more effective than clinical weight loss programs. The study was conducted by the Baruch ...

Weight-loss surgery may lead to a healthier heart
CBS News
"Losing weight is important to improving your heart health and mechanisms to lose weight such as diet and exercise can be really helpful, but for people who are really struggling with their weightand have severe obesity should really think about a ...

'Biggest Loser' dietician Cheryl Forberg reveals exclusive skinny on new season
Examiner.com
Author of "Flavor First: Cut Calories and Boost Flavor with 75 Delicious, All-Natural Recipes," Cheryl knows what it takes to shed amazing amounts of weight in a short period of time. Excited about the ... and "The Biggest Loser 30-Day Jump Start: Lose...

Examiner.com

Healthy Eating Apps, ranked by Mobilewalla
nwitimes.com
(Mobilewalla Score: 90/100). Lose Weight With Andrew Johnson ($2.99)* – Get daily fitnessdevotionals on everything from sticking with your exercise routine to avoiding overeating. (Score: 87/100) ... How many calories are in that loaf of bread? Find ...

Review: Technology helps with fitness goals
Auburn Citizen
(AP) — Many of us know firsthand that losing weight and staying fit can be tough. For me, I started a journey a little over a year ago to get in better shape before my 30th birthday. While diet andexercise were the ultimate keys to my success ...

Health: The secret to energy and health
Macalester College The Mac Weekly
Yet I would be willing to bet that there is one you might not have heard of before: the acid-alkaline balancing diet. This approach to health is so important that it is not exclusively beneficial for weight loss; the acid-alkaline key is critical to ...

Pink loses 55 pounds: Major fitness overhaul revealed
Examiner.com
On Thursday, Contact Music revealed the secrets to Pink's impressive weight loss in a few short months. In order to ... If that wasn't enough for the recording artist to loseso much weight, Pink made a lifestyle change in her diet by opting mostly for ...

Examiner.com

Weight Loss Diet For Bride To Be | Diet Fitness - Oneindia Boldsky
As a bride, you need to have a diet that makes you look beautiful and slim. And if you eat healthy, you will look graceful. So, include detox foods to flush out ...
www.boldsky.com/.../weight-loss-diet-for-bride-to-be-031315...

How to Lose Weight Fast with Exercise and Diet Guide Released ...
How to lose weight is one thing that millions of people struggle with worldwide. Dietary advice andweight loss books are popular searches online. The majority ...
news.yahoo.com/lose-weight-fast-exercise-diet-guide-released-...

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