Editorial: State aims to build a better Medicaid | StarTribune.com

Editorial: State aims to build a better Medicaid | StarTribune.com:
Too bad these ideas are not being applied to the insurance companies.

Permission to Live: How I lost my fear of Universal Health Care

Permission to Live: How I lost my fear of Universal Health Care
Excerpt:
"When I moved to Canada in 2008, I was a die-hard conservative Republican. So when I found out that we were going to be covered by Canada’s Universal Health Care, I was somewhat disgusted. This meant we couldn’t choose our own health coverage, or even opt out if we wanted too. It also meant that abortion was covered by our taxes, something I had always believed was horrible. I believed based on my politics that government mandated health care was a violation of my freedom."

Employers shifting toward high-deductible healthcare plans - The Hill's Healthwatch

Employers shifting toward high-deductible healthcare plans - The Hill's Healthwatch

Too many see this as a good thing.  It isn't as it continues to limit people's access to health care and prevention and early intervention -- thus ending with increasing cost and decreasing results in terms of health care outcomes for this country.

Expansion of Medicaid may cut death rates | StarTribune.com

Expansion of Medicaid may cut death rates | StarTribune.com:
People say we have the best health care in the world and yet the statistics show we are well below other industrialized countries in many, if not most, key health indicators.  The US culture that has a history of treating the poor like they deserve it and do not deserve access to food, shelter and basic health care is behind those statistical results.  This article and the study it reports add evidence to this supposition.  Expanding coverage for poor people reduced death rates.  Sad thing is there are all too many in this country who see that as a bad thing. They believe those people deserved to die and they do not deserve to have tax payer money used to provide them with health care.  In countries with universal health care like Canada and Britain the man on the street responds to questions on using tax money for health care by saying "it's the right thing to do".  In this country all too often the response is "I don't want my hard earned money used to help those people..they made their bed let them sleep in it".

WellPoint cuts outlook as 2Q profit falls 8.3 pct

WellPoint cuts outlook as 2Q profit falls 8.3 pct:
I long for the day when shareholder's earning per share is not the headline in articles concerning our health care system.

Rational, accountable health care is the answer

Rational, accountable health care is the answer:
"As a palliative care physician, I was relieved by the Supreme Court’s ruling and hope Congress allows the law to stand. This is not a partisan reaction. Diseases know no politics. I’m relieved because this law may well unravel patterns of payment and practice that promote irrational care and make dying much harder than it has to be."


This opinion piece is thought provoking - especially for us old folks.

Insurers sending out rebate checks | StarTribune.com

Insurers sending out rebate checks | StarTribune.com:
"The nation's health insurers will pay out more than $1 billion in rebates over the coming days after many of them fell short of new standards that require them to spend a certain share of premiums on patient treatment."