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6065. robertjayb - 4/4/2004 8:11:06 AM Show-me-the-money health care...
RENTON, Wash. -- When Chuck O'Brien visits his doctor, they talk about his aches and pains, his heart problems and his diet, but never about his health insurance. That's because Dr. Vern Cherewatenko is one of a small but growing number of physicians across the country who are dumping complicated insurance contracts in favor of cash.
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When O'Brien leaves the exam room, he writes a check for $50 and he's done -- no forms, no ID numbers, no copayments.
"This is traditional medicine. This is what America was like 30 years ago," said O'Brien, 55 and self-employed, who believes he has saved thousands of dollars by dropping his expensive insurance policy and paying cash. "It's a whole world of difference."
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6066. judithathome - 4/12/2004 12:13:39 AM Faulty Gene For Crohn's Disease Found
Canadian researchers have isolated a gene that predisposes people to Crohn's disease, a painful disorder that strikes young people and that has sharply increased in frequency in recent years.
The discovery will have an immediate impact, allowing researchers to distinguish more readily between Crohn's and colitis, both inflammatory bowel diseases.
"The diagnostic benefits will be immediate," said Katherine Siminovitch, a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. "That's important because you really want to catch these diseases in the early stages . . . then you can start a therapy that might put patients in remission and even eradicate the disease."
6067. concerned - 4/12/2004 12:40:24 AM Anomie,
With the old white men running the country right now that are each worth in the tens of millions that are so out of touch, I don't see anything positive coming anytime soon.
And how is Kerry not all of the above, except that he's supposedly worth hundreds of millions? 6068. concerned - 4/12/2004 12:41:13 AM 'We don't like old rich white men, so we'll vote an even older, richer and whiter man in for president.'
What kind of sense does that make? 6069. judithathome - 4/12/2004 1:29:13 AM Perfect. 6070. judithathome - 4/12/2004 5:19:48 AM I have just been stunned by a statement from my insurance company. That little electronic gizmo that helped my leg to start healing agian cost $4,678.00!
I guess it is cheaper than surgery but still, that seems extremely costly. 6071. seadate - 4/12/2004 7:03:25 AM Concerned,
Re: Old White Men
It was I who made the reference. Unlike yourself, I have no tribalistic ties to either political party. Yes, Kerry is also one of them ... with his ties, don't count on ketchup to lose market share to mustard if he wins.
6072. seadate - 4/12/2004 7:13:06 AM Concerned,
And to answer your question, Kerry offers a regime change. 6073. anomie - 4/12/2004 9:37:36 AM 6067 is not me.
Concerned, I think you meant to reference someone else.
I am for regime change, however. 6074. anomie - 4/12/2004 9:39:21 AM I am an old white man myself. Sort of off-white, really. 6075. seadate - 4/12/2004 9:47:39 AM Anomie,
Concerned was referencing my post. Old white guy am I. 6077. seadate - 4/12/2004 9:55:17 AM I'm outta here. Gonna rustle up a game of bouree and get a beer to raise a toast to the good health of all you moterheads. 6078. robertjayb - 4/12/2004 1:10:51 PM Florida may ban mammogram lawsuits...
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) --
Radiologists who make mistakes when reading a mammogram couldn't be sued for malpractice under a measure narrowly approved Monday by a Senate committee, despite concerns the bill could promote carelessness.
Supporters say the ability to get mammograms performed and read quickly is threatened because of the high cost of malpractice lawsuits. The American Cancer Society supports the bill (SB 2306).
On more courthouse door closeing...
6079. robertjayb - 4/16/2004 7:38:21 AM Socialized medicine!!! As pockets pinch, Fat cats not so fast to sneer...Where's Phil Gramm? (Slate)
The American health care system, a patchwork of government-provided benefits overlaid on a voluntary system of private-sector coverage, is a case study in economic inefficiency. Companies that provide health care to employees put themselves at a disadvantage to competitors—domestic and foreign—that don't. And because uninsured people frequently receive care—from the government or hospitals—those who pay for health care are essentially subsidizing those who don't.
6080. anomie - 4/17/2004 8:46:24 AM Don't know if I mentioned this here before, but I'll bring it up again.
I think we are barbaric in our heath care policies in the U.S. Our young people have to depend on corporations for something so vital as their life and health. It's shameful.
It is refreshing to hear young people in Europe discuss their future and their career aspirations without having to worry about paying doctor bills for themselves or their children.
We have given big business another hammer to wield over our future.
Call it socialism if you must, but we won't be a free people until we control our own health care. 6081. anomie - 4/17/2004 8:49:07 AM Do you know anyone stuck in a crap job because of the health care bennies? This is freedom?
I'm on a rant. Forgive me. But at 50 years-old, I have two friends with breast cancer in lousy jobs where they work their asses off for peanuts...and health care. 6082. wonkers2 - 4/17/2004 12:39:34 PM Yes I do. The U.S. is long overdue for universal, single-payer health care. We are being preyed on by parasitic insurance companies and greedy drug companies and doctors. The U.S. is now around 28th in life expectancy of all countries and the average height of people in the U.S. has stopped increasing and started declining relative to people in other countries. Some attribute this to the growing gap between the haves and have nots in this country. 6083. Absensia - 4/19/2004 4:33:50 AM One thing that's happening more and more now is mainstram doctors recommending vitamins, omega-3, etc. That was unheard of ten years ago. 6084. Absensia - 4/20/2004 1:57:47 AM Our instant gratification culture may make things
Too Tempting To Resist? 6085. arkymalarky - 4/20/2004 10:50:27 PM A repeated response to Mac's inquiry about Bob's diabetes in the Music thread:
Lost over 30 pounds and his blood sugar has been normal/low--mostly 80s. He read somewhere that "stressors" can cause an onset of diabetes and one of those is an abscessed (sp?) tooth, which he found out he had, and had part of a root canal and antibiotics a few weeks ago, and since a few days after he started the penicillin his blood sugar hasn't been elevated, so we're hopeful that may have caused it. He has the other part of the root canal and a doctor's appointment May 3, so hopefully he'll find out something then.
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