My Deputy Film Critic and I watched Run, Fatboy, Run this weekend; Simon Pegg’s delivery is nearly perfect these days, but the movie was not quite as funny as I hoped. Though I did enjoy it, the film reminded me how sedentary and unfit I am lately. I am no “fatboy” – if anything, I’m [...]
Mon, January 26 2009 » Uncategorized » No Comments
Quackery merchant Kevin Trudeau, of “Natural Cures ‘They’ Don’t Want You To Know About”, has been hit with a $37 million judgment from the Federal government for making “false and misleading claims“. It’s about time someone shut him down, but I can’t help but wonder why not sooner. The judgment represents “the amount consumers paid [...]
Sun, January 25 2009 » Uncategorized » 1 Comment
Robert Samuelson thinks “we have a health-care system that reflects our national values.” He doesn’t mean liberty, justice, or equality: [Our system is] highly individualistic, entrepreneurial and suspicious of centralized supervision. In practice, Medicare and private insurers impose few effective controls on doctors’ and patients’ choices. That’s the way most Americans want it. Patients understandably [...]
Sat, January 24 2009 » Uncategorized » No Comments
The WSJ health care blog apparently isn’t above a little red-baiting when it comes to health care reform; their note that China passed a universal care law is accompanied by a big graphic of the Chinese flag, just to make sure readers know we’re talking about Pinko Atheist Commie China, and not Taiwan. The implication, [...]
Thu, January 22 2009 » Uncategorized » No Comments
After linking to Ezra’s link to the Health Affairs article on social determinants of health, Matt Yglesias throws up this chart (originally from a NEJM article by Steven Schroeder, MD): Matt argues the chart shows that “health care” is a rather small part of “health outcomes”, which he claims is a point often lost in [...]
Thu, January 22 2009 » Uncategorized » No Comments
This story would be funny if it weren’t so sad: United HealthCare for years has been running a database that determines how much providers get paid based on local data for “reasonable and customary” rates. Except United has consistently low-balled its estimates, and let their customers eat the difference. This adds up to hundreds of [...]
Wed, January 21 2009 » Uncategorized » No Comments
Add to the list of jerkish things that insurance companies can do: they can cancel your policy if you participate in a clinical trial. (At least, they can in Colorado.) I would say this beggars belief, but I’ve quit believing that I live in a world where insurance companies actually contribute anything to health care. [...]
Wed, January 21 2009 » Uncategorized » No Comments
This is a little off-topic, but I want to vent a little… Up until last fall, my only computer was a Dell laptop. McAfee Security-Center was free with the machine, and each year I paid to keep my subscription current. As the machine got older, I noticed that each time I upgraded, McAfee demanded a [...]
Wed, January 21 2009 » Uncategorized » 1 Comment
Today’s a big day, but I have to admit: I’m not nearly so thrilled about Obama’s inauguration as I am about Bush’s exauguration. I never liked the guy, and the thing that did it for me was the interview Bush gave to Tucker Carlson for Talk magazine in 1999 – specifically his mockery of Karla [...]
Tue, January 20 2009 » Uncategorized » No Comments
A few days after my visit to my primary care doc – sure enough – I started developing a cold. I happen to have sensitive skin, so one of the worst parts about a cold is the irritation I get around my nose from too much tissue paper. Even “plus lotion” tissues give me red, [...]
Tue, January 20 2009 » Uncategorized » No Comments
A novel crime against decency by Duncan Cross
