Health Care

US Health Care Bill

By John Wiens DC|March 22, 2010|Health Care, Health Care Reform|

Source Reuters
Here is a more in depth article from Wikipedia.

WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR OF ENACTMENT

* Insurance companies will be barred from dropping people from coverage when they get sick. Lifetime coverage limits will be eliminated and annual limits are to be restricted.
* Insurers will be barred from excluding children for coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
* Young adults will be able to stay on their parents’ health plans until the age of 26. Many health plans currently drop dependents from coverage when they turn 19 or finish college.
* Uninsured adults with a pre-existing conditions will be able to obtain health coverage through a new program that will expire once new insurance exchanges begin operating in 2014.
* A temporary reinsurance program is created to help companies maintain health coverage for early retirees between the ages of 55 and 64. This also expires in 2014.
* Medicare drug beneficiaries who fall into the “doughnut hole” coverage gap will get a $250 rebate. The bill eventually closes that gap which currently begins after $2,700 is spent on drugs. Coverage starts again after $6,154 is spent.
* A tax credit becomes available for some small businesses to help provide coverage for workers.
* A 10 percent tax on indoor tanning services that use ultraviolet lamps goes into effect on July 1.

WHAT HAPPENS IN 2011 (more…)

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What Might Have Been

By John Wiens DC|March 2, 2010|Health Care|

Source New York Times

healthcare

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Government Support and the Research Challenges of Chiropractic Pediatrics

By Frank M. Painter|December 3, 2009|Chiropractic Care, Education, Health Care, Pediatrics|

Government Support and the Research Challenges of Chiropractic Pediatrics

The Chiro.Org Blog

Dr. Dennis Leduc, a McGill University pediatrician recently stated that “There are no physical ailments in childhood, whether they be ear infections, asthma, or other physical problems, that have ever been shown to be amenable to chiropractic manipulation or therapy.”

The story released Friday by The Star Phoenix reports that the concern is over 5,297 chiropractic pediatric treatments at the cost of $80,921 paid in Saskatchewan this last year. [1] The Health Ministry is considering if it will continue to subsidize chiropractic pediatric care in Saskatchewan. (more…)

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2 and 2 is? [Humor Alert!]

By Frank M. Painter|September 22, 2009|Education, Health Care, Media, News, Politics, Safety|

2 and 2 is? [Humor Alert!]

The Chiro.Org Blog

The news media has been having a LOT of fun reporting on the Congressional Health Care Overhaul lately, so I will too.

Chiropractic’s *scientific critics* state we don’t have the kind of statistics they (grin) rely on, so we shouldn’t toot our own horn like they do. Hmmm? Well, let’s take a closer look at them. Here’s some amazing scientific statistics about modern medicine:

1. The total number of iatrogenic deaths caused by conventional medicine is an astounding 783,936 deaths per year at a cost of $282 billion dollars. That is a mind-boggling 2147 people killed every day. That’s as if 7 jumbo jet planes crashed every day. That’s a 9-11 incident, happening every other day…FOREVER. God help us all. [1]

2. A report by the British Medical Journal correlated a strike by medical doctors with lower death rates during the strike. Hmmm?

3. Recent surveys suggest that “45% Of Doctors (MDs) Would Consider Quitting If Congress Passes Health Care Overhaul.” [3]

So, if we put that all those facts together, supporting Congress’s new Health Care Plan could reduce the medical population by up to 45%, thus significantly reducing the incidence of medically-induced iatrogenic illness and death, and all the money they would save ($126.9 billion dollars) would help to pay for the new Plan.

And, perhaps with some of those savings, they could even consider adding conservative chiropractic care as another cost-saving option. [4, 5]

REFERENCES

1. http://www.chiro.org/LINKS/FULL/Death_By_Medicine.html

2. http://tinyurl.com/lzdq7a

3. http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=506199

4. http://www.chiro.org/LINKS/Cost_Effectiveness.shtml

5. http://www.chiro.org/LINKS/Safety.shtml

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The Dangers of Medical Credit Cards

By John Wiens DC|August 13, 2009|Health Care|

Source SmartMoney

READY FOR A new type of plastic? Meet the medical credit card. These credit cards — which used to be marketed exclusively to those opting for elective surgery, like breast enhancement and dental veneers — are increasingly being shopped to patients struggling to pay for medical necessities.

Medical facilities used to partner with these patients to offer interest-free financing. But now more ask folks to sign up for a medical credit card as an alternative to having their accounts sent to collection, says Tim Robbins, director of counseling for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Montana. The result? More people are paying high interest rates on health-care expenses they already can’t afford. (more…)

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Health Care Realities

By John Wiens DC|August 11, 2009|Health Care|

The following commentary by economist Paul Krugman appeared in the The New York Times
Published: July 30, 2009

At a recent town hall meeting, a man stood up and told Representative Bob Inglis to “keep your government hands off my Medicare.” The congressman, a Republican from South Carolina, tried to explain that Medicare is already a government program — but the voter, Mr. Inglis said, “wasn’t having any of it.”

It’s a funny story — but it illustrates the extent to which health reform must climb a wall of misinformation. It’s not just that many Americans don’t understand what President Obama is proposing; many people don’t understand the way American health care works right now. They don’t understand, in particular, that getting the government involved in health care wouldn’t be a radical step: the government is already deeply involved, even in private insurance.

And that government involvement is the only reason our system works at all. (more…)

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