Americans are postponing, even permanently cancelling, their medical appointments and insurance. It’s just gotten to the point where we can’t afford to go to the doctor anymore. My best friend is a kindergarten teacher. Well, I should say she was a kindergarten teacher. This used to be a “recession-proof” career choice, but not anymore. She got her pink slip a few weeks ago, and won’t be returning to school next year. She’ll also be losing her health care coverage, and with no income to pay the bills, she probably won’t be getting her scheduled exams. That is the last thing on her mind.

According to the Pulse health care survey, an annual poll taken by Thomas Reuters, more respondents have given up on their health care needs due to the financial strain it places on their families. They simply aren’t going to the doctor, aren’t taking their kids to the doctor, because they can’t afford the high premiums and co-pays. Think about that for a second. A hard-working mother who worries about her child’s health and well-being, who was once making a decent wage working the 9-to-5, cannot afford to take her son or daughter to the doctor for routine check-ups.

continue reading "Recession-Proof Health Care Please!"

As if it’s not hard enough to take care of your finances while holding your health insurance together, if you are a part of the federal long-term plan, you WILL have to pay more. The new 7-year deal that was just signed with John Hancock Life and Health Insurance Co. leaves patients paying a whopping 5 to 25 percent more than they were previously paying.

There are currently 224,000 federal civilian employees and retirees, military service members and retirees, and qualified relatives enrolled in the federal long-term care insurance program. With insurance costs already through the roof, it’s amazing that during a recession premiums will be rising so quickly. Did I mention that is will go up 5 to 25 percent! It’s outrageous.

continue reading "Long-Term Health Care Continues to Get More Expensive"

The New York Times put out a great article today regarding student health care coverage. It’s a touchy and pretty emotional issue for families facing lay-offs and limiting budgets, while their college kids are attending schools that are continually raising fees and tuition.

My alma mater, Arizona State University, just raised their fees by over $500 a year. It’s outrageous. The problem for students and their families is that when mom or dad gets laid-off, it’s their little Sun Devil that is inevitably going to pay the price. While Cobra does cover dependents, in this lousy market your coverage may not last long enough to secure your student’s health care coverage.

continue reading "Is Your Student Covered Under Your Health Insurance?"

The chances of having unlucky health and getting breast cancer by the age of 30 is one 2,525. But by age 40, one out of 217 will have the disparaging medical condition.

But your health grows worse with age and by 50, it’s one out of 50 will develop breast cancer. By age 60, the chances are one in 24. And by age 70 it’s one out of 14, according to the American Cancer Society.

The key to surviving is early detection by a medical professional. This is helped immensely by having regular checkups with your health physician.

This video that shows and explains the process of how tumors, grow and feed from blood vessels.  The video shows how tumors try to evade treatments of chemotherapy and strategies to disrupt.   It may load a little slow, so be patient

Check out The Medical Quack for more fun stories and information.

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Listen to NPR podcast about digitizing health care records. CLICK HERE

There’s a big disconnect between American opinions about fixing the health care system and the view of experts and politicians, according to a new poll by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.

The poll shows several areas of possible conflict as Democrats in Congress and the Obama administration forge ahead with their plans to reform the health system.

continue reading "PODCAST: NPR Story About Digitizing Health Care Records"

Did you know that approximately 50 percent of American businesses profits are put toward employee health care costs.

These medical care costs include chronic diseases such as lung and cardiovascular disease, caner and other behavior releated conditions linked to smoking, obesity, and aging.

The massive health care costs make it muc harder for American businesses to compete against global companies that don’t face such medical care shortfalls.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Twenty percent of Americans say they have delayed or postponed medical care, mostly doctor visits, and many said cost was the main reason, according to a survey released on Monday.

The Thomson Reuters survey found 21 percent of U.S. adults expected to have difficulty paying for health insurance or healthcare services in the next three months.

“The results of this survey have serious implications for public health officials, hospital administrators, and healthcare consumers,” Gary Pickens of the Healthcare division of Thomson Reuters, who led the study, said in a statement.

continue reading "Stressed Americans Postpone Healthcare"

The third-largest North American supermarket chain has saved millions in medical costs by practicing preventative healthcare and making employees accountable for their weight, smoking, cholesterol, and blood pressure.

President Steven Burd said he didn’t want to wait for government healthcare reform so he decided to design his own. He is now encouraging other companies and the federal government to adopt similar healthcare models.

He believes that your behavior is a form of currency and practicing better healthcare saves money. Safeway spends about $1 billion a year for 200,000 employees. But those cost levels have held steady since 2005 even while the cost of healthcare has risen.

continue reading "Supermarket Chain Saves Millions By Encouraging Employees to Practice Preventative Healthcare"

By: John Goodmann

One of the most innovative thinkers in the field of health insurance is University of Chicago Professor John Cochrane. I’ve been meaning to write about him for some time and am spurred to do so now by a new policy report from the Cato Institute.

Here is the back story. After hail damages the roof of your house, your homeowner’s insurance is supposed to pay for the repairs. But there is no requirement that you continue paying premiums while your roof is being repaired. And if you switch to a new insurer, the new insurer doesn’t pay for damages incurred while the previous insurance was in force. These same principles apply to auto collision insurance and every other form of casualty insurance.

continue reading "Health Insurance Really Isnt Insurance at All"