Health Beat

One Family’s Story

I urge everyone to read “What Broke My Father’s Heart” in the Sunday New York Times Magazine, a superb first-person narrative by Kay Butler http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/magazine/20pacemaker-t.html?ref=magazine Butler describes how our money-driven...

Published Sat, Jun 19 2010 1:36 PM by Health Beat

The New York Post Offers Medical Advice To Its Readers—Contradicting the American Cancer Society

As regular HealthBeat readers know, I’ve been writing about the risks of PSA testing for early-stage prostate cancer since I launched this blog in 2007. The American Cancer Society does not support routine PSA testing for prostate cancer. Testing often...

Published Mon, Jun 21 2010 12:12 PM by Health Beat

HCA/ Columbia’s Rick Scott – the Next Governor of Florida?

When I posted about Rick Scott in March of 2009, (http://www.healthbeatblog.com/2009/03/who-is-richard-scott-and-why-is-he-saying-these-things-about-healthcare-reform.html), I was surprised that he had survived the fall of HCA-Columbia to become a major...

Published Wed, May 26 2010 4:58 PM by Health Beat

Statins for People Who Don’t Have Cholesterol Problems

I loved the lead to a story that ran in the New York Times yesterday: “With the government’s blessing, a drug giant is about to expand the market for its blockbuster cholesterol medication, Crestor, to a new category of customers:... Read More...

Published Thu, Apr 01 2010 1:47 PM by Health Beat

If Reform Fails

Summary: Some optimistic liberals have begun to suggest that if conservatives manage to block the Affordable Care Act (ACA) , this could open the door to better reform legislation. Why that won’t happen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If conservatives...

Published Mon, Aug 16 2010 8:10 AM by Health Beat

Update: FTC Proposes New Safeguards for On-line Privacy

Yesterday the Federal Trade Commission proposed a broad framework for protecting consumer privacy both on the Web and off-line. The framework is meant to help guide policymakers in crafting legislation to prevent the tracking and wholesale collection...

Published Thu, Dec 02 2010 6:05 AM by Health Beat

If You Haven’t Seen Money-Driven Medicine, the Film . . .

based on my book (Money-Driven Medicine: The Real Reason Health Care Costs So Much) , produced by Academy-Award winning documentary film-maker Alex Gibney (best known for “Enron: The Smartest Guys In the Room”), a free streaming video of the 90-minute...

Published Sat, Nov 07 2009 3:11 PM by Health Beat

Congress Agrees to Lash Itself to the Mast; Making It Possible For Medicare To Move Forward With Reform—Update

A surprising number of Congressmen would acknowledge, privately, that in the past, legislators have meddled with Medicare reform, blocking Medicare’s best efforts to squeeze waste out of the system. When it comes to listening to appeals from powerful...

Published Fri, Mar 26 2010 5:58 PM by Health Beat

"Medicalizing" Life

How much medical care do we want in our lives? H. Gilbert Welch poses this question in his excellent op-ed piece for the LA Times entitled, “The Medicalization of Life” and tells us that the answer will be vitally important... Read More...

Published Wed, Mar 17 2010 2:26 PM by Health Beat

Sarah Palin Admits Going to Canada for Health Care-- Why?

How rich is this? Over at “The Wonk Room” Igor Volksy reports that, while speaking to a crowd in Calgary, Canada last weekend Sarah Palin revealed a tidbit about her life growing up not far from Whitehorse:: “We used to... Read More...

Published Mon, Mar 08 2010 3:57 PM by Health Beat

On Pelosi’s Statement –

Over at TPM, the headline characterizes Pelosi's statement as meaning that she is walking away: “Pelosi: There Aren't Enough Votes To Pass The Senate Bill.” If Pelosi walks away, then reform is dead. But as I read her statement, she’s... Read...

Published Thu, Jan 21 2010 10:28 AM by Health Beat

Obama Sums Up the Summit

The bottom line: At the end of the summit, President Obama signaled that “If it is not possible for Republicans to move in the direction of covering more than three million people, or dealing with pre-existing conditions in a realistic... Read More.....

Published Thu, Feb 25 2010 3:34 PM by Health Beat

Providers with Clout Demand Double-Digit Increases

In Los Angeles, insurers view Cedars Sinai Medical Center as a “must have” hospital. If a health plan doesn’t have Cedars in its network, people won’t buy the insurance plan according to a study of “Unchecked Provider Clout in California”... Read More...

Published Fri, Feb 26 2010 3:24 PM by Health Beat

I’ll Have a Burger With a Side of Lipitor, Please

Want to eat all of the McDonald’s cheeseburgers, fries and shakes you want without increasing your risk of heart attack? Why not pick up a statin capsule while stopping at the condiment bar to put ketchup on that burger? This... Read More...

Published Wed, Sep 29 2010 2:08 PM by Health Beat

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