Yes, Billary is back on the stump telling people that Obama’s plan doesn’t cover everybody, that it’ll deny us health care, etc.
Ugh…
“Her opponent excites more Americans … but would in fact deny us universal health-care coverage for the first time,” the former president said. “She represents the solution business.”…
“It would be truly tragic if the [...]

Why? Because the Democratic legislature thought it cost way too much. Interesting twist, no?
The question I have is if California can’t pass it, will this spell doom for a national healthcare initiative?
From WSJ:
The idea was that Mr. Schwarzenegger would set a national precedent, leading to a groundswell for reform in Washington. Not to mention that [...]

It wouldn’t surprise me, and if it’s the case, something needs to be done.
From Science Daily:
A new study by two York University researchers estimates the U.S. pharmaceutical industry spends almost twice as much on promotion as it does on research and development, contrary to the industry’s claim.
The researchers’ estimate is based on the systematic [...]

Then why don’t we have the longest life expectancy and why are we paying more than $1,500 per person than any other country in the world?

I wonder what Japan’s secret is. Wow.
Here’s another way to look at it.

Also, note that life expectancy in Cuba is equal to ours, yet they spend next to nothing. This [...]

Good.

I would personally benefit from something like this, but what about the people who can’t afford health care?
From the NY Times:
In his speech here, he excoriated Democrats for advocating a “socialist” solution to solving the problem of the nation’s 44.8 million uninsured, saying the party’s candidates encouraged a “nanny government” by proposing a greater government [...]

He says the bi-partisan proposal to expand the program is against his fiscal philosophy.
*sigh*
From Wash Post:
President Bush yesterday rejected entreaties by his Republican allies that he compromise with Democrats on legislation to renew a popular program that provides health coverage to poor children, saying that expanding the program would enlarge the role of the federal [...]

He wants tax incentives and programs for low-income children reupped.
While I think that’s a good start, it doesn’t do nearly enough to try and bridge the health care gap in this country.

As much as I don’t agree with it, I can understand politicizing the hiring and firing of US attorneys.
However, politicizing the Surgeon General? And turning him into a partisan hack?
From the AP:
WASHINGTON - President Bush’s most recent surgeon general accused the administration Tuesday of muzzling him for political reasons on hot-button health issues such as [...]

Just FYI, some people have died after marathon sessions playing games like Everquest and World of Warcraft.
Sad but true.

It’s good to see the psychiatric community is addressing this before it gets even more out of hand.
Now if we could only have a more open discussion about mental illness in this country…

For more on this, see my post about Sicko and how it could scuttle the health care debate.

As you all well know, Sicko is coming out soon and I’m holding my breath in fear. Why?
Well, of course I sympathize with the notion that things need to change since so many Americans live without healthcare and are one hospital visit away from financial ruin. And as I’ve said on this blog [...]

We owe our soldiers nothing less than the best health care in the world, but sadly that’s not the reality.

So how to combat PTSD? Well, 60 Minutes had an interesting story on last night about a pill that loosens people’s memories of particularly traumatic events…
(CBS) Pitman figured he could block that cycle by giving trauma [...]

Great news in the fight against this deadly scrouge…
WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush asked Congress on Wednesday to triple the funding for his international AIDS initiative and extend the program an additional five years.
If approved, the move will add $30 billion in funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a five-year initiative [...]

It’s about time. The healthier a workforce is, the more productive it will be. No secret there.
From the LA Times:
SACRAMENTO â€â€? Abandoning the business lobby’s traditional resistance to healthcare reform, a new coalition of 36 major companies plans to launch a political campaign today calling for medical insurance to be expanded to everyone along lines [...]

Gotta love the java…
NEW YORK - Drinking coffee can help ward off type 2 diabetes and may even help prevent certain cancers, according to panelists discussing the benefits � and risks � of the beverage at a scientific meeting.
“We’re coming from a situation where coffee had a very negative health image,� Dr. Rob van Dam [...]

Interesting…
For decades, researchers have puzzled over why rich northern countries have cancer rates many times higher than those in developing countries � and many have laid the blame on dangerous pollutants spewed out by industry.
But research into vitamin D is suggesting both a plausible answer to this medical puzzle and a heretical notion: that cancers [...]

It’s amazing how little we hear about Afghanistan these days.
Now I find this tragic story about the mentally ill in the war torn country. Some are actually kept in chains. Devastating stuff.

Researchers have discovered a way to turn any blood type into type O, that being the blood that can be used in any transfusion. This is huge.
How’d they do it? From BBC:
The new technique works by using bacterial enzymes to cut sugar molecules from the surface of red blood cells.
After a search of 2,500 fungi [...]

It’s not as simple as that, but the math is pretty stark. GlaxoSmithKline, which spent decades and more than $400 million developing a meningitis vaccine, expects to sell it only in Africa, and at a price that will never cover the cost of development.
As the story notes, this is not an entirely selfless act. Some [...]