Flirty Models Were Hired in Bid to Find Bone Marrow
By ABBY GOODNOUGH
BOSTON — On its face, it seemed reasonable enough: a bone marrow registry sending recruiters to malls, ballparks and other busy sites to enlist potential donors.
But the recruiters were actually flirtatious models in heels, short skirts and lab coats, law enforcement officials say, asking passers-by for DNA swabs without mentioning the price of the seemingly simple procedure. And the registry, Caitlin Raymond International, was paying up to $60,000 a week for the models while billing insurance companies up to $4,300 per test.
(Your health care dollars at work)
Can Congress Force You to Be Healthy?
By JASON MAZZONE
HENRY E. HUDSON, the federal judge in Virginia who ruled this week that the individual mandate provision of the new health care law is unconstitutional, has become the object of widespread derision. Judge Hudson explained that whatever else Congress might be able to do, it cannot force people to engage in a commercial activity, in this case buying an insurance policy.
The Revolution Next Time? - NYTimes.com
It has been 15 years since the Rehnquist court began applying the constitutional brakes to assertions of federal power that had seemed unassailable since the New Deal. Its first target was modest, a five-year-old federal statute called the Gun-Free School Zones Act that most people had never heard of, which made it a federal crime to possess a gun within 1,000 feet of a school.
(If the individual mandate is found unconstitutional, what then for health care?)
Fallback Plan Could Save Health Care Rule
WASHINGTON — Opponents of President Obama’s health care overhaul law are cheering a federal court ruling that one of its core provisions is unconstitutional. Obama, however, has a fallback option that could also do the job.
Funding Savings Needed for Health Expenses for Persons Eligible for Medicare By Paul Fronstin, Dallas Salisbury, and Jack VanDerhei, Employee Benefit Research Institute
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
UPDATED MODELING: This report updates earlier modeling by EBRI on the level of savings needed for health care expenses in retirement. Some prior estimates have been significantly revised down as a result of changes to Medicare Part D cost sharing that will be phased in by 2020 due to recently enacted health reform. However, the research indicates that retirees will continue to need a substantial amount of savings to cover their health care expenses in retirement, and that uncertainty related to health care use, prescription drug use, and longevity will still play a major role in planning for retiree health care.
http://www.ebri.org/pdf/briefspdf/EBRI_IB_12-2010_No351_Savings3.pdf
ore than thirty years ago, Ronald Reagan came to Washington intent on reducing taxes on the wealthy and shrinking every aspect of government except defense.
Protecting Your Credit Score From the Medical Bill Maze
By WALECIA KONRAD
IF there is one place where your health and your finances collide, it is on your credit report. That is something Darryle Watson learned the hard way.
Mr. Watson, 52, an automotive service adviser in Willow Park, Tex., and his wife, A. J., tried last fall to refinance theirmortgage. But instead of getting a big break on his monthly house payments, Mr. Watson found out he would have to pay more than $9,000 in closing costs because of the couple’s low credit scores.
Mr. Watson was flabbergasted. Both he and his wife are meticulous about paying their bills on time, he said.
The culprit was four unpaid medical bills that the Watsons say they never knew they owed. The largest was for less than $400; one was for about $15. According to the credit report, the bills had been sent to a collection agency. But Mr. Watson said he had never received a notice from a doctor or a collection agency about any of the bills.
Reaganomics Redux
17 December 10
The New Tax Deal: Reaganomics Redux
ore than thirty years ago, Ronald Reagan came to Washington intent on reducing taxes on the wealthy and shrinking every aspect of government except defense.The new tax deal embodies the essence of Reaganomics.
It will not stimulate the economy.
A disproportionate share of the $858 billion deal will go to people in the top 1 percent who spend only a fraction of what they earn and save the rest. Their savings are sent around the world to wherever they will earn the highest return.
(A little off-topic, but certainly related - SPC)
LETTERS
Getting to the Heart of Health Costs
Published: December 17, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/18/opinion/l18health.html?hpw
State Under Pressure, As More Seek Medicaid Coverage
Massachusetts taxpayers have delivered more revenue to the state Treasury nearly every month since October 2009, but the Patrick administration still faces a significant budget gap, largely because of soaring costs in the state Medicaid program.
The Health Costs That Ate A State
Massachusetts taxpayers have delivered more revenue to the state Treasury nearly every month since October 2009, but the Patrick administration still faces a significant budget gap, largely because of soaring costs in the state Medicaid program.
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