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you health in the news
Aug. 16th, 2008 06:11 pmYour brother committed suicide? No insurance for you! | The Consumerist
This story is horrific. Basically, the man's brother killed himself when he was young, and he went to a few (sadly enough probably the number, usually six annually, allowed on his parents' insurance) psychiatric sessions afterward. Once he aged out of that coverage, however, he couldn't get his own policy because of those sessions, nor a job that offered coverage. Now he's $1.2 million in debt after an accident involving his truck. When I moved away to college, my mother warned me that if I ever need to see a psychiatrist to pay out of pocket because I'll have trouble getting insurance again. I thought she was just being paranoid.
( This reminds me to mention the healthcare system here. )
Meanwhile, Americans are getting married and divorcing for insurance coverage.
Slate makes the suggestion that more people would keep doctor's appointments, not to mention be healthier, if they could be seen on the day they call. You mean people asking to see their physician on a day they have the time and transportation to make it to their office, with no foreseeable emergencies or hideous weather (yes, it gets that bad in Florida even when a hurricane isn't overhead) would be more likely to get there, perhaps even on time? Not exactly a revolutionary idea, but I'm glad someone put it out there.
Heart patients in Sacramento log fewer emergency room visits because of home monitoring systems. Some smart cookie finally recognized how piss-poor people are at assessing their own health, especially with chronic conditions.
On a more specific health care note, but one I heard complaints about again and again as a cops reporter: The story of Hiu Lui Ng is the latest in a heartbreaking New York Times series about immigrants dying while in US custody. Feel whatever you want about the immigration situation in the US, but denying inmates medication for chronic conditions, confiscating wheelchairs, ignoring symptoms is wrong. The government provides cable television, three meals a day, showers, libraries and computers, but ironically, the one thing inmates could get more easily on the outside is often denied because of bad rules and uncaring staff.
This story is horrific. Basically, the man's brother killed himself when he was young, and he went to a few (sadly enough probably the number, usually six annually, allowed on his parents' insurance) psychiatric sessions afterward. Once he aged out of that coverage, however, he couldn't get his own policy because of those sessions, nor a job that offered coverage. Now he's $1.2 million in debt after an accident involving his truck. When I moved away to college, my mother warned me that if I ever need to see a psychiatrist to pay out of pocket because I'll have trouble getting insurance again. I thought she was just being paranoid.
( This reminds me to mention the healthcare system here. )
Meanwhile, Americans are getting married and divorcing for insurance coverage.
Slate makes the suggestion that more people would keep doctor's appointments, not to mention be healthier, if they could be seen on the day they call. You mean people asking to see their physician on a day they have the time and transportation to make it to their office, with no foreseeable emergencies or hideous weather (yes, it gets that bad in Florida even when a hurricane isn't overhead) would be more likely to get there, perhaps even on time? Not exactly a revolutionary idea, but I'm glad someone put it out there.
Heart patients in Sacramento log fewer emergency room visits because of home monitoring systems. Some smart cookie finally recognized how piss-poor people are at assessing their own health, especially with chronic conditions.
On a more specific health care note, but one I heard complaints about again and again as a cops reporter: The story of Hiu Lui Ng is the latest in a heartbreaking New York Times series about immigrants dying while in US custody. Feel whatever you want about the immigration situation in the US, but denying inmates medication for chronic conditions, confiscating wheelchairs, ignoring symptoms is wrong. The government provides cable television, three meals a day, showers, libraries and computers, but ironically, the one thing inmates could get more easily on the outside is often denied because of bad rules and uncaring staff.
