Visiting the ER WITH Health Insurance and Without

$2600.

$544.



Look carefully at those two numbers. The first is the sum of three bills I received for my husband's day-after-Christmas visit to the emergency room for unusual dizziness. A CT and EKG ruled out a stroke or heart attack. Diagnosis? Vertigo.



(Note: both figures will likely be much higher once all the bills come in, but I needed a blog post so I'm going with what I've got now).



Now look at the second figure. That's what I have to pay after the discounts my insurance company has negotiated with the viagra cialis online pharmacy pharmacy and radiologists. Note: there are no payments from the insurance company in there because we had not yet met our deductible. These are just the discounts.



Which points out a really critical issue when it comes to those who have health insurance and those who don't. Merely by having health insurance--even before my insurance company spends a single cent on my medical care--I benefit. I benefit from the administrators who go to the hospitals and doctors and negotiate deep discounts in exchange for funneling more volume (i.e., patients) to their practices (and yes, I know that the doctors and hospitals on the receiving end aren't thrilled about it, but that's a topic for another blog post).



Someone without health insurance, however, likely because they can't afford it, has no such benefit and so winds up paying that first figure--if they can afford it.



(Note to those who are counting: that would be about 35 million American citizens).



A few months ago Congress was close to providing insurance to those people, enabling them to enjoy the same discounts my family does. Today, they're still stuck on the outside looking in. How is this good politics or good policy?



Because what all this talk about healthcare reform really comes down to in the end is the ability to go to the emergency room on the day after Christmas when you're petrified that your husband may have a stroke, receive quality care, and be able to pay for the care you received.



It's really not that complicated.



Your thoughts?

Slimming pill for obesity treatment

Slimming Pills

Slimming online pharmacy viagra, diet pills, appetite suppressants - all these are various names for weight loss aids. You will find many slimming pills online; some are available by prescription while some are available over the counter.

If you want prescription slimming pills, have Acomplia Rimonabant. These slimming pills come to the rescue of people who can't quite make it with conventional methods such as dieting and exercising.

If you have spent hours going to the gym, doing aerobics, weight training and other such activities but never reached the ideal body shape goals, have Acomplia rimonabant. You should also have rimonabant if crash diets and veggie salads have not helped you to lose even a single pound.

Acomplia slimming pills help you to lose weight safely and effectively. If you are having a tough time burning some of your excess pounds, have Acomplia slimming pills and lose weight. When you have Acomplia, it will help you to manage your weight by making you eat less than you are eating at present. Acomplia slimming pills directly works by binding itself to the receptors in the brain and blocking to chemicals which stimulate hunger. This action of Acomplia slimming pills make you feel satisfied even with less food and as a result you lose weight.

You should have Acomplia rimonabant to lose weight, improve cardiovascular health and the health of your heart by reducing abdominal fat. Acomplia Rimonabant also boosts the levels of "good" HDL cholesterol in the blood by 27 percent in people who have Acomplia online.

You can have rimonabant only if you have a BMI of 30 kg/m2, or are overweight with BMI of 27 kg/m2 with associated risk factors such as type II diabetes or dyslipidemia. If you are not dangerously overweight or obese, you doctor may not allow you to have Acomplia.

If however, you doctor allows you to have Rimonabant, the first thing you need to know about is its side effects. Nausea, headache, irritability and dizziness are certain side effects you might experience after you have Acomplia rimonabant. Many people who have rimonabant suffer from depression, if you are taking antidepressants or have major depressive illnesses; it is advisable you don’t take this slimming pills before informing your doctor, family members and caregivers.

It is very important to follow a diet and exercise program during and after you have rimonabant slimming pills to achieve significant weight loss. The safety and efficacy of these slimming pills when used for more than two years has not been studied.

Health Headlines - April 16

FDA Should Ban Weight Loss Drugs Alli, Xenical: Public Citizen

The growing number of reported health problems associated with the prescription weight loss drugs Alli and Xenical should prompt their removal from the U.S. market, says Public Citizen.

On Thursday, the consumer watchdog group issued its second petition in five years calling for the Food and Drug Administration to ban the drugs due to side effects such as liver damage, kidney stones and pancreatitis, ABC News reported.

"These drugs have the potential to cause significant damage to multiple critical organs, yet they provide meager benefits in reducing weight loss in obese and overweight patients," said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group.

The FDA rejected the group's first petition and it's unclear whether it will accept the new petition regarding Alli and Xenical, ABC News reported.

Also on Thursday, GlaxosmithKline announced that it is trying to sell its ownership of the two brands of weight loss drugs to other drug companies.

-----

Workers at Japanese Nuclear Plant Advised to Store Blood Stem Cells

Workers at the damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan are being advised to store blood stem cells now in case they require them later to treat radiation overdose.

Experts say the years of clean-up work needed at the plant will put workers at risk of accidental radiation exposure. High doses of radiation can destroy the blood-making cells of the bone marrow, a potentially deadly problem. But the condition can be treated with blood stem cell transplants, the Associated Press reported.

Banking blood stem cells involves receiving injections for several days to get stem cells from the bone marrow to enter the bloodstream. Blood is then drawn and processed to extract the stem cells, which are then stored. Later, workers who are accidentally exposed to a large radiation dose could receive infusions of their own stem cells, the experts explained.

They outline their idea in a letter published online Thursday in The Lancet.

Stem cell transplants would only help workers exposed to radiation does within a narrow range, Dr. Nelson Chao of Duke University told the AP. They could recover from a lower dose and would suffer untreatable damage at a higher dose, he explained.

-----

Breast Radiation Shield Recall Most Serious Type: FDA

U.S. health officials say the recall of a radiation shield used in breast cancer patients is now the most serious type of recall.

The Food and Drug Administration recall of the Axxent FlexiShield Mini is classified Class I, which means "there is a reasonable probability that use of these products will cause serious adverse health consequences or death," The New York Times reported.

The silicone rubber and tungsten devices were used to help shield healthy tissue while women received radiation treatment for breast cancer. But the products were flawed and left hundreds of particles of tungsten in the breasts and chest muscles of 29 women in the U.S.

There's little research about the long-term health effects of tungsten, but it does show up on mammograms and may make them difficult to read. This could be a serious issue for women who have had breast cancer and worry about recurrences. On mammograms, the tungsten particles resemble calcium deposits, which can indicate cancer, The Timesreported.

That's why the recall has been classified as the most serious type, an FDA spokeswoman said.

-----

Leukemia Drug Shortage Threatens Patients' Lives

A shortage of the leukemia drug cytarabine in the United States is putting patients' lives at risk, doctors warn.

Shortages have been reported in 30 states and began last fall due to manufacturing delays, according to the Food and Drug Administration, ABC News reported.

For patients with acute lymphblastic leukemia (AML), the drug offers cure rates of 40 to 50 percent. Without the drug, patients have no chance of survival. There is no viable alternative treatment.

"If we can't get this drug, then the patients are going to die," Dr. Hagop Kantarjian, chairman of the department of leukemia, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, told ABC News.

-----

Topamax Recalled After Odor Complaints

About 57,000 bottles of the prescription anti-seizure drug Topamax are being recalled due to customer complaints of an "uncharacteristic odor," Johnson & Johnson announced Thursday.

The recall affects two lots of Topamax 100 milligrams order cialis shipped and distributed between Oct. 19, 2010 and Dec. 28, 2010 in the United States and Puerto Rico. The cialis were made by Johnson & Johnson's Ortho-McNeil Neurologics division, CNN.comreported.

There were four consumer complaints about an odor believed to be caused by trace amounts of the chemical TBA (2,4,6 tribromoanisole), which is applied to wooden pallets used to transport and store packaging materials.

Similar complaints of a moldy, musty odor have led to the recalls of millions of bottles of Tylenol, Motrin and Benadryl products. Last month, the U.S. government said it was taking over three Tylenol plants operated by McNeil and the Food and Drug Administration launched a criminal investigation into safety issues at the factories,CNN.com reported.

-----

Clogged Neck Veins Don't Cause MS: Study

Blockages in neck veins don't cause multiple sclerosis and may instead be a result of the disease, according to researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

They examined 289 MS patients, 21 patients who had experienced only one MS attack, 26 patients with other neurological disease, and 164 healthy people in a control group, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Blocked neck veins were found in 44 percent of the MS patients, 38.1 percent of those who had experienced one MS attack, 42.3 percent of those with other neurological conditions, and slightly more than a quarter of those in the control group.

While there appears to be a relationship between MS and blocked neck veins, these results suggest that blocked neck veins "may be a consequence rather than a cause of MS," the researchers said.

The findings will be presented at a American Academy of Neurology meeting.

Earlier research suggesting that blocked neck veins may cause MS have led many people with MS to undergo surgery to have their neck veins unclogged, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Enzite Penis Enhancement Pills For Strong, Hard, Powerful Erection Control

If you are a man over thirty years old, you will soon (if not already) start to experience sexual health issues and the first sign might be that your erections aren't what they used to be. For most men it happens gradually over time with erection strength flucuating between rock hard solid, to sometimes where you feel like you are not fully engorged. Therefore, your erection is not as strong as it could be. The reason usually is very simple - you are not getting enough blood flow to the purchase cialis to make your erections strong and hard.

There are many reasons for decreased blood flow, including of smoking, poor diet, or just getting older. Sexual performance anxiety does exist for many men, and as many as 30 million men will suffer from some form of erectile dysfunction in their life. Erectile dysfunction is defined as reduced erection strength, premature ejaculation or just a generall overall low libido and interest in sex. The good news is that for many men, natural male enhancement will help them restore their sexual vitality and interest in sex.

To understand how natural male enhancement pills work, you must first be familiar with how the cialis works and the biological functions that are required. When you become aroused, the arteries in your penis relax, which allow better blood flow, which fills the corpora cavernosa. These are the spongy chambers of the penis — and when they fill with the increased blood flow, the result is a firm, swelling effect. This hardens the penis and the size increases in the form of an erection. Proper blood flow dictates the quality of the erection. Natural male enhancement products provide the nutrients your body needs to promote proper blood flow to the penis area.

If you are suffering from early warning signs of erectile dysfunction, you should consider natural male enhancement. You will join millions of men who are experiencing stronger, firmer, and easier to achieve erections, and overall better sexual health. Enzite is one of the original natural male enhancement products, and is used by over 3 million men worldwide. Taken once a day, Enzite supports the strongest, most powerful erections possible to help you achieve peak sexual enhancement.