Sourch: On the dash Sugary soft drinks are under attack from obesity experts, health commissioners, nutritionists, Congress, and President Obama. And the soft drink industry is fighting back. Health experts have proposed a tax on soft drinks of one cent per ounce. That’s an extra 12 cents on a 12-ounce bottle of Pepsi, which may… Read more
Tag Archives: corporations
Acne, allergy, and toe nail fungus make you uninsurable
Source: The Long-Term Care Company One reason we need health care reform is the insurance industry practice of canceling or refusing insurance coverage. Since insurance companies are profit-making endeavors, it’s understandable that they don’t want to insure someone with a history of cancer, diabetes, or even arthritis. What about those people who truly believe they’ve… Read more
Why is it so hard to reform health care? Political structure
Source: Amazon A country’s health care system reflects its character, ethics, and cultural values. Politics, medicine, and economics may shape the particular design of a system, but when it comes to deciding who will be included, that’s a moral question. The United States is the only industrialized democracy that does not guarantee health care to… Read more
Why is it so hard to reform health care? The historical background
Some segments of the American population receive excellent health care. Statistics on their life expectancy, mortality, and risk factors for disease compare favorably to citizens of other advanced countries. What throws off the numbers for the US — the reason our overall statistics are 23 points behind Britain, Canada, France, Germany, and Japan on a… Read more
After health care reform, will Big Insurance be the enemy of Big Food?
Source: eHow Michael Pollan has a great editorial in today’s New York Times on Big Insurance and Big Food. Could health care reform motivate the insurance industry to lobby for healthier food? The argument goes like this. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three-quarters of health care dollars are spent on preventable… Read more
The Sicko files
Source: Bill Moyers Journal Wendell Potter, who was once the head of Public Relations at health insurance giant CIGNA, recently testified before Congress on the nefarious practices of the insurance industry. Last Friday he did an extended interview with Bill Moyers. In the video excerpt below, Moyers and Potter discuss the insurance industry’s comprehensive strategy… Read more
Is the Internet bad for your health?
Source: Mayo Clinic Do you research medical information on the Internet? Do you use Google as your starting point? Do you read entries on medical conditions at Wikipedia and assume what you read is accurate and complete? Kevin Pho, primary care physician and author of the popular medical blog KevinMD.com, has a column in USA… Read more
Importing drugs from Canada: Will lobbyists win or lose this round?
Artist: Robert Parada. Source: AARP When a government is directly involved in health care, the sheer size of its purchasing power allows it to negotiate lower prices for drugs. That’s why drugs cost less in Canada over the Internet. In the US, drug company lobbying is so powerful that it can convince Congress to prohibit… Read more
Big Pharma lobbies against health reform: Big time
Source: Stop Barack Obama According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the pharmaceutical industry spent $1.2 million a day on lobbying during the first quarter of this year. Not surprisingly, the biggest spender has been the largest pharmaceutical lobbying group, PhRMA, which has spent $7 million. Pfizer was a close second at $6 million. Meanwhile,… Read more
Health Culture Daily Dose #15
In today’s Dose: Health care reform (A public option plan emerges from HELP committee; Arguments for the public option from the Urban Institute; Obama stands Harry & Louise on their heads) Health news (Should Steve Jobs use his celebrity status for pancreatic cancer awareness and funding?) Industrialized agriculture (Labeling organic food: What can you believe?;… Read more
Health insurance industry to consumers: You’re financially responsible for your behavior
Source: Courier Times Online Scott Harrington is a professor at Wharton and “adjunct scholar” at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. Two weeks ago he wrote a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that gave the standard Republican argument against a public option: It will inevitably lead to a single-payer system. “Private health plans have a strong… Read more
Health Culture Daily Dose #12
In today’s Dose: Health care reform (Bipartisan support looks unlikely; Public option) Health news Medical research grants) Health care reform As members of Congress headed home for a week-long Fourth of July recess, the consensus on health care reform legislation is that it will not be bi-partisan, as Obama and Democrats had hoped. Republicans are… Read more
Health insurance insider speaks out
Source: Cheap health insurance services in India Wendell Potter, a former executive at health insurance giant Cigna, was one of three health care specialists who testified today before the Senate Commerce Committee. You can read the entire transcript of his testimony at The New Republic. Potter began by identifying himself as an insider who had… Read more
What’s wrong with our food?
A new movie, Food, Inc., will be in theaters starting June 12. The film documents how industrialized agriculture has changed the food we eat and explores the impact of this change on health, food safety, and the environment. In the movie’s trailer (see below), a woman eyeing vegetables in a grocery store says “Sometimes you… Read more