Thursday's Themes

Well, Congress finally passed the health care for 9/11 responders yesterday -- about time.

While Congress was busy wrapping up it's business for the 111th Congress -- ratifying the START treaty, getting the 9/11 health bill done, finishing up the food safety bill -- and while the President was signing the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell and childhood nutrition bill, the rest of us were getting ready for the holidays, so the other news is sparse.

Here's a surprising study -- placebos work even when the patient knows they're placebos!

In a happy reversal, health insurers in California are selling new child-only policies even though they now have to cover pre-existing conditions. Good news. Now, let's hope they do the same in other states.

Yet, other insurers are dropping mental health coverage entirely because they don't want to comply with new laws requiring that mental health benefits be as robust as medical/surgical benefits.

And that's all I've got for you this morning. I don't know about you, but I'm really excited that I only have one more day of work before VACATION! Jennifer