Monday Musings

It's going to be a quick and short blog post today. I'm still recovering from Saturday's board meeting and open house, so I overslept a bit today. Here are what appear to be the big deal stories of the day:

Are we going to have a government shut-down after all? The House finally passed a proposal to fund the government through November 18, but it ties disaster relief to funding cuts, which the Dem Senate has already rejected. Will someone cave again, or are we going to the 11th hour once again? Congress had planned a week out of session this week, but instead, they will stay in session and try to work this out.

The super-committee's prospects of success are dimming, says the NY Times. The parties are digging in their heels -- the GOP says no new taxes; the White House says no deal without new taxes.

There were oral arguments on Friday in another federal Court of Appeals on the health reform law. There was some suggestion that the challenge might be premature since the individual mandate doesn't take effect until 2014. The case was brought by families who say health reform infringes on their religious freedom because they believe that God provides whatever is needed, so they don't get health care and shouldn't have to buy insurance. Um, if god makes all things, then didn't she make health reform?

How patients can learn to make better medication decisions. Very important story.

I reported last week that the Obama Administration seems to be putting the long-term care plan -- the CLASS Act -- that's part of health reform on the back burner. Some lawmakers aren't happy about that and are evaluating their strategy.

An oncology nurse writes about her father's death process, how to die well. Excellent piece.

Video-conferencing with your therapist? I don't think that would work for me. Not only are there the limitations set in the article, but doesn't body language count? I just think there's something to be lost by not being in the same room.

Kaiser Health News is running a three-day series on kids' care, focusing on children's hospitals, which have become quite profitable.

The 40th anniversary of Our Bodies, Ourselves. Most of you are too young to remember this, but it was the first inkling that women's health was different, that we needed to understand our bodies. It greatly contributed to the "women's lib" movement in 1971. Even today, it helps women understand how their bodies differ from men's.

And that's the fastest blog post ever, but I think I got the big stories and even a couple of small ones. Have a great day. I should be back to my regular schedule tomorrow. Meanwhile, have a great day. Jennifer