Hump Day Headlines

It's a good thing that I recorded the State of the Union because I got in bed and fell asleep immediately after a very satisfying dinner with my Dad and his significant other. So I can't tell you yet what the President said, although I can tell you that he didn't say much about health care. But I can do as I do every day and give you the health news:

Here are the health-related excerpts from the speech. "I will not go back to the days when health insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny your coverage, or charge women differently than men. ..." Sounds good to me.

Under health reform, each insurer is required to produce a summary of benefits and coverage in a uniform format so people can understand and compare plans. Yesterday, several consumer advocacy organization asked the President to stand firm on that new rule, despite industry criticism.

Remember when everybody said fixing the payroll tax cut, unemployment and the Medicare reimbursement rate cuts was going to be easy? Well, now the headline reads "the two sides are far apart." Why aren't I even slightly surprised?

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says health reform will continue even if the Supreme Court strikes down the individual mandate.

The American Psychiatric Association is considering adding "grief" as a mental health disorder. It's a type of depression. I can buy that.

Ever hear of brown fat? Well, apparently, brown fat burns calories like crazy, and cold weather can stimulate that. I think I'll move my office outside for the winter.

A lovely story -- the best man donates a kidney to the bride. Now, that's a wedding gift!

And that's the news. Have a great day. Jennifer