Monday Musings

A bit of a struggle this morning. I'm tired. But work comes first, and so here's the news:

As I told you on Friday, the US has filed its brief in the health reform case. As you know, the main part of the case challenges the requirement that people buy insurance. One of the individual plaintiffs is a woman who said it was her right to self-insure rather than buy insurance. The US has been saying all along that folks like these end up shifting the cost to the public. While the case has been pending, the woman racked up a lot of bills -- including medical bills -- and filed for bankruptcy protection. Which served to prove the point that the US has been making all along. It is NOT okay for people to shift the cost of health care to the taxpayers, and the best way to make sure that doesn't happen is to require them to buy insurance. This was one of the most convincing parts of the government's brief. Meanwhile, over 100 Republicans and economists filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief arguing that the Supreme Court should strike down the entire law if they find the individual mandate to be unconstitutional.

The health care sector continues to add jobs.

What's it like to be hearing impaired? Read and maybe you'll understand.

A run of thefts in pharmacies, looking for narcotics.

Hope for people with cystic fibrosis.

A small study shows that deep brain stimulation may help people with bipolar disorder.

Robotic devices help paralyzed people.

Poor sleep worsens health in kids with type 1 diabetes.

Should young people be getting obesity surgery? Is caffeine a weight loss aid?

A virtual cadaver for medical students to learn on.

The answer to last week's guess the diagnosis quiz from the NY Times. And once again, a reminder that we should not rest until we find answers to our medical problems.

That's it for this morning. Have a great day. Jennifer