Hump Day Headlines

I'm loving the fact that it's Wednesday already, although I have a lot on my plate today.  So let's start with the news:

The President's team came out swinging on health reform last night.  That may turn people off, but I say it's about time the President took credit for doing something that's been tried and failed for generations.  I don't tell you who to vote for, but I will tell you that, if we get to 2014, we will be able to buy insurance.  If that matters a lot to you, as it does to me, there's only one vote possible.  As Stacy Lihn approached the podium with her little Zoey, whose life was saved because of health reform, she reminded us that A President Romney has pledged to repeal that law -- and that could mean death for her child.  What could possibly matter more?  The Dems have adopted the name Obamacare -- and I say Obamacare is care for 30 million Americans.  It's saving lives.  How is that a bad thing?  Only to those would say anything to beat President Obama, like the super-PAC, Americans for Prosperity, which says Obama care is like care in Canada.  But in Canada, the country runs health care and under Obamacare, it's still in the hands of private insurance companies.  When it comes to health care, the real question is whether Americans will buy whatever they're told or whether they'll actually think for themselves.

Maine decided to do something drastic to bring down insurance premiums.  They cut mandatory coverages to make it cheaper.  Not one new insurer entered the state, and while prices went down for individuals, they went up for groups -- with the highest increase for older Americans.

UnitedHealthcare issued a report showing huge differences in the cost of the same care under Medicare -- same patient population, same payer -- The only way this goes away is if Americans learn to comparison shop for care just as they do for other things.

Would you be healthier without email?  There was an experiment in which people went 5 days without email.  They were more productive, relaxed -- but when they were allowed to go back to email, they did.  I'd love 5 days without email.  In fact, I'll take 5 hours!

One-third of Americans have high blood pressure -- only half of them are treated.  Blood pressure meds are relatively inexpensive.  So why don't people get tested and treated?  Awful.

A new study shows that prolonged efforts at CPR may have value, and it's wrong to stop too soon.  An extra 9 minutes saves lives.

And that's it for today.  Have a great day!  Jennifer