Health junction

This week, lurid headlines were in all United States papers proclaiming a government charged task force of "experts" recommended rolling back frequency of breast mammograms from annually to once a decade if you are age 40 or wait fifteen years if you are age 35. My first reaction was WTF, followed by; I wonder how much they paid for this study. Since I am twice a breast cancer survivor, I consider myself to be somewhat of an "expert" and I have a health policy background. According to the Center for Disease Control, 74.6% of women in the United States who were forty and older received mammograms in 2005. The latest recommendation published in the Annals of Internal Medicine could have an adverse impact on the mammography rate for American women. In order to be fair, let us examine this from a rational perspective. The most salacious reason cited for reducing the prevalence of mammography in pre-menopausal women was the potential harm of the screening process. Excuse...

Baucus Health Plan Senator Baucus of Montana broke away from his committee to present his approach to a United States health care overhaul. His plan proposes a complicated series of benefit changes in Medicare/Medicaid, along with taxes on health care suppliers, employers, and individuals, depending on the health care scenario. It is like trying to look through depression era glass for the economy in this approach. First of all, I don�t think adding more taxes to an already expensive health care delivery system will make it less expensive. If anything, this type of proposal will drive more people into the government option Obama plan. Both the Obama and Baucus health plans rely on the employer system for health care financing, as opposed to a program based on individuals selecting their health plan from regional cooperatives, with a tax credit allowance, and some employer allowance. I am often asked why we expect employers to provide health care in the USA and my only answer is, "...