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May 16, 2012

Jackson Holahan: The Aleppo Codex
Jonathan Tobin : Iran Declares Victory in Nuclear Talks
Anne Kates Smith: 7 Stocks That Let You Sleep Tight
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Dennis Prager: God and Man at (and for) Liberty
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
Environmental Nutrition Editors: Get the facts on palm sugar sweetening
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Richard Simon: Purple Hearts for domestic terror victims?
Nando Pelusi, Ph.D.: The privacy paradox: Surrounded by strangers, we risk isolation, anxiety
Chris Farrell: Investing Lessons from the Great Recession
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
Tiffany O'Callaghan: New hormone mimics effects of exercise without the sweat
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Rabbi B. Shafier: Why happiness will always be elusive
Charles Krauthammer: Echoes of '67: Israel unites
Howard LaFranchi: With G8 snub, US-Putin 'reset' off to stumbling start
Jeremy J. Siegel: Investors, Relax About Rising Interest Rates
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Clifford D. May: The Real Palestinian Refugee Problem
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Harvard Health Letters: Palliative care: Underused therapy yields surprising benefits
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
Rachel L. Sheedy and Susan B. Garland : Make the Right Moves to Boost Benefits
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
John Rosemond: Parents, stop destroying the American male
Valerie J. Nelson: Maurice Sendak, author of 'Where the Wild Things Are,' dies at 83
Bob Frick: Angst Over Annuities
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Why did my blood pressure suddenly shoot up?
Lisa Gerstner: Lower the Rate on All Your Loans
The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : Springtime soba with miso sauce offers a coloful mix of fresh textures and flavors
May 8, 2012
Edmund Sanders: Netanyahu suddenly cancels new elections, forms unity government
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: Farewell to European superstate
Anne Kates Smith: 4 Stocks That Mimic Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway
Gaia Vince and Clare Wilson The Rise of Miniature Medical Robots: Fantasy Fast Becoming Reality
Paul Takahashi, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Never suffer night leg cramps
Jessica L. Anderson: Extended-Warranty Warning
The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate National Chocolate Chip Day with the Best Cookie Ever (Includes techniques)
May 7, 2012
Mark Clayton: Homeland Security warns major cyber attack aimed at gas pipeline industry underway
Angus Roxburgh: Putin Decoded: World view of a Russian feeling dissed
Kimberly Lankford: Navigate a Course for Long-Term Care
Kevin McCormally How to Adjust Your Tax Withholding
Celeste Robb-Nicholson, M.D.: Harvard Health Letters: How do you treat a Baker's cyst?
Joanne Capano: Healthy Snacks for Children: The Choices May Surprise You
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: Classic Creamy Spinach Dip with a Fraction of the Calories and Fat
May 4, 2012
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Holy 'trivialities'
Jonathan Tobin: Bibi v. Barak will be no contest this time around
Steven Goldberg: Blue Chip Stocks On Sale Worldwide
Art Pine Slow Productivity Growth a Blessing --- For Now
Sue Hubbard, M.D. : The Kid's Doctor: Are Kids Too Wired?
Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D: Foods that are good for your smile
Amy Paturel, M.S., M.P.H.: Eating Well: Foods that are good for your smile
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Strawberry rhubarb parfaits are elegant yet simple to assemble
May 3, 2012
Michael Freund: Who's Afraid of the Messiah?
Clifford D. May: The Foggiest War
Susan B. Garland: Insurance to Cover Old Old Age
Steven Goldberg 6 Reasons to Bet on a Big Bull Market
Harvard Health Letters: Treating prostate cancer --- no rush to judgment
Larry Gordon: Harvard, MIT partner to offer free online courses
Naomi Nix : Man gets free trip to Chicago after postcard sent by mother in 1957 finally reaches him
The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Intensely Italian vegetable frittata is a seriously simple standby
May 2, 2012
Daniel Pipes and Steve Emerson : Chris Christie's Islam Problem
Richard Z. Chesnoff: A Nazi collaborator at the Met
Thomas M. Anderson: The Best 529 College-Savings Plans
Harvard Special Report: Fatigue is a symptom of numerous illnesses
Amy Paturel, M.S., M.P.H.: What to eat for a healthy heart and mind


Jewish World Review Jan. 12, 2007 / 22 Teves, 5767

Consumer-directed health plans taking off and get a boost from Congress — HMO's are losing favor

By Drs. Michael A. Glueck & Robert J. Cihak

The Medicine Men
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | As the New Year 2007 begins there is some good health news for consumers who want a say and choice in their own health care. HMO's are dying a slow painful death (their just due) while consumer-directed health plans and health saving accounts (HAS' s) are becoming healthier and flourishing.


According to a recent Mercer survey of 3,000 U.S. employers, consumer-directed health plans tripled in 2006. Compared with a managed-care plan such as an HMO, they reduce the annual cost per employee by a


bout $1,000. While small businesses were first to take an interest, larger businesses are beginning to take notice also. The Houston Independent School District has offered two consumer-directed options for the past three years, with excellent results. The annual health benefit cost per employee rose by only $270 rather than the expected $1,500, from $5,500 to $5,770 (Brett Brune, Houston Chronicle 12/18/06).


A provision rushed through Congress just before adjournment makes the funding of health savings accounts much more practical. Employers will be allowed to roll over balances from a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) and/or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) into the H S A of employees who are switching. The allowable HSA contribution has been raised and will be indexed to inflation. Previously, it was limited to the amount of the deductible, but in 2007 can be up to $2,850 for singles or $5,650 for a family. See www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/hp209.htm.


Democrats generally opposed the provision, which was pushed through by outgoing House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA). When economist John Goodman, founder of the National Center on Policy Analysis began pushing for the idea of tax-favored medical savings accounts 16 years ago, only about five Congressmen would listen to him.


Goodman thought that nothing but market forces could tame rising medical costs.


A recent Rand Corp. study showed employers report saving 10 percent on health benefits costs, and plan participants appeared to trim spending between 2 percent and 15 percent. Some worry that people are skimping on necessary as well as unnecessary care.


But Goodman says: "Someone is going to have to choose between health care and other uses of money. If you want someone else to make those choices for you, you can join an HMO. But if you want to make those choices for yourself, these accounts give you the financial ability to make them" (Christopher Lee, Washington Post 12/28/06).


While HSAs are growing, customers are bailing out of HMOs in record numbers. Patients complain about restricted choice. And the promised cost savings have not occurred. The average HMO premium cost per person paid out by major companies is projected to jump to $8,151 in 2007, a 64 percent increase from $4,979 in 2002 (Bruce Japsen, Chicago Tribune, posted by sunherald.com 11/22/06).


A previous Association of American Physicians (AAPS) News of the Day release in March, 2006, noted there had been a seven-fold increase in individuals covered by HSA-type insurance between November 2004 and December 2005 (Data from the American Health Insurance Providers for a U.S. Treasury Department fact sheet).


As these writers have often railed against managed care since the 80's we do take some satisfaction in seeing its proper demise. As we said then, "There is no way a healthcare corporation can provide more care, better care, at a lower cost while the patient wants all the latest expensive technology (but prefers not to pay for) while the corporation and stockholders want a greater return on their investment." This was not economic rocket science then nor is now.


HMOs and managed care were doomed to fail. When "for-profit" corporations offer potentially unlimited services for a flat fee (plus the usual co-pays) they reach a point where the only way they can make money is to withhold care.


Managed care, in these writers' opinion, was and is a cruel experiment on America's patients which provided Wall Street opportunists and non-medically-trained corporate presidents and officers with immoral obscene profits while the sick, elderly, disabled and mentally ill suffered.


Ironically corporate run managed care has been around just long enough for its lethal genes to rise up and destroy itself. We should never again allow such a deadly experiment with patients as guinea pigs.


Editor's Note: Michael Arnold Glueck III, M.D., wrote this week's commentary

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

Michael Arnold Glueck, M.D., is a multiple award winning writer who comments on medical-legal issues. Robert J. Cihak, M.D., is a Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and a past president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Both JWR contributors are Harvard trained diagnostic radiologists. Comment by clicking here.

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