June 6, 2018

Crowd-funding health care

"The lengths to which the family has gone to raise the funds — including the GoFundMe appeal, a related Facebook page and the public reportage of Andrew’s lemonade stand and the family’s medical needs — should shame America. But not because so many of us haven’t contributed to their cause. What’s shameful is the need of families in positions like the Emerys’ to turn to public fundraising for expenses that should be covered by public funds.

We’ve reported before on the drawbacks of relying for medical needs on public appeals for help. The Emery case places them again in sharp relief. This isn’t to suggest that the family has done anything wrong, or that the more than 500 donors who have contributed to their campaign should have held on to their money.

Rather, it’s to point out that public crowdfunding is the most inefficient and systematically unjust means of distributing resources for healthcare. It perpetuates the worst aspects of the American healthcare system and reduces pressure on lawmakers to fix them.

What should make South Carolinians prouder? That they’ve raised a few thousand dollars for a single family, or left 447,000 of their fellow residents without adequate care?"

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-crowdfunding-20180604-story.html

June 6, 2018

Environmentally Responsible Coffee Brewing

The low-tech way.

https://www.treehugger.com/green-home/8-low-tech-ways-brew-coffee-minimal-waste.html

A couple of these are kind of "out there" but I really enjoy coffee from my French press.

June 6, 2018

I'm probably the only one

watching the NCAA Softball Championship series...

Holy smokes these women are talented! Makes me wish I was young again ....

June 3, 2018

Mail Order Meds Delayed for Many

From the Columbus Dispatch:

******************

Imagine the terror of being diagnosed with cancer.

Your doctor writes a prescription that you pray will save your life. You go to the hospital or oncology clinic’s in-house pharmacy. The medicine is right there on the shelf, but you’re told the only way your insurance will cover your medication, which might cost $10,000 or more per month, is if you get it through the mail.

So, you go home empty-handed and wait. If you’re lucky, the medicine will arrive in just a couple of days. But it could be up to a month before delivery of the drugs.

Uncounted numbers of Ohio cancer patients don’t have to imagine this dilemma. They have experienced it because health insurers and the pharmacy benefit managers hired by insurers dictate it.

http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180603/mail-order-pharmacy-system-delays-meds-for-some-patients

*****************

Of course, this is all about maximizing profits, not about what's best for the patient. Appalling!

June 1, 2018

Cavs- Warriors

A real nail biter!