Florida Health News

Correction, Medicare story

Rep. Ander Crenshaw voted to override the President's veto of the Medicare bill. A Florida Health News story published on July 17 misstated his vote. We apologize for the error.

 

Report shows how low-cost ideas can save money, prevent illness

The Trust for America's Health reports that if the U.S. spent just $10 per person on proven community-based disease-prevention programs, it could save $16 billion annually on medical costs within five years. That's $5.60 to $1. Florida's payoff would be even greater, $6.20 to $1. The report provides examples of low-cost programs with a hefty return on investment, such as keeping schools open after-hours so children can play and providing farmers' markets in low-income areas. There's just one question the report doesn't answer: How to grab that $10 per person from the maw of the $2 trillion medical-industrial complex.

 

'Obese people are the new pariahs'

Rob Lambert, a family doctor in Georgia, has won kudos from the New York Times for his fresh insight in a blog called "Musings of a Distractible Mind." The current column, about his interaction with obese patients, is especially thought-provoking. I'd like to find a Dr. Rob in Florida. If you know a health professional who writes well -- not in medicalese, but in everyday plain English -- please drop me a line. --Carol Gentry, editor

'Es para todos' -- a health system that works for all

Anyone who assumes that the US must increase spending to provide universal health coverage should take a vacation in Costa Rica, as I did this month. This lovely country, where annual income averages just over $5,000 (US) a year, has achieved a longer life expectancy, lower infant mortality and better scores overall from the World Health Organization than ours while spending a far smaller fraction of its income.  How? By investing in the right things: literacy, public health, disease prevention and  primary care. Costa Ricans take pride in the health system's quality and fairness. "Es para todos," they say. It's for everyone. -- Carol Gentry, Editor

 

 

Dear editor: Can we help?

Florida Health News, a non-profit, public-interest journalism organization, has agreed to permit bona fide metro and community newspapers to republish our original articles, with proper credit, at no charge (See our previous articles at the tab "Our Stories").  We have taken this action because of the crisis in newsrooms that has forced cutbacks in coverage of important health issues. For permission and details, contact me. -- Carol Gentry, Editor. 

 

How do Obama, McCain health plans stack up?

If you want to bone up on the Presidential candidates' health plans, here's an even-handed, well-informed analysis: the Health Care Policy and Marketplace Blog by insurance analyst Robert Laszewski.  

 

Pushing prescriptions: Pharma lobbying sets records

Washington's largest lobby, the pharmaceutical industry, racked up another banner year on Capitol Hill in 2007, backed by a record $168 million lobbying effort, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of federal lobbying data. The industry got two controversial laws extended and thwarted efforts to restrict advertising.

All Studies»