Health Care

As the noise over the debate over health care (er, health insurance) debate reaches ear-splitting levels, two things seem clear: First, 'winning' the health care debate is impossible because the end results will vary different for each household.   Second, regardless of which side feels as if they have 'won,' health care, like most aspects of our lives, will evolve to meet the needs of any new ... read more

We did a segment on 10 key points in the Baucus Health Care bill. Click here to see it. ... read more

This past week a successful investor friend and I were discussing the future and where we might see both stock market strength and growth in jobs.   His answer surprised me: pharmaceuticals and health care. When I questioned him about specifics he waved his hand in the air and merely said: "what other industry do you know of that's about to add 30 to 40 million new customers." A simple and ... read more

Interesting new study released by Yale researchers yesterday. It suggests that a $0.01 per ounce tax on sugary drinks such as soda could raise as much as $14.9 billion.   That money could be used to fund health care initiatives. It is irrefutable that our appetite for sugary drinks has contributed to growing waistline levels.     From 1977 to 2002 the per capita intake of caloric ... read more

Since Baucus (and some in Congress) want to fund health care reform by slowing growth and finding cuts in Medicare ... here are some numbers they may want to review: Medicare outlays were $37.5 billion in 1980. This year they are estimated to be $503 billion. By 2018, Medicare is estimated to spend $932 billion. That would be a spending increase of 2505% since 1980. So tell us again ... read more

After "months" of work, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus rolled out his $856 billion dollar health care bill. Whatever the benefits and drawbacks are to the bill itself, the glaring issue is that little matter of the $856 billion dollar price tag.   Specifically, how that money will be raised. Baucus estimates that $93 billion will come from fees & taxes on pharmaceutical ... read more

The Senate "Gang of Six" is nearing a final draft of health care bill.   Though reports suggest there are still disagreements on mandates dealing with the private purchase of insurance, the Senate Finance Committee is getting closers and a final draft could be forthcoming at any time. While there will certainly be changes and adjustments to the legislation, it is fair to say that the ... read more

Terrifying statistic of the day: the CDC says that the national spike in obesity will result in one out of every 3 kids born in the year 2000 developing type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives. If the number of fatal auto accidents rose 40% in less than 10 years it would be considered a national crisis with Congressional hearings and loud calls for changes in auto and driver ... read more

This Kaiser Family Foundation report should be required reading for anyone seriously interested in the health care debate and the uninsured. It provides important details about who actually is without health insurance in America.  While much in the report is common sense (the poor are less likely to be insured than the non-poor), there are a few less obvious findings, such as 8 in 10 uninsured ... read more

Bettors say there will likely be no public option for health care. The Intrade electronic market allows people to 'bet' on a variety of outcomes, anything from elections to the weather to even how movies do at the box office. After a brief spike in the odds a few weeks ago, the current bid on Intrade pegs just a 1-in-4 chance a public option will get passed. Notice how health care ... read more