- Why Sweden did better than any other country during the Covid pandemic.
- If Medicare patients are receiving low-value care, who is providing it?
- Do elderly entitlements take from the poor and subsidize the rich? Individuals living in non-elderly households, whether with and without children, now are more likely to be poorer than senior citizens.
- Republican presidential candidates’ plans for Medicare.
Category: Health Reform
Bogus Study on Doctors Prescribing Healthy Foods
Can physicians really urge you, cajole you or nudge you to eat a healthier diet? That is the premise of a new study published in the journal, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. Eight weeks ago I blogged about whether doctors should counsel their patients on what they eat. My opinion is that nutrition counseling is a good idea,…
Tuesday Links
- China had 1.87 million excess deaths that occurred among individuals 30 years and older during the first 2 months after the end of China’s zero COVID policy.
- Can people think their way to an orgasm?
- Kaiser: Health misinformation is endemic.
- Five thousand pilots lied on medical records to hide conditions that would prevent them sitting in the cockpit.
- How dangerous is pollen?
Dialysis Should be Patient Centered and More Convenient
End State Renal Disease (ESRD) is the only disease condition that is covered by Medicare regardless of patients’ age. This benefit was passed in 1972. One result of Section 299I of Public Law 92-603 is that Medicare pays for two-third of dialysis patients, down from 87% in 2004. When your kidney function falls by 85% to 90% your kidneys can no longer keep you alive. According to the National Kidney Foundation, the average life expectancy on dialysis is 5 to 10 years, but many people live much longer when their dialysis is tailored to their needs. This often does not happen due to the United States’ mostly one-size-fits-all approach to dialysis, which is not ideal.