Nobody Cares about Your Health

[Rose Karuna]

I just found this site and it's got some really good information in it regarding insurance companies and hospital billing.

Episodes Archive • An Arm And a Leg

A show about why health care costs so freaking much, and what we can (maybe) do about it.

armandalegshow.com

Some of the things they talk about actually happened to me, like going to an "in network" facility and getting an "out of network" asshole involved in an aspect of my care that I was unaware of but got billed for later. What I did not know is that this is by "intent" as many companies with these "out of network assistants" are owned by investment companies that deliberately don't announce their "out of network" presence because they can get more money out of an individual than an insurance company. Honestly, this should be illegal, it certainly is unethical.

 

[Veritable Quandry]

The in-network/out-of-network pisses me off every time I go to the hospital operated by my employer using my employee insurance plan and get a test from my in-network doctor at a University lab, and it comes back as out-of-network.

 

[Free]

“Not just a virus that kills people”—WHO spotlights longterm COVID-19

“I never thought I would have seven months of my life wiped out by this virus.”...

arstechnica.com

A significant number of people infected with the pandemic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, are experiencing long-term symptoms and taking many weeks or months to fully recover, the World Health Organization emphasized in a press conference today.

“I have heard first hand from people who face mid- to long-term effects of COVID-19 infection,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “What’s really concerning is the vast spectrum of symptoms that fluctuate over time, often overlap, and can affect any system in the body.”

While there have long been reports of COVID-19 long-haulers, the WHO worked to raise awareness of the problem today. It’s still unclear what proportion of infected people go on to have mid- to long-term health problems, Tedros noted. But, it's clear that "this is not just a virus that kills people." And with more than 45 million cases globally—and counting—even a small percentage will mean a large number of people will have long-term disability.

 

[Noodles]

The insurance plan we have had for a long time isn't available next year as an option. Which would be less irritating except the option that actually covers doctors, is full of nonsense like "if approved" and "if seemed an emergency," etc. Basically, it feels like it could turn into a constant fight to actually get things to be covered. Especially as much as we use medical coverage around here.

 

[Free]

 

[Sovereignty]

Overall, I liked the Queen's Gambit fairytale except for its fairytale treatent of minor tranquilizer withdrawal. The latter is serious business and poorly understood/publicized especially among MD's since they too often put trusting patients into situations that the MD's themselves have no idea how to deal with.

One can find an informed consent form at www.benzoinfo.com. I don't know if it's perfect but it certainly lets you know what is involved here. Patients are supposed to initial and sign.

Informed Consent for Benzodiazepine Prescription

Highlights:

A benzodiazepine should never be stopped abruptly after daily use, as this can result in severe withdrawal symptoms including psychosis, seizures, and death. It can also increase the risk of post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) and protracted withdrawal.

A benzodiazepine taper can last anywhere from months to years, depending on the needs of the individual. ... Benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome (BWS) can be extremely severe and disabling, with symptoms lasting years in some cases, even with a slow taper plan (5-10% reductions every 2-4 weeks).

BWS can result in protracted withdrawal and neurologic injury lasting years, and in some cases the damage may be permanent.

I understand physical dependence and withdrawal syndrome can develop in the absence of addiction or an “addictive personality.”

This informed consent form was created by Christy Huff, MD, FACC, a board-certified cardiologist who resides in Fort Worth, Texas.

She was prescribed Xanax for insomnia related to a major health crisis in 2015. After developing concerning symptoms and receiving no answers from her primary care doctor and a prominent neurologist, she began to research benzodiazepines and discovered her symptoms were consistent with benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome. With the help of a local psychiatrist, she slowly tapered off benzodiazepines using Valium. Christy’s personal experience has led her to realize the dangers of these drugs and the severity of the benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome, neither of which were emphasized during her medical training. She is an advocate of better education of physicans regarding the dangers of benzodiazepines and how to safely taper patients off these drugs, and stronger regulation of the prescribing of benzodiazopines.

 

[Rose Karuna]

This is unconscionable! Words can't describe how much I hate this orange piece of shit that has been posing as President for the last four years.

Trump makes one last effort to cut Social Security, maximize hurt to the disabled

In the middle of the Trump pandemic, in which untold millions of people who survive the disease could end up disabled for life, the Trump administration announced Friday that it's finalizing rules meant to do nothing but make it harder for...

www.dailykos.com

 

[Jolene Benoir]

This is unconscionable! Words can't describe how much I hate this orange piece of shit that has been posing as President for the last four years.

Trump makes one last effort to cut Social Security, maximize hurt to the disabled

In the middle of the Trump pandemic, in which untold millions of people who survive the disease could end up disabled for life, the Trump administration announced Friday that it's finalizing rules meant to do nothing but make it harder for...

www.dailykos.com

He is so damn evil. For a man who still claims that he won, he sure is trying to do the most damage and cause the most pain on his way out.

 

[danielravennest]

He is so damn evil. For a man who still claims that he won, he sure is trying to do the most damage and cause the most pain on his way out.

He knows he lost. He's only claiming the opposite so he can get contributions from suckers to pay for "legal cases to stop the voting fraud". In the fine print it says most of the money is going to replay campaign debts.

 

[Free]

Scotland becomes first nation to provide free period products for all

MSPs pass legislation after four-year grassroots campaign spearheaded by Monica Lennon

www.theguardian.com

Scotland has become the first country in the world to provide free and universal access to period products after a four-year campaign that has fundamentally shifted the public discourse around menstruation.

The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act, which passed unanimously through its final stage on Tuesday evening, will place a legal duty on local authorities to make period products available for all those who need them, building on the work of councils like North Ayrshire, which has been providing free tampons and sanitary towels in its public buildings since 2018.

The campaign – bolstered by nationwide grassroots support – was spearheaded by Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman, Monica Lennon, who told the Guardian this was “a proud day for Scotland”.

Lennon said: “This will make a massive difference to the lives of women and girls and everyone who menstruates. There has already been great progress at a community level and through local authorities in giving everyone the chance of period dignity."

 

[Free]

This could be big...

University of Alberta research team poised to cure diabetes—again

The team, led by Dr. James Shapiro, has been able to consistently cure diabetes in mice and is now looking to move to human trials

nationalpost.com

Almost 20 years after a University of Alberta research group made medical history by improving on a treatment for diabetes, the same team is trying to do it again.

Dr. James Shapiro and his research team at the university say they’ve been able to cure diabetes in mice, CTV Alberta reports. The team is using a technique that involves stem cells developing into pancreatic cells that can produce insulin. They believe their research can translate into a functional human cure for diabetes.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

U of A does some great work. Too bad it's being shut down next week to be converted into a Truck Lift-It and Roll Coal Shop, a gay conversion centre, a brewery, and an oil rigger training centre.

 

[Rose Karuna]

This is great news!

A small, necessary piece of health care reform is hitching a ride on the COVID-19 relief bill

It's amazing what can happen in end of the year legislative wrangling. For two years, Congress has had multiple bipartisan proposals to end the practice of surprise medical billing, proposals that went nowhere because Senate Majority Leader Mitch...

www.dailykos.com

I'm just sorry that it does not take effect until 2022.

Edited to say that companies that have made this practice a "business model" should be outed and shamed and investors in them should reconsider their investments!

 

[Free]

 

[Isabeau]

No wild claims, just an explanation of the study.

Are depression and intelligence related? The answer may be in our genes

Scientists combed through a massive genetic dataset and discovered depression and intelligence have a "dual relationship," with mixed effects.

www.inverse.com

 

[Free]

 

[Free]

 

[Free]

It's an interesting question.

 

[Veritable Quandry]

If the first point means without a prescription, then no. Most consumers do not have the knowledge to make those decisions without a doctor and pharmacist. I certainly don't. And then there's the issue of drug interactions and individual medical history. It takes years of learning, and the experts still sometimes get it wrong.

Plus the opioid situation is bad enough already.

On the second point, I would favor reciprocal agreements with other countries for approvals, but both the US and the other nations would have to have much more transparency and oversight in the approval process then we have now. Having individuals sign waivers would be problematic because, once again, they don't have the necessary knowledge, and I could see drug companies advertising prescription drugs and offering waiver forms while downplaying side effects and drug interactions.

Point three I am fine with.

 

[Kalel]

On the second point, I would favor reciprocal agreements with other countries for approvals, but both the US and the other nations would have to have much more transparency and oversight in the approval process then we have now. Having individuals sign waivers would be problematic because, once again, they don't have the necessary knowledge, and I could see drug companies advertising prescription drugs and offering waiver forms while downplaying side effects and drug interactions.

there would need to be some standardization and logistics to work out.. drugs commonly come from the same factory but one that goes to the USA might be blue and bigger amounts while the same thing going to europe might be smaller with red pills with a completely different box and name... They would have allot of details to work out.