A Quick Shot of Healthcare, Part 1 – When Progress Hurts
By Brian | August 10, 2009
I’ve been watching the current healthcare debate with great interest, and have a lot of opinions on various aspects of the matter, but can’t seem to consolidate them all into a single blog post. Instead, I’m queuing up a list of “quick shots” – thoughts on particular aspects of the debate – which I hope will spur some discussion
Remember, when Barack Obama first took office, how he vastly expanded federal spending for stem cell research? As he did, he spoke inspirationally about the potential benefits from this kind of research – possible treatments or cures to everything from Alzheimer’s Disease to heart disease to neural/muscular disorders. There was even some talk about growing replacement organs in patients where the originals were failing.
Now that we’re talking about healthcare reform and ways to keep healthcare costs under control, it occurs to me – what happens if this stem cell research succeeds? To be sure, medical breakthroughs can sometimes reduce overall costs. I don’t know what the polio vaccine costs per patient, for instance, but I’m guessing it’s cheaper than the series of wheelchairs, braces, and physical therapy sessions that once guided a polio patient through many painful years until the disease overtook them.
But then there are diseases like cancer. Certain types of cancer used to be death sentences – if you contracted them, your life expectancy could be no more than a few months. Today, while there are still no cures, there are surgeries, preventative drugs and monitoring techniques that can remove the cancer, minimize the risk of recurrence, and catch it if it does come back early enough to effectively treat it again. Lacking the actual data, I can only imagine that the total cost of these treatments far outweighs the costs we used to pay for end-of-life care for these cancer patients.
So what of stem-cell research? Surely we’re all rooting for the kind of success that the President and others have boldly predicted. But what if the resulting therapies, drug treatments, or surgeries far outweigh the costs of treating these diseases today? And even if not, we should consider that people who don’t die from heart disease, ALS, or the like will live long enough to die of something else. So even if the cost of treatments were a wash, overall health care costs would still go up.
My point is this: the President’s recent claims that health care reform will be cost neutral seem like disturbingly short-term thinking. His own initiatives seem to be (rightly) shooting for new, innovative treatments that will likely increase the cost of healthcare, along with the benefits it provides.
It seems to me that our true goal isn’t cost control at all, but rather the reduction or elimination of inefficiency and fraud, so that we provide the highest possible benefit at the lowest possible cost. As the benefits increase (through technological advancement, for example) costs should go up, just not excessively.
I don’t hear anyone talking about this concept these days…
Categories: Political Rantings | 2 Comments »
The Ultimate Reality Show
By Brian | August 6, 2009
Sorry I’ve been away so long – its been a combination of being busy with non-blog things, a dearth of short, pithy things to say, and a host of longer, meatier topics that I’d like to discuss, but haven’t had the time to write about. I’ll try to strike a better balance going forward…
So, while I’ve got a few minutes today, I thought I’d flesh out an idea that I had a while back when I walked by an advertisement for Dance Your Ass Off, a TV reality show that seems to combine Dancing with the Stars and The World’s Biggest Loser. Apparently, this new reality show has contestants performing dances, after which they are judged not just on how well they dance, but on how effectively all that dancing makes them lose weight.
Brilliant! If we combine these shows together, then there can be less of them, right? And then we’d be able to avoid them more easily, right? Certainly, this is an idea worth pursuing. And so, ladies and gentlemen, I present you my idea for. . . (cue theme music) . . .
One hundred overweight men, one hundred super-models and one hundred aspiring chefs are simultaneously stranded on a remote island just off the coast of Africa.
Categories: Primetime TV, Random Acts of Blogging | 2 Comments »
When Baseball Statistics Go Wrong…
By Brian | July 27, 2009
Last week’s Wall Street Journal had a great article entitled Baseball Research Veers Into Left Field. Among the so-called “conclusions:”
- Major-league players who have nicknames live 2
Categories: Sports Talk | Comments Off on When Baseball Statistics Go Wrong…
A Fool to Some of the People, All of the Time
By Brian | July 24, 2009
Categories: News and/or Media, The World Wide Weird | 2 Comments »
Not Surprising, but Sooner than Expected
By Brian | July 22, 2009
Two things in the news today that I fully expected to happen, but not as early as mid-July.
First, the Yankees have past the Red Sox in the American League East:
This usually doesn’t happen until some time in mid-September. And before anyone jumps all over me, yes, I know – it ain’t over until it’s over. I’m not declaring victory; I’m just saying it’s rare that the Red Sox
chokerelinquish first place so early in the year.Second, President Obama has gone from “The One” to “The One Half”:
On inauguration day, 65% of the country approved of President Obama (44% of whom strongly approved) and only 35% disapproved (only 16% strongly disapproved). Today, those numbers are quite different. Only half of Americans approve of the President’s performance (51% approve, 47% disapprove), and among those who feel strongly, the numbers have passed the 50/50 tipping point, with just 29% strongly approving and 35% strongly disapproving.
This is, of course, the “campaign in poetry, govern in prose” phenomenon at work. On January 21, all President Obama had done was win an historic election and give a good inauguration speech. Today, we have auto bailouts, stimulus packages, healthcare proposals and more to consider – much more meat on the bones, so to speak. No one expected him to carry a 65% approval rating through his first term, but his aggressive approach to his first six months in office is certainly eating away at that “rock star” popularity he once enjoyed. It will be interesting to see if these numbers stabilize, or if the trend continues through to the midterm elections.
Categories: Political Rantings, Sports Talk | 2 Comments »
Tech Talk
By Brian | July 16, 2009
A few interesting stories today from the world of technology…
1) Apple Blocks Palm Pre’s iTunes Compatibility
One of the features the Palm Pre boasted upon launch was the ability to synch with Apple’s popular iTunes software, so that songs purchased at iTunes would appear and play automatically on the Pre. Yesterday, Apple release iTunes, version 8.2.1 which addressed “an issue with verification of Apple devices.” In other words, they modified their software to prevent it from synching with the Palm Pre.
This is both disheartening and ineffective. Disheartening because Apple has long been after firms like Microsoft to publish open, standards-based specs in order to allow all software, devices, etc. to make use of all technology infrastructure. Seems we don’t “think different” so much when the monopoly shoe is on the other foot, huh? Furthermore, it’s ineffective because Palm Pre users can simply choose not to upgrade iTunes, and continue to enjoy automatic music synching. That is, until Apple adds a feature to iTunes that they really want. Oh, and by the way – according to the above-linked article, Palm sold about 55,000 Pre’s during it’s launch weekend, compared with Apple’s one million units sold when the iPhone 3GS debuted.
2) Twitter’s Google apps Hacked
It seems someone correctly guessed the answer to a Twitter employee’s password security question, then changed the employee’s password, then logged into his/her account, giving the hacker access to the entire suite of Google apps – documents, spreadsheets, calendar entries, e-mail, etc.. Twitter’s co-founder and creative director, Biz Stone, was quick to point out that this was not a security flaw in Google’s applications, but a broader issue of security for the cloud computing model. In response, thousands of Google app users around the world said, “what’s the difference, exactly?” At least the incident led to a priceless quote like this one: “Just putting a pet’s name on a Facebook page could allow hackers to obtain your password.”
3) Michael Jackson Music is #1 for Third Straight Week
While it’s interesting in itself that Michael Jackson’s music is topping the charts now that he’s dead (I thought that only worked for painters?), the fascinating technical angle here is the sales channel choice. It seems that in the hours after his death, online sales of his music spiked dramatically. Now, three weeks later, online sales have stabilized, and fans are rushing to music stores to buy CD’s. I have two theories here: first, that online sales are more immediate, so the group of people that wanted his music immediately upon his death grabbed it online, and the people who weren’t in as much of a rush waited until they were in stores. Second, the physical CD probably contains pictures, liner notes, etc. related to Jackson, and the fans saw these as more valuable now that he’s gone. In any case, I’m sure music retailers everywhere are learning from this interesting trend.
Categories: Tech Talk | 2 Comments »
Happy Moonday
By Brian | July 16, 2009
Forty years ago, they went there to begin a “giant leap for mankind.” Seven months ago, my family and I went there to begin a “guided tour for a couple of hours.” Launchpad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center, roughly forty years apart:
Watching the launch today, I can’t help but marvel at what we accomplished, but also at how positively primitive the technology was at the time. I also marvel at how, now that we have people living and working in outer space for months at a time, a similar launch is nothing more than a brief story on the evening news.
One giant leap, indeed…
Categories: The Future is Now | 3 Comments »
Two Funny Deaths…
By Brian | July 9, 2009
Yes, I know – it’s never funny when someone dies.
Except maybe this guy from two years ago.
And then there’s these two from this week:
Oh, I wish I was an Oscar Meyer Wiener;
That is what he really used to be…Man Falls Into Chocolate Vat; Dies
Oompa Loompa doompadee doo;
I’ve got a perfect puzzle for you.
Oompa Loompa doompadah dee;
If you are wise you’ll listen to me.What do you do when your worker falls flat?
Tumbling into a chocolate vat?
Why didn’t he stay away from the side?
Then he would not have slipped and died!(All covered with chocolate)
Oompa Loompa Doompadee Dah;
If you’ve good balance, you will go far.
You will live in happiness too
Like the Oompa Loompa doompadee do…Categories: The World Wide Weird | 2 Comments »
Stand By Me, Iran…
By Brian | July 9, 2009
Here’s Jon Bon Jovi and Iranian singer Andy Madadian collaborating on “Stand by Me,” sung in both Farsi and English, and meant to be distributed around the world, but especially around Iran.
It’s the brainchild of American record producer (and bassist on the recording), Don Was. The site also has the MP3 available for free download.
(Hat tip: Jason Bennion)
Categories: Words about Music | Comments Off on Stand By Me, Iran…
Sarah Palin: Crazy as a Clinton?
By Brian | July 7, 2009
Like many Americans, I was confused about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin
Categories: News and/or Media, Political Rantings | 5 Comments »