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Avian Bird Flu Preparation
What you need to know to survive an avian bird flu
pandemic
Avian Bird Flu has the potential to cause a major
pandemic around the world, estimates are that up to 150 million
people would die. The Spanish flu of 1918 killed 50...
Beach Body Abs
With the return of warm weather in the spring, thoughts can never be too far behind of the approaching summer and the many wonderful outdoor activities that we’ll often associate with it and among our top favorite summertime activities will always...
Dealing with the Monthly Blues
Dealing with the Monthly Blues Premenstrual syndrome Sometimes it all gets too much, it feels as if the world is closing in on you. Nothing is going right. Your body may be bloated and breast aching, maybe your not sleeping. You just can't seem...
Disorders in the Night
There a few different types of Sleep Disorders that affect
millions around the globe. Sleepwalking, Nightmares, Insomnia,
and Sleep-Wake disorders can bring forth misery if not treated.
All of us have endured nightmares or sleepless nights, but...
Moxibustion works well with Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical technique for unblocking qi (the energy that allegedly permeates all things) by inserting disposable needles at particular points on the body to balance the opposing forces of yin and yang. When yin and...
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Health Care in the 21st Century
Consumer-driven health care has the potential to be a
powerful force of change in the health care system. By
instituting competitive pressures, encouraging greater price
transparency, and rewarding consumers who are proactive about
their health, the growing adoption of Health Savings
Accounts will help make health care more affordable for
everyone.
In an article entitled "Health Care in the 21st Century",
published in the New England Journal of Medicine on January 20,
2005, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D., made several
suggestions on ways to provide all Americans with lifelong,
affordable access to high-quality health care. Senator Frist
graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1978, and was a surgeon
before entering politics. One of the key aspects of his vision
is a system that is responsive primarily to individual
consumers, rather than to third-party payers. This concept is
known as consumer-driven health care.
Today most health care is paid for and controlled by third
parties such as the government, insurers, and employers.
Consumers rarely compare prices or quality of service when
shopping for health care - partly because this comparison is
usually very difficult or even impossible, and partly because
the price often just doesn't matter to the consumer, who is only
responsible for a moderate co-payment. Frist notes "a
consumer-driven system will empower all people - if they so
choose - to make decisions that will directly affect the most
fundamental and intimate aspects of their life - their own
health. This empowerment gives people a greater stake in and
more responsibility for, their own health care. Health care will
not improve in a sustained and substantial way until consumers
drive it."
A key aspect to enabling consumer-driven health care was the
creation of tax-free Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). This
legislation was part of the Medicare Modernization Act (Public
Law 108-173). "HSAs, coupled with affordable high
deductible
insurance policies, give individual consumers more control over
their health care choices and hard earned dollars. HSAs give
people a greater stake in their own health care. The accounts
can move with employees from job to job and can be rolled over
year to year. HSAs should increase demand for greater
information and transparency."
What Senator Frist is suggesting is that people with high deductible
health insurance plans and HSAs have incentive to keep their
health costs low, since any money they save on health care
expenses stays in their Health Savings Account, and grows
tax-deferred, like an IRA. Thus there is also incentive for the
consumer to demand information about health care pricing. No
system has yet been devised in the history of mankind that does
more to increase quality and lower prices than a competitive
market system. As more and more consumers begin to own health
savings accounts, health care providers will be forced to
compete for their business by providing better quality service
and better prices.
The other factor in play is the financial motivation the
individual will have to stay healthy. The vast majority of
health care spending today is due to degenerative diseases such
as high blood pressure, diabetes, metabolic syndrome,
cardiovascular disease, and other modern ailments that are
primarily the result of lifestyle choices. The consumer who
wisely spends his HSA dollars on preventative care (which can be
done tax-free) and pays attention to diet and exercise could be
rewarded with a substantial amount of money in their Health
Savings Account by age 65.
Consumer-driven health care has the potential to be a powerful
force of change in the health care system. By instituting
competitive pressures, encouraging greater price transparency,
and rewarding consumers who are proactive about their health,
the growing adoption of Health Savings Accounts will help make
health care more affordable for everyone.
About the author:
None
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National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health |
Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Library of Medicine offers access to health information for consumer, patient, and physicians ... |
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Health and Medical Information produced by doctors - MedicineNet.com |
Doctor-produced health and medical information written for you to make informed decisions about your health concerns. |
www.medicinenet.com |
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Medicine in the Yahoo! Directory |
Collection of sites for health professionals, with sections on specific disciplines, organizations, continuing education, conferences, publications, ... |
dir.yahoo.com |
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MedlinePlus Health Information from the National Library of Medicine |
Health information from the National Library of Medicine. Easy access to Medline and Health topics, medical dictionaries, directories and publications. |
medlineplus.gov |
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Medicine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Medicine is a branch of health science and the sector of public life ... The practice of medicine combines both science as the evidence base and art in the ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
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Journal Home - Nature Medicine |
Nature Medicine has a vacancy for a Locum Assistant Editor for six months. The position involves working in all aspects of the editorial process, ... |
www.nature.com |
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The New England Journal of Medicine: Research & Review Articles on ... |
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is a weekly general medical journal that publishes new medical research findings, review articles, and editorial ... |
content.nejm.org |
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eMedicine Clinical Knowledge Base |
eMedicine features up-to-date, searchable, peer-reviewed medical journals, online physician reference textbooks, and a full-text article database in 62 ... |
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Open Directory - Health: Medicine |
the entire directory, only in Health/Medicine. Top: Health: Medicine (11429). Description · Medical Specialties (4888); Surgery (2265) ... |
dmoz.org |
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the www virtual library biosciences medicine |
www.ohsu.edu/cliniweb/wwwvl/ - Similar pages |
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Medicine - home |
Bimonthly journal covering the latest results in clinical investigation relevant to hospital and office practice. |
www.md-journal.com |
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Institute of Medicine |
The Institute of Medicine serves as adviser to the nation to improve health. |
www.iom.edu |
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ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News |
Medical Research News. Health news on everything from cancer to nutrition. Full-text, images, updated daily. |
www.sciencedaily.com |
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Google Directory - Health > Medicine |
Search only in Medicine Search the Web. Medicine. Health > Medicine, Go to Directory Home. Categories. Alternative Medicine (6308) Basic Sciences (66) ... |
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the world wide web virtual library biosciences medicine |
www.mcb.harvard.edu/biopages/medicine.html - Similar pages |
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PLoS Medicine - A Peer-Reviewed Open-Access Journal |
PLoS Medicine is a peer-reviewed, international, open-access journal published ... Every issue of PLoS Medicine contains a selection of readers' responses. ... |
medicine.plosjournals.org |
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Medicine On-Line - Medicine Online -The International Medical Journal |
Medicine Online - independent and peer reviewed journal published by Priory Medical Journals - priory.com. |
www.priory.com |
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Entrez PubMed |
PubMed is a service of the US National Library of Medicine that includes over 16 million citations from MEDLINE and other life science journals for ... |
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov |
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Stanford University School of Medicine |
Home Page of the Stanford University School of Medicine. |
med.stanford.edu |
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Medicine OnLine |
Meds.com offers medical information and education on cancer (lung cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, leukemia) and HIV / AIDS for patients, ... |
www.meds.com |
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