Day: 11/10/2015

Will Governor Martinez be indicted?

http://joemonahansnewmexico.blogspot.com/

Gov. Martinez startled the state Monday as she revealed she was subjected to an FBI interview concerning the activity of Jay McCleskey, her chief political adviser who is well-known as the most powerful presence in her administration…

VA is cheaper than Medicare

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20151107/NEWS/311079937

McDonald described a VA that is doing much to address problems that investigators say caused chronic delays for veterans seeking care. McDonald said the VA completed 3.1 million more appointments in the latest fiscal year than the previous one. It also hired thousands of new doctors and nurses.

Still, the organization is struggling to keep up. McDonald said the number of appointments not completed in 30 days has grown from 300,000 to nearly 500,000.

McDonald said more veterans are coming to the VA despite often having access to Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance. He said the VA is more convenient, effective and cheaper. A veteran would have to pay a $5,000 co-pay to get a knee replacement through Medicare, but not at the VA. For veterans with hearing loss, going to the VA can save them about $4,000 compared to other coverage…

DNA test designed to predict drug response

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/06/us-usa-genetics-consumers-idUSKCN0SV2A020151106

Just as 23andMe has made peace with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, another direct-to-consumer genetics company is testing the regulatory waters with the launch of a $249 DNA test designed to predict drug response…

Currently, pharmacogenetics tests are ordered directly by a treating physician and are not available to consumers. One, GeneSight, made by Assurex Health, is covered by Medicare and some insurers. GeneSight’s sticker price is more than $3,000, but the company says the average patient pays no more than $330…

For Zimmer, the push is personal, born out of the experiences of his 16-year-old daughter, who suffered with severe depression while her doctor tried to find the right medication and dose to treat her. Zimmer believes consumers should have access to their own data through an affordable test…

Don’t be fooled by lies like this

So what is killing middle-aged white Americans? Much of the excess death is attributable to suicide and drug and alcohol poisonings. Opioid painkillers like OxyContin prescribed by physicians contribute significantly to these drug overdoses. Thus, it seems that an opioid overdose epidemic is at the heart of this rise in white middle-age mortality…

What the public — and physicians — should know is that there is strong evidence that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Nsaids), like Motrin, and other analgesics like Tylenol are actually safer and more effective for many painful conditions than opioid painkillers…

It sure would be nice if the New York Times (really, all media) gave equal time to people who tell the truth. I don’t know how many people still read the Times, but I fear that many of its readers are probably suffering from the same ignorance as the author of this opinion piece.