Why I am rooting against Edwards?
He virtually defines the problem of malpractice lawyers – Edwards’ persuasive powers and Junk Science Warrior.
Edwards’ is smooth, ruthless and apparently unconcerned with data. He scares me. The Mr. Nice Guy routine does not ring true after reading these two entries.
Atkins updated
You probably saw this on TV or read this in the newspapers. The Post-Atkins Low Carb Diet
The level of saturated fat that is permitted in the Atkins diet is still more than in other low-carbohydrate diets, and 60 percent of calories are still supposed to come from fat, although trans fats are not permitted. But setting a limit brings the diet more in line with others, like the South Beach Diet.
The diet industry is still riven by arguments over the best way to lose weight, but many mainstream researchers say that if low-carb diets have moved people away from refined carbohydrates like sugar and white flour, they have accomplished something important. And some acknowledge that a low-carb diet fills many people better than a low-fat diet, helping to keep them on the diet.
Even more on HSAs
Rangel is doing a great job! He started discussing HSAs recently and continues with this outstanding piece – Health Savings Accounts (HSAs); The most important legislation of 2003!
Please read his entire rant, but if you would rather just read my excerpts, here goes:
Having such high cost insurance for healthy individuals or families in order to cover every possible medical expense does not make a lot of sense from an insurance standpoint. People get insurance to protect themselves, their assets, and their property from sudden loss, accidental damage, or unexpected massive expenses. We do not purchase auto insurance so that it will pay most of the costs of gas, cleaning, and routine maintenance from normal use. We don’t get home owners insurance so that most of the relatively low expenses for routine cleaning, maintenance, and repairs will be covered! If we did, then home and auto insurance rates would be massive . . just like health insurance. Yet we expect most expensive health insurance to pay for everything from routine office visits and low cost tests to prescription medications.
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The reason why health insurance costs are so high is because health care itself is so expensive. And the reason why health care is so expensive is that most consumers of health care treat it as an entitlement rather then as a consumer product or service like any other product or service in a free market system. I have commented on this before.
When you have a situation where health care consumers blindly purchase health care products and use health care services without any idea of the actual costs involved then there are no incentives to control spending or usage or to treat the health care system in any way like the free market system that it is. When we spend perverse amounts of money on health care we can only expect ever increasing costs. This is basic economics. The more money you put into a system the higher the costs are going to be.
The economic underpinnings of HSAs makes so much sense that I cannot understand why the Democrats oppose them so much. I have had an old fashioned Medical Savings Account for several years. The tax savings has made this worthwhile. I no longer buy dental insurance, because I figured out that I saved money using MSA moneys for all my dental care.
Rangel has nailed the insurance industry. We should always understand our expected gain (or loss) prior to choosing a plan. If you are healthy, the gamble (albeit a relatively small one) on high deductible health insurance is a smart one. But then you will not hear this in New Hampshire this week.
