It appears that AARP has been supporting ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council at least since 2014. ALEC is the Koch-based lobbying group that has been calling for the privatization of...
Diane Archer
Having good friends promotes better health, longer life
A meta-analysis in PLOS Medicine reveals that having good friends promotes better health, longer life. Yet, over the last several generations we have become more socially isolated, increasingly less...
Justice Department sues to block health insurer mergers
Last July, Just Care reported the merger of Anthem and Cigna and of Humana and Aetna and their potential threat to the public good.. One year later, July 2016, the Justice Department filed two...
Health spending in U.S. will top $10,000 a person in 2016
Health spending in the U.S. will top $10,000 a person in 2016, according to new projections from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS. What’s responsible for this rise:...
Clinton, Democrats on Medicare, Social Security
In sharp contrast to the 2016 Republican Party platform, the Democratic Party platform proposes to increase Social Security benefits and strengthen and expand Medicare. Hillary Clinton and the...
Is involuntary enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans the new...
It has been the norm that when people first go on Medicare, they are automatically enrolled into traditional Medicare unless they affirmatively choose a Medicare Advantage plan. In recent years...
Butter may be better for you than you think
Butter may be better for you than you think. According to a June 2016 article in PLOS ONE, a meta-analysis of nine databases reporting on 636,151 people show that consuming butter has little or no...
Screening criteria for diabetes and pre-diabetes
Thirteen percent of the U.S. population has diabetes, including 9 million people over 65, and 38 percent of Americans have pre-diabetes. Controlling the blood sugar, cholesterol level and blood...
The VA health system: Best in class and under fire
Some might say with good reason that the Veterans’ Health Administration or the “VA” health system is best in class–indeed, Phillip Longman, senior editor at the Washington...
Three things to think about when enrolling in Medicare
When it’s time to sign up for Medicare, information can be confusing. Before enrolling in Medicare, here are three things you should know: Timing: If you are not actively working and getting...