Text 17693, 131 rader
Skriven 2014-10-03 03:39:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: health biz 46
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 ML> playing against another part. Probably the same companies,
 ML> too (see below for coincidental weirdness), selling health
 ML> insurance to the consumer even as they sell malpractice
 ML> insurance to the medical community.
 NB> Possibly...  At one time I might have argued the point, but I see too
 NB> many mega-corps now, combining all sorts under one umbrella company...

I poked around a bit, and the insurance companies do cover
their tracks well, but three biggies that have their fingers
in seemingly conflicting pies are Liberty Mutual, Travelers
(with the umbrella logo), and Berkshire, this last getting
you coming, going, and in between, as when you have an
accident you deal with Geico, and when you go to the clinic,
you deal with a company that likely is hiding behind General
Re, and when your doctor screws up s/he is covered by BH
Specialty.

 NB> I wouldn't be surprised to have them disavow any interconnection
 NB> between the segments, either...

You need to look at the financials to see what's what.
What little I delved into gave me a headache.

 NB>> once it's bought, besides, you then have it for when you do need
 NB>> it... and don't have to ship a critically ill patient to some
 NB>> farther place that does happen to have the tool... 
 ML> By that reasoning, though, every place should have every
 ML> possible kind of equipment. There has to be a cutoff.
 NB> One can always extend reasoning to absurdity, granted... But there

There are obvious cases, as in your magnet hospital that
serves thousands of patients will put the fancy equipment
to good use, and the local doctor's office can't, but
there is a relevant in between, at some point in which
the finance department's greed and the administrators'
ambition are as important as medical necessity.

 NB> remains a case for having a certain amount of coverage at at least one
 NB> hospital in a reasonably contained region... presuming, of course,
 NB> that there will be some interaction and cooperation between all the
 NB> hospitals of the region...

That sounds like a utopian view such as a child of the
'60s or '70s might espouse.

 ML> Not in my lifetime. No Weggies in most of my places.
 ML> This year on prescription day, I've been in Montreal,
 ML> Washington, Washington, Williamsport, Boston, Washington,
 ML> Juneau, Newark, Washington, Boston, San Fran, Williamsport.
 ML> Exceptional the 4 Washingtons. 
 NB> If you had someone to transport you (dunno if there would be viable
 NB> public transport, but maybe even that)

Hah. I'm not sure why you're encouraging me to look
in this direction. I admit that it's a more appealing
alternative than Walgreen, though.

 , there are a few Wegmans stores
 NB> in the Washington area,

Closest one is 1 1/2 hr with two bus transfers.
There are 3 others within the system, but all are
over 2 hr away.

 NB> least a couple in the Boston area.

There are two new ones an hour outside town (by MBTA).
Still, why do I need the aggravation when there are
over 30 CVSes within an hour's reach by public transport.

 ML> Recently, though, the insurance has agreed to let me get 3
 ML> months' worth at once, which should ease my travails quite a bit.
 NB> Cuts down on how many fills one needs to worry about... :)

Plus the CVS will for a modest fee mail the stuff to
Bethesda to be picked up at my copious leasure. Not all
changes are bad.

 ML> I've always thought myself fairly hardy, and aside from the
 ML> problem of lactose as filler (commoner than it should be)
 NB> Lactose is a filler in lots of meds, true..  brand as well as
 NB> generic... 

Irritating as heck.

 ML> generics usually work okay for me.
 NB> That's a good thing going for you.

One of the few.

 ML> So the original manufacturing company, which held the patent,
 ML> is making the product for resale as a generic by a competitor
 ML> - in essence undercutting its own product. How weird is that?
 NB> It still gets at least some cut from it, selling to the competitor...

Turns out the competitor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the
manufacturer. But the specter of Ranbaxy is looking over the
chummy shoulders of those two; we'll see how that plays out.

 ML> LYCHEE-CRANBERRY SALSA
 ML> source: Ming Tsai
 NB> That doesn't look half bad... :)

Not too awful, but the guy's being a Yalie adds a bit of
suspicion to my assessment of the recipe.

Quick Harvard Beets
cat: vegetable, Communist
Servings: 6 to 8

3 c sliced raw beets
- or 2 cn (16 oz each) sliced beets
1/2 c sugar
1 Tb all-purpose flour
1/2 c white vinegar
1/2 ts salt
2 Tb butter

In a saucepan, place raw beets and enough water to
cover. Cook until tender, about 15-20 min. Drain,
reserving 1/4 c liquid. (If using canned beets,
drain and reserve 1/4 c juice.)

In another saucepan, combine sugar, flour, vinegar,
and reserved beet juice. Cook over low heat until
thickened. Stir in beets, salt, and butter. Simmer
for 10 min.

Source: tasteofhome.com
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