Healthy Policy

Foray into adulthood continues

Because I'm still fairly young, my gradual progression to Real Adulthood is still comprised of obvious markers: graduating from college, moving into my own place, getting a Real Job (still working on that one -- hopefully in the next few weeks).

Now I'm entering that world that my parents and grandparents (and the British) know all too well: a close financial relationship with your dentist.

I'm part of that generation where fluoridated water  was touted as a cure-all for dental problems.  And it was.  Sure, I still go to the dentist every six months, but I've been able to reap all the benefits of my cohort's shiny, white, natural teeth. 

I only have one filling, and might I add, it was not my fault.  The grooves in my molar were exceedingly deep, and regardless of my brushing intensity, a cavity was inevitable.  Fine -- I can live with one filling; I hardly remember the experience anyway.

Well, it was fine until that molar, my one less-than perfect tooth, cracked in half Saturday night.  Now I feel myself joining my parent's version of adulthood -- my dad confessed to me last night that he probably only has six teeth without crowns or that aren't downright false.  My mom is slightly better, though she's popped a few crowns recently and had a several root canals.  Ouch.

So now I journey to the dentist chair, which goes without saying, is one of my least favorite places to be.  My parents think it will cost $400.  Geez!  Let's hope the rest of my perfect teeth stay that way, and this is as far as I go into that part of adulthood for awhile. 

Schtuff

HPites, I have a major check-in with my orthopedic doc this afternoon where I'm hoping to be pared down from one crutch to zero.  (X-rays, etc, to follow later today).

While I'm busy having my bone x-rayed, you should go read some stuff.  First, refer to QandO's post rebutting my Canada post from yesterday, then head over to Ezra's, where he's kindly done the re-rebutting for me. 

Also, stop by Adrienne's for her take-down of the new anti-obesity drug Xenical and the efforts to take it OTC. 

I'll be back in the afternoon!

Weird America

This man commutes seven hours a day.  And while he claims that it helps him achieve the perfect work/life balance, I'm convinced he's crazy.

Chef Blogging

Chef Kate was busy Easter morning, so I figured I'd pass on my recipe for my centerpiece, Egg Souffle with Fresh Herbs.  The recipe basis comes from a delicious meal at this bed and breakfast I stayed at in California.  I got the recipe from the owner but lost it, so I recreated it from memory and added a few ingredients.  Below the fold.

New York Times Ugh

Sorry for the delay on this pronouncement, I'd been trying to get used to it, but

I HATE THE NY TIMES REDESIGN!!!!!!!

It used to be my favorite site because I thought the layout was the most user-friendly.  You could glance at the page, see all the various headlines, and get a good idea of the news in 20 seconds.  No more, and they have a stupid flowery font (and I'm usually a fan of flowery fonts!) that doesn't befit the NYT.  Now I'm forced to head elsewhere.

Can we change it back, please?

Twenty three years ago on this day...

I was born! 

This year has been particularly transformative, as I discovered my endless well of interest in all things health policy, started this blog to help explore my knowledge, and applied for my first real Adult Jobs. 

I also graduated from college, had major surgery, and lived in three different cities (Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, and Kansas City.  I narrowly missed my fourth, Washington D.C., but I'm hoping to get there in about a month).

It's truly a charmed, blessed life I live, and I'm so glad that you continue to come by and read my insignificant thoughts in this little corner of the internets.  The positive feedback I've received here and at TPM Cafe is a fabulous birthday present.

So here's to another year; I hope it brings lots of learning, and I hope we all keep working toward our ultimate goal in our often short-sighted blogging endeavors -- quality, affordable, and accessible health care for all.  Now that would be a great birthday present...

And now for everyone's favorite subject!

Booze!

A new study on drinking Red Bull with alcohol finds that.....you're still just as drunk!  You just don't feel like it!

Well, duh.  Obviously if we'd discovered a substance that makes you sober up to the point that your BAC slips back below 0.08, it'd be all over the place.

Since I am party to this trend, a few observations:

• I kinda like the taste of Red Bull, so every once and awhile I'll get one for that reason

• I'll get Red Bull/vodka when I go out if I'm really tired (and don't tell me I should just stay home in that case -- that's just silly sensical thinking)

• No one I know drinks RB/V and believes this makes their BAC go down and therefore enables them to drive home.  Really, people, you'd have to be pretty stupid to believe that. 

• Also, RB/V is a very expensive mixed drink (usually $3 more than standard vodka tonic)

Why do you need a study when you've got me, huh?

Hat tip to Medpundit

Out and About

HPites, I've had a hectic morning and I'm heading off to the orthopedic doc this afternoon, so I apologize for the lack of content.  I'll try to put something up later today.

New York, are you ready?

Trader Joes, my favorite store in the world is coming to New York.  Now, I don't live in New York, but I know some readers of this blog do, and they should be wetting their pants with excitement.

So why is this store so unbelievably excellent?  I think this sums up one of my favorite qualities:

Trader Joe's has also guided its customers into the world of prepared food and precut vegetables — what Mr. Rauch, the president, calls "speed scratch" cooking. "Trader Joe's customers are people who really care about cooking," he said, "but like everyone else in America, they don't feel like they have time to chop all the vegetables, cook the chicken and make the dessert — but they want to be in the kitchen." The stores stock lots of things like precut butternut squash and beets, "simmer sauces" that make quick stews, and marinated salmon fillets packaged with fresh herbs in oven-ready cooking bags.

It's packed full of home cooked, delicious meals that take a fraction of the time to prepare.  A perfect example: Trader Joes sells fresh veggies, bags of mozzarella (and other cheese blends), and prepared dough in little plastic bags.  You go home, roll out the dough, put as many (or  as few) vegetables on your pizza, toss on the cheese, bake for 20 mins and -- voila!  Possibly the best pizza ever, a hundred times better than frozen pizza, and you get the therapeutic chopping/preparing experience.

It's all genius and delicious.  Another great thing -- it's affordable.  Much more so than Whole Foods. 

Alright, enough gushing.  Go buy some good, healthy food folks.

I'm Back!

(read that title with the appropriate James Brown voice in mind)

So my flu was actually strep.  It was pretty bad, sending my normal low-temperature self soaring above 101 degrees.  I'm quite sure I picked it up when I was down at the children's hospital here, which reminds me:

Can we attribute medical injury to practitioners answering their cell phones during procedures?  Cuz I'm no licensing board, but I'm pretty sure it's not a good idea to answer your cell phone when taking someone's blood.  I'm sitting there with my arm splayed out, rubber tourniquet attached, needle in vein, and I hear a buzzing.  It's my tech's phone vibrating in her scrub pocket. 

And she proceeded to answer it. 

The needle was still in my arm at this point, and she asked me to assist her in removing it while she held her phone in her other hand and chatted.  And I have a lovely bruise.

This is now acceptable behavior? 

No posting today

Sorry folks, but overnight the flu magically appeared and now I feel terrible.  So, I'm sorry to break it to you, but no posting today.

Pad your resume!

A reader pointed me to this unbelievably comprehensive list of health policy/health care internships and fellowships compiled by Kaiser.  So if you're looking for an enriching experience (or perhaps some resume padding) this is the place to go.

why I'm a bad lady who didn't write anything yet today

Hi folks.

I'm sorry I'm majorly slacking today.  I couldn't sleep last night, so I got up a bit later than usual, then I had a conference call with an unnamed Governor, followed by completing an application for a job at Kaiser!

So it's been a busy afternoon. All good stuff except for the not being able to sleep thing.  Regular posting will now resume.

Olympics

I, for one, am having a fabulous time watching the Olympics.  Never in my life have I wanted to go to  the gym more and pump some major iron.  I think the whole frustration with crutches thing is exacerbated by watching all these health people running around using their enormous thigh muscles. 

But my favorite is watching all the weird winter sports that have somehow survived.  Curling -- what the hell?  I watch it because it's so strange!  Skeleton scares the crap out of me -- I wonder how many people have died or sustained spinal cord injuries from hurling themselves down a track at 70 miles an hour head first.

The only thing I don't like is Mr. Bowtie Tucker Carlson being MSNBC's day host.  He annoys me to no end.  Down with Bowtie!

Countdown to v-day: time for chocolate!

I know what I'll be doing tomorrow...Let Dark Chocolate Be Your Valentine

Kate Update

Well folks, I'm still dealing with my cold/flu/sick thing.  I'm trying to keeep up the blogging but it's going pretty slow.  In the meantime head to these much more interesting people:

Jonathan Cohn on Medicare Part D

Pharma's off to their usual shady business

AFL-CIO is calling for Universal Health Care

I'll add more as they come...

Let's use our money a little wiser...

You know that famous movie, where's like this girl, and she has, like red shoes? And she has this mantra: there's no place like home? Well, some people seem to be a little confused about what, exactly, home is.

Imagine sitting across from a man who could be our newest Supreme Court justice, asking him questions, and knowing that the future of women's health is on the line — and that you could cast the deciding vote.

That's exactly where your senator will be on Monday, as the Senate considers whether ultraconservative Judge Samuel Alito should sit on the Supreme Court. Senator Sam Brownback is a key vote on the committee holding the hearings, and this is your last chance to make a huge difference as a Kansas resident before the hearings begin on Monday.

Urge Senator Brownback to vote against Judge Alito when the Judiciary Committee votes on his nomination.

That's my email from Planned Parenthood today.

I'm sorry, PP, but have you ever heard of Sam Brownback? Do you have any idea at all who he is? I'll give you a clue -- he didn't support the Miers nomination, but he's not a Democrat. Give up?

He's a first-rate anti-abortion wingnut. It doesn't matter how many Kansas women write letters asking him to reject Alito's nomination because he's anti-choice. He could receive 100 million (hah! 100 million pro-choice Kansans, that'll be the day...) -- and he'd still vote for him. President Bush could make a personal phone call urging Brownback to reject his nominee -- and he'd still be casting that vote.

While Planned Parenthood does some great work, I think they'd be better off spending their resources on things that don't involve letter writing campaigns to Sam Brownback. That's just a waste of trees.

And now for something completely different

The Washington Post has a great piece on weird news from 2005. My parents would read the weird news from the Kansas City Star to me and my sister after dinner, so I'm going to pass on the tradition electronically with a sampling of my favorites:

CROOKS WITH MONEY MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS (I) Police in Twin Falls, Idaho, confiscated almost $1 billion in counterfeit money in a scheme doomed from the start because all the bills were in the nonexistent denomination of $1 million. A Lafayette, Ind., counterfeiter did better with his bogus $100 bills, known as "Benjamins" (for Benjamin Franklin, whose likeness appears on the front). His mistake: The watermark, when held up to the light, showed Abe Lincoln's face -- apparently the result of using a $5 bill as a model. (Otherwise, said police investigator Jeff Rooze, the fakes were excellent. Police charged 22-year-old Earl H. Devine with four counts of forgery and four counts of theft.)

--Twin Falls News-Times, Oct. 8; Journal and Courier (Lafayette, Ind.), Aug. 11

BLING 1, MATERNAL INSTINCT 0 Firefighters in Stamford, Conn., had to break a car window, against the owner's wishes, to rescue her 23-month-old son, whom she had accidentally locked inside along with the key. According to police reports and a 911 tape, the kid had been sweltering for more than 20 minutes on an 88-degree July day when Susan Guita Silverstein, 42 (who was later charged with reckless endangerment), asked firefighters to wait until she went home to get a spare key so they wouldn't have to damage her Audi A4.

--Stamford Advocate, July 26

DO I LOSE MY PLACE IN LINE? As a registered sex offender in California, James Andrew Crawford was required to notify authorities if he adopted a new "domicile" for more than five days. He was arrested in May for noncompliance after he camped out for two weeks in a theater line waiting for "Star Wars: Episode III" to open.

--North County (Escondido, Calif.) Times, May 19

LAWYERS UNFAMILIAR WITH THEIR OWN CLIENT In court papers filed in 1994 but which only this year drew public attention, lawyers zealously representing the Catholic Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., offered an unusual countercharge to a child-support claim against Father Arturo Uribe: that the mother herself was negligent because she had engaged in "unprotected intercourse." The lawyers did not explain how this defense squares with Roman Catholic doctrine, which regards birth control as a sin.

--Los Angeles Times, July 24, Aug. 3

Good stuff. Head over to the original if you want more --

Happy Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope you're enjoying beautiful presents, delicious food (especially those Christmas cookies), and wildly gesticulating drunk uncles. But most of all, I hope you're healthy. Take care of yourself, folks, and come back Monday for more Healthy Policy! I'll be blogging through the break, (not like I've got much else to do these days considering my invalid status) so keep coming by. I'm even going to mix it up a little on the content, thus further entrenching my must-read status.

I'd also like to renew my call for introductions via email. Some great people responded to the last summons -- it appears the rest of you just need some prodding. I love knowing who's coming by, so feel free to let me in on your blog trolling tendencies: ksteadmanATgmailDOTcom. (Especially you women folk -- I haven't had a single girl email me! What's the deal ladies?)

Hiya

By Ezra

Hey folks. As you know, or at least would know if you'd been paying attention, Kate's gonna be laid out this week with a truly nasty knee surgery. That's not to say there are many kind and gentle moments under the scalpel, but she's having no fun. I promised her I'd provide content while she enjoyed the fine hospital hospitality -- but I'm going to aim for a bit more than that. During the next three days, I'm going to conduct a bit of a fundraiser over here. The way it'll work is simple: I'll keep bugging you for money, and, at the end, assuming you've donated some of it, it'll purchase a nice Amazon gift certificate to carry Kate through her recuperation. She's got three total months of recovery and at least a little while of effective immobility to look forward to -- and how much awesomer do you think those months will be if she can buy herself all manner of books, dvds, and music? And how terrific will you feel for being a part of it?

Yeah, that's right.

Pretty terrific.

So I've tacked a PayPal button below -- use it. If there's demand for an Amazon tip system, I'll start one of those accounts, too. In the meantime, I'll also put up some actual content, in addition to increasingly plaintive pleas to help the cause. Cause Kate. And c'mon, look at that face, how could you not want to help!?

Unless you're a bad person. In which case it all makes sense now. But you're not a bad person, are you?

Welcome!

Welcome Political Animalists! Kevin has been so kind as to give this little blog a bit of attention. It's fun running a small blog because of that X factor -- most days 100 or so people will come by. But about once every other week I'll get a big link and 2,000 people will come! And then I feel like that girl who just ran into people from high school -- a bit unprepared to see all those people -- thinking, how's my hair? Ohmygod, did I brush my teeth? Are my pants wrinkled? To learn more about these crazy thought processes of mine, head over to my About page.

Still on the main page this week are posts about Christmas cookies, my thoughts on being a health policy wonk-in-training, and some discussion about trying to get eligible people enrolled in health insurance. Since this is kind of a chance to publicize what I think are key issues in health policy right now (obviously Christmas cookies are way up there on the list), I want to point you to my Medicare category. If you don't know much about Medicare Part D, I hope you click over because it's an utter disaster and terrible piece of legislation. Hopefully something that will be long gone by the time most of us enroll in Medicare (if you are retiring soon, I'm so sorry -- it's not my fault!).

Anyways, enjoy your stay here at Healthy Policy. Put me in your xml (click on subscribe to this blog's feed to the right) and come back -- I promise to have my teeth brushed and make up on next time...

More Cookies, Please

I've had a request for my cookie recipe (see pics below) so I'll be posting it after the jump. Click on if you want to know my secrets...

What'd You Do Last Night?

It's snowing today in Kansas City! Now that it's officially the holiday season (which in Kate's calendar starts December 1st, not October 20th) I've been feeling pretty festive. Like Ezra, I love the holidays. I don't have any undue stress associated with the time period, and the last four years it's meant seeing my family again after two months. I love Christmas songs, egg nog, wrappping presents, etc. Then again, I was raised Christian, so who's really surprised?

I'm also getting into the holiday spirit earlier than usual this year. I'm having surgery on December 14th, so all Christmas shopping and preparations must be made before going under the knife. Which is why my good friend and I decided to make 82 Christmas cookies last night (I didn't plan to make quite so many, but I guess that's what happens when you double a sugar cookie recipe). Just in case you don't believe me, I've got ample photographic evidence:

You heard me, 82 finely decorated cookies. With two types of icing (cream cheese and simple powdered sugar icing), mind you, not just simple sprinkles! We're too classy for that.

I heart egg nog

So, I love the holiday season. I just do. Maybe it's because I'm not that far removed from the excitement of Santa. Maybe it's because I lived in California for four years and the only snow I got was when I came home to Kansas. Maybe.

Except that the real reason is I love egg nog (of the non alcoholic, store bought variety). And I don't see why egg nog has to be confined to the holidays. I like to drink it in my coffee every morning; when I go to coffeeshops I love egg nog lattes. I want to be able to order those year round!

Apparently my love takes after our beloved first president:

Our first President, George Washington, was quite a fan of eggnog and devised his own recipe that included rye whiskey, rum and sherry. It was reputed to be a stiff drink that only the most courageous were willing to try.

Yum!

Off Topic Blogging

Over at Dr. Andy there's a post on gifted children. He makes some interesting calculations about the approximate number of gifted (top 1% IQ) children born every year and the number of people entering Ivy Leagues:

The top 1% represents ~40,000 kids/year. . . later the article talks about "the more mundane variety of Ivy League-aspiring kids". But given 8 Ivys with say 1500 students/class, we get 12,000 kids/year. Making some assumptions about the number of similar schools (Stanford, MIT, etc) and how well Ivies and similar schools attract the most talented students, I'd say the Ivy League does represent about this top 1%. Maybe not exactly, but pretty close.

Now, I've never had my IQ tested so whether I qualify as "gifted" is up for debate. I'd personally be thrilled to be considered in the top 1% of the population in terms of brain power.

I have, however, met a slew of Ivy (and similar institutions') students, and I can assure you they are by no means representative of the top 1%. Frankly, I get the impression from many that they were just over-driven workaholics, and if you engage them in conversation you'll find that wall of work crumbles easily when it comes to complex ideas. So while the numbers might make sense, all kinds of barriers keep that top 1% from ever acheiving it (poor schools, unstable home life, no money for college except state school). Those actually attending the Ivys had the wherewithall to work their asses off, the luck to go to a decent high school, and parents who could foot the bill (that or they're incredibly brave and willing to take on $100,000 in debt).

That being said, I've met wonderful people at Ivys who absolutely deserve to go on to great success. Many do belong in that top category. But I'm just unconvinced that the whole student body qualifies as the top 1% of this country's sizeable brain power.

And now I will proceed to drink my morning coffee out of my "Miss Smarty" mug (must be a sign, right?)

Weekend Light Reading

As it's the weekend and I'm not feeling a big policy post, I figured I should at least point the direction to something to waste your time with. The Straight Dope is basically a collection of those old wives tale questions answered with absurdist flourish. From one of my personal favorites, Which will keep you drier, running through the rain or walking?

But wait, you say. What about those pesky aerodynamic effects? The requisite math is a bit daunting, but never fear. Heedless of his delicate health or his already low reputation with the neighbors, your columnist spent a recent rainy Saturday running down the street like an idiot brandishing pieces of red construction paper clipped to cardboard, the better to snag and count raindrops. Methodology: three trials of two runs each over a fixed distance, once running, once walking. Winds: calm. Angle of attack of paper relative to ground: 45 degrees. Results:

Trial #1. Running, 15 seconds to run course; 213 drops. Walking, 40 seconds; couldn't count drops, paper soaked. Shortened course.

Trial #2. Running, 7 seconds; 131 drops. Walking, 20 seconds; 216 drops.

Trial #3. Running, 7 seconds; 147 drops. Walking, 17 seconds; 221 drops.

There's your classic sampling, very scientific indeed. Head to the site to get all your life-long questions answered!

Advice, please

So, I've never gotten a flu shot before, but I'm starting to think maybe I should. Anyone experienced the magic of a flu-free winter thanks to the shot? Gotten sick anyways? What's the consensus?