Deductibles, co-pays, and drug prices keep going up, up, up. These 10 smart moves can lower your expenses - but not the quality of the care you get.

1. NEGOTIATE: Most of us still aren't used to the idea of talking money with a doctor. But you won't be shocking his delicate sensibilities. "The uninsured frequently ask for a discount or a payment plan, but most insured consumers don't realize that they can negotiate," says Ruth Levin of Continuum Health Partners, a New York City hospital system.
2. SAY NO TO EXPENSIVE PRESCRIPTIONS: Health plans have gotten picky about pills. About 77% of workers with a drug benefit face three or more price tiers - one cost for generics and higher charges for "preferred" and "nonpreferred" brands. If Prevacid isn't on your preferred list, it could easily cost you $300 a year more than a generic version of Prilosec.
3. Get your free money. Sign up for that FSA: Need any more proof that humans aren't as rational as economists assume? Look at flexible spending accounts, a benefit that can put hundreds of bucks in your pocket. About 80% of large employers offer FSAs, but a mere 22% of their workers enroll, according to the consultancy Mercer.
4. Look before you leap into a high deductible: Wish you could pay a lower monthly premium? Many firms offer you a choice between a traditional plan and one with low monthly costs but a much bigger annual deductible. But high-deductible plans aren't a good fit for everyone.
5. Max out an HSA (but use it wisely): If your family's insurance deductible is higher than $2,300 you likely qualify for a health savings account, or HSA. Like FSAs, these accounts let you save pretax dollars for health costs. The key difference is that you get to keep your money there as long as you want. And so long as you use it to buy health care, you don't pay taxes when you withdraw it either.
6. Get in, get out, and pay a whole lot less: Physicians jam so many appointments into a day that it can be hard to squeeze in on short notice. And if you have to take your kid to an emergency room for a weekend illness, it could cost you a co-pay of $100 or more, especially if the insurer deems it a nonemergency. But there are easier, cheaper ways to get treatment for minor ailments.
7. Have an insurance game plan if you lose your job: You already know that you should have a cash emergency fund that covers six months' expenses. That figure should include insurance costs, because you don't want to let coverage lapse. Not only would you be vulnerable to huge costs if you fell ill, but if you let coverage slide for 63 days or more, your next employer doesn't have to immediately cover preexisting conditions.
8. Live healthier ... Or else: Employers want you to be healthier, and not because they love you. They're trying to control their health costs, says Kathy Harte, a consultant at Hewitt.
9. Avoid Medicare mishaps: Medicare has become a bit baffling. Besides traditional coverage, you can choose private plans called Medicare Advantage. And then there are all those new drug programs.
10. Cut vision and dental costs too: Your company may offer you optional vision benefits, which might seem pretty attractive. But run the numbers before you sign up. Add up the amount you spend on contacts, glasses, and optometrist visits each year. Then calculate how much you'd save with the plan's benefits. Some people find that the coverage costs about the same, or sometimes more, than they save. And remember, you can also pay for vision through your FSA or HSA.

(Source: CNN Money, Link:http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/2009/07/01/105825492/index.

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Throughout the world, the prevalence of some diseases and other threats to human health depend largely on local climate. Extreme temperatures can lead directly to loss of life, while climate-related disturbances in ecological systems, such as changes in the range of infective parasites, can indirectly impact the incidence of serious infectious diseases. In addition, warm temperatures can increase air and water pollution, which in turn harm human health.

Human health is strongly affected by social, political, economic, environmental and technological factors, including urbanization, affluence, scientific developments, individual behavior and individual vulnerability (e.g., genetic makeup, nutritional status, emotional well-being, age, gender and economic status). The extent and nature of climate change impacts on human health vary by region, by relative vulnerability of population groups, by the extent and duration of exposure to climate change itself and by societys ability to adapt to or cope with the change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded:

Human beings are exposed to climate change through changing weather patterns (for example, more intense and frequent extreme events) and indirectly through changes in water, air, food quality and quantity, ecosystems, agriculture, and economy. At this early stage the effects are small but are projected to progressively increase in all countries and regions.

Given the complexity of factors that influence human health, assessing health impacts related to climate change poses a difficult challenge. Furthermore, climate change is expected to bring a few benefits to health, including fewer deaths due to exposure to cold. Nonetheless, the IPCC has concluded that, overall (globally), negative climate-related health impacts are expected to outweigh positive health impacts during this century. At the same time, the quality of medical care and public health systems in the United States may lessen climate impacts on human health within the U.S.

Direct Temperature Effects

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has produced the Excessive Heat Events Guidebook with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Municipal officials in both the U.S. and Canada provided useful information that can be used to help the public cope with excessive heat.

Designed to help community officials, emergency managers, meteorologists, and others plan for and respond to excessive heat events, the guidebook highlights best practices that have been employed to save lives during excessive heat events in different urban areas and provides a menu of options that officials can use to respond to these events in their communities.

Climate change may directly affect human health through increases in average temperature. Such increases may lead to more extreme heat waves during the summer while producing less extreme cold spells during the winter. Rising average temperatures are predicted to increase the incidence of heat waves and hot extremes. In the United States, Chicago is projected to experience 25 percent more frequent heat waves and Los Angeles a four-to-eight-fold increase in heat wave days by the end of the century. Particular segments of the population such as those with heart problems, asthma, the elderly, the very young and the homeless can be especially vulnerable to extreme heat.

Extreme Events

Extreme weather events can be destructive to human health and well-being. The extent to which climate change may affect the frequency and severity of these events, such as hurricanes and extreme heat and floods, is being investigated by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. An increase in the frequency of extreme events may result in more event-related deaths, injuries, infectious diseases, and stress-related disorders.

Climate-Sensitive Diseases

Climate change may increase the risk of some infectious diseases, particularly those diseases that appear in warm areas and are spread by mosquitoes and other insects. These "vector-borne" diseases include malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and encephalitis. Also, algal blooms could occur more frequently as temperatures warm particularly in areas with polluted waters in which case diseases (such as cholera) that tend to accompany algal blooms could become more frequent.

Higher temperatures, in combination with favorable rainfall patterns, could prolong disease transmission seasons in some locations where certain diseases already exist. In other locations, climate change will decrease transmission via reductions in rainfall or temperatures that are too high for transmission. For example, temperature and humidity levels must be sufficient for certain disease-carrying vectors, such as ticks that carry Lyme disease, to thrive. And climate change could push temperature and humidity levels either towards or away from optimum conditions for the survival rate of ticks.

Though average U.S. and global temperatures are expected to continue to rise, the potential for an increase in the spread of diseases Exit EPA Disclaimer will depend not only on climatic but also on non-climatic factors, primarily the effectiveness of the public health system.

The IPCC has noted that the global population at risk from vector-borne malaria will increase by between 220 million and 400 million in the next century. While most of the increase is predicted to occur in Africa, some increased risk is projected in Britain, Australia, India and Portugal.

Tick-borne Lyme disease also may also expand its range in Canada. However, socioeconomic factors such as public health measures will play a large role in determining the existence or extent of such infections. Water-borne diseases may increase where warmer air and water temperatures combine with heavy runoff from agricultural and urban surfaces, but may be largely contained by standard water-treatment practices.

Air Quality

Climate change is expected to contribute to some air quality problems. Respiratory disorders may be exacerbated by warming-induced increases in the frequency of smog (ground-level ozone) events and particulate air pollution.

Ground-level ozone can damage lung tissue, and is especially harmful for those with asthma and other chronic lung diseases. Sunlight and high temperatures, combined with other pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, can cause ground-level ozone to increase. Climate change may increase the concentration of ground-level ozone, but the magnitude of the effect is uncertain. For other pollutants, the effects of climate change and/or weather are less well studied and results vary by region.

Another pollutant of concern is "particulate matter," also known as particle pollution or PM. Particulate matter is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets. When breathed in, these particles can reach the deepest regions of the lungs. Exposure to particle pollution is linked to a variety of significant health problems. Particle pollution also is the main cause of visibility impairment (haze) in the nations cities and national parks. Climate change may indirectly affect the concentration of PM pollution in the air by affecting natural or sources of PM such as wildfires and dust from dry soils.

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Overwhelmingly, when I take my leftish friends to task on the issue of voluntary association a la bottom-up community versus statism a la compulsion, they come down on the side of voluntary association in theory.(Not nearly all of them are pure collectiviststate power forBut in practice, they say, people are selfish and greedy and must be forced to do things they consider to be good. Statism is a necessaryevil for this type of leftist, not an ideal.While they downplay the force and the collectivism, they play up the idea that their fellow human beings are not to be trusted and might not choose their particularly conception of the good, which they consider paramount, of course.
I find this pessimistic view of our neighbors sad on a number of levels. On the one hand, people dont realize that its our faith in the state that makes us less active as citizens, less inclined to worktoward community and to bedoers of good. It makes us lazy -- after all, if the state is doing it, why bother? It crowds out philanthropy. It crowds out our inclination towards charity and community.s a way of saying:let it besomeone elses responsibility. All I have to do is vote for it and feel good about it. Contemporary statism pushes more and more of dutiesto community and charity - granting such duties even exist - onto distant bureaucracies. Its no longer the actions ofpeople working in the service of good (even plural conceptions of the good), but a mere senseof sanctimony bought at very low cost in the voting booth.Political activismor even simply voting for statist policies represents a kindof moral turpitude.That fact makes me angry at times, dispondent at others. Tocquevillian America is dying.

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Fingernails can reveal an amazing amount about a person's health, medical experts say, with a surprising number of conditions manifesting themselves with changes in the shape, colour or overall state of the nails.
"It may be the first sign, it may be the herald sign of ... an internal disease," says Dr. Yves Poulin, a Quebec City dermatologist and president-elect of the Canadian Dermatology Association.
Lung disorders, nasal polyps, anemia, inflammatory bowel syndrome and liver diseases can provoke changes in the fingernails.
In some cases those alterations can prompt people to seek medical attention, in the process bringing to light previously undiagnosed conditions. In others, the state of a patient's nails will help a physician clarify what is at play.
"For us, it helps to make the correct diagnosis to look at the nail," Poulin says.
The bed of the fingernails of healthy individuals should be a light pink. Nail beds that are white may suggest anemia - a red blood cell deficiency which itself can be a symptom of other, sometimes serious, diseases. When the nails themselves grow opaque and white, it can be a sign of liver disease.
White nails with a dark band at the tip - a condition called Terry's nails - can be a sign of aging but could also signal congestive heart failure, diabetes or liver disease, according to a photo slide show on fingernail conditions on the Mayo Clinic website. (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nails/WO00055)
Kidney problems are suspected with a condition known as half-and-half nail, in which the lower part of the nail bed is white but a portion towards the tip of the nail is pink.
Bluish nails can signal a lack of oxygen, a sign a person might be suffering from one of a number of lung conditions. Green nails can be caused by infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium which is common in the environment. Antibiotics can clear up this condition.
Poulin says respiratory tract problems - such as nasal polyps and chronic sinusitis - can trigger yellow nail syndrome, which he describes as rare. It can be corrected in some cases, depending on the cause.
"I had a guy in recently, he was an attorney, he was 40 and he had yellow nails on all his nails. And he had a nose surgery and it all went away," Poulin says.
Strangely shaped or marked nails are also indicative of a variety of conditions.
Thickened, misshapen and cloudy nails - sometimes on the fingers, but more often on the toes - are generally a sign of infection with a fungus. Called onychomycosis, the condition is unsightly and makes the nails difficult to trim and maintain.
Onychomycosis can and should be treated, Poulin says, and the earlier the better. The longer the problem festers, the harder it is to treat, he says.
And while thickened toe nails may be merely an esthetic problem for a 60-year-old, when that person is 80 and diabetic, toenails that can't be trimmed can trigger infections in the skin around the nail bed, erode foot health and threaten mobility.
"It may be an open door for cellulitis, for infections of the skin, in diabetic people," Poulin says. "(But) this is often neglected. People don't look too much at their toenails."
A brown or black streak or dot under a nail that persists can be skin cancer - melanoma, which can be deadly if it isn't caught early. And if there is no evident reason for the change in pigmentation, it should be checked out, says Dr. Mark Davis, a dermatologist at the Mayo Clinic's Rochester, Minn., campus.
"If patients can remember some trauma to their nail - that they actually have a reason for getting blood under their nail and it's usually painful - then it's nothing to be worried about," Davis says.
"But if somebody develops a new pigmentation on their nail, just like a new mole on your skin, it's best to have a dermatologist look at it and make the judgment as to whether it could be a melanoma or whether it's just a mole. And sometimes that can be quite difficult even for the dermatologist to decide."
Melanomas under the nail aren't common, but they do occur. But because people don't necessarily know of the possibility, such melanomas can go undetected, threatening chances of survival.
"People come very late with melanoma of the nail plate," says Poulin. "They have a black streak in the nail for years."
Someone who has horizontal groves across all their fingernails has experienced an illness that has interrupted the growth of the nails. The condition, called Beau's lines, is associated with uncontrolled diabetes, circulatory diseases or illnesses associated with high fever, the Mayo Clinic says.
While nail changes can signal something is going on with a person's health, sometimes the message they send isn't specific to a particular disease.
"For example, when you see clubbing of the nails, there's like 20 different things that can be associated with that," Davis says. He adds the warning, though, that "if that happens and it's new, it can be a sign of lung cancer."
The term clubbing is used to describe the swelling or enlarging of the tips of the fingers, with the nails curving downwards over the tip. While some people are born with clubbing, if it develops later on it can be a symptom of lung disease, congenital heart disorders, inflammatory bowel disease or liver problems.
Spoon nails, on the other hand, come about when the fingernails soften and curl inward from the sides, creating a concave surface. Also known as koilonychia, spoon nails can be a sign of iron-deficiency anemia.
Davis suggests paying attention to, but not fretting unduly, over changes to fingernails.
"If they notice a change in their nails, I think it's reasonable to check on it, but not to get overly alarmed about it. Because there's lots of things that happen to the nails themselves that have nothing to do with any underlying conditions.

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I was sent this email from some well meaning folks. The first thing I did was check on SNOPES.com to see if this is a legit thing. Turns out that it is.
I'm utterly appalled. I mean, I know people need to make money BUT...a 3000% markup!?!?!??!?! This is just highway robbery.
So, I'm sharing this with you too.
Fiona



You will be amazed.

Let's hear it for Costco!! (This is just mind-boggling!) Make sure you read all the way past the list of the drugs. The woman that signed below is a Budget Analyst out of federal Washington, DC offices.

Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredient in prescription
medications? Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00
per tablet. We did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA. As we have revealed in past issues of Life Extension, a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United States contain active ingredients made in other countries. In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs sold in America .

The data below speaks for itself.

Celebrex: 100 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60
Percent markup: 21,712%
Claritin: 10 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71
Percent markup: 30,306%
Keflex: 250 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88
Percent markup: 8,372%
Lipitor: 20 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80
Percent markup: 4,696%
Norvasc: 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $188.29
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.14
Percent markup: 134,493%
Paxil: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60
Percent markup 2,898%

Prevacid: 30 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01
Percent markup: 34,136%
Prilosec: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97
Cost of general active ingredients $0.52
Percent markup: 69,417%
Prozac: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11
Percent markup: 224,973%
Tenormin: 50 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13
Percent markup: 80,362%
Vasotec: 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $102.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20
Percent markup: 51,185%
Xanax: 1 mg Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024
Percent markup: 569,958%
Zestril: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) $89. 89
Cost of general active ingredients $3.20
Percent markup: 2,809%
Zithromax: 600 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19
Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78
Percent markup: 7,892%
Zocor: 40 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $350.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63
Percent markup: 4,059%
Zoloft: 50 mg
Consumer price: $206.87
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75
Percent markup: 11,821%

Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, I thought everyone should know about this.
Please read the following and pass it on. It pays to shop around. This helps to solve the mystery as to why they can afford to put a Walgreen's on every corner.


On Monday night, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News in
Detroit, did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation, that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. Yes, that's not a typo! Three thousand percent!
So often, we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves. For example, if you
had to buy a prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills.
The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only cost $80, making you think you are 'saving' $20. What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10!

At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether, or not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said that Costco consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs.

I went to the Costco site, where you can look up any drug, and get its online price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the online prices. I was appalled. Just to give you one example from my own experience, I had to use the drug, Compazine, which helps prevent nausea in chemo patients. I used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS. I checked the price at Costco, and I could have bought 100 pills for $19.89. For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57. I could have got 150 at Costco for $28..08.
I would like to mention, that although Costco is a 'membership' type store, you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there, as it is a federally regulated substance. You just
tell them at the door that you wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in. (this is true)
This is true in Canada too. I went there this past Thursday and asked them.

I am asking each of you to please help me by copying this letter, and passing it into your own e-mail, and send it to everyone you know with an e-mail address. Or, share it on your blog.

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Cutting-edge surgery with less cutting is appealing for many, but how do minimally invasive surgical offerings rate in terms of outcomes for people with cancer? At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's 14th Annual Conference, Thomas A. D'Amico, MD, of Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center discussed the pros and the cons of minimally invasive oncologic surgery alternatives. Dr.

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Hair loss is the most common medical problem. Millions of people all over the world are struggling in the endless contend to stop their hair loss. How ever, most of them did not spend a couple of minutes learning what precisely the making for of hair loss is. Read the following lines to learn the basics about hair, hair detriment and hair deduction treatments.
Did you know that an average scalp has about 150,000 hair follicles and hair and more than 90% of them are continuously growing.
What is hair?
Hair is the fastest growing tissue of the body. It is made of keratins which are a brand of proteins. Each hair strand includes 3 layers: the medulla (the inner layer), the cortex and the cuticle. Hair grows from roots – Those roots get the vital ingredients to the hair growth by the blood. The roots are a living tissue but the visible hair strand is a dead tissue. Therefore, any hair deduction service as long as take care of the scalp and roots and not of the hair strands.
How does the hair grow?
It is natural to loose hair. Actually, we all loose about 100 hairs a day. We start noticing that we undergo from hair loss sole once losing more than 50% of our hair.
The phases of the life cycle of hair are:
Anagen – - In this phase the hair is actively growing. This step lasts about 5 years.
Catagen – - In this phase the hair falls out. It lasts about 3 weeks.
Telogen – - In this phase the hair is resting. It lasts about 12 weeks.
What are the causes of hair loss?
There are various circumstances that may cause hair loss from heritage to stress. For each cause one may find different hair lowering treatments.

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The maternal health care issues facing women in eastern Burma (also known as Myanmar) are widespread and underreported, according to surveys by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The researchers report that more than 88 percent of women had a home delivery during their last pregnancy and displaced women were more than 5 time as likely to receive no antenatal care.

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Use code 11MOMS4UA for a FREE movie rental from Redbox at your local WalMart. You have until 9 p.m. the next day to return your movie. When you go to Redbox at your local grocer or McDonald's, choose rent with a promo code on the bottom of the screen, enter the code, choose your movie, and proceed to checkout. You may use a different credit or debit card and get an additional movie FREE by beginning the process again. It's easy.

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Happiness really does rub off-a person's happiness depends on the happiness of others with whom they are connected, finds research published on bmj.com today. Happiness is not just an individual experience or choice, but is dependent on the happiness of others to whom individuals are connected directly and indirectly, and requires close proximity to spread, say the authors.

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Once again following Chance here, who commented on the Grammy Records of the Year. It looked like fun, so I'm joining in.

2008
Winner: Rehab, Amy Winehouse. I didn't join in the showering of praise for it. Meh.
My Favorite Nominee: Umbrella, Rihanna featuring Jay-Z.
My Favorite Single That Year: Shut Up and Drive, Rihanna. It's sexier and more playful than "Umbrella."

2007
Winner: Not Ready to Make Nice, Dixie Chicks. It's not a terrible song, really, but it's such an obvious choice. It Makes a Statement. It's about the only Dixie Chicks song I can listen to, but it's not something I put on intentionally.
My Favorite Nominee: Crazy, Gnarls Barkley. It's perfection.
My Favorite Single That Year: Crazy, Gnarls Barkley. See previous comment.

2006
Winner: Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Green Day. As I've said before on this blog, I'm not a big fan of what Green Day has on offer. I mean, they're kind of okay, this is one of the better songs, but I don't find them as astounding as other people seem to.
My Favorite Nominee: Gold Digger, Kanye West. The only Kanye single I've ever liked or will like.
My Favorite Single That Year: All These Things That I've Done, the Killers.

2005
Winner: Here We Go Again, Ray Charles Norah Jones. You know, I'm not even sure I've ever heard this.
My Favorite Nominee: American Idiot, Green Day. Not much of a crop this year in the nominee pool, but I actually do really like this song.
My Favorite Single That Year: American Idiot, Green Day.

2004
Winner: Clocks, Coldplay. One of the few songs I give them credit for in their endless quest to become the Divine Comedy without anyone noticing. Overrated, but a decent adult contemporary song.
My Favorite Nominee: Hey Ya, OutKast. A perfect pop single. It was overplayed (as was "Clocks"), but it's just so damn good.
My Favorite Single That Year: Hey Ya, OutKast.

2003
Winner: Don't Know Why, Norah Jones. Pretty, but it got old fast. Very adult contemporary, which is still the sound that wins the Grammys. The only Norah Jones song I love is "Sunrise."
My Favorite Nominee: Without Me, Eminem. I hate the guy, but his music is very well-produced. This is pretty much the one song of his I like.
My Favorite Single That Year: Beautiful, Christina Aguilera.

2002
Winner: Walk On, U2. I couldn't pick this song out of a line-up. I like about enough U2 songs to fill a single CD.
My Favorite Nominee: Ms. Jackson, OutKast. I notice "Fallin'" by Alicia Keys was nominated, too. That's a song I'll be thrilled to never hear again.
My Favorite Single That Year: Lady Marmelade, Christina Aguilera, Pink, Mya Li'l Kim. The only thing I liked to come out of Moulin Rouge.

2001
Winner: Beautiful Day, U2. Now that's a U2 song that I like very much. And it makes me feel pretty good.
My Favorite Nominee: Beautiful Day, U2.
My Favorite Single That Year: Beautiful Day, U2.

2000
Winner: Smooth, Santana featuring Rob Thomas. I got so sick of this song playing every minute on every radio station and commercial. I think Santana's pretty overrated, to be honest.
My Favorite Nominee: I don't like any of the songs nominated this year.
My Favorite Single That Year: ...Baby One More Time, Britney Spears. Dopey, sure, but everything that makes a pop single great.

1999
Winner: My Heart Will Go On, Celine Dion. This was very easy to get sick of as well; cloying and over-the-top and insisting on its own epic greatness. Blurg. The music's pretty; I have a string quartet version that didn't make it onto the soundtrack (from a promo CD) that's lovely. It doesn't need Celine Dion or lyrics to work. It sounds better without them.
My Favorite Nominee: Ray of Light, Madonna. I don't have much to say about it, but it works.
My Favorite Single That Year: Flagpole Sitta, Harvey Danger. That song just makes me feel awesome. I love it.

1998
Winner: Sunny Came Home, Shawn Colvin. Music from the nineties has an overwhelming percentage of suck, more than any decade. It's like America went through menopause and could only listen to this kind of sappy pap. I hate this thing, and thanks to the Crap and Crap Lite stations being played where I worked constantly, I heard it way too many fucking times.
My Favorite Nominee: MMMBop, Hanson. It's a default choice; it's the one I think is okay whereas I despise all the others (especially "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" by Paul Cole, which should be classified a form of abuse).
My Favorite Single That Year: The End Is the Beginning Is the End, Smashing Pumpkins. I love that they used it in the Watchmen trailer.

1997
Winner: Change the World, Eric Clapton. I'm not much of a Clapton fan, really. I did like this song, although it's association with the awful Scientology-promoting John Travolta film Phenomenon counts against it a tad. It's not earth-shaking, but it's a solid, not-unpleasant song.
My Favorite Nominee: 1979, Smashing Pumpkins. Haunting, beautiful, and bittersweet.
My Favorite Single That Year: 1979, Smashing Pumpkins.

1996
Winner: Kiss from a Rose, Seal. I think it's a beautiful song. I used to hear it a lot on the radio as I was driving to work in the winter at a very dark 5 in the morning. That's the perfect time to hear it. It'll take you on a trip.
My Favorite Nominee: Kiss from a Rose, Seal.
My Favorite Single That Year: Kiss from a Rose, Seal.

1995
Winner: All I Wanna Do, Sheryl Crow. Blurg. Not a song I like.
My Favorite Nominee: Streets of Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen. Beautiful, sad, and seething with quiet ange, disappointment, and acceptance of fear.
My Favorite Single That Year: Streets of Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen.

1994
Winner: I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston. Piece of overplayed shit. Especially in comparison to the original Dolly Parton song, which is perfect.
My Favorite Nominee: The River of Dreams, Billy Joel.
My Favorite Single That Year: Fields of Gold, Sting. Kind of a cheesy choice, perhaps, but I can always hear it and always love it. It's simple and pretty.

1993
Winner: Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton. It doesn't quite hold up for me, honestly, but it's miles better than fellow nominee "Achy Breaky Heart." It's a very pretty song, but not my favorite of Clapton's.
My Favorite Nominee: Constant Craving, k.d. lang. I like the passion.
My Favorite Single That Year: One, U2. One of the most achingly beautiful songs I've ever heard.

1992
Winner: Unforgettable, Natalie Cole. The fact that the Grammys honored that hacky, schlocky, sympathy-begging, cloying bit of grave-robbing Natalie Cole did to cash in on honor her father is as sad as it is unsurprising.
My Favorite Nominee: Losing My Religion, R.E.M. It was overplayed, but if you listen to it now, it sounds almost fresh again. It really is just a good song.
My Favorite Single That Year: Crazy, Seal.

1991
Winner: Another Day in Paradise, Phil Collins. Preachy, annoying, and not even the best song from that Phil Collins album. (Actually, I just checked and sadly, it is. I despise "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven," and "I Wish It Would Rain" just sounds like a rip-off of "Wish You Were Here" with Clapton on guitar.)
My Favorite Nominee: Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinead O'Connor. Of the sappy, preachy, sad sack songs that were nominated this year, this is the one that's actually a good song. (Also, "U Can't Touch This" was nominated this year, but come on, man.)
My Favorite Single This Year: Enjoy the Silence, Depeche Mode. Now there's a love song.

1990
Winner: Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler. I hate this song, and my dad pissed me off by playing it at his wedding reception for his mother, which I specifically told him not to do because it was such a fucking cliche. He said he wouldn't; he did. Wow, my grandma must have been one of 10 million special woman so uniquely honored that year. It's the equivalent of buying your dad a tie on Father's Day.
My Favorite Nominee: The End of the Innocence, Don Henley. Chance is right on when he calls it deceptively angry. It adds some world-weariness on top of that, too. Beautiful song.
My Favorite Single That Year: A Little Respect, Erasure. I usually come out on the side of pop, I guess. Although besides the catchiness, I think the lyrics are beautiful. One of my all time favorite lyrics comes from this song: "What religion or reason could drive a man to forsake his lover?"

1989
Winner: Don't Worry, Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin. I always liked this song, but it sure wasn't the best of the year. I think part of it was the novelty of McFerrin doing the whole thing a cappella. Which is admittedly neat.
My Favorite Nominee: Don't Worry, Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin.
My Favorite Single That Year: Sweet Child O' Mine, Guns 'n' Roses. The most perfect song they ever recorded.

1988
Winner: Graceland, Paul Simon. I'm not a big fan of this song for whatever reason. It's nice, but it's okay. I wouldn't turn it off if it came on the radio station. Really, I just don't dig Paul Simon's solo work that much.
My Favorite Nominee: Back in the High Life Again, Steve Winwood. Admittedly, mostly because it reminds me of better times. But it's pretty.
My Favorite Single That Year: With or Without You, U2. Grammy nominated the more ubiquitous and much less beautiful "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," a song I don't like. "With or Without You" is real passion.

1987
Winner: Higher Love, Steve Winwood. Meh. It's okay.
My Favorite Nominee: Sledgehammer, Peter Gabriel. It's a lot of sucky nominees this year, but this is a great song.
My Favorite Single That Year: True Colors, Cyndi Lauper. A beautiful love song, especially for people who don't feel so great about themselves. I guess I like genuine songs about understanding, I would say.

1986
Winner: We Are the World, USA for Africa. Of course. Nothing else was going to win this year. As a song, it's okay. The real fun is trying to pick out all the singers. I mean, you know, it's Really Important, but it's just okay.
My Favorite Nominee: Money for Nothing, Dire Straits. One of their couple of songs I like. One of my favorite guitar solos.
My Favorite Single That Year: Take on Me, a-Ha. Pop perfection in all of its catchy, bubblegum glory.

1985
Winner: What's Love Got to Do with It, Tina Turner. There's genuine force behind it (although I think "Private Dancer" is her best song), real heartbreak.
My Favorite Nominee: Dancing in the Dark, Bruce Springsteen. At his most pop. I love this song.
My Favorite Song That Year: Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper. Gorgeous and simple.

1984
Winner: Beat It, Michael Jackson. Not much of a surprise, I guess. And it's a good song. Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo alone...
My Favorite Nominee: Flashdance... What a Feeling, Irene Cara. All of the nominees this year are pretty good but nothing I feel especially attached to. This is one of those cheesy pop songs I like.
My Favorite Single That Year: Our House, Madness. One of the most perfect songs I've ever loved.

1983
Winner: Rosanna, Toto. It's okay.
My Favorite Nominee: Steppin' Out, Joe Jackson. That one always got me and carried me off.
My Favorite Single That Year: Under Pressure, Queen David Bowie. Everything that's shitty about society in four and a half minutes. "And love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night."

1982
Winner: Bette Davis Eyes, Kim Carnes. Meh. I don't feel strongly either way.
My Favorite Nominee: (Just Like) Starting Over, John Lennon. What a great song. I can't believe it lost to Kim Carnes... greatness versus... well, nothing worth commenting on. As usual, John Lennon just nails life and relationships with this song.
My Favorite Single This Year: In the Air Tonight, Phil Collins. Collins used to be a man who just knew darkness and how it felt to be depressed and angry.

1981
Winner: Sailing, Christopher Cross. Put me to sleep, why don't ya?
My Favorite Nominee: Theme from New York, New York, Frank Sinatra.
My Favorite Single That Year: Let My Love Open the Door, Pete Townshend. As great a song as he ever wrote for the Who, his best solo work, and one of his most genuinely passionate songs.

1980
Winner: What a Fool Believes, the Doobie Brothers. I'm not a fan of theirs. This is probably the one song of theirs I'd say I liked. Still, Record of the Year? Feh.
My Favorite Nominee: I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor. I like the sweep of it.
My Favorite Single That Year: Video Killed the Radio Star, the Buggles. Another perfect pop record.

1979
Winner: Just the Way You Are, Billy Joel. It is a pretty song, however much Joel claims now that he wrote it accidentally. Is he ever going to stop apologizing for having good commercial instincts? One of his less angry songs, too. I've always liked it.
My Favorite Nominee: Baker Street, Gerry Rafferty. Or as I always used to call it, "That One with the Great Saxophone Part."
My Favorite Single That Year: Who Are You, the Who. My favorite song of theirs, for reasons I can't quite define. But it's a great damn song.

1978
Winner: Hotel California, the Eagles. I hate the Eagles, but I'll give them this one song. This is a damn good song.
My Favorite Nominee: Hotel California, the Eagles.
My Favorite Single That Year: Hotel California, the Eagles.

1977
Winner: This Masquerade, George Benson. I couldn't tell you how this goes.
My Favorite Nominee: Afternoon Delight, Starland Vocal Band. It's delightful.
My Favorite Single That Year: Somebody to Love, Queen. A beautiful epic of emotion. One of my favorite songs ever.

1976
Winner: Love Will Keep Us Together, the Captain Tennille. It's okay.
My Favorite Nominee: At Seventeen, Janis Ian.
My Favorite Single That Year: Young Americans, David Bowie. That one packs a wallop and makes "Love Will Keep Us Together" sound pretty frivolous.

1975
Winner: I Honestly Love You, Olivia Newton-John. I honestly detest this cloying, overwrought song.
My Favorite Nominee: Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, Elton John. You want passion? There you go. Skip the other song entirely.
My Favorite Single That Year: Cat's in the Cradle, Harry Chapin. Hey, hey, it's a cliched choice for a reason.

1974
Winner: Killing Me Softly with His Song, Roberta Flack. It's pretty. It's also soporific.
My Favorite Nominee: You're So Vain, Carly Simon. A nice kiss-off song.
My Favorite Single That Year: Mind Games, John Lennon. Gorgeous.

1973
Winner: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack. I've always found this song kind of overwrought.
My Favorite Nominee: American Pie, Don McLean. Come on, how could you pick a different one? (Although I've always loved Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)," a deceptively bleak and saddening song.)
My Favorite Single That Year: Let's Stay Together, Al Green. You want to get laid? You need some Al Green music.

1972
Winner: It's Too Late, Carole King. I can't place it off the top of my head, but I've never liked Carole King's as a singer.
My Favorite Nominee: My Sweet Lord, George Harrison. It's not much of a song, really, but I didn't like any of the other nominees much.
My Favorite Single That Year: Imagine, John Lennon. I can't believe this was never nominated for Record of the Year. What the hell?

1971
Winner: Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel. An undeniably beautiful song.
My Favorite Nominee: Let It Be, the Beatles. Still Paul McCartney's most beautiful effort.
My Favorite Single That Year: Let It Be, the Beatles. Seriously, they didn't pick this?

1970
Winner: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In, the Fifth Dimension. Definitely a good song.
My Favorite Nominee: A Boy Named Sue, Johnny Cash. It's funny and Cash delivers it well. I'll always pull for Shel Silverstein.
My Favorite Single That Year: Suspicious Minds, Elvis Presley. His final masterpiece, one of his best songs (in my top five).

1969
Winner: Mrs. Robinson, Simon and Garfunkel. Good but not really special.
My Favorite Nominee: Hey Jude, the Beatles. A masterpiece.
My Favorite Single That Year: (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding. One of the most quietly perfect songs I've ever heard.

1968
Winner: Up, Up and Away, the Fifth Dimension. What a lame choice. I mean, it's a cute song, but what a lame choice at this point in music history.
My Favorite Nominee: My Cup Runneth Over, Ed Ames.
My Favorite Single That Year: Can't Take My Eyes Off You, Frankie Valli. But that's the tip of the iceberg; this year produced, off the top of my head, "Heroes and Villains," "All You Need Is Love," "I Was Made to Love Her," "Light My Fire," "A Whiter Shade of Pale," and "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman," and Grammy nominates "Ode to Billie Joe"? Lame, lame, lame.

1967
Winner: Strangers in the Night, Frank Sinatra. A good song, one I always liked.
My Favorite Nominee: Strangers in the Night, Frank Sinatra.
My Favorite Single That Year: Good Vibrations, the Beach Boys. Another incredible year for rock, and the Grammys can only acknowledge "Monday, Monday." What a foolish institution to pass over the greatness they did.

1966
Winner: A Taste of Honey, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. The best of the several thousand versions that seem to be out there.
My Favorite Nominee: Yesterday, the Beatles. As beautiful a song as was ever written.
My Favorite Single That Year: Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan. Transcendent.

1965
Winner: The Girl from Ipanema, Stan Getz João Gilberto. A lovely little song that I've always liked as background music.
My Favorite Nominee: Downtown, Petula Clark. I forget just how beautiful this one is.
My Favorite Single That Year: Don't Worry, Baby, the Beach Boys. Perfect.

1964
Winner: Days of Wine and Roses, Henry Mancini. Nothing song from a rather turgid movie.
My Favorite Nominee: Dominique, the Singing Nun. That's painful to say, but the nominees this year are just that bad. Again, zero acknowledgement of rock and roll or even the great folk music from this time.
My Favorite Single That Year: Surfer Girl, the Beach Boys. Hey, Brian Wilson just knows how to hit me where it counts. Teenage love deified.

1963
Winner: I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Tony Bennett. A beautiful song.
My Favorite Nominee: I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Tony Bennett.
My Favorite Single That Year: Telstar, the Tornados. That one always takes me right off and makes me love being alive.

1962
Winner: Moon River, Henry Mancini. I'm never sorry to have heard this song. It's always beautiful, and always necessary.
My Favorite Nominee: Moon River, Henry Mancini. Infinitesimal second: "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck.
My Favorite Single That Year: Stand by Me, Ben E. King. The best time to hear this song is in the still of the deep night.

1961
Winner: Theme from A Summer Place, Percy Faith. The music is pretty.
My Favorite Nominee: Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles. It's insane that this didn't win. This is the very definition of a beautiful song.
My Favorite Single That Year: Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles.

1960
Winner: Mack the Knife, Bobby Darin. I like this song; it's fun as hell to sing along to.
My Favorite Nominee: Mack the Knife, Bobby Darin.
My Favorite Single That Year: Sleepwalk, Santo Johnny. Another great late night song.

1959
Winner: Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare), Domenico Modugno. Okay. I can't believe anyone does this song better than Dean Martin, personally. I don't believe I've heard this version.
My Favorite Nominee: The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late), David Seville. I know, I know, but I love this song. It's a Christmas staple to me. It reminds me of being a kid and spending the lead-up to Christmas at my grandmother's house. It's a cozy song for me.
My Favorite Single That Year: Summertime Blues, Eddie Cochran. As vital a song as there is, considering how much rock continues to borrow from it. And more than that, just a catchy tune.

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Black Truffles (Tuber melanosporum), sometimes called black diamonds because of their excessively high price, are traditionally used as an ingredient in prepared meals and in sauces. Made with the finest authentic black truffle extract and extra virgin olive oil, this exquisite oil should only be used as a condiment, as it is too precious to use for cooking. Sprinkle a drop or two over eggs, risotto, meat or fish.

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Lack of Healthcare and Prescription Drug Insurance in the U.S.:
A Serious Public Health Problem
General Statistics

45 million Americans were uninsured in 2003, up from 43.6 million in 2002.
More than eight out of 10 people who are uninsured come from working families.
8.4 million children are uninsured.
More than one in five adults ages 18 to 64 was uninsured in 2003. 11.4 percent of children under 18 were without insurance.
More than 29 million of the uninsured in 2003 had household incomes of $25,000 or more, compared with 15.3 million in households earning less.

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Lack of Healthcare and Prescription Drug Insurance in the U.S.:
A Serious Public Health Problem
General Statistics

45 million Americans were uninsured in 2003, up from 43.6 million in 2002.
More than eight out of 10 people who are uninsured come from working families.
8.4 million children are uninsured.
More than one in five adults ages 18 to 64 was uninsured in 2003. 11.4 percent of children under 18 were without insurance.
More than 29 million of the uninsured in 2003 had household incomes of $25,000 or more, compared with 15.3 million in households earning less.

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Lack of Healthcare and Prescription Drug Insurance in the U.S.:
A Serious Public Health Problem
General Statistics

45 million Americans were uninsured in 2003, up from 43.6 million in 2002.
More than eight out of 10 people who are uninsured come from working families.
8.4 million children are uninsured.
More than one in five adults ages 18 to 64 was uninsured in 2003. 11.4 percent of children under 18 were without insurance.
More than 29 million of the uninsured in 2003 had household incomes of $25,000 or more, compared with 15.3 million in households earning less.

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Who should listen to the Financial Aid Podcast?
Students: Find scholarships, news, and personal finance tips, plus great independent music. Listen on the way to and from class!
Parents: Stay on top of trends and news so you can provide the best advice to your kids, plus career and personal finance tips for your own wallet.
Financial aid professionals:
Keep up to date on the latest industry news, plus gain insightful perspectives from industry experts and colleagues.
In a world thats busier than ever, the Financial Aid Podcast delivers timely financial aid, scholarship, student loan, career, and personal finance information to you in just 30 minutes every Friday.. Great for a walk to class or a commute, the Financial Aid Podcast helps you make the most of your money, in college and beyond.

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Who should listen to the Financial Aid Podcast?
Students: Find scholarships, news, and personal finance tips, plus great independent music. Listen on the way to and from class!
Parents: Stay on top of trends and news so you can provide the best advice to your kids, plus career and personal finance tips for your own wallet.
Financial aid professionals:
Keep up to date on the latest industry news, plus gain insightful perspectives from industry experts and colleagues.
In a world thats busier than ever, the Financial Aid Podcast delivers timely financial aid, scholarship, student loan, career, and personal finance information to you in just 30 minutes every Friday.. Great for a walk to class or a commute, the Financial Aid Podcast helps you make the most of your money, in college and beyond.

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Monday, Oct. 20:
10:15 a.m. - How Effective Leaders Respond to Context and Complexity in the Medical Practice
In this session you'll learn the importance of becoming faster and more efficient at analyzing and solving problems of all difficulty levels. Alan Winkler, vice president of clinic operations for St. Vincent Health System in Little Rock, Arkansas will lead the discussion.
3:15 p.m. - The Verdict on Practice Fraud Prevention
Barb Dechering of CHBC and Cathy Cheshire with Vonlehman Co. Inc., will talk about the devastating effects fraud can have on your practice, and what steps you can take to prevent it. After this session, you'll be able to assess how risky various areas of your practice are, from payroll and accounts receivable to patient information processes.
Tuesday, Oct. 21:
10:30 a.m. - When Should You Send Your Accounts to a Collection Agency?
In these tough economic times, it can be hard to determine when exactly is the right time to call on a third-party to collect your outstanding debts. In this case study with Mona Reimers, director of revenue services at Orthopaedics Northeast PC, and Brenda Thomas, a supervisor also with Orthopaedics Northeast, you'll learn different strategies for collecting on accounts overdue. You'll also hear about new and different technologies within the industry.
1:30 p.m. - A Day in the Life of an EMR Physician
Steve Hampton, a physician of orthopedic medicine at Dunn Memorial Hospital in Beford, Indiana, discusses tips and tricks of adjusting to using electronic medical records. After this session, you should be able to identify the challenges of using EMRs and how to overcome them, as well as the advantages to using it.
Wednesday, Oct. 22:
8:45 a.m. - The Ring in the Rubble: Dig Through Change and Find your Next Golden Opportunity
Gary Bradt, a doctor in clinical psychology and founder of Bradt Leadership Inc., leads a focus session centered around change. He will discuss how to work through uncertainty to find the many opportunities that change can bring about.
10:30 a.m. - Merging can Bring Terrific Opportunities-or Horrific Disaster: A Process for Good Decisions
In this session, Joel Sauer, CEO of Heart Center Medical Group in Fort Wayne, Indiana, discusses the ups and downs of mergers. This session will teach you why mergers must be "organized and methodical," as well as what can happen if a merger takes place too quickly.

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University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's rep as a charitable institution has been under fire since at least April, when a Wall Street Journal article reported on a patient who was required to payin cash upfront to receive cancer treatment.The story did a number not only on the institution, but also not-for-profit hospitals generally, who were already under pressure from legislators to prove that they deserved their tax exemption.
Now, the other shoe has dropped for the Texas healthcare facility. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has been questioning officials at M.D. Anderson vigorously, asking for details on its relationships with insurance companies, collection policies, fundraising policies and of course, its charitable care efforts.The hospital, in defending itself, told Grassley and his team that it spent 7.6 percent of its budget on charitable care in 2007, or about $49 million. That's down from more than $86 million in 2004, a drop leaders attribute to more careful screening.

Grassley has been investigating non-profit hospitals for years. In 2005, he sent letters to 10 of the country's largest non-profit hospitals questioning whether they provide public benefits equal to the subsidies they receive. Grassley is considering filing a bill requiring tax-exempt hospitals to provide a minimum amount of charitable care (possibly 5 percent), as well as setting new standards for bill-collection practices and other financial matters.

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