PC THE TOWN

Making People Smile. What a great tag line, and what a great way to view the world as we enter into a brand new year. Wow! Can you believe that another year has passed, and we are staring down the barrel at a brand new year--2008? Where has all the time gone? As each new year comes into view during the end of each Holiday Season, we look ahead for what benefits may be available for the New Year. We also look over the past year to see what successes we had and what failures we endured. Health care has had alot of both. We saw the advent of in-store retail mini-clinics that have taken off with increasing popularity. Most all pharmacy chains, big-box retailers like Wal-Mart and Target, and even some grocery chains have elected to partner with the companies that provide these services--Minute Clinic is an example of one of these clinics. MinuteClinic, which was co-founded by a family physician, is the largest of a growing number of retail clinics, are now in CVS, Targets, Wal-Marts and man...

Americans like a good deal, and they love it even more when the deal has more value than originally perceived. According to a very recent study just published by the Regence Group, seven out of ten consumers are likely to comparison shop and gather information on price and quality, especially for medical services.   With the advent of the internet, we are considerably more savvy now than 10 years ago when it comes to researching the best deals in the market place including health care options. There are websites that show various options for not only insurance, but also other medical needs and information. Transparency is the key factor when it comes to finding the best deal in health care. Companies that provide information online are more likely to find consumers ready to make a purchase versus those businesses who make it more difficult to find out how to use their products and services. The Commonwealth Fund has recently stated that U.S. health care costs are projected t...

Americans like choice. We like that our freedom allows us to make lifestyle decisions for where we live, what car we drive, where we go to church, and what type of health coverage we want. Health care in the U.S. continues to be challenged from every corner--including members from Congress, individual consumers, politicians at every level, business owners, and HR professionals. Many surveys have been taken to find out what are the most important aspects of choosing a plan that works best for the individual consumer. The selections are myriad when it comes to various parts of the country, the demographics related to specific regions, the costs associated with all the available plan designs, and a host of other criteria. Yet with all the numerous options for health care available in the market place, the bottom line issues related to choice come down to cost and availability. How much will I pay when I purchase the health plan, and where can I use it? This is especially true when small ...

The Holiday Season is a time of cheer, remembrance, and celebration. It's a time to be festive and enjoy the time together with family and friends. This time of year from Thanksgiving to the New Year is full of parties, giving, and activities related to the Season. We look forward to this time regardless of our background, heritage, or religion. Most Americans cannot wait til the Holidays come as this time of year is the most anticipated Season of the year. We are encouraged by the spirit of giving, the attitudes of sharing and friendliness, and the freedom to express love and appreciation to those we hold dear, and sometimes even to complete strangers. That's one of the joys of this time of year--doing good to those we don't even know. But with all this merriment, the Holiday Season is when the highest rate of suicides occur, and depression is at its worst for many people. The physical and mental stress at this time of year sends some people into a frenzy and others into ...

As we look toward the Christmas Holiday, let's not forget the troops around the world in the American military. Considering the fact that today is Pearl Harbor Day, we can be thankful for our freedom because of the sacrifices made by those brave men and women in harm's way and who continue today with our current armed forces--some giving even the ultimate sacrifice to defend the U.S. from enemies both foreign and domestic. Health care is a bigger concept than just going to the doctor for a checkup. It extends beyond the physical to both the spiritual and mental health that each individual must keep in balance in order to have a healthy life. If any one of our capabilities get out of whack, we are like a 3-legged stool that has had one of those legs removed. Life then becomes more difficult, and our overall health is affected. This post is a short one to propose the following: This a small way to say THANKS to some of the folks in the service that are unable to be with their fa...

Lately there has been a huge amount of buzz created by politicians who want to re-create the American health care system from the ground up. Health care is becoming the single most hotly debated topic in political circles, second only in comparison to the discussion about the Iraq War. Health care is a topic that everyone talks about, but no one has come up with a solution that doesn't involve government intervention. Politicians this year are now considering themselves experts on how to handle doctor visits, medicine, co-pays, and all things medical. They rant and rave about the cost and the terrible way people are mistreated who are uninsured, and the politicians continue to complain about how terrible the conditions are in hospitals and clinics. They focus on patient abuse and incompetant medical staff and spiraling expenses that are "out of control." The most commonly feared new word that has found its way into the American language is "Hillary-care"--a phr...

Over the last decade, Americans have become more sedate in lifestyle choices. With the advent of the internet, computer games, and digital satellite TV we have turned into a nation of major couch potatoes. So far, the population with 2 out of every 3 persons in the U.S. is overweight, and our rate of obesity in the nation has reached epidemic proportions--about 72 million people based on information reported by the CDC . According to the Mayo Clinic website, obesity is described as having a high amount of body fat. However, obese people are more susceptible to diabetes, high blood pressure, and other health issues. The Mayo Clinic also reports that one third of all Americans are considered to be obese, and over 25 million children and adolescents are overweight according to Mayo and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We are more sedentary and eat more junk food than people in the rest of the world. Unhealthy snacks, carbonated beverages with high sugar content, and multip...