PC THE TOWN

Late night comedian David Letterman has made the Top 10 a must see routine on his show. He has been giving us laughs on all sorts of topics since instituting his lists on his late night shows. As a tribute to him, I am offering a Top 10 List for the Reasons to Stay Healthy. Health Care is no laughing matter, but some times we need a little humor to make sure that we understand the seriousness of the topic. So here we go! #10: The cost of being sick is more expensive. #9: You look really awful when your health is bad. #8: Smoking, drinking, and doing drugs makes you look older than you are. #7: Friends. After, all, no one wants to hang around with "Sickies." #6: You feel better when you are healthy. #5: You'll be able to use cool new buzz words like buff, ripped, hot, and more. #4: People will see you as a "hottie." #3: Long life. #2: Less stress. And the #1 Reason for staying healthy: Death can be a real bummer, especially if you are not ready. Until next time...

This year, 2008, we are facing increased health care costs including higher rates for insurance, medical procedures, hospital charges, prescriptions, and much more. In December, 2007, the California Employer Health Benefits Survey was released and showed dramatic increases in that state's employer-based health insurance premiums. The national gain was over 6%, a little more than two points behind California. The study researches coverage, cost, availability, benefits and enrollment not only in that state but also across the nation. Costs rose for both HMOs and PPOs. The forecast for 2008 indicated that 41% of companies with over 200 employees were very to somewhat probable to increase what their workers would pay toward insurance this year. As a matter of fact, health care costs are increasing on an ongoing basis. You really don't need a study to tell you that. Just look at what you pay for medicine or for your insurance. Health care is the Number One concern with employees. Ac...

When you start looking around for health care plans, there are alot to choose from but few that may actually help you based on individual needs. Many health plans are only offered through employers, and some are only available in certain regions of the country or at certain times of the year. Usually, the choices come down to cost as many health care plans often have similar benefits. "What can I afford" is the most commonly asked question when most people are evaluating a plan for themselves or their family. Tragically, the cheapest ones may not be the best. According to the latest report issued the last day of December, 2007, by the US Census Bureau, more than 303 million Americans greeted the New Year. After massaging all the births, deaths, and net immigration figures, the country is growing at the rate of one person every 13 seconds. That's a bunch of new faces! And in all this growth, the people looking for health care also continues to increase each year. With cho...

We have a New Year--2008! It promises to be a great one for health care but with challenges. In each new year most American consumers anticipate that they will be healthy with little to no health issues. Some years that is true; and sadly, in some years it is not. The NY Times online had an Op-Ed article published today (1.03.08) that speaks to the case of the uninsured. The editorial makes a case for making insurance available to all Americans. The writer makes a point of telling us that everyone deserves insurance, and that the reason is based upon information disseminated by two recent studies--one by the Harvard Medical School, published by JAMA, and the other by the American Cancer Society. While it is true that the uninsured receive less medical assistance than those Americans who have insurance, there is a percentage of people who do not want insurance and are very qualified to purchase it, either directly as a consumer or through their employer. The 19-29 age bracket is parti...