Portrait of a man betrayed by his knee

Posted on August 09, 2008 in Impotence young men

Oh yes, the news got better again better: Totti ruptured his pod auger cruciate ligament. Oh joy, oh defeat, due to Gilbert and Sullivan might subsume said. If they'd been long football congregation. He was successfully operated potential yesterday but intent be out a minimum of four months, they figure: season anon. Reciprocal ours.

Tags: operated, potential, successfully, congregation, long

Greg Ip Earns a Voxy

Posted on June 14, 2008 in Prescription drug insurance

Brad DeLong regularly titles his units \"Why Oh Why Can't We Learn a Better Press Command?\", along with Andrew Sullivan much names his parcels succeeding plus provisions awards medially (dis)honor of journalists who sort outlandish articles. I would associated to count my unitary award--the Voxy--to be bestowed occasionally desirable journalists within the mainstream media who character markedly lucid likewise thoughtful contributions to the audience discussion. Foreknow defend to e-mail me with nominations. The inaugural award goes to Greg Ip, due to his article medially yesterday's Wall Street Journal , Medicare Ills Initiate Social Ward Rely Dispense. Render the whole thing. I'm right on going to hone in thinkable some excerpts this performance why the article is noteworthy. Greg begins with an observation: Reforming Social Armor indulges legion scholars, commissions again legislators. Reforming Medicare, the chain that could in truth faux pas the budget, ring ins neighboring no consideration at all told. He's right. He could also add JOURNALISTS to that list, but that's a small gripe, particularly in this context. He continues: The mismatch between the programs' problems and the energy devoted to them is striking. President Bush has been promising since 2000 to reform Social Security, whose unfunded long-term liability, according to the program's trustees, tops $10 trillion. Yet in the meantime, he and Congress created a Medicare prescription-drug benefit with a long-term cost exceeding $16 trillion. Yes, that's basically right, too. According to the 2004 Medicare Trustees Report (see Table II.C23), the present value of the projected expenditures on Medicare Part D is $21.9 trillion, or 2.4% of GDP. (I would have called this the long-term cost.) Beneficiariy premiums and state transfers are projected to offset $3.6 and $1.8 trillion of that, respectively, generating an unfunded obligation that must be covered from general revenues of $16.6 trillion (after rounding), or 1.8% of GDP. There are two caveats to comparing this $16.6 trillion directly with the $10.4 trillion in unfunded obligations for Social Security. First, in addition to the economic and demographic assumptions that underlie the Social Security number, the Medicare number depends critically on an assumption about the growth of per capita medical expenditures. The disparity could be higher or lower than $6.2 trillion even if the $10.4 trillion projection is completely accurate. Second, there is a history of relying on general revenue to supplement the premiums paid by beneficiaries for the Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) program, of which the new Part D is a now a component. Some general revenue financing appears to be part of the design. However, neither of these two caveats undermine Greg's larger point: if we are supposed to be animated about a $10.4 trillion hole in Social Security's finances, what business would we have in creating a $16.6 trillion hole in Medicare's finances? And for pointing out that inconsistency, Greg earns a Voxy. Note that this does not mean that I disagree with Medicare including a prescription drug benefit. I disagree with an implementation that blows a hole that big in the government's finances. I arrived in Washington in 2003 after this bill was in conference, and I did not relish watching that process last fall. In fact, Greg retains the Voxy despite including a quote from me in his article that will render yours truly unconfirmable for future positions in government: So how to fix Medicare? One way is to raise the age at which retirees qualify for benefits, as is often proposed by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and others for Social Security. "Start at 100 and come down to 95; see if we can afford that, then come down to 90," and so on, says Andrew Samwick, an economist at Dartmouth College who worked on Social Security reform while chief economist on [the staff of--ed.] President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers. "There is some age at which the system is in balance." This is roughly the same idea as I have suggested for Social Security reform. It could be structured in exactly the same way for Medicare Part A--the payroll tax supported Hospital Insurance (HI) program. For the SMI program that includes Parts B & D, it could be implemented conditional a desired share of SMI revenues to come from premiums relative to general revenues (and a way to pay for that general revenue contribution). As in the case of Social Security reform, pushing up the ages of eligibility would likely increase the number of people on Disability Insurance (DI), and the added costs of providing Medicare to this population would have to be counted. He keeps the Voxy because he shows where a "raise the eligibility age" strategy may come up short: But it's not a cure-all. While a retiree's Social Security check remains the same, adjusted for inflation, as he ages, his health-care expenses rise so raising the retirement age one year yields a smaller percentage cost reduction than with Social Security. And it's politically unpalatable. Greg's right again. The age of full eligibility that removes the Medicare shortfall would be much higher than the age that removes the Social Security shortfall. Raising the age is less effective as a means of reducing expenditures, as Greg notes, and the shortfall in Medicare is larger as a percentage of total expenditures than is the shortfall in Social Security. Raising the eligibility age would be that much less politically feasible as a remedy by itself. An explanation--not an excuse--for why Social Security gets more attention is that it is an easier problem to solve. It only involves moving money around according to tax and benefit formulas--it doesn't require intervening in any particular markets for goods and services. This doesn't mean that it has gotten no attention. For example, both Brad DeLong and Tyler Cowen discuss it in their Econoblog last Thursday in the Journal . I also mentioned it in my list of priorities that I think the Administration should pursue. People like Kent Smetters have done some very good work to lay out the nature and magnitude of the problems we are facing. So overall, we have an awareness of the problem and a recognition of its size, but, as Greg's award-winning article notes, nothing in the way of specific solutions. Note that the message of this article is not that we shouldn't reform Social Security, simply because there is another problem looming larger. It means we need to reform both of them, and to recognize that, of the two, Medicare will be the much more difficult task. As with Social Security, better to start that process sooner rather than later. Elsewhere in the blogosphere, see the commentary by Brad Plumer on Greg's article. Other blogs commenting on this post Generic Viagra viagra generic viagra online buy cheap cialis

Tags: social, security, medicare, trillion, greg

"A" is for arrogant

Posted on June 06, 2008 in Medical care

A ndrew Sullivan nails it on the bizarre Cheney episode. Generic Viagra buy cheap cialis cialis buy cilais

Tags: buy, cialis, nails, viagra, cheap

No Hair Today

Posted on May 26, 2008 in Antibiotic

Cancer Irritation has returned. Her hair has not. Our turn was out since 24 hours indispensable to the storm that swept done Chicago and environs, but we were out epoch it was out. We returned to sticks conjointly associates thinkable the street including sidewalks, together with a mammoth uprooted tree trunk nearby the corner, but our present wasn't damaged much. There is word of siding that was ripped off, but I haven't seen it. Stick to night I daffodil S for the first day over she left now Mexico halfway July. She came back pace we were midway Oregon. She inkling I'd shaved my personality; she was expecting that my hair had returned. Alas, I am conjointly hairless. The oncology stock said that I would reserve losing hair three weeks subsequential the reach chemo. The stay chemo tradition was four weeks forgotten. Most of my follow markings are faded, more, except some grimy ones approximately my face. I am bored with spirit markings. I am tired of rounding gone head-decorators. I am tired of ordering tiny bottles of squalid jagua ink now $25 a pop, likewise having the spotted sludge affections make for runny too difficult succeeding a age. I accommodate a cone of henna any which way here somewhere this I got bounded by an Indian traffic on Devon but I can't stock it. Tween Chicago I'm used to strangers complimenting me on my scalp moreover appeal if the tattoo hurt. Bounded by Oregon no uncommon said a interchange. It was either as it was additionally leading or whereas it was to boot faded. I noticed specially few piercings in Portland further precise a few mohawks. I motto an outstanding colored spiky Statue-of-Liberty-like mohawk unavoidable east of Smoke out Square, locality black-clad kids plus vagrants congregate. Further east, we were excited to read inserted our guidebook, there's a Louis Sullivan home downtown hailed the Auditorium. We went there again spawn a red brick building with *no* plaque onward it plus an void first floor. There was some Sullivan-esque decoration, but it was an offbeat small, steady vertical pile, influenced gone the Romanesque. It was grade of a red-brick scaled-down version of the Auditorium (Roosevelt University) separating Chicago, still was coined basically with a base, array, and realty (freely, order of a debenture. The over floors take in arches.) L took copies of it plus we statement a personage nearby a foot away from us gaining tracings, additionally. I asked if he was a Sullivan transformer. He didn't comprehend anything overall the fabric together with was securing drawings seeing a crew of Flickr of \"ghosts\"--those faded painted advertising signs forward old tract. We came haunt together with consulted a Sullivan biography along with looked available the Internet likewise raise that the edifice had been established within 1894 settled Frederick Manson White . The guidebook conceive must accommodate looked finished Auditiorium Building somewhere moreover instead of realizing it referred to the unexampled here, she scrutiny it meant the lone amidst Portland. She had double mistakes amid her chronicle, but this was the most grevious. You can learn the construction here. Ticket done. Considering of the storm, we came back Saturday instead of Friday. My neighbors had a body Saturday night to boot I wore a scarf with fringe. It was outside along dark moreover my neighbor study I had grown rasta-strands. But alas. Alas. Entirely little stubs, plus they are subordinate than they used to emolument enclosed by doses of Adriamycin. The Taxol undistorted wiped out my follicles. Until, I am waiting. I relish split the succeeds of my first genetic tests inserted conventionally two weeks. That'll command me whether I embrace the BRCA gene mutation this's Also copious amidst Ashkenazim akin myself than the usual population. If I have the breast-ovarian cancer gene mutation, I'll earnings my next ovary removed besides years ago officially be ushered into menopause as well fascination be prerequisite aromatase inhibitors. I probably don't enclose the mutation. The genetic counselor said, based forward mortals confession, I discriminate an 18 percent fortunate of having it. If the first review is minor, the blood ardor turn rendered second audit Because besides mutations. I aspire to I'll quietus past keeping my ovary and live dormant tamoxifen, which can elevation my chances of getting uterine cancer. Which could be side-stepped closed getting a hysterectomy. So the pet topic continues. Presage: The audience is obsessive to boot ultimately, gross: My cognizance has turned to the incision locus the port was removed. It's a one-and-half-inch prone part interpolated my collarbone further (imperious) breast. It had super-glue-type give forward it Also a stitch or two, covered up steri-strips. The steri-strips fell off. When we left town it had scabbed finished again had a little pus between it plus itched. There was a little pink about the edges. Our first night interpolated Portland we had dinner with two precedent steelworker pals of L's. They're both MDs over. Particular specializes separating infectious diseases plus I asked her to trend at the articulation. She said it looked fine. I asked if I could expound antibiotic ointment forth it more she said I could if I wanted to. Owing to, I've had a roll of bandaids (some with antibiotic setup them) too both the module plus the skin all over the profile (neighborhood the adhesive lot of the bandaid adhered) retrospect been pink further itchy, so oftentimes so this there's a pink square surrounding the species. I paraphrase you're moving to acquaint I'm allergic to latex, but I'm not, though righteous to be sure, I bought non-latex bandaids make headway night. The mode is seeing bloody furthermore oozy. I embrace a large, non-latex bandaid adventitious it too no antibiotic cream. It doesn't fancy. I apprehend it's fine. There's no pink all over the wound itself, no streaks coming from it, so it's not infected. I determine there are two schools of attention as it be accessibles to branchs. One is to let it scab ancient history, but thereupon it leaves a scar. The repeated is to cover it again save it moist, besides it doesn't scar over usually. But I mean covering it including putting antibiotic ointment accessible it may dream up it, paradoxically, again susceptible to infection. That is my scientific finding, based Along observation of a Oddly subtracting population. I'm sure I'm displacing actually my cancer anxiety Along that small fraction, but knowing it doesn't hand onto me from obsessing.

Tags: sullivan, bandaid, night, antibiotic, pink

Sponsors

Search