The news created by the killing of Osama bin Laden continues to develop. Talk of seeing the pictures from the handy work of SEAL Team 6 is everywhere, even from the mouths of the families of 9/11 victims. FoxNews reported there are two sets of a dead bin Laden, some from a base in Afghanistan and others from the USS Carl Vinson. Remember to follow Bostonist on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
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Nine out of ten Bay State Representatives voted in favor of healthcare reform. [Boston Herald]
A sample of reactions from local health care professionals was generally positive to the House's passage of reform. [Boston Globe]
Several dozen teabaggers protested healthcare at Faneuil Hall over the weekend. [Boston Globe]
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It's lumbering along for the moment, but perhaps someone might be foolish enough to buy The Globe. [Boston Globe]
The confusing price displays at CVS are only one aspect of how they rip off consumers. [Boston Globe]
Until the T raises rates, Bostonians save the most money by using public transit. [Boston Globe]
Hold on to your hat (and critical organs). Massachusetts may be on the verge of another major healthcare reform. [Boston Globe]
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Results tagged “healthcare”
In response to rising health care costs and decreasing amounts of state and federal aid, Mayor Thomas Menino presented a budget of $2.4 billion for the 2012 fiscal year. Menino also cut a deal with 36 public employee unions that could save the city some $70 million.
On the Globe home page, we noticed two articles about healthcare and money sitting closely. Do these dots connect together?
Health care reform may have passed and signed into law but that hasn't stopped Scott Brown from opposing it. FoxNews.com says Brown's response can be described as "repeal and replace" when it comes to health care. That means "gutting" the just-passed bill and passing Republican ideas in its place. Brown also wants to enable states with existing health plans, like Massachusetts, to opt out of reforms.
Tim Cahill, incompetent treasurer and independent candidate for governor, had a pow-wow with the Herald in which he slammed Obama's health care bill and said that Mitt Romney's health care reform in Massachusetts has failed.
- With a pothole in Everett and a damaged dam in Freetown, storm photos are dominating the Internet. [WCVB]
- Thursday's storm turned a fire in an empty hotel into a blaze that torched an entire block in Hampton, New Hampshire. [MyFoxBoston.com]
- Thirty state legislators aren't running for their seats again in 2010. [Boston Globe]
- Mass Audubon says there are 25 pairs of bald eagles in Massachusetts, including one in Weymouth. [Patriot Ledger]
- Massachusetts Superior Court Associate Justice Christine Roach rejected MBTA unions' request for an injunction to stop the state from cutting worker benefits. [WCVB]
The national insanity over health care town hall meetings came to Dartmouth last night, and Congressman Barney Frank created an Internet sensation when he verbally smacked down a question comparing health care reform to Naziism.
Coverage of the healthcare reform initiative in the media has focused on screaming and yelling at forums conducted by congressional representatives. Real outrage or manufactured outrage? Probably some of both. Whichever it is, it's overshadowed much needed refoms. Today, the Herald reports that Niki Tsongas conducted a meeting in Chelmsford about health-care and said it was spirited and people were "passionate" and it stayed civil. MyFoxBoston.com has some clips of the meeting.
With health care reform looming, everyone's worried about how to cut costs. When everyone's insured, won't premiums go through the roof? One way to fight freaky fees is to keep patients out of the hospital once they've been in. The Berkshire Medical Center is trying exactly this in a program designed to cut down on hospital patient recidivism. Among the tips and tricks used are encouraging heart patients to avoid hot dogs, which are so full of sodium that they can promote fluid retention and trigger heart trouble. Staying frank-free is harder than you might think, though, especially around Independence Day: this July 4, one Berkshire Medical patient chowed down on a dog; she was back in the Center the next day.
We, like the majority of Massachusetts residents, support universal health care in the Commonwealth, but the current system is badly flawed. And we need to figure out a way to fix it without screwing our most financially vulnerable neighbors.
--Fraternity brothers at MIT's Delta Upsilon are saying that Robert Wells, who died over the weekend, fell from his window in an accident. [Boston Globe]
--Pants not here, pants not there, pants not anywhere! [Boston Globe, WCVB]
The Herald's front page gives a starring role to Mayor Menino's opposition to new state regulations allowing for in-store medical clinics at CVS locations (a change Bostonist outlined yesterday.)
There are lot of things to dislike about the waiting room at your doctor's office—germy fellow patients, antiquated reading material, a complete lack of shampoo and energy drinks for sale. CVS will be able to rectify at least the last issue after regulations approved yesterday by the state's Public Health Council will allow the corporation to place small medical centers within its stores.
Many fans and striking writers turned out for the Writers Guild Rally at the First Parish Church meeting house at Harvard Square at noon today. As his mom Wendy looked on, Max Schapiro, of Needham, toted a sign that said, "My Mom let me skip school to support the WGA!" Other people sported orange-and-yellow wool caps made popular on Joss Whedon's brief television series "Firefly."
Authorial Intent is Bostonist's wrap-up of readings around the city. Thursday, October 18 Joan Blades, 6:30 pm, Rabb Auditorium, Boston Public Library, Ford Hall Forum Series. Blades is the cofounder of moveon.org, and she's got a lot on her mind besides "General Betray-Us," which Congress gnawed on like they had nothing better to do. She'll be talking about momsrising.org, her organization that pushes for more rights for moms and families. Saturday, October 20 Frank, Mark,...
Current Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick is ripping on former Massachusetts governor and political aspirant Mitt Romney over health care. Patrick also pointed out that Romney's "aw, shucks" demeanor doesn't properly advertise the product within the package. Patrick said of Romney, "He's a nice fellow. But a shameless candidate." That line has echoes of the Southern "bless your heart," in which a person delivers an insult and cushions it with the line "bless your heart." The...
No joke - if you have a bag of Veggie Booty at home or in your lunch bag, throw it away NOW! Robert's American Gourmet has issued an immediate recall of Veggie Booty, the incredibly nasty, green version of Pirate's Booty. Veggie Booty has been linked to outbreaks of salmonellosis in 17 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. According...
Vincent "Buddy" Cianci, former mayor of Providence who is currently in the federal pokey for conspiracy, is coming to Boston, and Boston is welcoming him with open arms.
This Universal Health Care thing is really working out great. Not only has the Commonwealth Connector board not been able agree on what "affordable" means and what the baseline for required coverage will be, but the Commonwealth hasn't yet begun to collect fees from companies not offering coverage to their employees. The delay from the Commonwealth Connector, the board that is overseeing implementation of the legislation, in determining the baseline of coverage has resulted in...
Healthcare in the Commonwealth is totally affordable, unless you get sick. The Commonwealth Connector is taking up debate on the latest plan to provide the legislative mandate for affordable healthcare. We did some simple math on the issue: $2,000 deductible in a year comes out to about $167 per month (if you hit the deductible that year). The premium would be a lot lower than initially discussed – coming in at around $175 per month. Add the two numbers together and you get $342. That's not too far off the initial number that came out, $380 per month for coverage. Still a far cry from the $200 Mitt promised.
We'd like to start this week's run-down by wishing a very happy birthday to parent blog Gothamist, which turned four on Friday. If it wasn't for them, the rest of us wouldn't be here. They celebrated their birthday by nabbing an interview with Entourage star Adrian Grenier, who misses NYC public transportation when he's working in LA. They also reported on NYU students protesting a band whose name is also known as a slur,...
It's not fuzzy math, it's just expensive. The Commonwealth's new universal health insurance law passed last year was touted as a great chance for Massachusetts to become a leader in the nation in universal health care. At the time the talk was about a $200 per month premium. The legislation (let's call it Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006 for fun) mandates that all adults in Massachusetts who make $29,412, three times the poverty...
The good news about last night's gubernatorial debate in Springfield was that the moderators and the panelists had the opportunity to remind the candidates that there's more to Massachusetts than Boston. The debate was also a more tasteful affair with a moderator – Jim Madigan of WGBY-TV - who seemed to relish telling people to settle down.
The Church of Christian Science, the Boston-based church, is taking up issue with the Commonwealth's new law on mandatory healthcare coverage. They fear that the way the law is currently written it does not allow for employers to provide an option of faith-based healing. Christian Scientists believe that the power of healing lies in the deity, and through prayer all illness and sickness can be healed. To that end they don't practice medicine or subscribe to the common treatments that common medical practice provides. In this recent push the effort is being made to make sure that the language provided in the new healthcare law will allow for them to provide a faith-based healing method (so you pay for someone to pray for you, not to give you penicillin). Semantics are always important when discussing law, even a comma can effect the legality of an action. The Church of Christian Science is treading lightly on this issue. While it's an important issue for the nature of their faith and they don't want to be subject to the fines the state may impose for every person in their employ who chooses their faith-based heathcare plan (because it's not medical care, it's "health care") they are making sure that it's understood they're only asking for the option to provide the service. They are not requiring that the option be provided by all, only that they're not penalized for providing it.