Our friend the Wheelchair Kamikaze, who has written so eloquently about his experience with the insurance companies, objects to a study that finds that “multiple sclerosis (MS) delivers a massive blow to your job prospects as well as your health.”

Let me save the research world some hard work and money. I’ve done some non-MS related research of my own, and these are my findings:

* Flying over the handlebars of a fast-moving bicycle has a positive impact on the necessity of stitches.
* Mixing copious amounts of vodka, beer, and bourbon has a negative impact on the ability to not vomit.
* Telling the state trooper who pulled you over for speeding that the reason you were going so fast is “because I was pressing really hard on the gas pedal” has a negative influence on the mood of the state trooper.
* The amount of time spent dating pathological liars is directly proportional to the level of your desire to stick your head in a toilet.

Oh, and one piece of research that is MS related:

* Having MS sucks.

Where do I sign up for some research funding?…

After all these years, the level and proliferation of DIY initiative on the Web still amazes. Here’s a dude, a self-described progressive, who’s been streaming his own political commentary with some pals since 2005. He’s amassed nearly 80,000 YouTube subscribers and 10,000,000 channel views. Now he’s mounting a campaign to convince MSNBC to make him their 10:00pm host. But that’s sooo 2000; why bother? His reaction to Obama’s speech:

Extracts from the Phoblographer’s Stream of Consciousness Reaction To Obama’s Speech:

Mitch McConnell will always be a creepy smiler.

Joe Biden confirms the speech is in the envelope. Well done, Joe.

Teddy Roose first called for reform. God, we’re slow.

If I lost my job right now, we’d have to move to England because there’s no way I can afford COBRA payments or purchase meaningful coverage. Come to think of it, both my husband and I have pre-existing conditions right now that would probably disqualify us.

Charles Rangel sighting!

Sidenote: the color in the audience is heartening, but we need more: by that I mean, more colourful suits. By that I mean, more women.

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At least one lawyers’s group isn’t so enthused about the President’s nod to tort reform last night. From a flak at the American Association for Justice:

Of particular interest to this community are the President’s comments regarding medical malpractice. The pilot programs outlined by President Obama will require more detail. But we all know the focus must be on reducing medical errors and improving patient safety. Over 98,000 people are killed every year by preventable medical errors. Reducing accountability won’t improve health care…

AAJ will continue to educate lawmakers and the public over the coming weeks and months about the importance of a strong civil justice and protecting injured patients…

What exactly is the American Association for Justice? Found near the bottom of their web site: “formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.”

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Reader comments from the New York Times site:

Listening to Pres.Obama, who I happily voted for, pains me. He sounds no different than any of the other in office guys I hear try and make a point on the cliches of others. He says, “These are the facts… we need to reform the system. Single payer system like Canada or on the right, leave it to the individual to buy… now he says he accepts both. He says build on what works.. HEY- nothing works unless you are 66 and have Medicare…I love this guy, but he is pitching me like a long form Infomercial selling me a great real estate deal.

I will not be characterized as some sort of radical for opposing this health care plan. I happen to sincerely believe the government should not force anybody to buy insurance they can’t afford…the government should not promise subsidies it doesn’t have the money to deliver…the plan should not encourage employers to check if workers have insurance from their spouse in making hiring and lay-off decisions….I challenge anybody to prove those are misrepresentations (and) prove this plan is better than the status quo…You are making decisions that adversely affect my life, and I never got a seat at the table.

Response: You did get a seat at the table, it was called the 2008 presidential election and you lost.

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The Healthcare Economist, annotating Obama’s health care address:

We are the only advanced democracy on Earth – the only wealthy nation – that allows such hardships for millions of its people.

One must keep in mind that although health insurance is important, it is only a means to an end. That end is better health. Reducing illness rates through public health initiatives, clean water, better sewage disposal, better eating habits, and exercise may be more beneficial to improving health than simply expanding health insurance.

…it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition. As soon as I sign this bill, it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick or water it down when you need it most.

Disallowing insurance companies to drop individuals with pre-existing conditions will do either one of two things. If insurance companies can raise prices, individuals with pre-existing conditions will simply face extremely high premiums. If insurance companies are not allowed to raise premiums, the premiums for healthier enrollees will have to cover this additional cost.

I understand that the politically safe move would be to kick the can further down the road – to defer reform one more year, or one more election, or one more term.

This is 100% true. Obama the politician should just do nothing and let Medicare run out of money and let the next politician deal with the crisis. Obama the statesman has decided use his office to enact these reforms. Whether or not you agree with Obama’s plan, it is admirable for him to go out on a limb to attempt to solve our some of our health care problems.

Huh. There seems to be a lot of negativity about President Obama’s speech on the Republican National Committee Twitter feed. Go figure.

The Republicans are also tweeting up a storm on #healthcare, per Tweet Congress.

Meanwhile, the House Democrats haven’t tweeted on their feed since early August.

They’ll really need to narrow the Tweet-gap if they’re serious about winning this thing…

Tomorrow we’ll be covering reaction to Obama’s big speech, but for today we thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the many blogs addressing health care reform. While the town-hall clashes have driven a lot of the media coverage and informed the debate to perhaps an outsize degree, medical professionals have been hashing out these issues online for a long time. A digest of some of the more interesting recent posts:

From DB’s Medical Rants:

Making rounds this morning, we went to see a patient who had a stent placed yesterday. I sat down to discuss the implications of a diagnosis of coronary artery disease. I started with the statement that she would be talking 4 drug classes – aspirin, ACE inhibitor, beta blocker and statins. As I finished she turned to me teary eyed and asked if she would be able to get her drugs for $4 at WalMart (or other similar store). When I said yes, she smiled and cried.

I wish I had a video to place on YouTube. The entire team had the same reaction. We took a situation that had her worried about money, and because of low cost generics she had great relief. We felt great that money would not interfere with her secondary prevention.

We know that secondary prevention helps and decreases subsequent hospitalizations. I know that those who want the status quo label a public option as government run health care. I still favor (with important caveats) creating a public option for the patients who fall between the cracks. While some will not take advantage of a public option (like many patients do not take advantage of the VA benefit), many will. We have poor citizens who cannot afford basic health care. We should develop a reasonable way to help them avoid the emergency department and hospitalization. I think it makes economic sense.

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In case you took a vacation from thinking about health care over the holiday weekend and missed the latest town-hall stunt to draw the adoring praises of the anti-reform crowd, here it is. You have to watch or fast forward to 1:13 for the money (literally) shot. The congressman is Norm Dicks (D – natch, WA).

The price of gold rushed past $1000 per ounce today, sending it within glittering distance of last year’s record high before profit-taking ate into gains. But the breach of the psychological $1000 barrier has put a sparkle into the eyes of those who have been accumulating the precious metal, and has them looking for more profits soon. Why? From Reuters:

Some investors also saw the spike in gold as a warning signal to stock market bulls who have the result of central banks and governments pumping billions of dollars into banking systems to boost growth.

Ah. That single wire-story paragraph stands as the world’s greatest understatement for those dubbed “Gold Bugs.” Investopedia clues us in:

Gold bugs view gold as a safe investment that will protect them from currency fluctuations or downturns in the financial markets. Although gold is widely known as a standard of value, its price – like that of any other precious metal or commodity – fluctuates widely… This is a point frequently brought up by critics, who view gold as a standard of wealth from the past.

However, while there is no consensus, the market does continue to view gold as the traditional “safe harbor” during times of economic crisis. For example, following September 11, 2001, gold prices saw sharp increases as investors sold what they believed were riskier assets.

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