Renew Family Medicine

09/23/2025

09/23/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17C9hQYwmj/

After 6,000 people died from whooping cough in 1932, three extraordinary women stepped forward to confront this deadly disease. The three women -- scientists Pearl Kendrick and Grace Eldering and their research assistant Loney Clinton Gordon -- who developed a vaccine for pertussis, also known as whooping cough, became public health legends who were honored with this sculpture at the Michigan State University Research Center.

With thousands of children dying annually from the disease -- more than from diphtheria, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, or polio -- "it’s difficult to explain just how desperate people were for a [whooping cough] vaccine at this time,” says historian Carolyn Shapiro-Shapin. When their vaccine was ready for field testing in 1934, parents volunteered their children in droves, hoping to protect them from the horrors of the deadly "100 day cough." It's estimated that today, the vaccine saves half a million lives annually.

To introduce today's kids to what used to be a common childhood disease prior to vaccinations, polio, we highly recommend the books "Blue" (https://www.amightygirl.com/blue) and "Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio" (https://www.amightygirl.com/small-steps), both for ages 9 and up

To introduce children to more pioneering women of public health, we highly recommend "Dr. Jo: How Sara Josephine Baker Saved the Lives of America's Children" for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/dr-jo) and "Never Give Up: Dr. Kati Karikó and the Race for the Future of Vaccines" for ages 6 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/never-give-up)

For a fun picture book about a young rabbit who discovers the cure to a mysterious malady sickening her forest friends, check out "Charlotte the Scientist Finds A Cure" for ages 4 to 8 at https://www.amightygirl.com/charlotte-the-scientist-finds-a-cure

There is also an excellent book about 21 trailblazing women in medicine, “Bold Women of Medicine" for ages 12 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/bold-women-of-medicine

For more children's books about pioneering women of science, visit our blog post, "60 Children's Books to Inspire Science-Loving Mighty Girls," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=13914

09/19/2025

"Independent analysis has found that most people who received help choosing between their coverage options turned to brokers and agents.[###vi] But these sources of information may be biased in ways that do not align with the beneficiary’s best interest, even if some beneficiaries do not object.[###vii] And the current payment system gives them substantial reasons to push clients toward MA (Medicare Advantage).

Brokers and agents earn commissions when they enroll people into MA—and may earn extra through side deals that can include “administrative” bonuses[###viii] and pay for health risk assessments[###ix]—but earn nothing if a person remains in Original Medicare alone.

Standalone Part D or Medigap plans do pay commissions, but less than MA.[xl] In 2025, the standard commission for MA plans will be $626 (with some states as high as $780), compared to $109 for standalone Part D.[xli] Medigap commissions are generally a percentage of the plan premium[xlii] which can range from around $30 per month to hundreds depending on the state, the age of the insured, the plan type, and how the plan price is determined.[xliii]"

In recent years, insurance companies have flooded the MA market with plans that are difficult to tell apart, creating overwhelm and confusion that costs both beneficiaries and the Medicare program more than Original Medicare. This report addresses the causes and consequences of the rapid proliferati...

09/08/2025

Greeaat plan...add more bureaucracy and middlemen leeching off healthcare dollars in our already bloated healthcare spending budget.


"The federal government plans to hire private companies to use artificial intelligence to determine whether patients would be covered for some procedures, like certain spine surgeries or steroid injections. Similar algorithms used by insurers have been the subject of several high-profile lawsuits, which have asserted that the technology allowed the companies to swiftly deny large batches of claims and cut patients off from care in rehabilitation facilities.

The A.I. companies selected to oversee the program would have a strong financial incentive to deny claims. Medicare plans to pay them a share of the savings generated from rejections.

People enrolled in traditional Medicare who live in Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington State will be included in the experiment, which is expected to start in January and last for six years.

Dr. Vinay Rathi, an Ohio surgeon and an expert in Medicare payment policy, warned that the experiment could recreate the same hurdles that exist with Medicare Advantage, where people enroll in private plans. “It’s basically the same set of financial incentives that has created issues in Medicare Advantage and drawn so much scrutiny,” he said. “It directly puts them at odds with the clinicians.”

The new model relies on an additional set of private companies for traditional Medicare that have a very clear incentive to deny care."

https://www.doximity.com/newsfeed/4cccf28c-2e7f-4864-bddd-727d10c37912/Hillsboro Public Library

A pilot program in six states will use a tactic employed by private insurers that has been heavily criticized for delaying and denying medical care.

09/01/2025

Happy Labor Day!