There are a lot of opinions and economists’ assumptions bandied about as facts in the discussions about changing the American health care system. Today I want to look at this assertion: The cost of medical care is high in the United States in large part because of medical malpractice insurance and medically unnecessary, cover-your-ass [...]

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Last week NPR’s Planet Money podcast broadcast an interview with the economist Jonathan Gruber, who said that many Americans get too much insurance. Basically, for some of us everything is covered, and consequently we “use too much healthcare.” According to Mr. Gruber’s data, 1/3 of our healthcare spending is “unnecessary.” For him [...]

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If you have to travel a long distance by plane, Etihad Airways’ Diamond First Class Suite might be the best way to go. Of course the round-trip fares from JFK to Sydney are around $20,000 (per person) for our travel days, or roughly 15 times the cost of our Qantas economy class seats. . . .
Of course, [...]

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What do I know about Australia? Other than the stereotypical — Sydney Olympics and Opera House, Aborigines, Uluṟu, Great Barrier Reef, Aussie Rules Football, kangaroos, killer koala bears, cuddly crocodiles, stinging jellyfish, and beer — so far my experience has been limited to film and music:
Men at Work, INXS, Olivia Newton John, Air Supply, [...]

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So you already know that I ♥ my pancreas. I hope that soon I’ll be able to ♥ both my real and “artificial” pancreases. Kerri at Six Until Me has a great write-up of an announcement between JDRF, Johnson & Johnson, and DexCom which should speed my new love’s arrival. (Update: The [...]

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