At the end of September, Congress allowed the deadline for refunding CHIP to expire. Replenishing funds for the program should be a slam dunk in Congress — there is usually bipartisan support for this program that helps kids — but CHIP still doesn’t have a funding plan, and the program is running on fumes.
Most consumers want value for their money. When we buy a house or a car, we shop carefully and thoroughly — and there are rules and regulations governing the information a seller must provide to the buyer. But not so for the medical industry. In many cases, hospitals and doctors deliberately keep the true cost of medical procedures a closely-held secret. Can this unfair and outdated system ever be changed?
Doctors in West Africa are having a tough time battling Ebola since they’re lacking the most basic supplies — like gloves and masks. Dr. Roseda Marshall, the chair of pediatrics at the University of Liberia’s Dogliotti College of Medicine, says the world is wasting time while the epidemic spreads.