ObamaCare vs. neglect --what's better for your health?

• 

• • 

    Lawmakers Trying to Opt Out of ObamaCare?

  • 

    ObamaCare Driving Up Health-Care Costs?

  • 

    How ObamaCare is blocking my business expansion

Most Americans -- even those who are legislators -- know very little about the details of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, so-called "ObamaCare." Next year, when it goes into effect, we will learn the hard way.

Many people lazily assume that the law will do roughly what it promises: give insurance to the uninsured and lower the cost of health care by limiting spending on dubious procedures.

Don’t count on it.

Consider just the complexity: The act itself is more than 906 pages long, and again and again in those 906 pages are the words, “the Secretary shall promulgate regulations ...”

If only government would neglect the rest of health care! Then we’d have better service and better care at lower cost.

“Secretary” refers to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. Her minions have been busy. They’ve already added 20,000 pages of rules. They form a stack 7 feet high, and more are to come.

Our old health care system was already a bureaucratic and regulatory nightmare. It had 16,000 different codes for different ailments. Under our new, “improved” system, there will be more than a 100,000.

Government likes to think regulations can account for every possibility. Injured at a chicken coop? The code for that will be Y9272. Fall at an art gallery? That means you are a Y92250.

There are three different codes for walking into a lamppost -- depending on how often you’ve walked into lampposts. This is supposed to give government a more precise way to reimburse doctors for treating people and alert us to surges in injuries that might inspire further regulation.

On Government-Planned World, this makes sense. But it will be no more successful than Soviet central planning.

Compare all that to a tiny part of American medicine that is still free-market: Lasik eye surgery.
Its quality has improved, while its costs have dropped 25 percent. Lasik (and cosmetic surgery) are specialties that provide a better consumer experience because they are a market. Patients pay directly, so doctors innovate constantly to please them. Lasik doctors even give patients their cell phone numbers.

President Obama didn’t kill American free-market health care. It began dying during World War II, when government imposed wage and price controls. 

At first, companies said, “Great, stability!” But then they realized that they could not attract better workers without raises. So companies got around the rules, as companies do. They gave “benefits,” like health insurance.

Government then distorted the market further by giving employer-based health insurance better tax treatment than coverage you buy yourself.

But employer-based insurance is nuts. Many workers feel locked into their jobs. Company insurance largely destroyed the health care free market, since employees rarely shop for the best service at the lowest price.

Now ObamaCare may kill what’s left of that market.

Maybe we will soon be like Canada, where some people wait years for treatment. A producer from my TV show went to a Canadian town where the town clerk pulls names out of a box and then phones people to say: “Congratulations! You get to see a doctor this month!”

But there is at least one area where Canada offers cutting-edge, life-saving technologies. Unfortunately, to get this care, you have to meow or bark. Veterinary care is still handled by the market. Providers innovate or go out of business.

Markets find ways to make things better and cheaper. ObamaCare often forbids that. For example, it requires that every insurance policy cover preventive care and “breastfeeding support.” It insists that mammograms and colonoscopies be provided without any deductible.

It’s tempting to believe that such rules prevent illness and save money, but there is little evidence they will. 

Some people will undergo invasive procedures that shorten lives instead of extending them. Some of us want those tests; some don’t. 

Government controlled medicine means we  all get them and pay for them, regardless of whether we want them. Government control kills consumer choice.

Lucky Lasik and cosmetic surgery patients! Their treatments are better in part because government doesn’t consider them important enough to subsidize and regulate. If only government would neglect the rest of health care! Then we’d have better service and better care at lower cost.

And we’d have choices.

John Stossel is host of "Stossel" on the Fox Business Network. He's the author of  "No, They Can't: Why Government Fails-But Individuals Succeed," "Give Me a Break" and of "Myth, Lies, and Downright Stupidity." To find out more about John Stossel, visit his website at johnstossel.com.

View the original article here

Tips for better green cleaning

• 

Green cleaning is so popular. Every blogger is posting their "totally amazing" homemade cleaner recipe that involves three magical ingredients, such as castile soap, vinegar and baking soda. All of this all sounds awesome, until you actually try the recipe yourself. Then you wonder what that blogger's standards of cleanliness actually are. Am I right? 

Since I've been publish articles on green cleaning several times a month, for almost three years now, I have tried a lot of green cleaning recipes and techniques. I have come to one conclusion: If I were stuck on a desert island with two cleaning products, they would be bleach and dish soap. I would also want rags, an empty spray bottle, water and a bucket, and a good scrub brush. Not vinegar, not baking soda, and definitely not lemon juice.

But hey, I hear you if you won't use bleach in your house. It's not for everybody. So let's get to my green cleaning tips.

Don't clean with lemon juice: In my experience, lemon juice leaves a sticky residue on surfaces. It is, after all, juice. Though it is touted to be a grease-cutter, I find that it does not cut through grease. I have used lemon juice to clean both diluted and neat, and I've always been disappointed with the results. As an alternative, I recommend cleaning with a dish soap and water solution and a scrub brush. Dish soap and water solution, even the ecologically-friendly kind, cuts grease way better than lemon juice. Combined with a brush and elbow grease, it is a very effective cleanser for greasy kitchen appliances. The trick is to do two passes on the surface with it, and wipe with rags after each pass. Dish soap and water are actually one of the best tile floor cleansers I've used.

Water down the vinegar: Straight vinegar doesn't clean more effectively than a vinegar and water solution. Vinegar neat is super-smelly, and hard on skin. It also leaves a residue on glass surfaces, in my experience. Water it down for best results. I like a 6 parts water to 1 part vinegar ratio, but try different strengths of concentration for yourself. Also, flooring contractors agree that straight vinegar is very harmful to hardwood floor finishes, so never use it straight to clean a hardwood floor. Read 8 Ways Not to Use Vinegar.

Rinse baking soda off with water: Who has ever tried using baking soda as a scrubbing cleanser, only to be left with a residue on the surface you cleaned? The trick to using baking soda as an abrasive cleanser is to wipe it off with rags, then spray the surface down with water, and wipe with rags again.

Use plain castile soap for laundry instead of putting it in a DIY laundry detergent: A few months ago, I made my own laundry detergent and was so excited. It contained castile soap, but in a much smaller proportion than washing soda, baking soda, and Borax. It turned out not to really work unless I squirted a whole lot of castile soap into the wash with it. Then I ran out of my DIY laundry detergent, and used just castile soap to do the wash. Guess what. It cleaned better than the DIY laundry detergent did. It helps to add vinegar to the rinse cycle to wash the soapy residue off the your clothes (not at the beginning of the wash, or you will counteract the castile soap). I am also sure that my NYC plumber is glad that I am not rinsing undissolved detergent solids down the drain anymore.

Do you have green cleaning tips? What works best for you? Please comment.

Chaya Kurtz writes for Networx.com.

Click to view original post.

View the original article here

Taking the kids -- and eating healthier -- and better -- in ski country

I don't know where to look first.

Above us, constellations glitter in Utah's clear night sky. But right in front of us Chef Joe Walker lights up the backcountry another way -- by putting on a spirited fire show in the snow, twirling torches impossibly fast in each hand.

We snowshoed in under lantern light to the small yurt (no more than 20 guests!) at Solitude Mountain Resort for a five-course dinner (the $100 per person tab would have been considerably more in a major city) that was all the more impressive when Chef Joe explained that he cooked without electricity, starting with tomato black bean lentil soup, continuing with baby kale salad topped with salmon and goat cheese, pan seared scallops, duck breast with polenta and finished with a pomegranate reduction. Dessert? The best bread pudding I've ever eaten -- made with apple and topped with ice cream and caramel sauce.

Maybe you'd rather dogsled to lunch or dinner -- you can at Snowmass where you are served game and fresh fish. Boy, how food in ski country has changed -- on the mountain as well as off -- especially for kids.

Forget mac and cheese, unless it is homemade with local cheese. Forget chili, unless it's vegetarian or made with local grass-fed beef. The kids -- and you -- have your choice of free-range chicken, homemade soups, pizza baked in a wood-fired oven and quinoa salad, not to mention artisanal beers and spirits. (Even Park City, Utah has its own High West Distillery where, incidentally, kids love the food as much as the grown-ups. And no worries if you want gluten-free, vegan or vegetarian choices. "These days, they expect that we will have those and we are ready for them," at each meal, said Deer Valley chef, Jodie Rogers.

Gone are the days of overpriced greasy burgers and fries, says David Scott, the executive chef at Colorado's Keystone Resort, which is piloting the National Restaurant Association's Kids Live Well initiative for Vail Resorts this year. The initiative has been implemented across 120 brands and in some 33,000 restaurants around the country and is designed to get kids eating more fruits and veggies, whole grains and lean proteins while limiting fats, sugar and sodium. (Participating restaurants and their qualifying items can be found on healthydiningfinder.com and via a free Kids Live Well app in the Android Market and iTunes app store.)

At Keystone's Mountain House base lodge that means a chicken taco or teriyaki chicken noodle bowl at the Ripperoo Kids Station (designed so kids can reach to order themselves).

There isn't a chicken finger in sight. And with the scary statistics about childhood obesity -- the American Heart Association reports that one in three kids is overweight, leading to many health problems -- that's certainly a good thing.

"Kids are much more adventurous eaters and parents are looking for healthier options," David Scott, the father of a 9 year old, explained.

Chef Jodie Rogers notes that at the resort's multicourse Fireside Dining, kids are often more enthusiastic than their parents about the raclette -- the Swiss cheese melted over the roaring fire and served with boiled potatoes and an assortment of locally crafted charcuterie. All of the food -- from the veal and wild mushroom stew and fire-roasted lamb to the different kinds of dessert fondues are cooked over open fireplaces and kids love that they can pick and choose. (It's a good deal too at $58 for adults and $28 for kids under 12.)

At Snowmass' new on-mountain Elk Camp Restaurant with its killer views, kids can chow down on a kid-sized portion of freshly made rotisserie chicken and smashed potatoes rather than fries. There are lentil, couscous and faro salads on the expansive salad bar, as well as meatloaf made from Colorado grass-fed beef.

Ski school meals at a growing number of resorts have been overhauled to make them healthier too. Think baked potato and salad bar at Deer Valley, or a veggie burger at Smugglers' Notch (www.smuggs.com) in Vermont.

Hotels and fine-dining restaurants in ski country have gotten on the bandwagon too. Hyatt Hotels, which has recently revamped all of its kids' menus "For Kids By Kids," complete with a new kids' website to encourage healthier eating, now is offering complimentary tween cooking lessons with the chef to encourage kids to eat healthier. At the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa, the kids' menu includes whole wheat pasta, fresh crudities and shrimp skewers.

I love that Hyatt and Fairmont Hotels invite kids to order half-portions from the adult menu when possible. Fairmont Hotels also has recently revamped its kids' menus as part of a broad initiative to focus on healthier and locally sourced foods -- think Quebec pork filet with blueberries at the Fairmont Tremblant in Quebec, or broiled British Columbia salmon served with brown rice at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler.

At Stowe Mountain Lodge in Vermont, kids can even order the dish that won the Destination Hotels and Resorts 2012 Healthy Kids Recipe Contest -- Hidden Veggie Pepperoni Mac and Cheese.

Vail celebrity chef, Kelly Liken, meanwhile, known for embracing locally sourced and in-season ingredients and founder of Sowing Seeds, an edible schoolyard program, welcomes kids to her restaurant with a four-course tasting menu ($35) that changes with the seasons and is culled from the freshest ingredients, just like her adult menu.

"It is just the right amount of food for you to enjoy alongside of your family, without having to eat 'boring adult' food with them," she promises kids.

Can grown-ups have a taste?

Eileen Ogintz is a syndicated columnist and writes about family travel on her Taking the Kids blog. Follow "taking the kids" on www.twitter.com, where Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments.

View the original article here