■ Can we actually control cancer? That's the question being discussed by the Global Leadership Forum for Cancer Control. This international, grassroots organization believes that with "existing knowledge, it is possible to prevent at least one-third of the 10 million cases that occur annually. Where sufficient resources are available, current knowledge allows the early detection and treatment of another one-third of cases."
That seems a tall order, but perhaps they're on to something. If you're interested, they're holding their first Global Leadership Forum for Cancer Control in Canada later this year. For more info, check out their website.
■ Regular readers know that we don't do paid advertising here, but we do offer links to a few specialty products, primarily as a convenience for our clients. You may have noticed a new product at the bottom of the sidebar: "HIPAA Compliant Special Risk Medical." We're sort of ambivalent about limited benefit (aka "mini-med") plans: while they can be a terrific safety net for folks with severe, chronic health problems, they're often misused by agents who may not fully appreciate their limitations (or who don't really care about them). Still, they can be helpful because they're (usually) guaranteed issue, and will eventually cover pre-existing conditions.
That "eventually" is really the sticking point: why should one pay premiums for 6 or 12 months even before coverage for pre-existing conditions takes effect? Well, if that's your only choice, then so be it. But this new plan will cover pre-ex immediately (assuming previous coverage), neatly avoiding that problem.
■ Finally, this video from a group called "Conservatives for Patients' Rights." What I found so interesting about this video, which outlines four "pillars" of health care reform, is that it stresses (at least) two IB themes: transparency and personal responsibility. I also appreciated that it takes only about 30 or so seconds to make its point.
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