It's no secret that healthcare can cost you an arm and a leg. But in some cases, you'll be billed for a few additional body parts. What determines whether the rate you're paying for a procedure is high or higher? The deals negotiated by the health insurers. How well are they negotiating on your behalf? "In many cases, insured patients are getting prices that are higher than they would if they pretended to have no coverage at all." And how wide is the range? An example: The price for a colonoscopy at Beaumont Hospital-Royal Oak is …$728 with a Blue Cross plan. $999 with a Cigna plan. $1,801 with a Humana plan. The Humana price is so high, there's no point of getting colonoscopy. You know you've been cleaned out. NYT Upshot (gift article for ND readers, regardless of insurance carrier): Hospitals and Insurers Didn't Want You to See These Prices. Here's Why.
+ "We've starved our public-health sector. The Costa Rica model demonstrates what happens when you put it first." Atul Gawande in The New Yorker: Costa Ricans Live Longer Than Us. What's the Secret? (Their coast is rich, not their health insurance operators.)
2
IT'S MORE THAN JUST A DRY HEAT
"Even if you had a hot and dry year, historically that wouldn't necessarily have led to all of a sudden fires exploding everywhere." In today's West, it's hard to imagine that wildfires used to serve a positive purpose. That changed. The Science of How Wildfires Got So Hellish.
The early days of the Afghanistan withdrawal were hampered by poor planning and intel, and the critiques are warranted. But the media needs to stop pretending those errors are the only part of the story. Few experts think we should have stayed longer. I'm hearing that many of those who served there are relieved it's finally ending. The Afghan government was remarkably corrupt. Leaving was never gonna be pretty. A story, even a tragic one, can have nuances, especially when it was built on 20 years of making mistakes and misleading the public. "I served in Afghanistan as a US Marine, twice. Here's the truth in two sentences. "One: For 20 years, politicians, elites and D.C. military leaders lied to us about Afghanistan. Two: What happened last week was inevitable, and anyone saying differently is still lying to you."
+ Trump booed after telling supporters to get Covid vaccine. With Trump, the GOP created a monster they couldn't control. The same is true for Trump and his base. It's easier to spread lies than to corral them.
5
LIQUID ASSETS
"Early every day, 14-year-old Fabrício Conceição de Jesus grabs the board, walks down those stairs and transitions from the world of the favela — where he's another kid struggling to survive in an unequal society — to the world of surfing, where he's considered one of Rio's most promising new surfing talents." WaPo with a photo essay: In unequal Brazil, a surfing talent rises from the favela.
6
TENNESSEE FLASH FLOODS
The storms in the NY area got more coverage over the weekend. But Tennessee was hit hard. "Search crews worked through shattered homes and tangled debris on Monday, looking for about a dozen people still missing after record-breaking rain sent floodwaters surging through rural Tennessee, killing at least 22 people."
"Moderation is a plan to remove what is harmful. Curation actively finds what is helpful, contextual, and, most importantly, truthful." What if we focused less on stopping the lies and more on promoting the truth? A Harvard professor predicted COVID disinformation on the web. Here's what may be coming next.
8
DRY UMPING
"The eeriest thing about the robo-umpire is the silence." The New Yorker's Zach Helfand: Invasion of the Robot Umpires. Meh. The different zones umpires have is a key part of the game.
9
TAINT MY BAG
"UMZU also bills him as a microbiome expert, based on his claims to be the first person to complete the Duke University neuroscience course in three years, and to have cured a brain tumour with nutrition, supplements and exercise. A now-deleted page on Walker's personal website claims that his passion for health began when he performed an illegal bladder stone surgery on a man in Mexico at the age of 16." Wired: They wanted big balls. This startup said it could help. (Nuts.)
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For some of us, picking a seat in class was the most difficult part of the school day. And while assigned seats might not put you next to a friend, a new study shows how beneficial this can be in building friendships between dissimilar students. The study conducted in Hungarian schools found that seating kids next to each other increased their likelihood of becoming friends by 7% — regardless of gender, ethnicity, or even educational achievement.
#PLANTPARENTHOOD
Rapid boom in houseplants come with some risks Mon Aug 16
Over the past few years, the indoor houseplant sector has grown 50%. The bulk of these new sales were from 18 to 24-year-olds, with a fifth of purchases made in the name of wellness — one U.K. study even showed a 15% increase in productivity in greener offices. By 2019, the industry was worth $48 billion. Now, online spaces are replete with communities sharing tips and showcasing plant collections with #plantmom or #plantparenthood hashtags.
But with demand growing even more in the pandemic, some are questioning their clean image. Houseplants have historically been known for their ability to improve a home's air quality, but more recent investigation into old research shows the claims are overstated. It can take 100 plants in an average sized room to make a noticeable difference. And while plants are crucial to environmental health, that also depends on what is planted and how. For example, some indoor plants require artificial lighting and heat while others simply have a short lifespan, leading to more plants purchased.
Then there's peat moss, commonly used by plant sellers. It's a natural fuel containing decomposed plants and organic material that retains nutrients and moisture, making it the ideal medium for houseplants. That said, peat is problematic because peatland not only stores a third of the world's carbon soil but harvesting peat from it also releases carbon dioxide (the major greenhouse gas driving climate change). Peat is also as flammable as gas or diesel with peatland fires responsible for five percent of human-caused carbon emissions.
In 2015, a peatland fire in Indonesia ranked among the worst man-made disasters in its history. These fires continue to be a problem for the country.
Last month, a potted plant spontaneously burst into flames and led to a house fire in Colorado. The plant was in direct sunlight during extreme heat and had not been watered.
Just this week, Minnesota experienced a multi-day peat fire that stretched at least 24 acres due to dry conditions. One of the challenges local firefighters faced is how peat moss fires often burn in the ground, which means they can last up to months.
Fortunately, there are peat alternatives for those hoping to make a safer choice with their green pets. Some small businesses are beginning to sell peat-free solutions, such as Organic Mechanics. Compost is an increasingly popular substitute for peat moss and other store-bought soils. Finally, there's the option to buy plants that don't even require peat, such as poinsettias or sprayed cacti.
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