Future of American Medicine

This week while sitting in the waiting room before my annual physical, I overheard a retired Ford Motor employee being told by a staff member that his supplemental health insurance plan would no longer be accepted by Cleveland Clinic and that Medicare might not cover all his expenses. She mentioned that he would need to speak with one of their financial planners before scheduling any appointments.

Just last week my husband had to prepay Cleveland Clinic $1200 before the doctor would perform laser surgery to correct his astigmatism in one eye. Medicare would cover the cataract surgery, but not the 30 second laser procedure.

Fortunately, we had the cash to cover it, but I couldn't help thinking that these two incidents reflect a change in the way Americans will receive medical treatment under Obamacare. Anyone who depends on Medicare as the sole source of healthcare payment knows that it covers only the most minimum care. 

Seniors have been paying $300 to $500 or more per month for supplement healthcare insurance for quite a while now. I'm wondering how many of these supplemental plans will no longer be accepted by hospitals and physicians. What's coming for seniors? No treatment unless you prepay?

Affordable Care Act

Seniors need to know - "If you have Medicare, you’re considered covered and don’t have to make any changes. You can’t use the Marketplace to buy a supplemental or dental plan." This is a direct quote from the government's Healthcare website.

There is no need for seniors to waste their time applying online. If you have already lost your supplemental health care coverage or will lose coverage over the next few years, there is no provision in the ACA to help seniors.

Medicare Advantage programs need only pay benefits that Medicare would pay. The patient is responsible for all other charges.

Paleo E-Cookbooks

I prefer reading my non-fiction books, especially cookbooks, in e-book format over print, because it is easier to screen capture a page on my computer than to spend a lot of time hand copying recipes. I can then print out the recipe or save it to an online app called "Dropbox" that is easily accessible with my mini i-Pad wherever I happen to be.

These are the latest titles accessed recently through my accounts with area libraries:

Paleo eBooks

The Paleo diet is one I have turned to combat my own dietary allergies. I feel better and more alert, but have not experienced any significant weight loss. Natural sugar in fruits and some vegetables is still sugar and replacing wheat and whole grain flour with Paleo friendly flour needs to be done in more moderation than I'm currently practicing. I do love my desserts. Drat it!

Paleo Cooking from Elana's Pantry: Gluten-free, Dairy-free recipes, by Elana Amsterdam

A family-friendly collection of simple paleo recipes that emphasize protein and produce, from breakfasts to entrees to treats, from the popular gluten-free blogger of Elana's Pantry

Primal Cravings: Your favorite foods made Paleo, by Brandon Keatley

Inside you'll find assorted breakfasts, meat and main dishes, sides and salads, snacks, sweets and basics like bread, sauces, and dressings. All 125 innovative recipes are low-sugar, grain-free, gluten-free, and industrial oil-free. 

Primal Cuisine: Cooking for the Paleo diet, by Pauli Halstead

150 budget-conscious paleo diet recipes from gourmet chef Pauli Halstead. These easy-to-follow recipes provide more than 20 choices for every meal of the day—even desserts and snacks—and all are free of grains, gluten, sugar, chemicals, antibiotics, and hormones

Living Paleo for Dummies, by Melissa Joulwan

Offering more than 40 recipes for every meal of the day, and providing tips for getting around common roadblocks such as eating out

The Paleo Slow Cooker: Healthy, gluten-free meals the easy way, by Arsy Vartanian

taking the low carb diet a step further by eliminating grains and legumes and eating only lean, grass-fed meat

The Primal Blueprint Cookbook: Primal low Carb, Paleo, grain-free and gluten-free, by Mark Sisson

Mark Sisson is the founder & publisher of MarksDailyApple.com, and author of The Primal Blueprint. 

The Paleo Diet Cookbook: More than 150 recipes for Paleo breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and beverages, by Loren Cordain

The cookbook based on the bestselling The Paleo Diet - Contains 2 weeks of meal plans and shopping and pantry tips.

Paleo for Beginners: Essentials to get started, by John Chatham.

A comprehensive, yet concise guide to embracing the Paleo lifestyle. 

The low-carb, high-protein diet is a simple, healthy way to lose weight and feel better.

Paleo Summer Survival Guide: 12 Must-have recipes plus insider tips for a healthy, happy summer by Julie and Charles Mayfield

500 Paleo Recipes, by Dana Carpender

John Chatham series of books: Paleo Slow Cooker, Paleo Cookies, Paleo Muffins, Paleo Pasta

Remembering 1968

My first job after graduate school was as manager of the Brookside Branch of the Tulsa City-County Library System. I found a one room garage apartment just a few blocks away from my library and arrived in Tulsa with just enough money to pay for my first months rent and only $5.00 leftover for food until my first paycheck.

In 1968 that $5.00 had a lot more buying power than it does today. Hamburger was only forty-nine cents a pound. I was able to purchase two pounds of ground beef, head of lettuce, loaf of bread, milk, ketchup, dozen eggs, and vitamins. This would cost over $25.00 with today's prices.

I never told anyone how hard up I was at the time.  I survived - thanks to a couple free dinners from the family that owned by apartment. 

George Zimmerman Trial Results - Not Guilty

Wonder why anti-gun advocates haven't made the case that Trayvon Martin might still be alive if Zimmerman had not been carrying a gun? Is it because Zimmerman would have been the one seriously injured or killed if he had not been carrying?

An eyewitness said that George was on the ground with Trayvon sitting on top of him, throwing punches downward. We'll never know how long Trayvon would have continued beating Zimmerman. George's nose was broken and bloody.

Would pummeling him unconscious been enough? Would the police have arrived in time to stop the beating or would Trayvon have just walked away?

We'll never know.

Guilty

Two years ago Anthony Sowell was convicted of murdering eleven women in the Mount Pleasant area of Cleveland and this week three young women escaped from their ten year captivity in the basement of a home on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland.

One of the women reported that another child had been there when she was first kidnapped, but that child disappeared. Over the past ten years these three young women were sexually brutalized, had multiple pregnancies and miscarriages with one six year old little girl surviving.

Over the past four years I have been volunteering at the Thea Bowman Center in the Mount Pleasant area of Cleveland. Hearing about these horrendous crimes disturbs me to the very core of my being. God have mercy on us.

Best Peanut Butter Cookies - gluten-free

Looking for an easy gluten-free cookie recipe that actually tastes great? Warning - it's not sugar free or low calorie.

Ingredients:

1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat eggs and sugar together. Add peanut butter, mix until all ingredients are blended. Use smallest ice cream scooper or tablespoon to drop cookies onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Will make almost three dozen.

Bake 17 to 19 minutes until golden brown. Let cookies rest a few minutes before removing from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Yum!

"I am not a dictator"

Remember when President Nixon said on TV, "I am not a crook!"? I felt I was experiencing déjà vu when President Obama announced during his last TV appearance, "I am not a dictator...".

I'm beginning to think he mimics the bad aspects of Nixon's presidency (secrecy, paranoia, hit lists) than that of Lincoln, who's presidency he praises publicly.

Whole30

Although I've been eating mostly Paleo since August 2012, I ate very poorly during the holidays. I also developed the habit of eating too much fruit, nuts, and dairy, so I decided I needed to do something serious about my diet in 2013.

I began the Whole30 program today with Pulled Pork, mushroom, onion, and spinach frittata for brunch. Will prepare Stuffed green peppers with Spaghetti squash and salad as sides for dinner. Will make mashed potatoes for my husband, since he's not fond of squash.

The hardest part so far has been drinking my coffee black - I do miss my sugar free Hazelnut Coffeemate.

Since my pantry is well stocked with Paleo products, I didn't have to buy a lot of new stuff.