Doctors are regular people, just like the rest of us. They put their pants on one leg at a time, and they go through the same thought processes that we all do. They have good and bad days, and sometimes, they wish they could just open their mouths and let their patients know what they really think about health, lifestyle choices and your incessant whining. Reader’s Digest compiled a comprehensive, telling and hilarious list of quotes from the likes of general practitioners, surgeons, shrinks, pediatricians, and other specialists, and their honesty and bluntness is refreshing. You may see your patient self reflected in some of the following accounts, but don’t feel bad. Now you know what your doctor is probably thinking and you can use what follows as a tool to create a better doctor/patient relationship.

Doctors Say: Impatience is Our Virtue

Although a doctor is supposed to be endlessly patient, listening as we prattle on about our list of suspected ailments, what they are doing inside is mentally tapping their foot and rolling their eyes. Some secrets doctors around the country shared:

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The Geography of the Congressional Health Care Bill

With a narrow 219 to 212 margin of victory, the landmark health care reform bill (known as the “Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act”) passed Sunday night. President Obama – along with Vice President Joe Biden – watched the final tally of votes from the White House. Responding, the President said: “We pushed back on the undue influence of special interests. We didn’t give in to mistrust or to cynicism or to fear. Instead, we proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things.”

HR4872 was a revised form of the health care bill passed by Congress on Christmas Eve. It was meant to reconcile some of the reservations that the Senate had with many of the original bill’s provisions. Unfortunately, between Christmas Eve and the vote on Sunday, a spectre of controversy has arisen over the bill, and ultimately, 34 Democrats stood with Republicans to oppose the bill. Representative John Boehner, Republican from Ohio, pledged to vehemently fight the bill: “The American people are angry. This body moves forward against their will. Shame on us,” said Boehner.  Chances are high, however, that the bill will pass the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes.

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This post is a little delayed, since most people are getting excited and making their New Year’s resolutions right before and after the 1st of the year. It’s actually an ideal time to discussing this, because the shine has worn off your grand plans for creating a better, healthier you this year. You may have lost steam on your ambitions and have start falling back into hold habits. Don’t! There are small, easily attainable steps to living a healthy life this year and for the rest of your years. Read on and take things one minute at a time. After all, improving your health also means an improvement in the costs of your individual health insurance plan.

Veggie Tales and Your Health

You know how your mom was always trying to get you to eat your vegetables? Well, she knows her stuff. You should be aiming to get at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. If you dread the thought of biting into an apple of spearing a piece of broccoli, fear not. Vegetable servings are hiding in some possibly unexpected places. if you are a big fan of baked goods, you can sneak lots of fruit in there. Bake some zucchini bread, use applesauce instead of oil; you can even use prunes to bake! If you love your carbs, grate some carrots into your pasta sauce. Just try and pretend they’re not there.

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If you don’t think you’re low-income and aren’t sure if you’d qualify for the services we talked about in our pregnancy health insurance article (it’s always a good idea to check just in case), there may be other options you can look into as a pregnant, mother-to-be. They do come at a cost, but at a much more reduced cost than other traditional pregnancy health care plans.

Maternity Advantage is a discounted health care program that can help pregnant woman save upwards of 60% on things like prenatal doctor visits, sonograms, lab work, and the hospital stay when you give birth. Although Maternity Advantage itself isn’t health insurance, it works with provider maternity networks to find the best plan that will work for you. All the benefits available through Maternity Advantage are still offered to you even after you find out that you are pregnant.

AmeriPlan is another discount plan that is currently available in all U.S. states except Alaska. AmeriPlan can help save up to 50% on health care services, and is a great choice for expecting mothers. Benefits include physician, hospital, and ancillary services (i.e., lab work, tests, x-rays). Since AmeriPlan, like Maternity Advantage, is not insurance, all pre-existing conditions are covered, there are no deductibles, no waiting periods, no claim forms, and no annual limits. This all sounds too good to be true, so make sure you look into every little detail of these plans before making your choices.

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“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” This is the opening line to the famous novel “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, but to many Americans bidding adieu to 2008, it really just feels like the worst of times with no sunshine in sight.

About 1 million people lost their jobs in 2008, which means that over the course of a mere twelve months, 33% of the entire nation’s population found themselves jobless. That is pretty darn terrifying itself, not to mention the plethora of problems that come along with having no job. Not the least of these problems is losing your health insurance, if you were receiving it through your employer. As if worrying about making ends meet wasn’t problem enough, so many of us are worrying about keeping ourselves and our families healthy. Luckily, there are ways to cope with this situation, so don’t toss your health hopes out the window just yet.

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Editor’s Preface: The new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is a revolutionary step in addressing our most vital economic challenges. A significant portion of the money doled out by the ARRA ($59 billion) will go towards immediately addressing the health crisis. This is the second part in a two-part series on subsidies for COBRA in the ARRA. We have also extensively covered this subject in “COBRA Health Coverage in a Bad Economy” and “Stimulus Package and COBRA Health Coverage.” You can find Part 1 of this series at: “COBRA Health Subsidies and the Economic Recovery Act“

COBRA Subsidies and Your Health Insurance

Knowing who is and isn’t qualified for this 65% COBRA subsidy coverage can get a little sticky. The ARRA only provides the subsidy to AEI, or “assistance eligible individuals.” Who qualifies as one of these special AEI’s? Anyone who is eligible for COBRA coverage on or before September 1, 2008 or on or after December 31, 2009. This is an interesting way of looking at things, because wouldn’t it just be simpler to say anyone on or after September 1, since December 31 falls after that date? Moving on. An AEI is also someone who chooses to use COBRA during the original COBRA period, or during a special period of coverage. Just what is a special period of coverage? This special election period begins on the date of enactment of the ARRA and ends 60 days after the person’s health plan administrator provides the required notice to the individual. You also have to be covered by COBRA via an involuntary termination (covered in my last post) by your former employer’s health insurance coverage plan.

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