Our National Health Care Bill

(credit :  most content of this post was gleaned from AARP April 2017 bulletin)

Our annual bill is $3.2 trillion annually.  And the attached chart shows where it goes.  Since we are all involved in either paying for this, or using some of its services, I thought it would be good to share this graph from AARP Bulletin  April 2017

Age is a big factor in health care costs. With the exception of Japan, the world’s

25 “oldest” countries are all in Europe; the United States ranks 29^th in aging population percentage. That’s measured by the % of the population over age 65.

An interesting aging option (Government assisted) is a cash model. Germany, introduced a social insurance program for long-term care that includes a cash benefit option. This option provides beneficiaries with a cash payment to purchase services or support informal caregivers. In Germany, most cash benefits go to informal caregivers or are given to the household rather than used to buy formal services. 

http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/health/2003_13_ltc_dv.pdf

Here is an interesting PDF on health care among developed nations – we obviously spend way more % of our GDP than most developed nations.   

Where does our USA health care dollars go?

1.     by far the most goes to hospital care  32% of all medical spending

2.     physicians get the next 20 %

3.     drugs get the next 10 %

4.     Government or Insurance company expenses get 8%

5.     Nursing care facilities take in about 5 % -- far less than I thought

6.     Research is about 5 %

7.     Personal care about 5 %

8.     Dental services about 4 %

9.     Medical equipment 4 %

10. other services  3 %

11. home health care only 3 % -- I thought it would be much more

12. public health care (for the poor ?)  3 %  .. not a great deal

Where does the money come from ?

1.     Private health insurance  33 %

2.     Medicare   20 %

3.     Out of pocket  11 %

4.     Medicaid  11 % --- not as much as some think but still sizeable

5.     VA or Military  3 %

6.     Public health money 3%

7.     other 3^rd. party payers  8 %

      8.     non profits  8 % --- I guess like the Gates Foundation?  Not sure

Take Less Of A Charger On The Road

The Wall Street Journal today had a small suggestion on how to make travel a bit easier.  Love your thin and tiny notebook computer, but then notice you have to take along the “brick” as most chargers are known.  The “bricks” are heavy, bulky and not very portable.

Here is a solution   https://finsix.com/?gclid=CJ2fzrCwg9MCFcEbgQod2BsIdQ

At only 2.9 oz and measuring a pockable size of only a few inches, this charger will charge a wide range of PC’s and a new version works with MacBooks’ too. 

Not only that, it can be used anywhere in the world, and includes a USB charging port.  What a deal !!  Even comes in colors.  Including one called blue, which is not your usual blue, and orange and magenta.  Only $100.  Not a bad solution at all for a nagging problem many of us have had over the years. 

 

NOTE:  some reviewers on Amazon said it might not be strong enough to charge a big, 15” laptop / notebook.  But it will do many, if not most, of the smaller ones many people travel with.Customer service, however, is great said one reviewer.

Yeti Rambler 20 oz. Tumbler -- Leak Proof Lid

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQU1CEF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yeti Rambler 20 oz tumblers work very well, keep ice solid for a long time, and warm drinks warm.  But, personally, I use my tumbler in the car, and, if falls over,  water (or other liquid) pours out of the drinking opening onto everything it touches.  This, to me is a design flaw, there was (is) no way to prevent the spilling when you carry this in a back pack, or on the front seat of your car.

Enter a solution, Amazon sells many after-market caps, with various options, such as a smaller hole for a straw, or whatever.  But most are very over-priced in my opinion.  Then, I discovered this one (see link above).  Only $2.19 with only 99 cents shipping charge. It was shipped from Poshan City, China, and it arrived today.  I love it, very impressive clear plastic and the seal over the drinking spout is very well designed, and should seal off any and all leaking.  It also fits the Yeti perfectly. 

So, if you want an alternative for your Yeti Rambler, here is the perfectly reasonable place to get a high quality, “Yeti” quality, compatible, solution to spilling. Added convenience with very little extra cost.

Angie's List Now Has A Free Version

http://fortune.com/2016/07/13/angies-list-reviews-free/

Angie’s List is now free – or there is a free version with millions of recommendations and reviews on home services and related.  They still offer premium services which include some things like pricing and quality guarantees.

I once belonged, but didn’t use them enough to justify $10 a year, however, that was probably penny wise, and pound foolish, as one repair saving – or avoiding a bad service company, would have paid for it for a decade.  I will now sign up for free. Somehow I missed this change of policy by Angie in 2016. 

Your comments? 

Business Cards

I am a big believer in having an old fashioned business card on my person at all times. You never know when you will need to share contact information with someone.  Or, to have some printed information to give to someone to some task accomplished at a store or government or non profit agency.  I have changed my cards every few years, with new graphics, and larger fonts for easier reading.  Lately I have used Vistaprint.  They have 250 and 500 quantities available for only a few dollars, and last time they let me use a color logo (different color than the ink on the card) for no extra charge.  I used one of their stock logos (they have 100’s of choices).   You can also upload your own.

Freight is a sizeable extra, I always choose the slowest shipping time to get the lowest price. They push many other products during checkout, but if you can work your way though the maze, you get a genuine bargain on the cards, I think.

http://www.vistaprint.com/lp/business-cards-next-gen-no-nav-3b.aspx?pg=16&preid=1&couponAutoload=1&GP=03%2f09%2f2017+22%3a34%3a02&GPS=4308580115&GNF=1

If you are interested in the link it is just above.  Note -- it is not necessary to put a title or company name on your card, if you plan to use it for personal contact.  And if you feel the need to put a title on the card, put "Scientist".  Look up the definition:  "Person seeing truth or knowledge".  All readers of my Blog can fit that description! 

Your comments always welcome !!

Longer Life For Your Smart Phone Battery

http://www.kiplinger.com/article/spending/T057-C011-S003-how-to-make-smartphone-battery-last-longer.html

Kiplinger usually vets articles for accuracy, so I am assuming this is factual, and useful.  Here are the tips:

1.     if you discharge your phone battery to zero, it will only last about 500 charging cycles

2.     it is better to not let the charge go below about 40% without recharging, that will increase your ability to recharge the battery to about 1,500 charges

3.     it is OK to leave the phone charging all night (it shuts down charging when it is full).  HOWEVER to get maximum life from the battery, don’t let it fully charge.  That’s certainly hard, so I will ignore that advice.

4.     best to treat the phone like a pet – never leave it in over 95 degree heat, or in cold car overnight.  Temperature extremes seems to reduce battery life. I supposed the more extremes, the shorter the life.

5.     if you are going on a long trip, leave your phone “off” but only 50% charged, not 100 % charged while you are gone (for week or more). Seems to help battery life.

6.     if all else fails, many shops in every big town will replace your battery, but the cost could be $79 or more (or less).  Be sure the replacement battery is genuine and not a lower quality.  Don’t know there is a fire hazard with an off brand battery, but why risk it for a few dollars ? 

Your comments always welcome, maybe you have heard something different about battery life?   I have seen a fall off in how long my older phone batteries held the charges over time.  Longest  have had a phone is 3 years before upgrading, usually only 2 years.  But I keep the old phones for use as iPods, for Pandora and for audio books while walking or riding on trips. 

Norwegian Air, Discount Flights

https://www.norwegian.com/us/

Norwegian Air has been the subject of many magazine articles, now that they fly to several cities in the USA. They are a deep discount airline, but apparently have good service, nice (nearly new or new) planes and many destination cities.  The point is, their prices from the USA to many European cities is about $600 a person round trip.

I tested a few destinations today, like Orlando to Copenhagen for a vacation trip, and the fare was $618 per person, round trip.  The catch seems to be it flies only a few days a week from Orlando, not every day.  So you would need to book and return on one of the days that it touches down there.  Much like Allegiant and other deep discount airlines.

For a whimsical get away to an Airbnb, or a Home Away, or even staying in a hotel room, this could be a super friendly way to have a European holiday for not much more than a trip to an American beach destination (in season).