Tomorrow, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation that would change the funding formula for doctors who provide services to Medicare patients. Also, President Barack Obama will delay the final U.S. military drawdown from Afghanistan at the request of its new president, Ashraf Ghani. Then, have we become too reliant on our technology to help us work out?
'Doc fix:' It could fix Medicare funding, but can it fix Washington gridlock?
Tomorrow, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation that would change the funding formula for doctors who provide services to Medicare patients.
Colloquially known as the “doc fix,” the bill would be one of the first pieces of bipartisan legislation to pass the 114th Congress. The bill addresses a years-long problem with Medicare funding that has been waived on an annual basis. Without the bill, doctors would lose significant revenue if they continued to work with Medicare patients.
House Democrats signed on to the deal in part because it establishes two years of appropriations for the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), but Senate Democrats are noncommittal because they wanted four years. The President has indicated that he would sign it.
Can the newly Republican-controlled Senate pass a bipartisan bill? Would passage of a “doc fix” lead to successful passage of other bipartisan legislation?
Guests:
Lisa Mascaro, Congressional Reporter, Los Angeles Times
Paul Kane, Congressional Reporter, The Washington Post
Analysis: Study shows male nurses outearn females despite being outnumbered
Even though women make up about 90 percent of the nursing industry, it appears men still bring in more money every year. Nearly $11,000 more per year, to be exact.
What may be even more interesting is that only about half of that difference can be explained by things like experience, education, or clinical specialty. The study suggests that gap of over $5,000 that still exists basically just discriminates against women.
Researchers looked at two decades worth of salary data on nurses’ earnings, and the $10,775 discrepancy the raw analysis found could be seen in surveys going back to 1988. Men still were found to earn more than women even after researchers factored in things like weekly hours worked, location, experience, and type of nursing degree.
Why do male nurses earn considerably more than women? What does the data from this study suggest about labor trends within the nursing industry? How can we close this pay gap between male and female nurses?
Guests:
Jean Ross, co-president National Nurses United and a nurse for 42 years.
Rosalind Barnett, author of the book “The New Soft War on Women: How the Myth of the Female Ascendence is Hurting Women, Men, and Our Economy.” She’s also a senior scientist at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University.
Heinz and Kraft’s merger: A capitalist love story
Philadelphia cream cheese, Heinz ketchup and Oscar Mayer meats not only share fridge space in most American homes, they now make up the world’s fifth-biggest food and beverage company.
H.J. Heinz Co. and Kraft Foods Group will collectively be known as The Kraft Heinz Co., a merge that may be the start of a new trend with other food companies struggling to see profit growth as more consumers are choosing healthier, organic options over processed foods.
Kraft made headlines recently when its processed cheese product, Kraft Singles was given a nutritional seal from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Which even got push back from satirist king Jon Stewart.
How much marketing prowess will this add to Heinz and Krafts brands? Does this mark the beginning of the end for processed foods?
Guests:
Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University. She is the author of a number of books on nutrition and food safety, including “Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health” (University of California Press, 2013), which she co-authored with Michael Pollan.
Facebook’s latest venture: News
Social media giant Facebook wants to change the way you get the news.
The New York Times recently revealed plans to publish some of its stories directly to Facebook. The Times isn’t the only one, either; the social platform will be teaming up with a number of other news outlets, as well, including National Geographic and BuzzFeed.
Details about the rollout have yet to be revealed, however the announcement is already causing a stir in the media industry. With over 1.4 billion users, Facebook has the potential to become the world’s top media distributor. But could this new media model also give Facebook too much power?
Although stories hosted on Facebook will be easy to access, this convenience comes at the cost of a news organization’s autonomy. If Facebook chooses to expand the program, publishers who don’t work with the site could find themselves at a big disadvantage.
Do you trust Facebook to not interfere with the news you get?
Guests:
Mike Ananny, professor of digital journalism at the USC Annenberg School of Journalism
Connie Guglielmo, CNET News editor-in-chief
Afghan troops about-face and the Obama Doctrine
President Barack Obama will delay the final U.S. military drawdown from Afghanistan at the request of its new president, Ashraf Ghani.
Obama's previous plan was to cut the 9,800 troop deployment nearly in half by year's end. It is one of several murky or shifting foreign policy positions from the White House.
Guest:
Anthony Cordesman, Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
Fat cats, pudgy pups: America’s obesity problem spreads to man’s best friends
A new survey coming out Thursday finds that 58 percent of cats and 53 percent of dogs are overweight.
The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, which is putting out the annual survey, has been tracking pet obesity since 2006.
Just like in humans, weight issues can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, and other chronic health problems in pets.
Guests:
Steven Budsberg, DVM, Professor and Director of Clinical research at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and past-President of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. He’s a member of Association of Pet Obesity Prevention, which is releasing its annual pet obesity survey tomorrow.
Oscar Chavez, vet and chief medical officer at Just Food for Dogs, a chain of stores in Southern California that makes healthy food for dogs
Exercise tech: How it could be helping (or hurting) your workout
Fitness technology has undoubtedly revolutionized the way we work out. Devices like the FitBit and soon-to-be-released Apple Watch offer data tracking and exercise reminders to keep you on track.
Even for those aren’t into tracking the finer details of your workout, it’s rare to see someone at the gym who isn’t listening to music, watching TV, browsing social media, or interacting with a gadget in some capacity. In a recent article in the Washington Post, columnist Nora Krug digs into whether or not exercise tech is harmful to our workout.
Have we become too reliant on our technology to help us work out? In what ways can exercise tech be beneficial to your exercise routine? How can it be harmful? Are there specific benefits to working out with tech versus working out without it?
Guests:
Larry Rosen, research psychologist and professor of psychology at Cal State University at Dominguez Hills. He’s the author of the book “iDisorder: Understanding our Obsession With Technology and Overcoming Its Hold on Us.”
Jo Zimmerman, Kinesiology Instructor and Physical Activity Program Coordinator at the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland.