California sues PacifiCare for up to $9.9 billion in fines. Empowering medical patients - getting a second opinion on the Internet. Who is the real Obama? The enduring legend of Buck Owens. Guest hosts David Lazarus and Patt Morrison are in for Larry.
California Department of Insurance seeks $9.9 billion from UnitedHealth Group
Is it a case of corporate greed or an insurance department overreaching? California’s Department of Insurance says PacificCare lost thousands of patient documents and failed to pay doctors. They also charge that PacifiCare violated state law nearly 1 million times from 2006 to 2008. What’s going on here? Do these charges have merit? Have you had problems with PacificCare?
Guests:
Adam Cole, general counsel of the California Department of Insurance
Judy Dugan, Research Director and advocate on health care reforms, Consumer Watchdog
Empowering patients
Any kind of medical problem, even a minor one, takes a psychological toll. It’s a time when we entrust ourselves to trained medical professionals. Or do we? More and more, people are hitting the Internet and learning everything they can about what ails them. Many doctors bristle at the idea of getting second-guessed by patients and family members in medical decisions. Some find it dangerous for people with no medical training to be looking at unsubstantiated articles on the web for medical advice. Although others welcome the idea of patients getting more familiar with their diseases and working along side physicians in the exploration of treatment options. What’s the right way to empower and advocate for patients, without making a doctor’s job more difficult?
Guests:
Trisha Torrey, patient empowerment expert and author of You Bet Your Life! The 10 Mistakes Every Patient Makes (How to Fix Them to Get the Health Care You Deserve)
Felicia Cohn, bioethics director, Kaiser Permanente Orange County, professor at UC Irvine School of Medicine
Obama is a terrorist-coddling, warmongering, Wall Street-loving, socialistic, Godless, Muslim President – or is he?
Barack Obama has served as President for nearly two years now, but Americans still seem unaware of who Obama truly is, or what his beliefs are. Amongst all the latest polls, his approval rating stands at 47 percent, and as of late, a surprising number of people are questioning his religion. The results from an August Pew research poll showed 18% of Americans believe Obama is a Muslim, even though he has repeatedly stated he is a Christian. Who is the real Obama and what are your thoughts on his presidency so far? Should he do more to control his image?
Guest:
Jonathan Alter, senior editor and columnist, Newsweek. He wrote Newsweek's cover story, Obama is a terrorist-coddling, warmongering, Wall Street-loving, socialistic, Godless, Muslim President *who isn’t actually any of these things.
Buck Owens: Inside the private, sensational world of a country star
Buck Owens was the top-selling country artist of the 1960's, and his musical style- called the Bakersfield Sound after his adopted hometown- countered the slick overproduction of Nashville country with electric guitars and a rock and roll backbeat. Later, Owens solidified his celebrity as the co-host of the variety show Hee Haw for 17 years. But behind the "bumpkin" persona perceived onscreen, Owens was a controlling, shrewd businessman with a scandalous appetite for women. In her new biography, Eileen Sisk takes a behind-the-scenes look at the life and career of the country superstar.
Guest:
Eileen Sisk, author of Buck Owens: The Biography, former editor at the Tennessean and the Washington Post