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Patients face bitter choice: Pay up or lose care

Dr. Susan Debin, 64, of Orange, Calif., turned to a hybrid concierge practice two years ago. About 125 patients pay $1,600 a year for extra services including an extended physical and her personal cell phone number. But what about the rest of her patients?A growing number of U.S. doctors are enacting their own brand of health reform, with some dumping insurance companies altogether and others forcing patients to pay thousands of dollars in cash to keep the care theyre accustomed to. Msnbc.com's JoNel Aleccia reports.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:23:58 GMT
Clinic with two doors, a symbol of two-tier care

Two doors into medical care on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The door on theright leads to quicker service and personal attention from a doctor.The other leads to longer waits and moreuncertainty. As it turns out, they're the same place.We visit a health clinic with two doors, one for patients using insurance and the other for those with cash. This two-tiered system could be coming to a street corner near you. Msnbc.com's Bill Dedman reports.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:23:58 GMT
Opinion: Concierge is another word for bribe

Opinion: One sure sign that something is very broken in Americas health care system is the rise of so-called boutique or concierge medical practices, where doctors charge patients an extra fee to be seen, writes bioethicist Arthur Caplan, Ph.D.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:23:53 GMT
Mom: Son in coma heard everything for 23 years

After 23 years trapped in an unresponsive state, Rom Houbencan communicateusing a special keyboard. He used the device to tell a reporter for the German magazine Der Spiegel that: I screamed but there was nothing to hear.A mother says her son has emerged from what doctors thought was a vegetative state to say he was fully conscious for 23 years but could not respond because he was paralyzed.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:22:03 GMT
Kids watching hours of TV at home daycare

Preschoolers in home-based day cares are sitting as many as two hours a day in front of a TV, according to a study published Monday.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:34:17 GMT
Shocking treatment helps erectile dysfunction

If you experience impotence, instead of a little blue pill maybe you want to apply shockwaves to your privates instead.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:03:31 GMT
Schumer: Dems can go it alone on health care

Nov. 23: TODAYs Matt Lauer talks to Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson about the health care reform bill set to be debated in the Senate. (Today Show)A leading Senate Democrat said Monday his party is determined to push through a health care overhaul bill with or without Republican support because the "system is broken."

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:24:37 GMT
Fact or fiction? Senate bill cuts the deficit

The Senate bill includes an accounting mechanism that cuts the projected deficits by $72 billion. Msnbc.com fact-checks this claim  and more.The Senate bill includes an accounting mechanism that cuts the projected deficits by $72 billion. Msnbc.com fact-checks this claim and more.

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:04:42 GMT
Cannabis Cafe opens for medical pot patients

Madeline Martinez, right, executive director of the Oregon chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, talks with a patron at the Cannabis Cafe Tuesday Nov. 17, 2009, in Portland, Ore.At the newly opened Cannabis Cafe, people sit around taking tokes from a "vaporizer" a contraption with a big plastic bag that captures the potent vapors of heated marijuana.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:42:17 GMT
Decode your food cravings

Do you crave chocolate? It's basically an antidepressant in dessert form, says Alan R. Hirsch, M.D., head of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago and the author of "What Flavor Is Your Personality?" The urge to scarf is more than a hunger cue gone wild. It's a window into your nutritional needs and your personality.

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:07:15 GMT
Swine flu may have hit peak, but not over yet

Dr. Toral Shah examines Sammi Jiminez, 4, in a tent clinic where patients with flu symptoms are treated outside the emergency room at Dell Children's Hospital in Austin, Texas.The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak across much of the globe, health officials said on Friday, but they cautioned it was far from over.

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:37:51 GMT
Senate Democrats at odds over health care bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., speaks Saturday after the U.S. Senate voted to begin debate on health care legislationon Capitol Hill in Washington. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., right, and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, look on.The dispute among Democrats foretells of a rowdy floor debate next month on legislation that would extend health care coverage to roughly 31 million Americans.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:56:07 GMT
Stressed Marines got bad care, therapist says

Dr. Kernan Manion was fired after he complained about conditions for his patients at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C.Marines treated for post-traumatic stress had to undergo therapy for months in temporary trailers where they could hear live-fire training, according to servicemen and their former psychiatrist.

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:22:40 GMT
Heavy college students must pass fitness class

Nov. 23: Some students at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania are being told they must meet a fitness requirement to graduate.(Other)A Pennsylvania university's requirement that overweight students take a fitness course to graduate has raised the hackles of students and the eyebrows of health and legal experts.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:06:04 GMT
New guidelines: Pap smears can start at 21

Nov. 20: Just days after controversial guidelines came out recommending changes in breast cancer screening, new guidelines are released for cervical cancer screening. What should women do? Dr. Nancy Snyderman talks with gynecologist Dr. Lisa Perriera.(Other)Most women in their 20s can have a Pap smear every two years instead of annually, say new guidelines that conclude that's enough to catch slow-growing cervical cancer.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:28:20 GMT
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