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Well, according to the television news last night, Scotland drinks about a quarter more alcohol than the rest of the UK.
That amounts to – according to the report – two glasses of wine a week.
Now, call me Mr Cynical, or Mr Media Studies, but that means (if my maths is correct) that in the rest of the UK they drink 8 glasses a week while Scotland drinks ten? Can that be all?
Hmm… I've been for nights out in England from London to Leeds and a good few places in between, and I'd have to say that I've seen people who – never mind 8 glasses a week – are on the 8th glass by about 9pm.
This isn't to defend the Scots alcohol figures – just to say that the figures themselves don't tell the whole story. All 'per capita' figures ever do is provide a statistical tool whereby certain things can be predicted, inferred or quantified. What they can't do is actually provide a figure for each 'capita' – if one guy in England drinks nil glasses a week, and another drinks 15, then the average is 7.5. But only one of them has actually had a drink. Extrapolate that over milliions in a nation and the picture gets impossibly complicated. When you factor in social, economic and cultural components, then the figures don't really say that much at all. Some people are drinking too much? Well, some people always did drink too much.
But it looks like, right now, too many people are drinking too much. Price may be a part of it, but then I've been to places in Europe where the booze is cheaper than lemonade and nobody goes around pie-eyed.
I don't have an answer to this problem (nobody does) but my feeling is that the solution can't come simply from putting tax on bottles, or prohibition or anything thet tends towards governmentalism. It's got to come from offering people more in life than  bottles of wine. Educating them in the pros and cons of alcohol might help. And people who are well informed can then make well informed choices. Choices about things like diet, lifestyle and private medical insurance, and how to get the most from life.

Wine

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It is a time of dramatic change for the NHS, but as this Guardian piece points out, "the scale of what is being proposed has yet to sink in".
So what happens now is anyone's guess. Expect a lot of shouting regardless of what happens. Cameron no doubt wants to save money but the scale of change looks more like a rejigging of the actual organisational structure than a few money-saving exercises.
There are also a few interesting opionions from within the profession on today's Telegraph letters page. With one FRCS telling us that in his career at the NHS a "a modest-sized cadre of administrators" has been replaced by "a bloated swath
of 'managers',
given authority to tell the professionals what to do".
Hopefully any cost savings will be ones that optimise the NHS and allow it to continue to be there training and employing medical staff. I think the balance of private medical provision in this country along with the NHS is a good thing. Any change needs to be carefully and confidently carried out: anything else is going to be more than simply controversial.
My guess would be though that private medical care will increase over time – there are many reasons for this. But think of it like dentists' or opthalmologists' work – private provision for these has increased as the nationalised service hasn't been one size fits all and many choose some of the private as it suits their pocket. Nothing wrong with that art all. But for private medicine to grow healthily, it has to be done in the right way.

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We all need a holiday, it's essential for our wellbeing -  but in these credit-crunch times it doesn't need to be a holiday that involves spending thousands of pounds going to an exclusive galmorous far-off location.
It's especially the case for a family holiday. A lot of fun can be had taking the children to, say, a caravan park in Wales so long as the emphasis is on fun and not money-saving. And with a bit of good luck, the weather in the UK is sometimes better than on continental europe.
To be honest, when I was a kid I wasn't much interested in exotic locations anyway. if you'd given me the choise of Tuscany or Center parcs I'd have definitely chosen the latter.
But if the money's there, why not try going somewhere different and off the beaten track? With the range of destinations available these days, there's bound to be something that all the family can agree on. Me, I'd like to head for the Northern mariana Islands since a) it's a pretty unheard-of destination and b) I could indulge my love of World war 2 history (ref: Battle of Saipan).
But sadly there's not the time this year, not to mention the hefty airfare, so it'll be a family trip to Wales (or maybe Cheshire) for me this year. Not quite as old school as the caravan pictured below, though.

1933_car&trailer

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With the new Conservative/Liberal government coming in and the focus on reducing the tax burden on individuals we thought it would be good to have a look at some of the tax liabilities that are associated with having a private medical insurance policy from your employer – and whether you may be better off from a financial stand point having your own policy outside your work etc.HMRC view employer provided health insurance as "benefit" you receive from your employer and as a result it is subject to taxation. That does mean however that in a benefit to cost ratio (assuming you're not in the higher bracket of taxation) that you could make a significant saving on your health insurance costs. You pay only about the 1/5th of the cost of the medical insurance rather than the full amount. AS you're paying tax on it rather than paying a medical insurance provider the full amount. And generally you're covered for most things that are not pre-existing conditions so the insurance should cover you for most modern maladies and not be simply a cash back policy or something similar.When the Tories are in power, historically, these kind of workplace benefits have been looked upon more favorably and it may be that the taxation regime they implement may reduce the tax burden on these more completely and allow your work to invest in your long term health and well being without penalizing you. With the impending spending cuts and everything projected to happen under these austere times medical insurance may become far more prevalent in the UK workplace than ever before.

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Health Insurance Too Expensive?

Health insurance

There are a lot of people still out there in this day of age
that haven’t got any health insurance cover. Now I don’t really know what the
general public out there think of this matter but me myself really wonders can
most “normal” family’s afford to take out health insurance in today’s world?

If you have been on a company’s website that’s offering health
insurance quotes then you might well be clicking straight back out of there
after you see the number’s that appear before you. When you look at different
areas across Britain and the income of family’s in these areas to say that
there’s a fine line between the rich and poor is somewhat a little inaccurate.
Take London for instance, there are many places in and around London that are a lot different from
neighbours across the city and I really don’t think the poorer end could afford
to splash out on private health insurance.

If anyone would like to leave a comment on this matter then
feel free I would be interested to hear from all people out there and their
views whether they themselves can afford to take out a health insurance plan or
whether you deem it necessary all together.

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Help On Hand In Asia

Health_Insurance

Due to rapid economic growth in Asia private health companies
are seeing this as a fantastic opportunity to cash in with the investment of
Asia’s healthcare sector as Asia’s healthcare systems simply can’t keep up.

It seems as if more and more older residents of the area are
becoming a burden to the government and private companies are seeing this as a
great time to cut in and help out the government with patients.

One company that’s been named taking this chance is Phillips
Healthcare. They have decided to open a heart centre in the Philippines, this
speeds up diagnosis of disorders to the heart and also allows more analysis
into heart conditions.

This can only be seen as good news to the residents around
this area. More help can only be seen as a good thing and more help means less
time waiting for operations.

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From the end of this month the New Zealand government shall accept visa applications from British citizens over the age of 64. Previously there was no specific retirement age recognised by Immigration NZ, the official body which oversees visa policy in the NZ, and no visas were considered for Brits over the age of 56.
The new category "retirement" is available in two different options one for those who have relatives in the country and another for those who do not. However it is necessary for either to invest in New Zealand, slightly more for the non-relative visa than the relative version. Although both are technically temporary [but easy to renew], the main difference between the two is that the one for those with relatives lasts for four years at a time, whilst the other only lasts for two.
 
However it is strongly advised that anyone considering retiring to New Zealand arrange an adequate Health Insurance Policy, as the system in New Zealand is quite different from that in the UK, and the differences can complexities can be quite troublesome to the uninitiated. So it's best to go with everything sorted out first, before your journey even begins.

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Your insurance policy

With the economic downturn showing no real signs of easing for us 'ordinary' consumers (unemployment still on the rise), those of us lucky enough to have a job are really having to prioritise and shop around for the best deals on everything we buy.The downturn over the last few years has affected our society in a myriad of ways (some of which we probably are not aware of yet) – and one of these has undoubtedly been in health – the NHS has been stretched to its limits as more people fall ill from stress related illnesses, this has made it even more difficult to get an appointment with a specialist if you fall ill.Therefore, even though our finances are somewhat under pressure, there are still many people who wish to have the security of private medical insurance behind them, for soem assurance if something should happen. Most consumer experts will encourage you to shop around for your health insurance quote. This can be done effectively online, there are numerous health insurance comparison sites, however, sometimes it may be wise to go direct to the company themselves. Most of the biggest health insurers should be able to give you a free no obligation quote.Good luck with getting your quote, if you have any experiences which may be useful please feel free to let us know.

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A recent New York Times highlighted Maine’s attempts at comprehensive healthcare reform. Their experiences serve as a cautionary tale for Congress.   The state established a public health insurance plan, expanded Medicare and Medicaid eligibility, and banned insurers from refusing to cover people with pre-existing conditions, but those actions have done  little to insure more of its residents.  Contrary to the promises of public option supporters, health care costs have only continued to rise in the state.

Reasons for the high health care costs range from the state-specific to the general. Unlike the bill that recently passed the House of Representatives, Maine’s healthcare reform legislation didn’t include a mandate to buy health insurance plans. It’s a vicious cycle: forcing health insurance companies to offer policies to unhealthy people with pre-existing conditions raises the rates for younger people; young adults will be even less likely to buy health insurance if their premiums go up, which results in the insurer’s risk being spread among less people. In the end, the older, unhealthier population remains in the pool and must contend with less affordable health insurance. Therefore, there is a larger uninsured population.

Granted, Maine is a market dominated by just one private health insurance company (which, with its effective monopoly, can increase premiums to their liking); and its population is older, sicker, and poorer than the U.S. in general. Senator Olympia Snowe points to her state as a cautionary tale of what may happen if drastic changes are made too fast. Snowe is a Republican that supports healthcare reform but is against the public option. Budgeting problems have caused Maine to cap enrollment of its own public option health insurance plan at under 9,000. The federal government, unlike most states, is allowed to run a deficit. However, it isn’t exactly rolling in the money right now either.

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The flu pandemic has left many concerned especially with talk of a vaccine shortage.  But that doesn’t mean there is a shortage on ways to prevent you from getting sick.  Here are three simple steps that will protect your health not just now but all year long.

Step 1  Be sure you regularly disinfect the kitchen sink, the trash can, the bathroom faucet and the tub. These places harbor a lot of germs. The champion of the contamination? The kitchen sponge. Clean it in the dishwasher weekly.

Step 2  Lace up your sneakers and take a brisk walk five times a week. Regular exercise can help reduce chances of catching a cold.

Step 3  Include probiotics in your daily diet to help your immune system ward off bad bacteria. Try yogurt, fortified drinks, or a tasty treat like the 90-calorie Attune Milk Chocolate Crip Probiotic Bar.

Lenneice A. Drew is an experienced journalist currently focused on healthcare reform. She is working to help others achieve better lives by finding affordable health insurance alternatives and reporting stories related to the healthcare industry. She lives in Miami, Florida.

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