Montalvo - Health

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Abortion coverage should not be excluded from government-sponsored health insurance programs. Not if it's a medical necessity to preserve the life/health of the mother or for rape/incest. But any other abortions should be considered elective surgery, ineligible for insurance reimbursement.

Contraceptives should not be covered by health insurance plans. If health insurance companies found it cost-effective to pay for contraceptives (e.g., thru reduction of pregnancy claims), they would have all adopted it. They haven't. Forget it.

I floss my teeth regularly. Every morning. Nothing more embarrassing than a pubic hair between your teeth...

I am a type A personality. Gee, I've always considered myself so mellow. But given my assertiveness in putting an end to the interminable wordsmithing on this issue, perhaps I need to accept that I'm an A.

I do not use homeopathic remedies. And I avoid snake oil, prayer therapy, crystals, coffee enemas, voodoo and other similar unproven "cures". You may get a placebo benefit but only if you're naive enough to believe in them.

Healthcare reform should not include a government-sponsored health insurance option. So we offer a public option, it undercuts existing insurance plans, driving them out of business and we're left with a single-payer system. Only THEN will we be told, "Oops, we've run out of funds."

Health care reform legislation will not be passed in 2009. Like Hillary, Obama's attempting a transformational solution that threatens the 75% of Americans satisfied with their health care. If he's lucky, it won't pass, allowing incremental fixes that work.

I do not worry about growing older. I'm comforted by the old adage, "Life's a bitch and then you die." And one advantage of BEING older? I don't have to worry about dying young. Another? YOU all pay my share of the National Debt.

The town hall protests against health care reform are appropriate. A minority of attendees have been disruptive. The vast majority, while opposing the reforms, are there to express their views...and that's what such meetings are all about.

I do not use lip balm regularly. I am so NOT metrosexual...don't use lip balm, don't get manicures and pedicures, don't carry a murse, don't go to a stylist, own nothing from Banana Republic and don't shave my scrotum.

The U.S. should not implement a single-payer health care system. Health care from the bureaucrats that gave us the Iraq War, the Great Recession, USPS, Social Security and Medicare bankruptcies, the 50-years-&-counting War on Drugs, etc. ad nauseum? Puh-leeze!!!

The federal government should tax employer-sponsored health benefits. But only as part of a comprehensive strategy to wean us off employer-sponsored health insurance. It's wrong-headed, creates huge inequities & threatens our competitiveness.

Women should not be required to receive postpartum depression screenings after every birth. Requiring specific medical examinations is dumb enough but doing so at a time when health care affordability is a major concern is truly stupid. No thanks, nanny-staters.

The government should not subsidize pneumonia vaccinations for seniors. Medicare Part B provides coverage for the vaccination and represents a sufficient public subsidy. A bigger obstacle than cost is lack of personal responsibility in health matters.

Marketing and advertising restrictions in the tobacco regulation laws violate free speech. But they DON'T violate the free speech protections of the First Amendment, any more than do prohibitions against falsely yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater.

There should be limits on the amount of damages awarded in medical malpractice suits. CA's had limits since '75....30% lower insurance rates, prevents flight of docs & stops excessive awards from emotional juries when inevitable accidents occur.

Drinking in moderation is not a viable treatment for alcoholism. Drinking to treat alcoholism sounds too much like smoking to treat lung cancer or eating Cheetos to treat obesity. Indulgence ain't the answer for those who over-indulge.

"Third-hand smoke" is not a viable concern. Just what we need...yet another focus of concern for the paranoid. Under CA law, my employer had to post a sign warning of materials causing cancer and birth defects...asbestos in the roof's shingles.

Meditation does improve your health. Fiddling with rosary beads improves your health...if you believe it does. It's called the placebo effect. But meditation has not been proven to have any efficacy beyond that.

The size of a man's penis does affect his level of confidence. I can say with great confidence that it does!

The benefits of skin tanning (via UV light) do outweigh the risks. Possibly, in moderation. New research suggests that vitamin D from sunlight (or its UV surrogate) may be superior to supplements and is increasingly linked to prevention of cancer, et al.

Pope Benedict's comments about condoms increasing the problem of AIDS in Africa were not accurate. But it's also clear that condoms aren't wholly effective in combating AIDS in Africa, for a host of reasons. Time for developing a more effective strategy, perhaps.

All-natural hygienic products are effective. They're effective in scamming higher prices for inferior products from dupes who erroneously believe that "all natural" means they'll prevent cancer and save the planet. Suckers!

The U.S. should not expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Obama promised health care reform. Now is not the time to expand existing programs when a strategic change will be forthcoming. Take two baby aspirins and call us in the morning...

Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) is an effective treatment for menopause. But there's no evidence that BHRT is in any way superior to conventional HRT. We only have the word of that top medical expert, Suzanne Somers, in her latest book, "Snake Oil and Other Remedies."

Medical providers should have the right to refuse medical care they find morally objectionable. Absent licensing requirements which may designate a required range of medical care, providers, like any other business, should be able to define the scope of services offered...on ANY grounds.

People should not use the Internet for self-diagnosis. Fully 25% of health care costs are for treating hypochondria. Cyberchondria could well double that percentage. The internet can provide useful health info but leave the diagnoses to the physicians.

Television ads do not contribute to childhood obesity. Yet another baseless claim by those who assume that all TV watchers are mindless sheep, victims of whatever notions that programmers put before them. Try blaming irresponsibility for a change.

There are persuasive non-religious reasons for male circumcision. Persuasive yes, but no RATIONAL reasons. The U.S. is the ONLY country to routinely do this. The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes it. Let's forget foreskin forfeitures forever!

Obesity is socially contagious. But like other contagions, it doesn't infect everyone nor is it the only path to obesity. Self-indulgent gluttony is a far more prevalent cause.

Scientists should try to slow the effects of aging. And don't think it ain't coming... sooner than you think! It's gonna be hell getting parishioners to sit through a boring sermon when everlasting life can be had with an injection.

Addiction is not a disease. Addiction is a medical condition caused by the irresponsible actions of the afflicted, much like most cases of obesity. There's no causal pathology other than self-indulgence.

The government should not subsidize prescription drugs for people who cannot afford them. We already DO this through Medicaid and a slew of programs offered by drug companies. What are you thinking? That we need to bump the Federal deficit even higher?

Food products containing high fructose corn syrup should be labeled 'natural'. "Natural" and "organic" are both phony labels appealing to a paranoid and misinformed public who believe that scientific advances are all necessarily harmful 'cause it said so in the Nat'l. Enquirer.

Organic milk is not safer than regular milk. The FDA said "the overwhelming scientific opinion" is that rBST (rGBH) is safe for human consumption. An independent panel convened by the NIH concluded the same. Got milk?

A universal healthcare system would require a tax increase. Those who think otherwise are staunch believers in free lunches, tooth fairies, etc. You don't extend coverage to millions for free and most won't or can't pay for it without govt. handouts.

Alzheimer's disease is not preventable. There's no double-blind, peer-reviewed study showing this disease can be prevented. However, there are a variety of factors shown to correlate with a lower incidence.

Viagra should not be available over-the-counter. It's a "life-style product" and conflicts with nitrate drugs. BTW, did you hear about the birth control pill for men? You put it in your shoe and it makes you limp. Sorry, couldn't resist...

The use of antibiotics in food animals does not pose a risk to human health. Hysteria aside, an article in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy states, "If the US follows the European ban, then both animal and human health may be jeopardized."

Abstinence-only sex education is not effective. At least not in the Palin household. Can you say "hypocrisy"?