Generation X faces many challenges, but chief among them is dealing with ongoing healthcare concerns. From a decline in doctors due to Baby Boomers retiring, to changes in healthcare legislation and healthcare reforms, members of Generation X should pay close attention to healthcare plans and the state of the healthcare industry.

Less doctors, more demand

As Baby Boomers retire, the number of physicians in the country is declining. This is partially due to the population in general; there are 77 million Baby Boomers, compared with 46 million Generation X-ers; and partially due to the fact that many Generation X physicians are choosing to specialize instead of working in a general practice. As a result, many states face a shortage of primary care physicians and general practitioners, which causes delays in treatment while new patients wait for primary care physicians.

Because of this challenge in finding a primary care physician, Generation X members need to plan ahead. Generation X and healthcare challenges require that Gen X members choose a primary care physician immediately upon relocating or switching healthcare plans, or run the risk of being without a physician when illness strikes.

Rising costs

Generation X members need to be very discerning with healthcare plans, due to rising healthcare costs and the potential challenge of finding a healthcare plan to pay for certain services. As more and more services become available, healthcare plans decline to pay for everything from Lasik eye surgery to elective mental health services.

Because of this disparity between services available and services covered, Generation X members need to shop carefully for health care plans. Challenges faced in Generation X and healthcare include finding a plan that covers the services that the Generation X member needs, and deciding when to compromise and when to keep shopping for a healthcare plan that covers specific services.

Legislature affecting Generation X and healthcare

Healthcare reform is a watchword for every political party in every election, and Gen X members need to be especially mindful of healthcare reform as it relates to Generation X and healthcare concerns. Universal healthcare is one possibility that Generation X members face, and whether that would be an asset or a tragedy depends on who you ask.

Members concerned about Generation X and healthcare should write local and state officials to discuss legislature around improving access, decreasing cost, and expanding the array of health care professionals available for services. Without feedback and input from people active with Generation X and healthcare, officials won't push for better coverage and expanded health networks. If Generation X members don't advocate for themselves, they could face a shortage of providers and an array of healthcare plans that don't cover services the Generation X-ers need.




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We keep discussing health care reform but it appears that the more we talk, the more we are unable to understand the benefits. Although we have made it very complicated and potentially very expensive, we really haven't come up with solutions that are superior to what we have, or to what other countries have. Other countries have nationalized health care. Everyone is covered, no one pays for care, and there are no private primary care insurance carriers. Many believe this is good, but many others believe it lacks quality, expediency, and promotes rationing. The plans now being proposed in the U.S. Congress are not nationalized health care, but are supposed to be a combination of government sponsored coverage and private insurance coverage for all Americans at lower costs. Unfortunately, none of the plans proposed come close to providing lower costs with quality care. Why can't we figure out a solution that would improve what we have today?

One of the reasons is that we continue to focus on insurance reform and seem to totally disregard reducing the costs of providing health care. When we do talk about reducing costs we talk about reducing Medicare by $500 billion and reducing physician reimbursements. This is crazy and would probably do as much destruction as anything that's been discussed yet. Seniors who have spent a lifetime paying Social Security and taxes to insure they would have good health care coverage when they became 65 years old, would rebel if we now reduce benefits to accommodate 15% of the population that does not have coverage. And although government is quick to respond that the $500 billion will come from reducing fraud and mismanagement in Medicare/Medicaid, the reality is, they haven't been able to do it in the past and they won't be able to do it in the future. Reducing reimbursements to physicians would only complicate the problem of not having a sufficient number of doctors to accommodate patients. The addition of a potential 50 million new patients would severely strain the availability of physicians and probably result in rationing and significant consultation delays. Complicating the issue further is some polls have indicated that as many as 45% of the current physicians would choose to retire if this reform were adopted. So what do we do?

We must first focus on reducing the cost of health care:

1. We must regulate the cost of care being careful to allow physicians to establish procedures and government to assign reimbursements based upon the historical information documented at Medicare, VA Hospitals, and other government institutions, while comparing data from private facilities, allowing us to establish standard costs for all procedures, drugs, supplies, tests, etc. Once we have established fixed costs we will have the opportunity to stabilize reimbursements and procedures. This will also eliminate public hospital systems from earning substantial profits for their shareholders at the cost of their patients. It will also reduce the unnecessary expansions of non-profit hospital systems that continue to expand by acquiring additional hospitals and medical facilities. Lastly, all insurance providers would be required to adhere to these reimbursement and procedure standards, allowing policy holders, not shareholders, to take advantage of reduced costs. United Healthcare (publicly owned insurance company) earned more than $3 billion in 2008, while Community Health System (public owned hospital system) earned $218 million in 2008, and the Cleveland Clinic (non profit hospital system) expanded by recently acquiring hospitals in Medina, Ohio; Dubai, UAE; and a cancer center in Las Vegas, Nevada. If we simply look at these three organizations as examples, we can understand that the actual cost of care is far less than the price charged. If we would regulate costs for hospitals and insurance providers, health care would become much more affordable and we would achieve significant savings.

2. We must adopt tort reform as a prerequisite to reducing costs. The savings which can be realized by reducing unrestricted awards for health care related litigation can be in the billions of dollars. Today many surgeons pay liability insurance premiums in excess of $200,000 per year. Doctors must be paid extremely high incomes in order to cover these premiums. If you reduce the amount of unwarranted settlements and reduce the insurance premiums physicians and medical facilities are required to pay, the result would be lower reimbursements to both physicians and medical facilities. Once again we achieve significant savings.

3. We must reduce the loss of revenues in Medicare/Medicaid from fraud and mismanagement. These losses are estimated at more than a trillion dollars. Reform legislation being considered suggests we can cut these losses by $500 billion, however there are no specific methods outlined to achieve these cuts. Most Americans believe these cuts will come from reducing services more than fixing fraud and mismanagement. I would propose hiring independent audit groups which derive their compensation by identifying and recovering lost revenue and then retaining a small portion of the revenues identified as their compensation. These activities have been very successful for business when auditing freight and utilities invoices. We would take this major problem out of the hands of government and put it into the hands of capitalists who make a living from recovering over-billed invoices. We would again achieve significant savings.

4. We must implement health reform, generally referred to today as wellness. The US has been compared to other countries who have nationalized health programs and in some cases their citizens are considered in better health, suggesting that are health care in the US is inferior. I don't think there is any question that health care in this country far surpasses any other country, unfortunately our health habits do not. We eat too much and exercise too little. Our diets are heavy with fats and carbohydrates. We do not get the proper rest and relaxation. We need a program that focuses on developing better personal health habits and then provides incentives to achieve these goals. The result would be healthier individuals requiring less health care resulting in lower health care costs.

The above programs would reduce healthcare costs and would cost a small percentage of what we are currently considering. Let's review: 1) regulate health care cost with insurance providers and medical facilities, 2) adopt torte reform, 3) fix Medicare/Medicaid, 4) implement wellness programs.



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With the nursing shortage deepening, health care facilities nationwide are scrambling to fill vacancies. Many are turning to travel nursing companies for help-and that could make you a hot property. You know what you have to offer in travel nursing; maybe you're wondering what travel nursing has to offer you. Here are just a few reasons to consider becoming a travel nurse.

No matter where you work, he says, you'll be exposed to different ways of looking at nursing practice and you'll acquire new skills and knowledge that will put some muscle into your curriculum vitae. That'll help to make you an attractive candidate for prospective employers if you eventually decide to put down more permanent roots again.
As a travel nurse, you'll have access to a variety of assignments around the country, from small rural hospitals with only a few beds, where you'll be a jack-of-all-trades, to large urban teaching centers, where you can specialize in the nursing area of your choice. Each experience helps you grow as a nurse: At one hospital, for example, you could be learning the latest technique in negative-pressure wound therapy; at another, you could be mentoring staff nurses unfamiliar with this technique.

There's no question that travel nursing will test your mettle and help you grow, both personally and professionally. With just a few days' orientation at each assignment, you'll draw on the confidence you have in your nursing skills and adapt quickly and efficiently to new situations in your new environment. You'll challenge your perceptions and open yourself to new experiences. And along the way, you'll make memories that you'd never have if you'd stayed at home.

There's no question that travel nursing will test your mettle and help you grow, both personally and professionally. With just a few days' orientation at each assignment, you'll draw on the confidence you have in your nursing skills and adapt quickly and efficiently to new situations in your new environment. You'll challenge your perceptions and open yourself to new experiences.



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Angiography or arteriography is referred to process of medical imaging technique used to visualize the interior organs of the body. Particular interest is given to the arteries, veins and the heart chambers during any angiography.

The process of angiography can be divided into many types like xray study blood vessels, cerebral angiography, coronary angiography, pulmonary angiography, kidney angiography as per the patients' requirement.

Coronary angiography is one of most common angiography. It is performed to visualize the blood in the coronary arteries. In this type of angiography a long, thin, flexible tube called a catheter is used to administer the x-ray contrast agent at the desired area. It is then threaded into an artery in the groin or forearm. The tip is then advanced through the arterial system into one of our bodies' two major coronary arteries.

An expert on the procedure of angiography can visualize x-ray images of the transient radiocontrast distribution within the blood. He /she can thus determine the size of the artery openings.

Cerebral angiography is usually used to detect most vascular abnormalities of the brain like arteriovenous malformations and aneurysms. Some doctors also perform cerebral angiography is required to confirm brain death.

Similarly, pulmonary angiography refers to an x-ray study of blood vessels that is supplied to the lungs. It is generally used to find a blood clot) in these blood vessels.

Kidney angiography also known as renal angiography, on the other hand refers to a process where an expert look at the arteries that supply blood to the kidneys. Kidney angiography is usually done to evaluate blood flow to the kidneys, detect any blockages/narrowing in the kidney arteries, determine the severity of the blockage for proper diagnosis, identify a possible cause for high blood pressure and last but not the least, identify a possible cause for poor kidney function.



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