beniebuzz blog

Are you paying more for prescription drugs? The stats say that you probably are. I recently wrote an article about the prescription drug industry. Through my research, I learned that nearly 7 in 10 Americans are on at least one prescription drug and more than half of Americans take two drugs. It’s a $326 billion industry and growing – that breaks down to an average of $1459 per person each year or $122 per month. 

We’ve heard it a million times: the US is a litigious society – we’re lawsuit crazy! Last year, Faces of Lawsuit Abuse posted their top 10 most ridiculous lawsuits and there are some doozies. How about the grown man who sued his parents for their “indifference” to his problems (to which I say, “If I had a nickel for every kid who felt indifference from their parents…”) or the dad who sued the county for $40 million because his son was kicked off the track team for excessive absences? 

Have you ever had symptoms of a medical issue and you knew exactly what was going on? When my eye is gooey, pink, sealed shut and I want to gouge it out from itching…it’s a pretty safe bet I have the dreaded Pink Eye. 

Enter telemedicine! Simply put, telemedicine is the remote diagnosis and treatment of patients by means of telecommunications technology. If you’re not familiar with the tactical steps of a telemedicine doctor visit, click hereto learn more. 

Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve heard about the Target breach and now this new Heartbleed. Even if you are living under a rock, they’ve likely affected you in some way. It seems like there’s a big story popping up every week in the news about breaches, hackers, identity theft, etc.

“Oops, sorry.” That was the billing rep for the surgeon’s response when she realized they had used the wrong code for my son’s surgery. Their “oops” was a mistake for which I was being billed $2,000! 

Did you know it’s estimated that 40% to 80% of medical bills contain errors? In 2010, Kaiser Health News estimated that nearly $68 billion is lost to fraud and billing mistakes each year.

If you were to die tomorrow, who would care for your kids? Your pets? Who would inherit your grandmother’s wedding ring?  

Recent surveys show that 50% of Americans with kids don’t have a will. What? And what are their excuses? 1) too stressed about today to think about tomorrow, 2) concerned about the expense, 3) too complicated, and 4) general procrastination (I’m gonna’ get to that someday). 

Have you ever been stuck in the house for multiple days because of the weather? I have! If you haven’t heard, Texas is currently in the middle of what Facebookers have dubbed “IceMaggedon 2013,” “Ice-pocalypse,” “Ice-apalooza” and even “Sleetnado!” (although, we’re now on day 3 of being held hostage in our homes and it’s finally gotten above freezing, so “Slushmageddon”)!

 I start by saying “My name is Heidi. I am an American and I like discounts!” Now you say, “Hi Heidi!”

Did you follow the JCPenney story? Apparently, when you take away an American’s ability to “get the deal,” they don’t like it. Under their “no discounts” pricing plan, JCPenney reported losing $4.3 billion in one year. YIKES, that’s a big chunk o’ change! 

Let’s face it, Groupon has proven that we love discounts on all things: massages, golf games, carpet cleaning, wax jobs, hot air balloon rides, groceries, etc., etc.