It is spring in McAllen, Texas. The morning sun is warm. The streets are lined with palm trees and pickup trucks. McAllen is in Hidalgo County, which has the lowest household income in the country, but it’s a border town, and a thriving foreign-trade zone has kept the unemployment rate below ten per cent. McAllen calls itself the Square Dance Capital of the World. “Lonesome Dove” was set around here.
McAllen has another distinction, too: it is one of the most expensive health-care markets in the country. . .
Saturday, July 11, 2009
feature story: "The Cost Conundrum"
I enjoyed this Atul Gawande feature article on health care economics. "Health care economics"--those three words are enough to put me to sleep. The examples in the article made the topic interesting as well as accessible. Below is the first paragraph and beginning of the second paragraph:
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Great post -- Gawande is the best! I am a health care person (public health nurse), so I love reading this stuff, but would love to understand why this stuff is considered boring outside the profession. If we, as health care profs, can understand why it is boring, then perhaps we can understand why so few people want to participate in a dialogue in which they are stake-holders. I would love to read any of your insights on this.
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