Wellness

The health care crisis. It’s an issue that tops Minnesotans list. Last year, Minnesota spent an average of $6,500.00 on out of pocket medical expenses. In 1970, we spent about $390.00 annually. What if there was a way to cut between $8 and $18 billion off that number? What if, while doing it, we could help work on healthier Minnesotans and fight abuse and neglect? The Academy on Violence and Abuse thinks they can do just that. MORE »

Should your medical records be protected from prying eyes? Huge majorities of Americans think so. According to a Gallup Poll, 92 percent of Americans oppose government agencies looking at their medical records without their permission, and 82 percent oppose insurance companies pawing through their records without their permission. Sixty-seven percent even oppose researchers looking at their records without their consent. MORE »

I am sitting at a local coffee shop trying to keep the numbers straight. Sitting across from Joel Albers can be quite a whirlwind of dates and figures. Papers are clutched in his hands explaining all about why the Minnesota health care system is on the verge of a major crisis. MORE »

In a park near the University of Minnesota campus, Matt Peterson sits on a bench and talks about his health. He is young, healthy and one of the more than 135,000 Minnesota residents in their twenties without health insurance, according to Families USA, a non-profit advocacy group for the uninsured. The 21-year-old former U of M student works 30 hours a week at a restaurant, but health insurance is the last thing on his mind. MORE »