For the last six weeks I’ve been in VA taking care of sick parents. VA is an interesting place. The capital, Richmond, is divided by the James River. Although your history books will tell you VA was a southern state the truth is that on the north side of the James River the people think of themselves as Northerners. On the south side, people speak with a twang. As I was often on both sides of the river, I’ve made a list of what I hate and love about the South. So here goes:

There is a lot of ongoing discussion about healthcare in this country, and we have all had our personal experiences with it, good or bad. But aside from all the political debate, I always thought there was a crucial discussion missing, and it is the one about prices.

Coming from a country where the raw unsubsidized healthcare prices are easily 5 to 10 times cheaper than here for the exact same quality of care, I was always astonished that it never really came up in any of the debates. These are always about the structure and who will pay for what, but never adress what looked to me like the core issue, The Prices!

Of course along the way over the last 10+ years, and after many medical bills, I started to have some ideas of my own…

So I was thrilled when recently Time Magazine published a report called “Why medical bills are killing us”  stating within the first few paragraphs:

Branding. You hear it everywhere. At the coffee shops, at conferences, in the stables. Okay, that might be a different definition, but the word “Branding” is as popular as “Platform” was five years ago. First off, I want to say that Branding is NOT marketing. Same nose and chin, but no relation.