"Americans spend more on products, and receive less services. Americans realize amongst the poorest health outcomes of developed nations. Americans have the lowest life expectancy amongst developed nations — 78.1 years, compared to 81 in the UK, and 82 in Switzerland. Lower levels of service and more money spent on the same drugs, translate, as you might reasonably expect, into poorer outcomes."
"Healthcare in America is a textbook example of thin value. The healthcare industry maintains significantly supernormal profitability — yet, those profits are divorced from people being relatively better off. An American healthcare industry that "creates value" by limiting how much better off people are is simply transferring value from society to shareholders."
The disincentives within health care are unbelievable. These insurance providers are publicly traded entities that must constantly compete with one another for best in class payout metrics and push higher and higher margins at the expense of care. Finding technicalities to avoid payment and cleansing unprofitable accounts is different when it's human lives at stake. We won't fix health care until we make care the primary goal of insurers, not shareholder return. I've heard it before from a friend, but I believe non-profit insurance entities are the close thing to a "solution" that I've heard.
-I like to believe that my efforts sending Lamar Odom articles with reasons to join the Lakers on twitter and my blog post on this humble establishment helped lobby him to LA. That and the Lakers offered more money, home, and a chance to win another championship. I believe he had serious consideration for Miami and I have to say D-Wade was able to scare me, but I think Lamar Odom belongs in LA. I'm very very excited about the NBA season this year.-The Lakers are the clear favorite to win the championship. If Artest buys in and steps up his defense, we're going to be very very scary. Assuming Bynum is able to regain some of the form he's shown in flashes and stays healthy, hoping that Farmar/Brown take the quantum leap (3rd year for Mr. Farmar I believe), and seeing Sasha Vujacic actually shoot the ball and we're talking about a potentially dominant team. Just like last year when I was so frustrated with this 65 win club (how is that even possible) because they only scratched the surface of their potential so often with their lackadaisical commitment to defense and inability to care as much as teams need to be great. But I have to give it to them: they flipped a switch during that Nuggets series and developed another gear against Orlando. No one in the NBA could have beaten us in that series.
Before the championship, you would say the Lakers had three mortal weaknesses on defense: fast point guards, three point shooting and spacing the floor, and pick and roll defense. Orlando exploited all three of these Achilles' heels in the regular season, crushing the Lakers. In the Finals, the Lakers had amazing weak-side help defense on Dwight but rotated fast enough to prevent open threes, shut down Alston and Nelson for much of the series, and defended the pick and roll like men possessed. They lived up to their potential. Phil Jackson outcoached Van Gundy-never underestimate the importance of this after he was outcoached by Brown and Thibodeau. Notice I didn't say Rivers. Lamar Odom played consistently. Kobe was Kobe. Role players stepped up. If this team carries that hunger, if Kobe is able to inspire them like Michael did the Bulls in '96, we could see something really special. The Lakers have a potentially all-time great offense this year, but if they really commit on D, they could be unstoppable.
-The disparity between the have's and have nots in the NBA is unbelievable, but I think the long-time rivalries like the Lakers and the Celtics in the 80's and eras with superpowers are better sometimes. The NFL has amazing parity and that does some great things, but I think the rise of the evil Patriots empire is one of the best things to ever happen to the league. The Giants toppling that Leviathan in such dramatic fashion is surely more unbelievable than a random team from the AFC like the Jaguars in their first Superbowl. When Eli Manning stopped a 18-0 Juggernaut on the verge of adding to its dynasty, it became unbelievable. When David topples Goliath, when Jordan beats the Showtime Lakers...-I think I'm going to get NBA league pass and write a lot more during the season. These are real goals people.
-Do yourself a favor and watch this music video promoting the new Nike Hyperize sneakers. Durantula, AI, Rashard, and Mo Williams all exceed expectations and I actually like the song.
-For someone who expends so much energy dismissing metaphysics, I subconciously hold things to such incredible standards. Recognizing the imperfections in people and institutions and accepting them is critical to life.
-I'm a different person than I was at the end of 2008. I've matured a lot in my outlook. Growth happens in concentrated spurts and the last few months will be among my most memorable for a lot of reasons. I finally "got it" in a lot of ways.
-Part of that outlook is recognizing that it's time for a step-change in life. I feel it coming. Yes, it's jargon, but weirdly appropriate. I've spent too much time thinking about strategic frameworks. Too much time.
-I made an unbelievably cathartic playlist on iTunes today. Called it "Show Me the Good Life" after the Blu & Exile song. That Blu & Exile album is unbelievable, have been bumping it non-stop for a week.
-The playlist is almost entirely hip-hop but contains one indie rock song, Matt & Kim "Lessons Learned." For seem reason it seems oddly appropriate. The hip-hop is a has a bunch of contemplative songs like "Staring Through My Rear View", "Moment of Clarity", etc. It also has a number of songs about victory and celebration, like "Good Life", "Back in the Day", and "Encore." Ups an downs I suppose.
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-There's a lot I want to accomplish in the next few months. I need to take the GMAT, apply to b-school, and establish a better routine. I've realized that you are what you do every day and must create the habits that make you the person that you want to become. This has a lot of implications. I need to read more booksI digest a lot of information, but less books than I want to. I want to establish a better gym routine, which get disrupted too often with so much travel.
-Watched "White Men Can't Jump" over 4-5 nights as I was falling asleep. Awesome movie. I mean obviously no Oscar contender, but pretty creative comedy with some decent basketball thrown in there. I laughed quite a bit. I like Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson and both are pretty funny and charismatic here. Woody Harrelson is more believably good at basketball than I expected too. Plus, those 90's outfits were straight nostalgia. Not to mention awesome. The beach volleyball hat!
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