Greetings!
One serendipitous benefit of these recent tumultuous years brought on by the onset of the Covid pandemic in early 2020 has been the development of a much greater appreciation of the importance of health in all aspects of our lives.
And we do mean all aspects.
The disruptions driven by the pandemic reminded us the importance of our mental health, our emotional well-being, the health of our personal relationships, and our financial health.
All these areas have been impacted by the pandemic, sometimes in profound and incalculable ways.
This realization informs our reporting as we resume today our weekly Healthy Wednesday newsletter.
We have reported several ongoing stories since our last HW newsletter on matters that illuminate the far-reaching impact of what falls within the traditional arena of healthcare: abortion, the cost of healthcare, the continuing patterns of medical resources, inequalities in care and the pipeline for minority physicians.
Many of these stories, like this one on how bias gets sewn into medical records, unfortunately have no foreseeable expiration date when it comes to their continuing relevance.
It's currently open enrollment season for health insurance, signaled by the annual over-saturation of dumbed down television ads featuring Joe Namath and Jimmy Walker at their most obnoxious. There are momentous decisions to be made by millions of people that will affect both health and wallet. Pitfalls abound, as today's story details:
— It's open enrollment season for health insurance
It's also election season, and hopefully you are among those who understand that voting has never been more important. With more ways to vote than ever, even in an imperfect system, there simply is no reason not to make your voice heard. Check our politics coverage here.
See you soon!
As always, thanks for being a Real Deal reader!
R. T. Andrews
