HEALTH

Ralph Nader -   The Medicare enrollment period ends 12/5. Beware, elderly beneficiaries. Do not be deceived by massive deceptive TV and print promotions to get you into Medicare Disadvantage. It will more often fail you when you really need it. UnitedHealth, Aetna, Humana, Cigna et al. are out for profits. Stick with traditional Medicare!

NY Times - The Biden administration, in one of its last major policy directives, proposed on Tuesday that Medicare and Medicaid cover obesity medications, a costly and probably popular move that the Trump administration would need to endorse to become official. The proposal would extend access of the drugs to millions of Americans who aren’t covered now.

Guardian - The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has calculated that, if every adult in the UK met the WHO salt-consumption guidelines by 2030, by 2035 there would be up to 1.4m fewer new cases of high blood pressure, up to 135,000 fewer new cases of coronary heart disease and up to 49,000 fewer new cases of stroke. The WHO has said: “Reducing sodium intake is one of the most cost-effective measures to improve health and reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases.” Even people already taking medication for hypertension can significantly lower their blood pressure by halving their salt intake, according to a report published in September.