Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan Chase join forces to tackle employees’ health-care costs
By Carolyn Y. Johnson January 30 at 8:31 AM - Washington Post
Three major employers, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan Chase, announced Tuesday they were partnering to create an independent company aimed at reining in health- care costs for their employees.
The independent company would be jointly led by executives from all three companies and would be focused on technology that could increase transparency and simplify health care, according to the joint announcement. It will be free from the need to deliver a profit.
"The ballooning costs of healthcare act as a hungry tapeworm on the American economy. Our group does not come to this problem with answers. But we also do not accept it as inevitable," Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway chairman said in a statement.
Few details were available about the new initiative, described as in the initial planning stages. The announcement comes amid anticipation that Amazon could disrupt health care as it has in other industries -- sending tremors through companies that make and supply prescription drugs.
“The healthcare system is complex, and we enter into this challenge open-eyed about the degree of difficulty,” Jeffrey P. Bezos, Amazon founder said in a statement. “Hard as it might be, reducing healthcare’s burden on the economy while improving outcomes for employees and their families would be worth the effort. Success is going to require talented experts, a beginner’s mind, and a long-term orientation.”
the original article can be found here
Daylight Saving Time to Fall Back
It's that time again and whether you are a fan of the practice of Daylight Saving Time (I thought Saving had an S at the end until today) or not, it's about to happen.
In 2017 most of our watches, clocks and appliances adjust themselves but there are still a few items in the world that aren't connected to the Internet and much of your diabetes technology falls into that category.
Don't forget to adjust the time on your meter, continuous glucose monitor and insulin pump this weekend.
The person that came up with daylight saving must have had a child with type 1 diabetes, because who else considers two in the morning to be a viable time to accomplish something?
Daylight saving officially ends this year at 2 a.m. on November 5th but you can adjust your D-tech anytime before you go to bed. Be cautious, some insulin pumps will suspend bolus calculation assistance for a period of time after your adjust it's clock - plan accordingly.
If you want to learn more about Daylight Saving there is a quick video and detailed blog post over on National Geographic that you may enjoy.
"No good. Diabetes." - Donald Trump
Have diabetes? Trump thinks that makes you unable to perform your job.
This blog post will be quoting a reporter from Jonathan Swan at Axios.com. Jonathan is citing sources who say that Donald Trump believes he'll be replacing four supreme court justices during his term.
"Asked how he comes to that jaw-dropping number, Trump mentions the obvious: he's already replaced Antonin Scalia with Neil Gorsuch, and there are rumors Anthony Kennedy will retire."
"Ok," one source told Trump, "so that's two. Who are the others?"
"Ginsburg," Trump replied. "What does she weigh? 60 pounds?"
"Who's the fourth?" the source asked.
"Sotomayor," Trump said, referring to the relatively recently-appointed Obama justice, whose name is rarely, if ever, mentioned in speculation about the next justice to be replaced.
Trump explained...
"Her health, No good. Diabetes."
In ten years of writing about type 1 diabetes I've perhaps posted twice about something even remotely political. But today it is being reported that the President of the United States believes that type 1 diabetes is an impediment to acting as a Supreme Court Justice. I would like to know what further bias Trump holds against people living with chronic illness. If Justice Sotomayor can lose her job for having type 1, can you? Maybe she doesn't deserve healthcare? Why is it so easy for Trump to dismiss a human being because they happen to have type 1 diabetes? Why is the person making decisions about how the country receives healthcare so painfully unaware of what it means to live with type 1 diabetes.
Please consider sharing this image on your social media channels and ask news agencies to look deeper into the Axios story. Use the hashtag #RespectUs
Dexcom Opens their API to Third-party Developers
Dexcom leads the way in diabetes yet again...
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- DexCom, Inc. (Nasdaq: DXCM), the leader in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), announced today the availability of a public API, empowering third-party developers to connect patient-authorized CGM data into a broad range of software applications. This pioneering approach to CGM data sharing is intended to enable a rich ecosystem of novel solutions and put the user in control of where and how they interact with their glucose data.
"In launching this developer platform, Dexcom combines our CGM data expertise with the creativity of the developer ecosystem to enable new solutions and business models in the treatment and management of diabetes," said Annika Jimenez, Senior Vice President of Data, Dexcom. "Dexcom believes in data mobility and customer choice. It also believes that the API opens up opportunities to drive Dexcom CGM data into the heart of new digital solutions for payers, providers, and most importantly people with diabetes."
Get to it diabetes app developers, go make something great!
New Apple Ad features Dexcom: Here is why that is important to you
"my daughter was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes"
People living with T1D are understandably excited to hear the words, "my daughter was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes" in an Apple ad... but that is just the beginning of why this Apple Watch advertisement should get your heart pumping.
People reach out to Apple all the time to say how Apple Watch is helping them live healthier lives. Here, real customers read the actual stories they shared. Learn more: https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-series-3
The percentage of people with type 1 using continuous glucose monitoring technology is still relatively low. The barriers to adoption are multivariable. Cost, lack of insurance coverage, misunderstanding of what the technology brings to your life and plain just not knowing that it exists are but a few. The truth however is that even if you never find your way to a CGM this quick video, in my opinion, should still make you happy. Here's why.
We finally have a device manufacturer in the diabetes world who moved beyond the diabetes world. When Dexcom searched for others whose collaboration might improve their product, they didn't just form a relationship with a little start-up. They formed a relationship with Apple. The mention of Apple Watch integration with Dexcom in this ad, in my opinion, is not random. The mention didn't happen just because someone wrote a letter. It is there on purpose. This is Apple telling us what is important to them and a signal of where they are focusing their efforts when it comes to the health space.
The company that put a smartphone into most every hand on the plant and the company that is hugely responsible for the technology that keeps my daughter healthy, they are dating. I think we are all going to like what their future children grow up to be. I'm even more excited when I think about the relationship that Dexcom has with Omnipod and the ways that the Apple connection could improve all aspects of the tech that helps to keep Arden's BGs where we want them.
For the moment its great to hear diabetes in the mainstream in such a positive way, but I think that this is only the beginning of how Dexcom and Apple are going to make us smile. It is important to note that Dexcom advertises on the Juicebox Podcast but that I wrote this piece on my own.