Making a Difference

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Students of medical billing and coding, you are entering a field that holds enormous potential for you to do good works and make a positive impact on the lives of your fellow man.  People like you who dedicate their course of study and their careers to advancing public health are to be commended and celebrated.  It is a noble thing that they do.  Here’s the story of one student whose committment to study in the field of medicine has yielded an astonishing breakthrough that will surely help countless people in poor parts of the world struggling with wounds.  Read how this student created a suction device that costs a mere $3.00 to manufacture and the impact this breakthrough will have on medicine worldwide.  Then feel good about what you’re working to achieve and know that every one of you shares the exact same potential to effect greatness through your course of study and the work you will be doing once you graduate.

KFC’s Double Down – C’mon Now!

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In case you haven’t seen it, Kentucky Fried Chicken has launched its new “sandwich” called the Double Down.  It is essentially two fried chicken breast fillets masquerading as bread.  In between is bacon, cheese and special sauce.  I imagine the name Double Down refers to the bet you make with yourself about whether or not you will suffer a myocardial infarction from eating this mother of all gut bombs.  I cannot imagine who was responsible for the market research that supported the roll out of such a disgustingly over indulgent piece of processed junk food.  Now don’t get me wrong, my culinary sensibilities aside, I can enjoy some good ole fried chicken as much as the next guy.  But this “sandwich” seems to revel in being obstinately opposed to being even the slightest bit health conscious when it comes to diet.  What do you think?  At the very least, it will certainly contribute to the volume of people who need to seek medical care.  And that’s good for people pursuing a career in medical assistance.  Here’s another, more scathing review of this monstrosity from the SF Gate newspaper in Frisco!  Enjoy.

More than 15 Grams and It’s Dessert!

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With the legislature considering taxing so-called “unhealthy” food or beverage items as a way to raise revenues while encouraging better diet amongst Americans, each of us should spend some time focusing a little bit on how we eat and what we eat.  As I have written here before, I think it is a mistake to single out individual food items (pizza and soda were recently singled out in one of these new tax proposals) as “unhealthy”.  For one thing, portion sizes are a larger problem than the nature of what we eat.  If you eat one or two slices of pizza at meal time, you’re not packing on the pounds.  Eating 5 slices each time you eat pizza is much more likely to make you gain weight.   Today, I read an article that blew up my conception of what is healthy to eat and what is not.  Often, things we tend to think of as “healthy” foods are worse for us than things we think of as “no-nos”.  Follow me past the jump for the shocking details. Continue reading…

Jobs: Turning the Corner

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They say employment figures are a “lagging indicator” which is stock market speak for measurements that we look back on for perspective.  That is, economic growth happens first, then employment picks up.  This makes logical sense because obviously, companies don’t start hiring before new business picks up.  But once new orders come rolling in for all manners of products and services, companies scramble to hire in order to accommodate the increasing demand.  This is why it is so heartening to see the following chart showing the employment figures over the last two years.  Follow me over the jump for analysis. Continue reading…

In-N-Out in NYC? – April Fools!

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In what has to be among the cruelest April Fools Day pranks I have seen in years, some practical jokers dressed up as In-N-Out Burger employees appeared in Manhattan’s Union Square this morning.  They had a printed banner saying that In-N-Out was preparing to open its first New York outlet.  For those uninitiated, NYC-based Allen School Students, In-N-Out Burger is about the very best burger joint ever!  There is no East Coast analog to speak of.  (Shake Shack is good, but not in the same ballpark I am afraid.) But to give you Northeasterners a point of reference, it would be like telling a West Coaster that Famous Ray’s Pizzeria (or insert your favorite NY pizzeria here) was planning to open up outlets in Los Angeles.  Did you know there is no New York style pizza to be had in California?  I spent 10 years driving thousands of miles around the Golden State without finding any decent pie.  Anyway, now that my burger dreams are crushed, Allen School Online students in California and Nevada: Do me a favor.  Go have a Double Double animal style and animal fries for me please!  Oh and chocolate shake!!!

Obama to Sign Sweeping Student Loan Reform Today

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Lost among the overheated rhetoric of the recently concluded healthcare debate was the following piece of legislation of significant import to students everywhere.  Tonight, the President will sign the legislation that effectively removes Wall Street banks from their position as middleman on all student loans.  The largest rewrite of federal college assistance programs in four decades, the legislation makes the federal government the originator of these loans.  Before the anti-big goverment people get all scared about “takeovers” consider the following after the jump.  Continue reading…

10 Immediate Effects of Health Reform Bill Passed Last Night

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The following was posted by Congressman John B. Larson, Democrat from Connecticut after last night’s historic passage of health insurance reform. As soon as health care passes, the American people will see immediate benefits. The legislation will:
  • Prohibit pre-existing condition exclusions for children in all new plans;
  • Provide immediate access to insurance for uninsured Americans who are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition through a temporary high-risk pool;
  • Prohibit dropping people from coverage when they get sick in all individual plans;
  • Lower seniors’ prescription drug prices by beginning to close the donut hole;
  • Offer tax credits to small businesses to purchase coverage;
  • Eliminate lifetime limits and restrictive annual limits on benefits in all plans;
  • Require plans to cover an enrollee’s dependent children until age 26;
  • Require new plans to cover preventive services and immunizations without cost-sharing;
  • Ensure consumers have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal new insurance plan decisions;
  • Require premium rebates to enrollees from insurers with high administrative expenditures and require public disclosure of the percent of premiums applied to overhead costs.
By enacting these provisions right away, and others over time, we will be able to lower costs for everyone and give all Americans and small businesses more control over their health care choices. If you are interested in joining the health care industry or learning more about the medical assistant profession, check out the Allen School of Health Sciences. Are you satisfied or mortified by the bill’s passage?  Share your thoughts in the comments section.

In Case You Were Worried…

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Have you ever had to defend your choice of online education to less than supportive family or friends?  Clearly, the Internet has upended many existing paradigms such as how we shop, socialize and study.  And while no one is suggesting that online studies are out of the mainstream, there is a certain newness to the practice of learning via the “tubes” that can raise the eyebrows of those more enamored of the orthodoxy of brick and mortar institutions of higher learning.  If you find yourself having to defend what is clearly a very savvy choice on your part, the following photo slide show can provide you with some truly unorthodox educational choices you can offer to provide some perspective to your debate opponent.  Follow me over the jump to learn more about such schools as Hamburger University and Clown College. Continue reading…

Banksters Feeling Pain from “Move Your Money” Campaign

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Back in January, the Allen School Online Blog featured a post called, “Move Your Money – Beat the Greedy Banksters”.  In that post, I outlined options for people disgusted with their treatment by big Wall Street banks who survived the economic collapse thanks to taxpayer bailouts only to jack up credit card interest and withhold loans for school and small business.  In essence, I advocated for others to do as I and many others had; “voting with our feet” by closing accounts held with Citi, Chase, BofA and other biggies and reopening them with local community banks and credit unions.  At the time, many doubted this small action would have any significant impact on the “too big to fail” crew on Wall Street.  Follow me past the jump to see just how successful this idea has been. Continue reading…

Springing Ahead – Winter Draws Near Close

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I know not all of our readers are located as I am in the Northeast.  However, if the news reports have been even partly accurate, this Winter season has been one of the more brutal ones in recent memory.  Snow totals in the Northeast have been on the high side of the spectrum and my relatives in Southern California have been getting more rain there than they see in five years combined.  So it is with great anticipation that I await the 14th of March.  This coming Sunday, March 14th, at midnight, we all set our clocks one hour ahead.  While we lose one hour of sleep in the transaction, we gain one more glorious hour of evening sunlight to use outside, after close of business hours.  That’s one more hour to spend walking, studying, reading or washing the car.  Of course, it is still probably too cold in many parts of the country to spend much of this extra daylight time out of doors.  But rejoice!  For the last day of Winter is not far behind this Sunday’s “Spring Ahead”.  The Vernal Equinox happens on March 21.  This marks the first day of Spring and not a moment too soon.  I dreamed last night that we were taking to cover off the swimming pool.  Can you tell I am ready for swimming and barbecues?  How about you?