Like me, my roommate is uninsured. Lately, she’s been having gastrointestinal problems, to the effect that— sorry if you’re reading this during lunch— she’s been producing bloody, runny stools several times per day. It’s an ailment that has plagued her off and on for years. But the high cost of medical attention meant, until recently, skipping doctor’s visits and instead experimenting with home remedies, like eating canned pumpkin and hoping for the best. The other day, I broke down and called a doctor on her behalf, managing to arrange for a home visit. See, my roommate also suffers from pretty serious anxiety and office visits leave her trembling, another factor that kept her from getting checked out sooner. While I was lucky to find someone to come to the house, this arrangement was not without drawbacks. For starters, we had to keep several stool samples in the refrigerator so the doctor would have something to take with her and analyze. more ›

In March 1997 a doctor said to me, “Your jeans are going to fit a lot better once we get that out.” So tactful. The that to which he referred was a cyst-morphing-into-a-tumor that had wrapped itself around my left ovary. This was discovered at a post-abortion checkup. I paid cash for the abortion. The removal of both the tumor, which as it turned out had malignant cells in it, and the ovary (the two could not be disentangled) were covered by insurance. Luckily, I required no chemo or radiation. I don’t recall that my jeans fit any different when all was said and done. more ›

The nationwide drop in home prices is disproportionately sharp for those houses farthest from employment centers. In Washington D.C., prices dropped an average of 11% in the last year, but have risen in areas close to downtown or public transportation. Local statistics seem to bear this out - average price per square foot was down 2.21% overall as compared to last year. Most central areas were up (except for Zilker, which was pretty flat), while some outlying areas were up and some were down. more ›