East meets West

 

In China

One dead from bubonic plague, 151 in quarantine, and Yumen, a city of 30,000, has been reportedly sealed off.  The man in China supposedly caught it from a Marmot. 

In Colorado

Four cases of pneumonic plague in Colorado... and, nothing. Pneumonic plague is the most dangerous variant of Y. Pestis as it can be spread from person to person whereas bubonic and septicemic plague requires a transmission vector such as the flea. The Colorado case supposedly was transferred from Prairie Dog to pet dog, to owner. In the Colorado case only the dog is reported to have died.

Cooperative Medicine

In China the New Rural Cooperative Medical Care System covers roughly 80% of the population.  The cost is 50 Yuan per person ($7) per year, of that 20 is paid by the central government, 20 by the provincial government and only 10 ($1.61) by the individual.

But hey, everybody's covered. 

 

 

On another note, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia struck down the federal subsidy for those enrolled in the states that are using the federal exchange.  Of course, this is just a technicality.