Health policy and public health

4,357 articles · Since 2004

Articles, page 98

Single payer is not a cure for a broken system

June 28, 2017Jun 28, 201716

California’s state senate’s unipartisan passing of a sweeping single-payer health care bill, the Healthy California Act, has drawn attention to single payer as a solution to the decaying Affordable Care Act. The ACA decreased competition and plan availability in health insurance and leaves patients holding the bag of unaffordable premiums, deductibles, and copays. It’s no surprise that a majority of state residents …

Health policy

There’s good and bad news for millennials in the Senate’s GOP health bill

Anna Gorman & Kellen Browning

June 28, 2017Jun 28, 2017

Darlin Kpangbah receives free health insurance through Medicaid and is grateful for the coverage in case of accidents, such as when she tore a ligament in her leg a few years ago. “I feel like I’m injury-prone,” said Kpangbah, 20, who lives in Sacramento, Calif. Without insurance, she said, the injury “would’ve been huge to pay for.”

Young adults like Kpangbah were among the biggest beneficiaries of Obamacare, which helped reduce …

Health policy

Overcoming trainee mistreatment to advocate for our patients

Falisha Gilman, MD

June 27, 2017Jun 27, 2017

“You’re a doctor. You’re a doctor. Goddammit, you’re a doctor, man! You’re a doctor, so say so, and that’s the message, and we’ll follow you,” Jon Lovett shouted to an audience member on Pod Save America. The listener was an internal medicine resident who, in early May, asked how young physicians could better advocate for their patients. I heard this before the House of Representatives voted on the American Health …

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Health policy

It’s time to advocate for our patients to politicians

Jonathan Kohler, MD

June 27, 2017Jun 27, 2017

As a physician, I often forget how much I know. But there are things that remind me just how different our own experience as doctors is from those who don’t spend their days and nights taking care of the ill.…

I do a lot of work for television, helping writers and directors to create medically plausible stories and scenes. I used to get worried that I might get the dose of …

Health policy

What the Better Care Reconciliation Act says about America

Matthew Hahn, MD

June 26, 2017Jun 26, 201748

The Senate version of the Republican health care bill lays bare the priorities of America’s current political leadership. It is not pretty. The new bill demonstrates the Republicans’ entirely unbalanced view of government and fiscal policy, where monetary value trumps…

These are the new values of the Republican leadership as evidenced by the new bill. We once …

Health policy

The ACP leads the charge against the Better Care Reconciliation Act

Bob Doherty

June 24, 2017Jun 24, 20174

President Trump told a group of Republican Senators that the House-based American Health Care Act is “mean” -- and on this he surely called it right! How else would one describe a bill that would take health insurance away from…

President Trump told a group of Republican Senators that the House-based American Health Care Act is “mean” — and on this he surely called it right!

How else would one describe a bill that would take health insurance away from 23 million people, allow states to waive rules requiring insurers to cover people with preexisting conditions at no extra charge, and raise premiums and deductibles to the oldest and …

Health policy

If you want to truly fix a broken system, look at the patients

Linda Girgis, MD

June 24, 2017Jun 24, 201711

Dear Senators, I know that the plan is to meet soon to pass the latest GOP health plan. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, failed with a price tag of over a trillion dollars. Yes, this faulty…

Dear Senators,

I know that the plan is to meet soon to pass the latest GOP health plan. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, failed with a price tag of over a trillion dollars. Yes, this faulty plan is not sustainable as is. Yet, your proposed plan is just a rehashing of the failed elements.

While you look at the economics and short-fallings, I look patients in the eye …

Health policy

Residency programs and medical schools must prioritize advocacy training

Christian Alexander Pean, MD

June 23, 2017Jun 23, 201714

Any physician who firmly believes in the ethical principles of beneficence and justice will recognize the legislation recently passed by the United States Congress known as the American Healthcare Act (AHCA) as a moral travesty. The bill’s provisions to shift costs from the wealthy to the impoverished, diminish protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions, and strip away essential health benefits for patients are cruel measures that run directly counter to …

Health policy

The progressive argument for repealing Obamacare

Brian C. Joondeph, MD

June 19, 2017Jun 19, 201714

President Trump campaigned on repealing and replacing Obamacare. Congress, when campaigning for reelection every two years, promised the same. Yet Congress can’t seem to get the job done. First, they needed the House, then the Senate, finally the White House.…

Yet nothing from Congress but a dial tone. The House passed an Obamacare-lite bill, tweaking …

Health policy

Why Medicaid block grants won’t work

Megan Douglas, JD

June 14, 2017Jun 14, 20175

Medicaid is the largest single health insurance program in the nation, spending more than $500 billion to serve the most vulnerable people with some of the highest need, including children, pregnant mothers, people with disabilities, the poor and the elderly living in nursing homes. Recent proposals to repeal and replace Obamacare – such as the American Health Care Act (AHCA) – would fundamentally change the Medicaid program. …

Read more…

Why Medicaid block grants won’t work

Health policy

Achieving health care’s holy grail: Improved quality at lower costs

Robert Pearl, MD

June 9, 2017Jun 9, 20176

For years, health care reform has pursued the holy grail of higher quality at lower cost. I’ve always believed it’s achievable, and now it’s needed more than ever. The U.S. health care system is failing. Costs continue to increase faster…

For years, health care reform has pursued the holy grail of higher quality at lower cost. I’ve always believed it’s achievable, and now it’s needed more than ever.

The U.S. health care system is failing. Costs continue to increase faster than our nation’s ability to pay, and the quality of our outcomes lag those of most other industrialized nations. People increasingly ask me what concrete steps could make a difference. The …

Health policy

A physician’s 4-point plan to fix health care

Kevin R. Campbell, MD

June 8, 2017Jun 8, 20172

While Thomas Jefferson may have written that “All men are created equal” in our Declaration of Independence, nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to health care in the United States. As a physician, I have pledged to ease suffering and heal those who are sick. However, I find that my job has become increasingly difficult over the last several years. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has …

Health policy

Will California be the third strike against single payer?

Brian C. Joondeph, MD

June 6, 2017Jun 6, 201727

Single-payer health care remains the holy grail for Democrats seeking the ultimate in command and control government. Wealth redistribution on a previously unimaginable scale. The nanny state government controlling all aspects of everyone’s life, as few human activities don’t influence…

Congressional Democrats are locked and loaded with federal legislation expanding Medicare to everyone. Specifically, this bill would provide, “all individuals residing in the United States and U.S. territories …

Health policy

How Trumpcare affects this medical student

John Rajala

June 5, 2017Jun 5, 20172

I'm a medical student. I spend every day of my life considering the well-being of my future patients, and the detrimental impact that various health care policy proposals will have. I'm not going to lie. The ACA has problems. It's…

I’m a medical student. I spend every day of my life considering the well-being of my future patients, and the detrimental impact that various health care policy proposals will have. I’m not going to lie. The ACA has problems. It’s not perfect, and I won’t wave the flag and pretend it’s the greatest thing ever. The reality is that the ACA plans are often cost prohibitive. The lack of a …

Health policy

We can reinvest in social justice by observing our children

Ami B. Bhatt, MD

May 28, 2017May 28, 2017

We are visiting the grandparents in New York City for spring break. Spring has been sporadic thus far, more of a series of trailers rather than the feature presentation. The overhead warming lights and warm air greets us as we escape from the cool evening into the grandparent’s glittery apartment building. Although this specific location is not near Times Square, it has the gold leaf on the ceiling and lights …

Health policy

From clinic to Congress: How you can use your skills to advocate

Lekshmi Santhosh, MD & Shubha Srinivas, MD

May 28, 2017May 28, 2017

It’s been a long day at the hospital. Between rounds and writing notes, you’ve already skipped lunch. In a spare moment, you manage to scroll through the news on your phone, and for once aren’t interrupted by a call or page. What you read makes you anxious, confused, or relieved — or all of that and more. You like, retweet, share, maybe donate, and then return to your last chart …

Health policy

Reflections from the Hill: How residents participate in advocacy

Luming Li, MD

May 28, 2017May 28, 2017

Advocacy on the Hill can be a challenging, since it’s never clear how much a single person or small group of people can impact an issue. However, that fact alone should never stop anyone from doing advocacy work. Jessica Isom,…

Jessica Isom, Nkemka Esiobu, and myself had met with Dr. John Krystal (chair of the Yale psychiatry department) regularly to discuss about an advocacy day at the Capitol. We were three psychiatry residents, …

Health policy

How big data will shape the future of medicine

Akhilesh Pathipati, MD

May 24, 2017May 24, 20173

In any educational environment, there’s a set of buzzwords that create a common vocabulary. Medical students constantly hear about “bench-to-bedside research,” “evidence-based medicine,” and “compassionate care.” Meanwhile, business school students can’t stop talking about “aligning objectives,” “disruptive innovation,” and of…

One of the most frequently used phrases in both schools is “big data.” The idea is that with bigger, faster computers and new analytical techniques, we can now sift …

Physician voices

How the $8 bottle of water in Las Vegas is a health care issue

Suneel Dhand, MD

May 23, 2017May 23, 20176

I recently attended the annual Society of Hospital Medicine conference in Las Vegas. As a proud hospital medicine doctor, this organization has grown exponentially over the last decade, and thousands of hospital physicians from across the nation descended on the…

I recently attended the annual Society of Hospital Medicine conference in Las Vegas.

As a proud hospital medicine doctor, this organization has grown exponentially over the last decade, and thousands of hospital physicians from across the nation descended on the city for a few days of great learning and networking opportunities. However, away from the conference, this being Vegas, there had to be some time for fun as well.

On Saturday evening, …

Health policy

It’s time we look at the Australian health system for lessons

Brian C. Joondeph, MD

May 22, 2017May 22, 20176

President Donald Trump in a recent press briefing with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced, “Of course the Australians have better health care than we do - everybody does.” On the heels of the House narrowly passing the first in…

President Donald Trump in a recent press briefing with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced, “Of course the Australians have better health care than we do – everybody does.” On the heels of the House narrowly passing the first in many steps toward Obamacare repeal and replace, President Trump’s comment caused a bit of a stir, to say the least.

MSNBC was all over it. Chris Hayes interviewed fellow socialist Senator …

Health policy and public health

Articles, page 98

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