Health Policy: the Obama Era

Physician and policy commentary on health care under the Obama administration, covering the Affordable Care Act, insurance reform, and the political decisions that reshaped American medicine.

Op-ed: Not all screening tests lead to early, better treatment

Kevin

Conditions and Diseases

April 23, 2009

The following op-ed was published on April 23rd, 2009 in the USA Today.

As a primary care doctor, it’s heartening to hear President Obama call for “the largest investment ever in preventive care.” That means more people, for one, will be undergoing tests to screen for various forms of cancer. But this might be one of those cases where what sounds like common sense is actually more …

Op-ed: Unbiased research for doctors is good medicine

Kevin

Health Policy

March 26, 2009

The following op-ed was published on March 26th, 2009 in the USA Today.

As a primary care doctor, I am frequently faced with decisions where the choice is not always clear. Do the latest, more expensive drugs work better than the less costly, older medications? Will ordering an MRI help me treat a patient’s lower back pain? Often, the answer to these questions is, “I’m not sure.”

Because …

Will reforming the malpractice system be a deal breaker for health reform?

Kevin

Physician

March 17, 2009

In a surprise, President Obama has signaled a willingness to discuss medical liability as part of the health reform process.

Good for him for standing up to the trial lawyers, a core constituency of the left.

That’s a good sign, as the costs of defensive medicine brought on by the broken malpractice system, should be addressed if there is any hope of reducing health care spending.
Read more…

Will reforming the malpractice system be a deal breaker for health reform?

Op-ed: More coverage requires more doctors

Kevin

Health Policy

February 25, 2009

The following op-ed was published on February 25th, 2009 in The New York Times’ Room for Debate blog.

With the number of the uninsured having risen to 48 million Americans, clearly the need for reform is dire. But President Obama made no mention of who exactly will take care of these patients, even if they get insurance under a successful health reform initiative.

As a primary care physician in southern New …

Tom Daschle withdraws, and how that will impact health care reform

Kevin

Uncategorized

February 4, 2009

There’s no shortage of informed opinions on the Tom Daschle debacle, and how this will affect the chances of successful health care reform.

I don’t pretend to be a political pundit, so instead, here is a collection of selected insights from news sites and health policy blogs that I regularly read.

First off, the NY Times says it will likely halt the momentum for health reform, and …