Author's posts
What Does Knee Surgery Cost? Few Know, and That’s a Problem
The price we pay for health care often has little connection to what it actually costs. One hospital decided to investigate. Gundersen Health System set out to tally how much it cost to perform knee-replacement surgery. For nearly a decade, Gundersen H…
Why ‘Medicare for All’ Is Playing Poorly in Democratic Primaries
Most of the prominent Democrats eyeing 2020 presidential bids—including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts—champion the idea of “Medicare for all,” suggesting it’s become almost a litm…
Kentucky Governor Loses Another Round in Medicaid Fight
Kentucky’s Republican governor lost another round Monday in a legal fight over his efforts to revamp the state’s Medicaid program to require poor people to get a job to keep their benefits. The latest setback for Gov. Matt Bevin came in his home state …
Trump’s Plan on Drug-Pricing Transparency Takes Step Forward
White House staff are reviewing a proposal that may require pharmaceutical companies to be more transparent about their pricing, a key piece of President Donald Trump’s plan to lower drug costs. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has received a …
GAO Report: Administration Needs to Step Up on ‘Obamacare’
A congressional watchdog said Thursday the Trump administration needs to step up its management of sign-up seasons under former President Barack Obama’s health care law after mixed results last year in the throes of a failed GOP effort to repeal it. On…
Maine’s Highest Court Orders Rollout of Medicaid Expansion
Maine’s highest court on Thursday blocked the latest attempt by Gov. Paul LePage to restrain Medicaid expansion, although the legal battle appeared set to continue. Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court said two lower-court rulings ordering the state to begin…
For McCain, A Life of Courage, Politics Came Down to One Vote
For John McCain, a lifetime of courage, contradictions, and contrarianism came down to one vote, in the middle of the night, in the twilight of his career. The fate of President Donald Trump’s long effort to repeal Barack Obama’s health care law hung i…
Addressing an Epidemic of Loneliness
More than two in five senior citizens report feeling lonely – a condition that can increase risk of chronic disease.
International Health News Brief, No. 4
This round-up of international health policy news stories reports on Australia’s launch of a website to help people with end-of-life planning; Ontario’s move to offer free prescription drugs to seniors; England’s deployment of pharmacists to nursing ho…
Physician Leadership Development
Former Harkness Fellow Jan C. Frich and Ivan Spehar of the University of Oslo in Norway explore U.S. health care executives’ perspectives on physician leadership development in an article for BMJ Leader. Their study of the potential benefits and challe…
