Category: Policy

The primary care solution is obvious, but don’t expect policymakers to jump on board

In a shocking development that could transform the medical profession, the International Journal of Health Services published the findings of a study titled, “Primary care, specialty care, and life chances.” Using multiple regression analysis, the rese…

What is “fair” payment for medical services?

I write this hoping to appeal to common sense. When are we going to stop putting the cart before the horse? 99 percent of the rhetoric surrounding health care costs centers on a “fair” way to pay for it, “fair” reimbursement levels, and who should pay …

One person’s wasteful medical spending is another person’s income

In a New York Times article, “The Huge Waste in the U.S. Health System,” it stated that the estimated waste is at least $760 billion per year: “That’s comparable to government spending on Medicare and exceeds national military spending, as well as tota…

Making America great again with harm reduction

I recently discovered a fact about the United States of America that should be a source of embarrassment for all Americans. What I found out is this: There is not a single safe injection site anywhere in the entire country. Safe injection sites save th…

Why this physician supports Medicare for all

Alexa Karsdan’s medical bill for a sore throat reached over $28,000. NPR told her story recently, but I want you to know why I am actually glad this happened. Why is it good news that her charges were so exorbitant, and that her insurance paid over twe…

Does socialized medical care provide higher quality than private care?

Americans are not fans of socialized medicine. Sure, some people want socialized health care payment, including many people who are fans of Medicare for all. But even most Bernie Sanders supporters probably aren’t in favor of socializing the enti…

Your grocery cart on WIC

Karen smiled nervously, her swollen belly peeking out from under her stretched silver tank top. Six months pregnant with her first child, the eighteen-year-old had come to the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) office for help with getting enough to ea…

Only Biden, Bloomberg, and Buttigieg have health plans that have a realistic chance of becoming law

In an earlier post, I pointed out that there is no better chance of passing a Medicare for all health care plan through Congress in the coming years than there was in 1977, or 1993, or 2009. Then Elizabeth Warren showed us just how politically unrealis…

Changes are coming to health care in 2020. Are you ready?

Of the nation’s 3.5 trillion in annual health care spending, 90 percent is for people with chronic and mental health conditions. How long can this continue? Can health care institutes afford not to engage in the 2020 wave of preventative care health ca…

Setting the facts straight about The Joint Commission’s stance on food and drink

A spirited discussion erupted over The Joint Commission’s role in prohibiting food in patient care areas: “Taking food and drink away from doctors and nurses is just cruel.” The rumor that The Joint Commission is the enforcer of food and dr…