The Democratic debates this summer demonstrated massive confusion around Medicare for all. Does it mean Medicare for all who want it? Medicare Advantage? A “public option” on an Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange? Democrats need to get thei…
Category: Policy
The infiltration of venture capital and private equity in the surprise medical bills debate
As proposals to ban surprise medical bills move through Congress and state legislatures with rare bipartisan support, physician groups have emerged as the loudest opponents. Often led by doctors with the veneer of noble concern for patients, physician-…
Groupon for medical care is symptomatic of our broken system
Emory University medical fellow Dr. Nicole Herbst was shocked when she saw three patients who came in with abnormal results from chest CT scans they had bought on Groupon. Yes, Groupon — the online coupon mecca that also sells discounted fitness classe…
Should doctors take more responsibility for quality metrics?
How do you react when presented with your quality data? In my experience, physicians generally respond by: Ignoring the metrics Arguing about why the metrics are wrong Saying the metrics are stupid A lot of doctors refuse to participate in the process …
How hospitals drive up health costs
As voters fume about the high cost of health care, politicians have been targeting two well-deserved villains: pharmaceutical companies, whose prices have risen more than inflation, and insurers, who pay their executives millions in salaries while rais…
Why should you belong to a medical professional society?
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com. Because I work for a medical specialty society, I’m frequently asked by non-members why I believe they should belong to a medical professional society. This is a particula…
Settlements in the opioid cases need these non-negotiable conditions
The judgment in the Oklahoma trial against Johnson & Johnson for their role in the opioid crisis is a good start to what deserves to be an ongoing pursuit of justice for the victims, their families, and the states. Any financial settlement is only …
The insanely brazen effort to remake medicine into a consumer industry
For over a decade, Washington, DC has been busy with fixing health care. For over a decade, the same government bureaucracy, the same advocacy (read lobbying) organizations, the same expert think tanks, the same academic centers, the same business asso…
How hospitals prepare for hurricanes
We all expect hospitals to be open and operating when we need them, but extreme weather events like hurricanes are a strain on resources and pose significant challenges for hospitals. Closing a hospital is an extreme action, but several hospitals in Fl…
Why can e-cigarettes advertise on TV?
Why does e-cigarette maker Juul advertise its product on TV when cigarette ads are banned? The short answer: Because it can. For nearly 50 years, cigarette advertising has been banned from TV and radio. But electronic cigarettes — those battery-operate…
