Category: Policy

Against all odds: How two cities tackled the COVID-19 crisis

An excerpt from On Medicine as Colonialism. In Central Falls, Rhode Island, where I work, the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard. People who live in Central Falls, the smallest and poorest city in Rhode Island, live in densely packed houses, often eight or ten…

Patients lose when states block independent doctors

Patients win when independent doctors open shop. More choice means improved service and lower costs for everyone. Yet states often intervene to shut down health care competition. Virginia regulators blocked Maryland-based radiologist Mark Monteferrante…

Democrats’ Price Controls Undermine Biden’s Cancer Moonshot

Fewer effective drugs will make the Cancer Moonshot’s goal of halving the cancer death rate over the next 25 years a lot harder to achieve—if not impossible.

The Scandal Of Alzheimer’s

Appallingly, for decades Alzheimer’s researchers have pursued a dead-end hypothesis on tackling this dreaded and fast-expanding disease.

The silencing of gun violence research: a decades-long campaign

Violence, in particular, firearm violence, has been a specter of American culture for decades, and its impact on public health has been shrouded in the shadows for nearly as long, thanks to political lobbying by gun manufacturers. An NPR article entitl…

This Is How To Save Social Security And Medicare

Are cutbacks necessary to save Social Security and Medicare from bankruptcy?

Canadian Leaders Finally Waking Up To The Horrors Of Single-Payer Health Care

Hopefully Americans will look at the human tragedies unfolding in Canada and Great Britain—and make clear to progressive lawmakers that they have no interest in Medicare for All here.

Canada has a universal health care system. But does it really?

Maybe one day, our universal health care system represented the values of Canadians, but certainly not anymore. American friends, you may know us for our drinking age and “free health care.” Still, unfortunately, our health care system no l…

Pediatric mental health is a growing epidemic. Here’s how Illinois is leading the way to solve that. 

One of my friends in middle school was known for her uncanny ability to brighten up any space she walked into. But when we hit high school, she had become more withdrawn and dejected, and her self-esteem plummeted. She was clearly struggling, but at th…

3 shocking health care statistics for 2023

As the New Year begins, a trio of health care statistics cast an intense and unflattering light on a nation in crisis. These figures, all of them unimaginable just a generation ago, set the stage for a financial reckoning in 2023 and beyond. Shocking s…