At age 80, I’m an “old guy.” I’ve been an avid reader and writer on multiple subjects all of my life. Though I write primarily about U.S. health care, I maintain a lively interest in politics generally. Since election day, IR…
Category: Policy
Medicaid in non-expansion states: Explaining the indefensible
Over the years, as members of the Health and Public Policy Committee (HPPC) of the Texas chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP), we have focused on advocacy for what we believe is the most important health policy issue in our state, Medica…
Congress must fix the Medicare penalty that’s keeping millions from aging at home
People enrolled in Medicare got good news recently. Their annual out-of-pocket costs for Part D prescription drug coverage will be capped at $2,000 next year. That should provide welcome relief to millions of older adults who worry about how they will …
If you are pro-psychiatry, should you be anti-RFK?
Much has been written about Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s radical health plans to eliminate fluoride from the drinking water and suppress vaccines, among other lame-brain schemes. But relatively few people are aware of his anti-psychiatry views, possibl…
A physician’s perspective on the crisis in Massachusetts health care
I am a surgeon from a family of surgeons, all based in Massachusetts. Throughout my career, I have faced many challenges, both in and outside of the operating room. Like most doctors, I am saddened by the current collapse of our system in general and m…
Voting from the hospital: How emergency ballots give patients a voice
Voting is one of the most fundamental rights in our democracy, and yet it can be incredibly challenging. Getting to your polling station, waiting in line, remembering to request your absentee ballot, checking your voter registration status—it is not a …
Voting from the hospital: How emergency ballots give patients a voice
Voting is one of the most fundamental rights in our democracy, and yet it can be incredibly challenging. Getting to your polling station, waiting in line, remembering to request your absentee ballot, checking your voter registration status—it is not a …
Prevention is the key to saving lives: What the pandemic taught us
An excerpt from Prevention First: Policymaking for a Healthier America. Little did I know that when Prevention First was first published in December 2019, a novel virus with pandemic potential had begun to stealthily spread in China. The subsequent glo…
Prevention is the key to saving lives: What the pandemic taught us
An excerpt from Prevention First: Policymaking for a Healthier America. Little did I know that when Prevention First was first published in December 2019, a novel virus with pandemic potential had begun to stealthily spread in China. The subsequent glo…
Why climate change threatens our children’s future: hurricanes, floods, and a call to act
As Valencia, Spain, reels from devastating flash floods and the U.S. Southeast recovers from hurricanes Helene and Milton, I, like many other parents, look at my own kids with increasing concern about the ailing world they will inherit. If a climate ha…
