Category: Policy

Retrospective refusal of payment based upon final diagnosis compromises patients’ welfare

My patient was very upset. The 34-year-old mother of two young children had come to the emergency department (ED) with abdominal pain despite her COVID-19 concerns. I had just told her that she had a benign ovarian cyst rather than the life-threatening…

Conservatives Have Healthcare Ideas, Too

An array of conservative activists, lawmakers, and free-market thinkers have been advancing a vision for healthcare policy that would reduce costs and expand consumer choice. Republicans would be wise to start talking about them.

No mass shooting is “worse” than another mass shooting

It is a macabre fact. The easing of COVID shutdowns has brought back mass shootings in the U.S. With almost no packed schools, movie theaters, malls, airports, and fewer packed workplaces during the last year, mass shootings did not lead the news. Now …

Is it time to consider social determinants of health in Medicare payments?

Eta was a 76-year-old woman with a recent heart attack in and out of the hospital over the last several months. Her course had been complicated by social determinants of health, in that she lacked reliable transportation for necessary follow-up, had un…

E-Cigarettes vs. Tobacco And What Anti-Vapers Are Getting Wrong

With the terrible pandemic receding, the wrongheaded war against e-cigarettes will be renewed. Such attacks must be with resisted. Here’s why.

PCPs could counter virtual plans by increasing telehealth visits

Primary care physicians already have a lot of competition from retail clinics, urgent care clinics and telehealth services that cater to consumers. Now they’re facing a new threat from the “virtual primary care plans” that insurance c…

Europe’s Mixed Messages On AstraZeneca Vaccine Jeopardize Global Covid Response

The continent’s suspensions are eroding vaccine confidence just when the world needs it the most.

Fauci Says Three-Feet Social Distancing May Suffice To Reopen Schools

One Chicago school district has already reopened under the three-feet guidance.

We need a mental health infrastructure bill

In her February 11, 2021 press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated, “The president, vice president, secretary, and senators established the mutual understanding that America needs to build new infrastructure across urban and rural ar…

EU Approves J&J Single-Shot Covid-19 Vaccine As The Bloc’s Vaccination Crisis Rumbles On

The shot, which was recently approved in the U.S., is the first single dose vaccine to be approved in the EU.