Care. I do not believe we have ever heard more about care at a presidential nominating convention than in this year’s Democrat convention. “Patriotism,” “justice,” “bravery,” “strength”? For sure. …
Category: Policy
Patients alone cannot combat high health care prices
After three months of physical therapy, her doctor told her that it was time to get an MRI. She had already paid off her annual deductible, meaning the imaging test would “only” cost her the $150 co-pay. An imaging center near where she worked charged …
An Infectious Disease Doctor Explains Why Striving For Herd Immunity From Covid-19 Is A Bad Idea
Dr. Mark Kortepeter, a physician and biodefense expert who formerly worked at the U.S. Army “hot zone” research lab, explains why a policy of pursuing “herd immunity” for Covid-19 is a bad idea, unless it comes from a vaccine.
Connecting health care, voting, and our communities
It has been eight years since I registered patients to vote in the Bronx. I remember the clinic, nestled in a busy commercial neighborhood with its modest windowfront facade. Inside, the flyer was posted everywhere. Among quilts of signs and reminders,…
Why are so many community hospitals transferring children to larger facilities?
A recent edition of Pediatrics has some disturbing research: “Trends in Capability of Hospitals to Provide Definitive Acute Care for Children: 2008 to 2016.” What the paper really does is document what many of us who work in referral hospitals have not…
Analyzing the Biden health plan. Will it work?
If the Democrats capture the White House, keep the House, and take over the Senate, the Biden health care outline stands a good chance of being enacted. The Biden health care proposal directly takes on the big things that haven’t worked in Obamac…
It’s time to go all in on climate action
I can’t sleep, or maybe it’s that I got up too early. It’s 3 a.m. and a good 1 to 2 hours before I usually get up. California is literally burning. We have no rain in sight. Colorado is burning as well, although they may have snow soon. Do you remember…
Why doctors should be trained to speak out and lead the movement for social justice
Dr. Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Health Director of Allergy and Infectious Disease and White House Coronavirus Task Force member, recently underwent surgery to remove a vocal cord polyp. This is not surprising given that a major risk factor for…
How I was wrong about health care
An excerpt from Butchered by “Healthcare”: What to Do About Doctors, Big Pharma, and Corrupt Government Ruining Your Health and Medical Care. Doctors help patients, and they love us for it. We fix bones, replace joints, cure killer infections, and cont…
Direct primary care: Great for some doctors, but challenging for patients
The COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent drop in patient visits have led some observers to conclude that primary care physicians would be better off financially if they were capitated than if they were paid fee for service. If they received a fixed amo…
