As a physician and health care leader, I initially declined to comment on the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. I felt that speculating about the shooter’s intent would only sensationalize a terrible act. Regardless of the circumsta…
Category: Public Health & Policy
My totally wrong expert predictions for health care in 2025
January In a blistering commentary, the American Medical Association’s flagship journal, JAMA, condemns the corrosive effect on patient care of the profit-seeking practices of health insurers. Separately, the organization announces that it’…
10 transformative ideas to redesign a broken health care system: a doctor’s perspective for a more efficient, cost-effective and patient-focused system
The U.S. health care system is an inefficient maze of bureaucracy, redundancies, and waste. As a practicing physician, I see firsthand how these inefficiencies frustrate both providers and patients, inflate costs, and undermine the quality of care. If …
Humanity’s crossroads: peace or nuclear war?
“We are here to make a choice between the quick and the dead …” With these solemn words, Bernard Baruch, a trusted advisor to U.S. presidents, addressed the United Nations (UN) Atomic Energy Commission in June 1946. Less than a year had pas…
Murder of an insurance titan: the case for health care reform
Agatha Christie was onto something when she stated, “The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to seekers after it.” Brian Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of the United Health Care insurance company, was shot and kill…
States have the power to influence health care
Individual states in the United States can significantly shape key health care areas through policy. In early 2024, a KKF analysis indicated that Americans collectively held around $220 billion in medical debt. North Carolina has one of the highest per…
How unclaimed bodies are fueling a medical ethics firestorm
Last September, NBC News aired a one-sided report on the arrangement between a county coroner and a medical school apropos the transfer of unclaimed corpses with reportedly inadequate effort to find family. In addition to a grieving family, an academic…
Why the health care CEO murder reveals America’s broken system
I have been a primary care physician since 1994 and have been reflecting on the tragic murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. The crime stands as a stark reflection of the profound frustrations many Americans feel toward the current health care system,…
Why the health care CEO murder reveals America’s broken system
I have been a primary care physician since 1994 and have been reflecting on the tragic murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. The crime stands as a stark reflection of the profound frustrations many Americans feel toward the current health care system,…
Pay for performance and shared savings are good, but they’re not the solution
Think about every health care reform effort we’ve been working on for the last decade or two, including accountable care organizations (ACOs) and the value-based purchasing models from CMS. The vast majority of them use one or both of the followi…
