I am on a “writing sabbatical” this summer with limited access to the internet. I will resume posting articles in August. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!
The U.S. healthcare system has an unsung hero – community health centers, which provide basic medical care for under-served communities. Even dental care! Right now 1 in 6 Medicaid enrollees receives care at one of these centers, a proportion that has been growing for decades: In some states, 1 in 3 enrollees use community health…
One reason our healthcare system in the United States is so messed up is that so few Americans understand much about it. For that reason, their attitudes towards various healthcare reform proposals veer left and right depending on how they are asked for their opinions. Here’s great evidence of that phenomenon, as reported by the…
“How to Tell Someone That She Is Dying” – The New Yorker
Shutterstock If you experience a heart attack, you are probably going to need to take pills to prevent another such attack. People who take beta blockers, aspirin, or cholesterol pills after heart attacks are less likely to experience a second such attack. (Note: Don’t take any of these pills until you have spoken to your…
Paul Ryan is “excited” that the American Health Care Act, as Republicans call their bill, will trim the federal budget by several hundred billion dollars over the next decade. The 24 million people who are expected to lose insurance under the AHCA aren’t excited about the bill, which will cut government spending at their expense,…
I recently gave a talk about shared decision making at the annual conference for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Here is a nice write-up of that talk. For those of you silly enough not to travel to Florida to hear me pontificate! After listening to the treatment alternatives—surveillance, or active treatment with surgery and radiation—a…