health care policy
palmd | March 3, 2009The blogosphere is doing a reasonably good job of covering this, but I'm still fuming over Senator Tom Harkin's (D-IA) health care policy hearings. Each morsel of the hearing contains more idiocy than the last. In my attempt to shed some light into Harkin's guano-filled cave, I'm going to examine some of the specific testimony, starting with that of Dr. Dean Ornish.
Medicine today focuses primarily on drugs and surgery, genes and germs, microbes and molecules, but we are so much more than that.
When I hear statements like this, my bullshit detector asplodes. Sure, it's only one sentence…
sb admin | November 10, 2008From the BBC:
US President-elect Barack Obama will seek to reverse Bush administration policies when he enters office on 20 January, his transition chief has said.
John Podesta said executive orders by President George W Bush on issues such as stem cell research and oil drilling were at odds with Mr Obama's views.
Plans to pass a raft of last-minute regulations are also being watched. ...
Read the rest here.
sb admin | November 6, 2008SEA has put together a list of state ballot measures that involved science including info on what the end result was. The list can be found here and below. It was particularly interesting that Colorado rejected an amendment to the state constitution that defined "the moment in which an egg becomes an established "person."" Also heartening was the passing of the Minnesota constitutional amendment to "allocate funding for protecting Minnesota's water sources, environment, cultural heritage through an increased sales and use tax rate."
California, Proposition 7
By 2010, government-owned…
sb admin | November 4, 2008The day is finally here. You've heard it from everyone, but I'll pile on...VOTE! Our final tally on the YouTube AVoteForScience challenge is 30 something videos from scientists endorsing Obama....and not one video from a scientist endorsing McCain. That seems to reflect a general consensus on the issue of who is better on science policy issues. It's too bad, really. It would have been nice to see a good justification for voting the other way if such an argument could be made on science issues. Here are two entertaining videos from the submissions.
Happy voting everyone!
palmd | October 9, 2008This may ruffle a few feathers, but I've decided to cross-post this one. --PalMD
As a physician, I have a lot of politically conservative colleagues. Much of this stems from our experience with the government. The influence of Medicare helps set prices, which we are not at liberty to change, and affects how we practice. On the other hand, Medicare is usually pretty good at paying its bills---except when it doesn't. If our costs go up, say in increased rent, we can't raise our prices. And if we get together with a group of doctors to try to negotiate fees, it can be considered collusion…
grrlscientist | September 22, 2008
As you know, I wrote an essay on this blog about the lack of health insurance for 47 million Americans, most of whom work full-time. You might also remember that I have been writing about WNYC's wonderful series, "30 Issues in 30 Days" -- a series of informational programs where they invite either special guests or the presidential candidates' policy advisors onto the show, and have them respond to our questions and challenges. WNYC has developed a Wiki site where you can help the host, Brain Lehrer, frame and present some of these issues to his guests on our behalf. One of those wikis…
grrlscientist | September 22, 2008tags: socialized medicine, uninsured Americans, health care policy, election2008, politics
I have a confession to make: I am an American who has no health insurance, and I have been so ever since my postdoctoral funding ended four years ago. But I am not alone: according to the most recently available statistics, somewhere between 45-47 million Americans are living without any sort health care coverage, and every year, more and more working adults and families join the ranks of the uninsured. Shockingly, according to the Urban Institute's estimate, 22,000 Americans actually died in 2006…
grrlscientist | September 21, 2008tags: socialized medicine, uninsured Americans, health care policy, election2008, politics
I have a confession to make: I am an American who has no health insurance, and I have been so ever since my postdoctoral funding ended four years ago. But I am not alone: according to the most recently available statistics, somewhere between 45-47 million Americans are living without any sort health care coverage, and every year, more and more working adults and families join the ranks of the uninsured. Shockingly, according to the Urban Institute's estimate, 22,000 Americans actually died in 2006…
thusspakezuska | September 18, 2008Strictly speaking, McCain's and Palin's policies, but Palin's got the alliteration thing going there. Plus, let's face it, she's just more interesting.
In an earlier post, I wrote about how Palin presents an un-scary, Nice Feminist face to the average voter, which facilitates the sense that one is being all progressive and modern and supportive of women, without actually having to change anything. The liberals want you to support reproductive health policies for women that will actually facilitate their independence from men and give them control over their own bodies. This, of course,…
mstebbins | September 18, 2008
There will be a McCain vs. Obama campaign debate on healthcare today at 5pmEST that can be viewed live at Scientists and Engineers for America. It will feature campaign surrogates who are expert on healthcare issues, and is sure to answer many of the pressing questions. I will blog on it afterward.
George Washington University on Thursday, September 18 at 5pm.
Jay Khosla, Health Policy Advisor for John McCain
Vs.
Dora Hughes, MD, MPH, Health Policy Advisor for Barack Obama
Moderated by Julie Rovner, Health Policy Correspondent, National Public Radio
mstebbins | September 18, 2008I am flabbergasted by the chilling reports that as mayor of Wasilla Sarah Palin was involved in the decision to force victims of rape to pay for their own exams and rape kits. If this story is true, then every newspaper and "news" program should be talking about it. What can you say to that? If it's true then it is just about the most soulless act I think I have ever heard of a politician. If this story turns out to be false, then someone needs to offer a huge apology. This is evil stuff.
"Eight years ago, complaints about charging rape victims for medical exams in Wasilla prompted the…
mstebbins | September 17, 2008The McCain and Obama Campaigns will be squaring off on healthcare this Thursday live on the web. The event is completely booked, but Scientists and Engineers for America will have it live HERE. This is going to be a very telling debate on where the campaigns stand on healthcare. Don't miss it. Here are the event details...
September 18, 2008
George Washington University 5-6:30pm
Dora Hughes MD, MPH: Health Policy Advisor for Barack Obama
Vs.
Jay Khosla: Health Policy Advisor for John McCain
Moderated by Julie Rovner: health correspondent for NPR
apalazzo | September 16, 2008Back when I lived in Canada, health insurance was never a worry. Sure you might have to wait a bit before you got it, but you could always count on being seen by a doctor when ever something is wrong. If you wanted you could have purchased additional health insurance that pays for upgrades, but almost all Canadians (91% in a recent poll) prefer Universal Health Care to the American system. But what is the situation down here in my adopted land? (I've lived in the US for the past eleven years) The Democrats want to change things, they recognize that the system is broken. In contrast the GOP…
palmd | September 13, 2008Both candidates have proposals for reforming America's health care system. You can read them yourself (Obama's here, McCain's here, and a detailed comparison here).
As statements of policy, these plans focus on the big picture of American health care: how to cover the uninsured, how to pay for insurance, how to contain costs. There is little to be said about specific diseases. Now, we can argue about the merit of talking about health care policy without talking about diseases, but it's not a bad idea. Larger policy statements focus on the system as a whole---they don't need to declare a…
sb admin | September 13, 2008 Candidate's promises and positions do not always match what is constitutionally or procedurally possible. It is possible to wrap oneself in the Constitution and hide behind it at the same time. Several years ago, a child died when a string attached to his 'hoodie' was caught in the frame of the playground slide down which he was hurdling. He was strangled. Over the course of any given year or two, a small number of children are run over by cars, killed or injured, as they run carelessly into the street in pursuit of the carillon-playing ice cream truck.
The former incident, in…
mementomori | December 4, 2007"If it is not seemly, do it not; if it is not true, speak it not."
-Marcus Aurelius
A story in USA Today reports the results of a survey of 1,662 physicians, of whom 96% agreed that "doctors should report impaired or incompetent colleagues to relevant authorities," while over half the group confessed that after encountering such tarnished peers they declined to denounce them.
The authors conclude that most physicians believe in following professional guidelines for behavior and in reporting those colleagues who don't, but are less likely to make the call themselves when they encounter a…
mementomori | November 12, 2007From ABC News comes this story of a woman who had her health insurance policy cancelled after being diagnosed with cancer and starting on chemotherapy.
[She] is a self-employed hairdresser who was in the middle of cancer treatment when Health Net, one of California's biggest health care companies, canceled her coverage.
[She] told ABC News, "I have two chemotherapy sessions, then we find out the surgeon hasn't been paid. The anaesthesiologist hasn't been paid, and the cancer doctor has not been paid."
The patient sued her insurance provider, and in the discovery phase it was revealed that…
mementomori | October 25, 2007It seems that health insurance companies in New York are trying to persuade their customers to go to doctors who have excelled at the little game entitled "Popularity Contest." Say, what makes a physician popular with insurers? Is it high intelligence? Untiring diligence? Compassion, empathy and a soothing bedside manner? A really great soap-opera-doc head of hair?
"Some health insurers are abandoning the goal of providing patients with honest physician comparisons based on valid quality criteria," said AMA President Ronald M. Davis. "A growing number of health insurers have unwisely…
mementomori | September 10, 2007The US Senate is looking at a bill that would force pharmaceutical companies to disclose any payments or gifts they make to doctors.
Apparently a few Senators are upset that physicians might prescribe medications for patients not just because they are effective, but also because the docs want to reward Big Pharma for sending over a baksheesh, or in the eyes of the Senate a large envelope stuffed with unmarked bills. Hey, I'm all in favor of an open policy when it comes to informing patients of why we recommend certain treatments. If a company is paying me to place patients on a clinical…
mementomori | August 31, 2007Two consulting groups hired by Ohio State have issued reports stating that a major expansion of the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center (called "The James") may be delayed by "infighting" between leaders of the cancer hospital and the main medical center.
Uncertainty over the project's direction -- including debates between officials of the university's medical center and its cancer hospital -- probably will delay the project past its target completion date of 2011, a top school official said yesterday.
Experts hired to examine the plans for the medical center also said the infighting could hurt…