Is Medicare4All really about expanding Medicare?

Raymond T Kyle April 15, 2019 Although the Democrats’ 2018 mid term election strategy was advertised as a defense of the Affordable Care Act from Republican threats to repeal it, once the results were in, Democrat Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and other 2020 Democrat hopefuls began a concerted campaign to replace President Obama’s signature… Continue reading Is Medicare4All really about expanding Medicare?

Getting Beyond Sound Bytes on Drug Costs

As the 2018 mid-term elections approach, health care is front and center in the political attack ads that dominate the airwaves. Candidates here in Missouri are attacking pharmaceutical manufacturers with “using the law to advance their greed”.  Everyone seems to agree that drug prices are too high, and must be brought down. “Pharma Bro” and… Continue reading Getting Beyond Sound Bytes on Drug Costs

A Drug Rep’s Purpose

Pharmaceutical companies take lots of hits these days. Hot-button stories, like those about costly Epipens, or the outlandish moves of a pharma-executive-wannabe-turned-felon like Martin Shkreli, have put the approval rating of drug makers somewhere around that of members of Congress. The most visible member of the pharmaceutical industry for most people is the pharmaceutical salesperson,… Continue reading A Drug Rep’s Purpose

Need Something as Common as Cataract Surgery? Better Talk to a Lawyer, First.

Anybody who watches late-night TV has probably seen more than their share of ads from personal injury lawyers looking for new clients. They usually specify people harmed by defective medical devices, medication side effects, or been on the receiving end of a botched procedure. You may also have read or heard complaints from doctors that… Continue reading Need Something as Common as Cataract Surgery? Better Talk to a Lawyer, First.

Patient Empowerment as Defined by Bureaucrats

In reading this interview, consider the contradictions inherent in a professed goal of “patient empowerment” as defined by a federal agency dominated by politics and bureaucracy. https://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2017/12/05/cms-chief-seema-verma-speaks-about-her-top-health-care-policy-priorities/7/#3f3bea601b4a  

How Congressional Budget Office Projections Mislead

Republican efforts to repeal & replace Obamacare following their 2016 election triumph, and the inauguration of Donald Trump, faltered, as skittish GOP members of Congress faced Democrat claims that repeal of the individual mandate would throw millions into the ranks of the uninisured. Health policy expert Avik Roy explains how estimates by the Congressional Budget… Continue reading How Congressional Budget Office Projections Mislead

A Health Care Debate Fueled by Deceit, And Conceit

Following Donald J Trump’s 2016 election victory, Republicans seemed poised to finally repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). When the time arrived for votes to be cast, however, the repeal effort fell short, as Republicans just couldn’t withstand the media campaign waged against them. Democrats and activists portrayed Republican proposals as mean-spirited and cruel. Social welfare… Continue reading A Health Care Debate Fueled by Deceit, And Conceit

Beyond the Numbers: What kind of health care do you want?

03/28/2017 Since the early 1990s, Americans have been witness to much debate re the cost of health care in the United States. There have been unfavorable comparisons between the American system, and those of other Western, industrialized nations. We’ve been subjected to a dizzying array of statistics, including cost projections, coverage rates, and the impact… Continue reading Beyond the Numbers: What kind of health care do you want?

Risk, Pre-Existing Conditions, & the Cost of Health Insurance

Even before  passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, the debate re coverage of pre-existing conditions was a hot topic. News accounts of people with serious, perhaps life-threatening medical conditions being denied coverage were heart-wrenching and frightening. So was the thought of being dropped by an insurance company after developing an illness requiring… Continue reading Risk, Pre-Existing Conditions, & the Cost of Health Insurance

Health Care as a Measure of Liberty

The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, has traversed a rocky road in its short tenure.  Since the law’s passage in 2010, everything from website crashes, huge yearly increases in plan premiums, and insurers fleeing the program, have bedeviled President Obama’s signature domestic legislation. The law’s supporters, led by Hillary Clinton, have proposed some reforms, and… Continue reading Health Care as a Measure of Liberty