Category: Opinions

November 20, 2018

Supporters of the nation’s health law condemn them. A few states, including California and New York, have banned them. Other states limit them. But to some insurance brokers and consumers, short-term insurance plans are an enticing, low-cost alternative for healthy […]

November 19, 2018

News last week that Oscar Health filed a federal lawsuit accusing Florida Blue of a “monopoly” in selling individual health coverage under the Affordable Care Act is the latest signal that Obamacare is here to stay. Florida is one of […]

November 19, 2018

In 2017, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association released new blood pressure guidelines, lowering hypertension threshold to 130/80 mm Hg from the previous 140/90 mm Hg. A new study predicts that achieving and maintaining the 2017 […]

November 16, 2018

Hit and quit it. This taboo phrase signifying a one-night stand may make one a bit uncomfortable, yet most can’t look away. Except in healthcare, we’ve been looking away for decades. Every day millions of Americans seek these ‘no-strings attached’ […]

November 13, 2018

At its annual R&D investor day, Novartis updated the world on its drug pipeline and research priorities. It was an impressive session befitting a company that spends $9 billion annually on R&D (about 18% of its top line revenues). Novartis […]

November 5, 2018

Betsy Foster and Doug Dillon are devotees of Josh Harder. The Democratic upstart is attempting to topple Republican incumbent Jeff Denham in this conflicted, semi-rural district that is home to conservative agricultural interests, a growing Latino population and liberal San […]

October 31, 2018

Going to the doctor’s office can feel so routine. You sit in the waiting room, fill out the paperwork, get measured and hop onto the exam table. But medical appointments for patients with disabilities require navigating a tricky obstacle course, […]

October 26, 2018

The complications of addiction often depend on the type of substance or behavior. Sex addiction, for example, greatly increases the risk of sexual behaviors that could lead to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Injecting intravenous (IV) drugs using non-sterilized needles can […]

October 25, 2018

The booming U.S. economy appears to be reducing dependence on federal health insurance for the poor. Medicaid enrollment fell for the first time since 2007, declining by about 0.6 percent in fiscal year 2018, and states don’t expect to see […]

October 22, 2018

Julie Lopez, 21, has been tested regularly for sexually transmitted diseases since she was a teenager. But when Lopez first asked her primary care doctor about screening, he reacted with surprise, she said. “He said people don’t usually ask. But […]

October 11, 2018

You probably have heard the statistic: One-quarter of Medicare spending is for patients in the last year of life. It is cited as a major reason for excessive medical spending in the US and leads to a widely-accepted conclusion: If […]

October 10, 2018

If you’ve ever heard the term ‘mental health’ and thought this isn’t for me, you may just want to keep reading. While the language around mental health and mental illness has existed for decades, the conversation itself has become far […]

October 9, 2018

A growing discussion about Accountable Care Organizations, which are designed to make healthcare providers accountable for patient outcomes, will hopefully keep more people out of the emergency room. Though this is promising, it’s very hard to improve outcomes especially in […]

October 3, 2018

A lot of attention is being paid lately to the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare. There is not question that artificial intelligence and related technologies will significantly benefit patients in many ways and transform aspects of medicine. That said, […]

October 2, 2018

In celebration of CX Day, the day the CXPA (Customer Experience Professionals Association) has designated to shine a spotlight on customer experience, I am sharing new insights about a type of customer experience that is growing in importance – the […]