Prepared Testimony for the EPA
All day today, the EPA is holding a public hearing for comments regarding proposals to cut carbon emissions from existing power plants.  Here is what I plan to say during my spe…
A No Good, Very Bad Day for the ACA
This piece does a masterful job of concisely showing, through video evidence, of why the ACA has had a no good, very bad day.  As an advocate for the ACA, I too am guilty of re…
Sharing Your Stories to Give Washington a Telescope
The policymakers we have tasked with improving our healthcare system mean well but have limited optics. I don’t blame them. Capitol Hill is a long way from the hospital bedside…
Keeping the “Affordable” in the Affordable Care Act
Early last week, the New York Times published Elisabeth Rosenthal’s article: “The $2.7 Trillion Medical Bill: Colonoscopies Explain Why U.S. Leads the World in Health Exp…
When the Political Gets Personal
“Which is more important- my Lipitor or my Lantus?” is a question I had heard in chorus of variation across my medical training.  Patients- who for any number of rea…
How to cut costs, raise revenue, and improve services without raising taxes
Like passengers on a runaway train, we cannot tear our horrified eyes away from the approaching edge of the so-called “fiscal cliff,” drastic, across the board funding cu…
Why We Shouldn’t Raise the Medicare Eligibility Age
A reoccurring idea among some politicians of late in the fiscal cliff negotiations is to raise the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67. The argument, at first glance, seems simple…
Founding Tension
Tracing our history back to the Revolutionary War and the drafting and adoption of our Constitution, there has always been a tension of ideas resulting in a vigorous debate.  Ou…
Healthcare by the Numbers
In the United States in 2012: Annual health care costs: $2.7 trillion Percent of healthcare costs linked to individual behaviors: 70% Cost of tobacco, alcohol, soda, illicit drugs…
Costs of Care Essay Contest 2012: Stories from Patients and their Caregivers Uncover Opportunities to Improve Healthcare Value
As a presidential election looms and the American economy struggles to recover, the spiraling costs of healthcare have become a contentious political focal point without an obvious s…
