By Emily Hoofnagle — Biden’s healthcare policies, if they make it into legislative proposals, will face heavy opposition from healthcare industry lobbyists, Republicans in Congress, and the conservative super-majority on the Supreme Court.
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Empowering Minority Serving Institutions to Increase Diversity in the Medical Community
by Arsene Frederic, Jr., editor in chief Grappling with the COVID-19 crisis and response has pivoted attention to another key area of concern facing the scientific community: the lack of diversity in the medical community. Diversity in the medical community is critical for ensuring that treatments and medical practices continue to serve the changing demographics […]
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Primed for Disaster: How Racial Disparities are Impacting Nursing Home Residents During COVID-19
by Mary Gens, resident editor To date, over 200,000 Americans have died from the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 40% of these deaths have occurred among residents of nursing homes, though this group makes up less than 1% of the U.S. population. This reality makes it critical that policymakers do better to address the needs of this population, […]
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COVID-19 in Vulnerable Communities: Past Public Health Failures Threaten Successful Rollout of Vaccine Candidates
by Arsene Frederic Jr. This spring, governors and local officials across the U.S issued executive orders to halt public gatherings and close non-essential businesses to reduce the spread of COVID-19. In a swift response, the Trump Administration convened Operation Warp Speed to facilitate and accelerate the development, manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and […]
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Buckle Up, America: We’re Going to Feel the Effects of Healthcare Rule Changes and Mandate Repeal
By: Annaliese Johnson Back in July of 2018, the Trump Administration issued new rules that expanded short-term limited-duration insurance (STLDI) plans and association health plans (AHPs). Congress also reduced the tax penalty of the individual mandate to $0 starting in 2019, and a Federal judge found the individual mandate unconstitutional (though the Supreme Court may […]
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Disability Insurance Skyrockets in the Last Two Decades
Political Pundits, public officials and the media often discuss the rising cost of entitlements and healthcare in the country. While Republicans and Democrats argue over how best to address these issues, few have acknowledged a key component to the rising cost of social security: an increase in individuals qualifying for disability insurance. The federal government […]
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Death Rates on the Rise for White Women in Rural America
In the 2016 election, the electorate heard both candidates highlight the plight of urban communities and call for a resolution to common problems of crime, poverty, and unemployment. This spotlight, however, has led many to disregard a variety of problems that exist in smaller, rural, low-income communities. These communities are facing a plethora of challenges, […]
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Why is the Budget Deal All Bad for Obamacare?
While the cable networks wrapped up their most recent Republican debate coverage, House Speaker Paul Ryan released the details on legislation that would keep the lights on in the federal government through 2016. The late-night release of what is supposed to be the first major legislative accomplishment under the newly minted speaker may have been […]
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How Policy Will Trip Up Outsiders Like Carson and Trump
Policy wonks often grumble about the negligible role policy plays in the election process. Events like debates and speeches do little to encourage candidates to talk in detail about their policy proposals or give voters the tools to judge which proposals are most effective. The 2016 Republican primary may signify the low point of policy’s […]
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End of Life Care in the US: Towards a Patient-Centered Approach
Within the past few weeks, the Obama administration issued a final rule which allows Medicare to reimburse physicians for engaging in consultations with patients on end of life care. Receiving widespread support from both the American Hospital Association and American Medical Association, the final rule will be effective starting in January 2016, nearly six […]
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The Rising Price of Generics
If you or someone you know takes prescription drugs regularly, you may have noticed some changes in the co-pay over the past few months. The story that Charles Ornstein references in his blog Upshot for the New York Times may be your story as well. He received confusing answers from his insurance company as to why […]
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How Obamacare Saves Hospitals $5.7 Billion (and how it could save almost $3 billion more)
The Affordable Care Act was built largely on the premise that the current health care system in the United States is broken. One piece of that brokenness is embodied in the way in which the uninsured received health care. Given the high cost of care, in most cases the uninsured only interacted with the health […]
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