After my last post, a reader with the stage name “Spring Texan” wrote the following: Ummm, don’t you mean “the Trump tax cuts are just another trip to the candy store” for rich people and corporations? Comparatively little goes to ordinary people and that phases out. Don’t see any “candy store”...
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The new hepatitis C drugs are expensive. Harvoni costs $1000 per pill for a total of $84000 for treatment. It works well, clearing the virus in over 90% of cases, though the evidence-based medicine purists would still argue there’s no evidence that this improves any patient-oriented outcomes such cirrhosis and death....
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First, we are all so thankful that our family physician colleague Kent Brantly seems to be recovering from his Ebola infection. When his family left Liberia, they had to leave all of their possessions behind, which should have been burned by now. If you would like to donate to help him...
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I’m continuing my series on the reasons there are so few family physicians in the U.S. and why the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is a root cause of this deficit. My conclusions are based on recent research on the topic. This specific issue is a detail that actually...
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I’m continuing my series on the reasons there are so few family physicians in the U.S. and why the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is a root cause of this deficit. My conclusions are based on recent research on the topic. If you hired an accountant to do your...
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I’m continuing my series on the reasons there are so few family physicians in the U.S. and why the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is a root cause of this deficit. My conclusions are based on recent research on the topic. Have you ever wondered why doctors tell you...
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I’m continuing my series on the reasons there are so few family physicians in the U.S. and why the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is a root cause of this deficit. My conclusions are based on recent research on the topic. In my last post, I showed how the...
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For the next several weeks, I’ll try to explain to non-physician readers why the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) billing rules create the horrid lack of primary care patients experience when they simply want to find a personal physician. My conclusions are based on recent research on the topic....
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The state of Oregon and the Obama administration just announced the approval of a federal waiver to allow innovation in the state’s Medicaid program. The feds agreed to chip in $1.9 billion over five years to get the program off the ground. The AP reporter covering this story wrote, “Gov. John...
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As the August 2nd deadline approaches, many Americans are mad at Congress and/or the President for this game of budget brinksmanship. A few commentators have talked about healthcare costs being an important factor in the debt, but I don’t think they emphasize it enough. Let’s spend a few moments getting our...
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