Most advanced countries have at least 50 percent of their physicians as generalists at the foundation of their health care systems. While the U.S. had such a base until World War II, that number has declined over the last 60 years to less than 30 percent.

The fundamental flaw in much of the market rhetoric we hear is that health care is not an ordinary product and will never be regulated by market forces.

Medicare, an effective program, turns 46 by Ann Settgast Whether the debt ceiling is raised or not in the days ahead, Minnesotans and the nation have reason to celebrate this weekend. Saturday marked Medicare’s 46th birthday. While we have a long way to go before our health care system works well for all patients, this [...]

Follow this link to 7 minutes of video + 3 cheers for Pittsburgh!

Happy Birthday, Dear Medicare! By Pippa Abston MD, PhD, FAAP Happy Birthday, Medicare! I should send you one of those gag cards that teases you about getting older—but at 46, you’re a year younger than I am, so I won’t go there. On your special day, a little reminiscing about your life… You sure did [...]

Every year around the Fourth of July, amid the flag waving and fireworks, I come across an article or two blaming patriotism for the ills of civilization. I agree with much of the criticism. A constant obsession with being “the best in the world” makes us both arrogant and unrealistic. Believing we can be truly healthy—economically, environmentally, or otherwise— without considering the roles and needs of other nations is not only immature but dangerous.

It was December. I got a dismaying e-mail from the American Academy of Neurology. The AAN was conducting a membership survey to inform the Academy’s 2011 advocacy agenda. “We want to hear from you about the challenges you and your patients are facing,” the message read.

How many times does it have to be said? Publicly traded, investor owned, for-profit health plans pay out a lower percentage of revenues for medical care, waste more on administrative excesses, and provide lower quality care. This study confirms that this is true as well for publicly traded Medicaid managed care plans. Under the Affordable Care Act, this flawed Medicaid model will be expanded to include another 16 million individuals. Since it is our tax funds paying for these programs, we should all be communicating our outrage in the most obtrusive manner that is tenable. Wait. Forget tenable. Let’s start a rampage!

By Pippa Abston, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.P. It’s easy to view Medicare for All and Strangers without paperwork through the lens of faith.  “When I was sick… you visited me.”  No mention of citizenship here! Maybe Jesus would say we are all citizens of the Kingdom.  We can legislate morality—we do it all the time.  What [...]

Republicans contend that this new McKinsey study shows that the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will cause a massive transfer of employee health coverage from employer-subsidized plans to new government-subsidized plans that will be made available through the state insurance exchanges. Democrats contend that the ACA program design will prevent this shift. This either/or debate misses the point. The massive shift to government-subsidized private plans will occur under ACA. The uncertainty is only in how fast that will be.