History tells us that societal blind spots are common throughout the centuries from one society, culture or continent to another. An example in the late 1700s involves the first cancer hospital in the world. It was established in Reims, France, but was forced to leave the city in 1779 because of the public’s fear of [...]

The following comments are in response to a recent Quote of the Day by Don McCanne about the broken, employer-based health insurance system in the United States.
By Diana Stritzel
I just wanted to say that I really enjoy reading your articles and feedback on what’s going on about health care in the U.S. I don’t remember [...]

Headlines in the Berkshire Eagle recently proclaimed that Berkshire Health Systems (BHS) is cutting the equivalent of 65 full-time jobs, and will lose $3 million this year. This is neither good for employment nor for the health of our population in the Berkshires. The culprits are the cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, the programs that cover 70 percent of the BHS population.

I just returned from the annual conference of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, where the link between medical bankruptcy and homelessness was made more clear than ever.
Which raises the question: Will the health reform we get end the “Only in America” phenomenon of medical bankruptcy? Just asking….
I am not usually the one [...]

By Ryan McIntyre
Dr. Donald J. Palmisano, a past president of the American Medical Association, recently wrote that our country’s health care system “the finest in the world” and went on to say how a publicly financed health care system could ruin what has been built. He cites such potential horrors as long waits for specialists, [...]

Katie Robbins thinks the fight for universal healthcare is so important she is willing to put her butt on the line.
An organizer with Healthcare-NOW!, Robbins is helping to ratchet up protests to push Congress to establish a single-payer healthcare system.
As part of the campaign, Robbins and others are donning hospital gowns and shiny plastic buttocks [...]

Now that we have a new president espousing health care reform and a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, isn’t this a time to be excited and optimistic for long-overdue reform? Much as we would like to say “Of course!”, we cannot. The “reform” effort is already way off the track, despite the hype [...]

Illness brings financial ruin and severe and avoidable hardship to millions of families here in the wealthiest nation on earth. Of all bankruptcies in 2007, 62% were precipitated by illness.
Of those bankrupted by medical costs, 4 out of 5 started out with health insurance, according to a study just released by the American Journal [...]

The following remarks were presented to the Congressional Progressive Caucus on June 4.
By Nick Skala
Today the Congressional Progressive Caucus faces a choice. That choice is whether Members should maintain their unflinching support for single-payer, or to accede to intense political pressure to support the plan currently being developed in Congress under the direction of President [...]

by Kip Sullivan
President Obama and Democratic congressional leaders are playing a dangerous game with health care reform. They are raising the public’s expectations sky high before figuring out how to meet those expectations. They are promising to give us the moon – significant cuts in health care costs and universal coverage or something close to [...]