Precision Medicine vs. Public Health $$$ – NIH Funding Priorities Not A New Debate.

Paul Starr, Princeton Paul Starr’s observations (The Social Transformation of American Medicine, p.370) in 1982: “In 1964 a Presidential Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke (the DeBakey Commission) which had been appointed at the behest of the Lasker lobby, recommended a massive commitment of federal funds to establish ‘a national network of regional centers, […]

Mylan EpiPen? What About Medicare Part D?

Mike Magee Pediatric drug prices have led the news recently with the fantastic and purposeful price escalation of Mylan’s EpiPen. With all that going on, it would have been easy to miss the analysis of the complete Medicare Part D year over year costs (2014 vs. 2013) that were recently released. 70% of Medicare patients […]

Lessons from Ebola in the Age of Zika

Mike Magee In the run up to the Olympics, and now as they have drawn to a close, Zika has been top medical news when it comes to exotic infectious diseases. It’s story has been so compelling that the mosquito borne disease has pushed Ebola to the sidelines – an epidemic which infected 28,616 Africans […]

“Medicaid-for-all” vs. “Medicare-for-all”.

Families USA/Medicaid Expansion Mike Magee The verdict is pretty much in – increasing health coverage through whatever means possible, improves health outcomes. This is especially true for the large numbers of formerly uninsured who are now covered through Medicaid expansion plans offered through the Affordable Care Act. Healthy citizens are not only less sick (which […]

Why Do Health Professionals and Their Schools Ignore The Planetary Patient?

Mike Magee If health is defined today as the capacity to reach one’s full human potential, our environment – including the quality and availability of water, air, soil, and plant and animal life – are critical determinants of human health. For too long health professionals have considered the planetary patient as beyond their domain. In reality, […]

The Medicalization of Public Health: “Precision Medicine” vs. “Precision Health”?

NIH Director Francis Collins Mike Magee Last week I was at a small, invitation only dinner in New York City, and left a bit downcast and feeling “odd man out”. I saw the failure as mine alone – an inability to articulate succinctly, and in few enough words, my concerns about the evening’s topic: Precision […]