The Three Pillars of the Medical-Industrial Complex – and the Physician. Part 5. Decoupling Research.

VIEW ENTIRE SERIES Mike Magee Historically, for a century since the Flexner report, some 40 premier academic health systems have been the masters and the model for American health delivery, constantly reinforcing the three-prong definition of the ideal senior level “thought leader” and successful academic physician – researcher, teacher, clinician. But in 2009, AHA president, […]

The Three Pillars of the Medical-Industrial Complex – and the Physician. Part 4. Inside the White House – Cost vs. Coverage.

VIEW ENTIRE SERIES Mike Magee When President Obama entered office in 2008, and made the political assessment that it was now or never for health care reform, he saw waste and excess everywhere he looked. As New York Times columnist, Steven Brill, explained in 2015, he found: an $86 billion expenditure annually for ineffective treatments […]

Integrating Our Way Toward Universal Health Care in America

Source: Consumerist Mike Magee Would you be willing to subject yourself to a 3.3% payroll tax (and your employer to a 6.7% payroll tax) to gain access to reliable simple universal health coverage – one that provided choice in and out of network, one that would cover all citizens, and one that has drawn the […]

How Do We Compare To Ourselves in Health Care?

David Blumenthal M. D. of the Commonwealth Fund did a little comparison shopping in a JAMA article on Health Care Reform. But instead of simply comparing our system to those in Europe, he compared us to ourselves. Here’s what he had to say: “Given some Americans’ skepticism of foreign experience, […]

Retail Medical Clinics – The Disruptive Impact of Walmart

Mike Magee Mike Magee This week’s NEJM article on the expansion of retail clinics in the U.S. begins: “ In a tumultuous era of change propelled by public health policies and private entrepreneurial activity, the spread of retail clinics offering basic primary care, walk-in visits, extended hours, and lower prices than a doctor’s office or […]

King v. Burwell – Thursday, 10 AM. Friday’s Question For Presidential Candidates: “What’s Your Plan Now?”

Mike Magee According to the official blog of the Supreme Court of the United States, this Thursday at 10 AM, we can expect some decisions coming down in the much publicized case, King v. Burwell. But while many Americans have vaguely heard of the case, few understand exactly what the case is about, and what […]

AHC’s and The “Medical-Industrial Complex” : Re-establishing Appropriate Checks and Balances

Mike Magee In this week’s New England Journal of Medicine, there were dueling articles addressing the question whether this nation’s investment in Academic Medical Centers is helping or hurting when it comes to improving the quality and efficiency of our health care system. In the lead article, Gail Wilensky and her co-authors add up the […]

« go back — keep looking »