Cigarette Smoking – How Are We Doing? 10 Facts You Should Know.

Mike Magee For the past half century, ground zero on the American battle with chronic disease has been cigarette smoking.(1) It’s a success story with lessons that are transferable to our larger preventive health struggles. From tobacco we have learned that: knowledge is power; opponents who profit will not give up without a fight; advertising […]

New Jersey’s “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights”

Mike Magee As the nation returns to school, New Jersey is adjusting to a new law called the “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights”. (1) It was passed in the wake of public outcry over the death last year of Rutgers freshmean, Tyler Clementi. Under the provision, all schools in the state must have aggressive anti-bullying policies […]

What Obesity and ED Have In Common: A Medical “Trojan Horse”.

Mike Magee Ten years ago, during the wild first weeks that followed the release of Viagra, the first effective traetment for erectile dysfunction, much of the debate avoided the issue of effectiveness (most agreed it was effective) and focused on the question, “Should insurers reimburse for this treatment?” Two years later, states far and wide […]

How Healthy Is Your State And Our Nation?

Mike Magee The wire release of America’s Health Rankings®, a state by state assessment compiled by the American Public Health Association and supported by the United HealthCare Foundation, summed it up this way: “Overall Healthiness Slightly Improved, but Obesity, Children in Poverty, and Diabetes Worrisome for States’ Health….reductions in smoking, preventable hospitalizations and infectious disease […]

The Grandparent Economy: Is Generosity Enough?

Mike Magee As the first of the 76 million US boomers reach the magic age 65 in January, 2011, there has been a great deal of discussion around costs – not the least of it in health care services. But the reality is that this population has the potential to assist Society if their energy […]

Health Reform: A Day of Reckoning Arrives

Mike Magee Six months ago today, the Patient Protection and Affordability of Care Act was signed into law. (1) And for many, today is “the day of reckoning”. That’s because many of the most critical consumer benefits of this transformational health bill take effect today. Yet many remain confused about what health reform is and […]

Could Don Berwick Use Medicare To Test Linking Medical Liability Reform To The Patient Safety Movement?

Mike Magee Despite all the progress in scientific research and technological advancements, at its core, health care remains a huge and complex human endeavor struggling for perfection. How huge? 900 million office visits and 35 million hospital discharges per year.(1) How complex? Complex enough to have spurned a massive defensive and litigious malpractice system whose […]

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