I thought the financial barriers to intrauterine device (IUD) access would disappear on August 1, 2012, with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which stipulates that all “FDA-approved contraception” will be covered without copayments. I was wrong. Since last summer I have often felt that helping my family-medicine patients get IUDs—the most reliable, reversible Read more
Insurance
Experts in public health use the apt phrase “silent killer” to refer to hypertension, or high blood pressure, because there are often no symptoms of this dangerous condition that affects millions globally. High blood pressure is a slow killer, wreaking havoc on the body with acute manifestations such as stroke and heart failure—which present many Read more
Reflecting on the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the Affordable Care Act (ACA), it is clear that there’s now a law in place as significant as the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. The ACA or “Obamacare” is not just an expansion of healthcare to the uninsured but a plan to Read more
Reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling concerning the Affordable Care Act has been swift. The high court’s ruling to largely uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has significant implications for patients, medical schools and academic medical centers. The Affordable Care Act was deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court. What will that decision mean Read more
I grew up watching the TV classic Dragnet, which ran on NBC from 1951 to 1959 and then from 1967 to 1970. Each episode opened with a dramatic four-note brass-and-tympani musical theme and the warning, “The story you are about to see is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.” I Read more
