The pattern has become so common now that we may take it for granted: A president, particularly a Democratic president, has control of Congress for the first two years of his first term; during those two years he focuses on major legislation. For President Clinton it was the Family and Medical Leave Act and a failed attempt at health care reform. For President Obama, it was the Affordable Care Act and the Dodd Frank Act. And for President Biden it was the Inflation Reduction Act and num...
Opinion
The midterms show the US needs healing in more ways than one
Have you noticed that meanness and mockery have become a mainstay of our political process and that debate and open exchange of ideas have all but disappeared? Social media and cable news are partly responsible for stoking these flames but they have also become essential parts of our political process.
This is deeply disturbing, especially at a time when the nation is coming out of a damaging pandemic we badly need to heal from. We need kindness and compassion, but inste...
What the Democrats’ surprising midterm means for the party
The Democratic Party vastly exceeded expectations in Tuesday’s midterm elections, bucking anti-incumbent historical trends and overcoming an unfavorable national political environment.
Republicans will likely end up controlling the House by a few seats — as opposed to 15 to 20, as most predicted — and Democrats appear to have won control of the Senate, given the victory of incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly in Arizo...
House Republican leadership an oxymoron
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Midwives can alleviate the maternal health crisis. Here’s how.
In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, maternal mortality is on the minds of many Americans. The United States has long been worst-in-class among developed nations in maternal mortality, and maternal care access keeps getting worse. There’s never been a better time to act. The first step is empowering the professionals who can help change this situation, which some simple federal rule changes can help accomplish.
A whopping 42 percent of births (over 1....
Post Roe, America must end its staggering maternal health crisis
When a child is born, medical providers quickly calculate the Apgar score. Using a 0-10 scale, numbers are assigned to gauge the baby’s breathing, pulse rate and other vitals. A score below 7 is a sign of potential distress that may require emergency care.
If there was an Apgar score for maternal health, our nation wouldn’t come close to a 7.
Nearly 1,200 women in the United States — almost 60 percent of whom were women of color — died in 2...
How Medicare beneficiaries were duped by Rx reform
Thanks to the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), premiums for Medicare Part D outpatient drug plans will start to rise over the next few years. The increase will be 6 percent a year, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and private forecasts.
To make matters worse, in a few more years, the vast majority of Part D enrollees will start paying more for drugs they get from their local pharmacies than they would have paid under a s...
How to win Latino voters: protect health care and lower health costs
With midterm elections in full swing, political pundits are highlighting the pivotal role Hispanic voters are likely to play — and for good reason.
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) projects that Hispanics will make up 1 in 10 voters nationally, with higher proportions in some key battleground states — roughly 1 in 5 voters in Arizona and Florida and 1 in 6 Nevada voters. Those levels would replicate Latino voters’ histo...
Sacrificing health care on the altar of ideology
Medical doctors are among the most highly educated professionals on the planet. Why, then, would the federal government seek to curtail their ability to perform their jobs to the best of their ability? Knee-capping the scientific process in the name of highly contested “gender-affirming” care not only puts patients in a needlessly risky position; it forces physicians to choose between abiding by government edicts and following their own medical judgment.
The Centers for Medica...
Sacrificing health care on the altar of ideology
Medical doctors are among the most highly educated professionals on the planet. Why, then, would the federal government seek to curtail their ability to perform their jobs to the best of their ability? Knee-capping the scientific process in the name of highly contested “gender-affirming” care not only puts patients in a needlessly risky position; it forces physicians to choose between abiding by government edicts and following their own medical judgment.
The Centers for Medica...