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Section: Blogs/Opinion

War on Women

President Donald Trump and his predominantly male administration proved once again on Friday that they are waging an increasingly hostile war against women. Trump announced that he was rolling back Obama-era regulations that ensured employers would provide birth control privileges to women through their medical insurance offerings. Read More

October 11, 2017

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Health Care Deal Is Possible

The Republican leadership seems to have thrown in the towel on repealing the Affordable Care Act, at least for now. That’s one piece of good news. Here’s another: Two senators of different parties have resumed negotiations that offer a more productive path, one that could preserve the best of Obamacare while offering adjustments that both […]

October 10, 2017

“You’re Fired!”

For a while after President Trump was elected, I thought I should watch a few episodes of “The Apprentice” if only to hear him utter the infamous phrase, “You’re fired.” Turns out I didn’t need to. Tom Price — who led the Department of Health and Human Services for a mere eight months — is […]

October 4, 2017

Can Affirmative Action Cure Cancer?

(THE CONVERSATION) Affirmative action programs are designed to provide access to high-quality higher education for underrepresented minorities, but the Trump administration is targeting these essential programs by directing resources toward investigating and possibly suing colleges and universities that use race as a factor in admissions. Read More

October 2, 2017

Psychotherapists’ Letter: Troubling Times

Increasingly, the weight of the current political environment burdens the hearts and minds of Americans and causes anxiety, preoccupation, deepening depression, feelings of helplessness and despair, disgust and horror. Not infrequently, it even rekindles the embers of prior trauma for women and members of marginalized groups whose sense of hard-won safety has been shaken to […]

September 27, 2017

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Unpacking the Sanders Bill

On September 13, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)—with 16 Democratic cosponsors—released the Medicare-For-All Act of 2017, intended to transition the American health care system to a single-payer system. In addition to the bill text, Senator Sanders released an executive summary, title summary, and white paper on financing options. Read More

September 25, 2017

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What Cuba Can Teach Us

It was a rare moment in the health care debate. A Trump supporter, Drea Holbert of Kentucky, was explaining her opposition to Republican health care bills to an NPR reporter when she said this: “Hopefully, they can take a look at what Canada is doing, and even Cuba.” Inside the beltway, though, Canadian-style health care […]

September 20, 2017

Push “Medicare for All”

Washington – The smartest, savviest people in Washington will tell you Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for all” idea is dead on arrival, a waste of time and energy. But since those same smart, savvy people told you Donald Trump didn’t have a prayer of becoming president, I’d advise keeping an open mind. What the Vermont senator’s […]

September 18, 2017

Time for a Plan

Republican candidates got a boost on the eve of last fall’s election when insurers announced big increases in Obamacare premiums for 2017. Unfortunately, the GOP seems intent on making next year’s premium increases even larger. According to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, the combination of decisions by President Donald Trump and uncertainty about what action […]

September 13, 2017

“Right to Know” Facts, Not Misinformation

Imagine a law requiring your doctor to give you misleading information about the health risks of a medical procedure. In Louisiana, this is a reality. State law requires physicians to give women seeking abortions inaccurate information about the development of embryos and misleading statements about the health risks of abortion. Louisiana legislators have singled out […]

September 11, 2017

A Champion for Division

The Trump administration continued its bent on division and exclusion last week with actions that increase the stigmatization of vulnerable populations and champion those who target them. On the heels of the Charlottesville tragedy, in which Trump persisted in blaming “many sides” and defending some of those who protested with Neo-Nazis and Klan members, he […]

September 6, 2017

Reform Malpractice Laws

Reforming health care is a tedious, but necessary effort. Hard choices will have to be made and it’s evident that Congress appears incapable of finding a solution to our health care debacle. Healthcare reform seems to be dead, but there was a meaningful health care cost-related bill that passed the House this session — medical […]

September 5, 2017

Strengthen Healthcare

Despite their relentless campaign to strip working families of their healthcare, Senate Republicans failed to pass any of their healthcare repeal bills before leaving for recess. This was a victory brought on by the everyday Americans who fought to protect their care. Now, we have the opportunity to write the next chapter on healthcare in […]

August 30, 2017

What’s Next for Healthcare?

The Republican Senate’s third failed attempt at repeal and/or replace was a surprise to many, including this writer. I believed they would get something passed, even for the limited purpose of getting a bill back to the House, and into conference committee. Senator Graham subsequently announced he had a plan which he would move forward […]

August 28, 2017

Life Without Planned Parenthood

Aubrey Reinhardt came to an important conclusion: It was time to get on birth control. The 20-year-old Texas Tech University senior was in a serious relationship, and after a prudent discussion with her partner, she’d made up her mind. Analytical by nature, Reinhardt sought information on her options and narrowed down the list of contraceptives […]

August 24, 2017

Not Such Good News

We recently used this space to praise Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital, which received an award for delivering outstanding patient services. The national Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award was no big surprise for local residents — Valley Cottage Hospital is known for its top-quality patient services — but the Press Ganey honor puts the […]

August 21, 2017

Medicare for All

Dreaming of a state-run single-payer healthcare system? Wake up and enter the real world. Want universal healthcare for all Americans? Medicare for all is the solution. Not this year or next, but possibly in the future — when Democrats recapture the presidency and Congress. That’s the clear-eyed, pragmatic fight to engage in, and one advocated […]

August 16, 2017

Doctor: Will I Have to Turn Children Away?

It has been 20 years since I’ve had to tell a mother she had no options for insuring her child. At the time, I had been treating a little boy who was born prematurely and required developmental therapies. He toddled over to me from across the waiting room, shouting my name to show that he […]

August 14, 2017