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Section: Blogs/Opinion

Healthcare: Sky Isn’t Falling After Trump Election

The new Chief Executive Officer of the United States of America Inc. will take office January 20th and likely make good on his promise to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It only requires a majority in both houses of Congress to pass and that’s assured based on the election results last week. […]

November 14, 2016

Minorities Face Barriers to Mental Health Care

A recent report from the CDC revealed the urgent state of mental health in this country: From 1999 to 2014, the age-adjusted suicide rate in the U.S. jumped by 24 percent. Suicides rose for both men and women across all ages 10 to 74. The United States is facing serious mental health challenges. And if […]

November 9, 2016

Obamacare: The Good and the Bad

In this interview, I mentioned the information a broker in Naples Florida sent me regarding some of their customers buying Obamacare compliant individual health insurance. Here are the broker’s 2017 examples: Family of four, mom and dad age 40, two kids. Lowest Bronze annual premium $13,176. Deductible $7,150 single, $14,300 family. Income $130,000. Not eligible […]

November 7, 2016

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4 Things Native American Doctors Already Knew

When people think of medicine men or spiritual healers, they may not take those traditional practices seriously. Common themes like astrology and superstition seem at odds with the scientifically driven doctors who dominate our modern hospitals and medical offices. But Native American societies like the Maya and the Navajo have certain traditions and practices that […]

November 2, 2016

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Pipeline Compounds Injustices Against Native Americans

It would seem that most people are aware of the immoral atrocities committed by Christopher Columbus after his arrival in 1492. Several states and institutions no longer celebrate Columbus Day on Oct. 12, instead opting for the more progressive Indigenous Peoples’ Day. While the modified name is a welcome shift, it is important to realize […]

October 31, 2016

“Size Diversity” Matters in Health Care

Practicing medicine, especially naturopathic medicine, in a weight-obsessed culture can be tricky. Food and movement are two of the most powerful tools I have to help my patients feel better, but how do I apply those tools in a culture so obsessed with diet and exercise as a means to an end (get skinnier) rather […]

October 26, 2016

WHY IT MATTERS: Veterans

WASHINGTON—THE ISSUE: There are an estimated 21.6 million veterans in the United States. Among them, nearly 9 million are enrolled in health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. About 4.3 million veterans get disability compensation from the VA and nearly 900,000 have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. A 2014 law signed by […]

October 24, 2016

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Why Increasing Diversity Is Essential

Diversity is good for communities, companies and our nation. A plurality of viewpoints, experiences and beliefs has the potential to foster both understanding and innovation. And in the healthcare field, the need for diversity is evident every day. Providers in the U.S. serve people from all walks of life, and each patient’s personal background plays […]

October 19, 2016

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Blog: Indian Country Dying of a Curable Disease

With Indigenous People’s Day this week (known to some as Columbus Day), there is opportunity for collective acknowledgement of one of the many inequities that American Indian and Alaska Native people face in the United States. Indian Country, which includes 566 self-governing tribal communities throughout the United States, has a desperate need for greater access […]

October 17, 2016

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Predicting the Future of Obamacare

Negative leaders can deny change, resist it, ignore it – for a period of time. But they can’t escape it. And inevitably, they are eventually overtaken by it. Witness the current Trump dilemma. The leadership of the Republican party, following the defeat in the 2012 election, correctly acknowledged the demographic reality of a change in […]

October 12, 2016

Minority Men— Take Control of Your Health Needs

Disparities in health care often are thought to be the result of poverty and a related lack of access to quality health care. But clinical experience and research show that this is overly simplistic. In truth, the cause is a mix of issues that include genetics, living and working conditions, cultural obstacles with caregivers and […]

October 10, 2016

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Will People of Color Use the Aid in Dying Law?

Death was a topic that wasn’t discussed in Adrienne Lawson Thompson’s home growing up. The Los Angeles native says it was such a taboo topic, that her own mother didn’t even reveal what illness she was stricken with before she died. “She didn’t want to disclose things to me because ‘Oh, you’re young. I don’t […]

October 6, 2016

Health Agenda for Lame-Duck Congress

Watchdog journalists say the ties between insurance commissioners and the insurance industry are too close, and thousands of striking nurses in Minnesota — unhappy over their health benefits — vote on a contract today. But first: We’re entering the frenetic final days before Obamacare open enrollment. LESS THAN ONE MONTH TO GO: OBAMACARE CRUNCH TIME […]

October 3, 2016

Pipeline Poses Health Hazards for Sioux

The North Dakota Pipeline is an ongoing $3.7 billion project that could create 8,000-12,000 construction jobs. By carrying roughly 470,000 barrels of oil per day from the fields of North Dakota to Illinois, it has the potential to generate $156 million in sales and income taxes for local and state governments. Concern has arisen over […]

September 28, 2016

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Doctors Asked to Pledge to Fight Opiod Epidemic

Vivek H. Murthy, M.D., M.B.A. (United States Surgeon General) sent a letter to US physicians about the impact that the opioid epidemic has had on communities and asks for their help: I am asking for your help to solve an urgent health crisis facing America: the opioid epidemic. Everywhere I travel, I see communities devastated […]

September 26, 2016

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Stop Denying Poor Women Medical Care

Forty years ago this month, Congress passed the Hyde Amendment (named for the late Illinois Congressman Henry Hyde), which bans Medicaid coverage for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the pregnant woman. In other words, Congress decided to limit health care for women struggling to make ends meet. […]

September 21, 2016

NIH: Sharing Data on Clinical Trials

Today we took a huge step forward in our efforts to make sure that data from biomedical research is shared widely and rapidly. The NIH, in collaboration with our fine colleagues at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and with the valuable input from scientists, patients and other members of the public, has announced […]

September 19, 2016

NIH Blog: Feed a Virus, Starve a Bacterium?

Yes, the season of colds and flu is coming. You’ve probably heard the old saying “feed a cold and starve a fever.” But is that sound advice? According to new evidence from mouse studies, there really may be a scientific basis for “feeding” diseases like colds and flu that are caused by viruses, as well […]

September 14, 2016