City University of New York
Professor at the School of Public Health at City of New York University's Hunter College; primary-care internist and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program, which supports a national health insurance system; former Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School
A Health Check for Obamacare When the US Supreme Court finally gave the Affordable Care Act the go-ahead last year, President Obama called it a victory. "In America, healthcare is not a privilege for a few, but a right for all." But there's still one system for the affluent and another for everyone else -- even though millions who were not insured can now buy policies. More and more often, doctors and hospitals tell them, "We don't take Obamacare here." Now, some insurance companies are opting out of the program. Healthcare's a major issue in yet another presidential campaign.
Obamacare President Obama said today that the government shutdown will have no effect on the Affordable Care Act and, as scheduled, this is the first day of official enrollment for the currently uninsured. How today is different from yesterday for the currently uninsured. If millions decide to enroll, will there be enough doctors to serve a vast increase in the patients showing up for medical treatment?
Concierge Doctors: Primary Care and the Well-to-Do Today, millions of Americans still can't afford healthcare, as witnessed recently by the long lines of people hoping to see a doctor or dentist at the Los Angeles Forum, care provided by a group that usually caters to needy people in Third World countries. Meantime, doctors for the rich and famous are a growing business. The death of Michael Jackson has cast a spotlight on so called “concierge doctors.” There are an estimated 5000 boutique doctors in the country, a practice popularized by the summer TV hit Royal Pains , which features the fictional Dr. Hank Lawson who treats rich patients in the Hamptons and then uses the proceeds to treat the poor. We talk about the rise in private physicians, the significant decline in the numbers of primary care doctors and its impact on the nation’s well-being.
Concierge Doctors: Primary Care and the Well-to-Do Today, millions of Americans still can't afford healthcare, as witnessed recently by the long lines of people hoping to see a doctor or dentist at the Los Angeles Forum, care provided by a group that usually caters to needy people in Third World countries. Meantime, doctors for the rich and famous are a growing business. The death of Michael Jackson has cast a spotlight on so called “concierge doctors.” There are an estimated 5000 boutique doctors in the country, a practice popularized by the summer TV hit Royal Pains , which features the fictional Dr. Hank Lawson who treats rich patients in the Hamptons and then uses the proceeds to treat the poor. We talk about the rise in private physicians, the significant decline in the numbers of primary care doctors and its impact on the nation’s well-being.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.