Certificate of Need (CON) laws were initially put into effect as part of the “Health Planning Resources Development Act” of 1974. The law incentivised states to create CON programs by offering additional funding or withholding Medicare and Medicaid funds from those states that decided not to participate. The act sought to restrain health care facility … Continue reading
Kids these days — in particular 18-24 year-olds — are giving up cigarettes in favor of more refined ways of upsetting their parents. Although rates of young adult cigarette use have dropped significantly in recent years to just 10%, marijuana use has crept up to about 20% (p. 23). Meanwhile, e-cigarettes have exploded in popularity … Continue reading
Introduction In December 2018, Finland’s Social Insurance Institution, KELA, terminated their two-year Universal Basic Income (UBI) experiment that aimed to “increase employment and simplify the Social Security system” citing insignificant changes in the employment rate of participants. Despite this outcome, prominent U.S. figures–such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg– and the California Democratic Party still … Continue reading
Background: According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hepatitis C results in more deaths than any other infectious disease. Approximately half of the people with hepatitis C virus (HCV) do not know they are infected and a large percentage of the cases go undiagnosed. As a result, the prevalence of the … Continue reading
Legislative Action: On June 19th, the New York State Senate passed S.8907. This legislative action was implemented in an attempt to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. Looking at the disparities in maternal death, particularly within New York, this legislation aims to not only improve overall outcomes of maternal health but also increase their equity. … Continue reading
Physiological Factors: According to a report from nine Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs), 60 percent of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. The reason for these unnecessary deaths and the overall rise in maternal mortality cannot be definitively understood, specifically due to the overall lack of explicit and conclusive data. From a medical standpoint, common causes … Continue reading
Introduction: Maternal mortality seems like an issue that would no longer have a large-scale impact on modern American society. In fact, the Journal of the American Medical Association noted with pride in 1950 that the “maternal mortality rate for…the United States of America – has been pushed slightly below the apparently irreducible minimum of … Continue reading
INTRODUCTION According to a 2018 Amerispeak survey, 57 percent of participants received a “surprise” medical bill that they expected their insurance would pay. The results of this survey mirror a larger trend across the US populous: surprise medical billing is an all-too-prevalent phenomenon. These unanticipated costs often occur as a result of out-of-network charges. When … Continue reading
It is common knowledge that the United States spends substantially more money on health care than other developed nations, yet it is by no means the healthiest country. Health care accounts for one-sixth of United States’ gross domestic product (GDP), but morbidity continues to rise. Two out of three American adults are obese, one-third of American adults have high blood pressure, and diabetes prevalence is … Continue reading
On Wednesday, June 27, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) held a hearing to discuss the rising cost of health care in the U.S. Several panelists mentioned increasing price transparency as a potential solution to the growing issue. The disclosure of health care prices is by no means a new … Continue reading
