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
Category Archives: Healthcare
Part 3: Combatting Maternal Mortality
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
Part 2: Combatting Maternal Mortality
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
Part 1: Combatting Maternal Mortality
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
Surprise…Out-of-Network Billing
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
A Call for Social Determinants
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
Price Transparency: An Exacerbation or Solution to the Mounting Cost of Health Care?
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
Cabell County and More: Addressing the Opioid Epidemic
Rates of opioid addiction in the United States have continued to increase leading to the destruction of families, a decline in labor participation, and rising healthcare costs. Out of all the drug overdose deaths in 2015, 63.1% involved an opioid. This problem has been appropriately called an epidemic and its consequences and widespread effect have … Continue reading
VBP Has the Chance to Become the MVP
America has a drug problem that goes well beyond opiates and abuse. Pharmaceutical drug prices have skyrocketed in the last decade and fueled an overall increase in health care costs and spending[1]. The top ten most prescribed medications have all risen more than 50% since 2011, with four out of ten having doubled in cost. … Continue reading
Implementing a Value-Based Healthcare System
Overview As the cost of healthcare rises, the government is pouring money into the current health insurance system to find a way to counteract this rise, and lower costs for patients. Progressive Democrats propose expanding upon the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and implementing a single payer system. The key issue with a single payer system … Continue reading
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