Sometimes it may feel like there are very few things everyone can agree on – but one universal truth is that healthcare in the United States is unique and constantly evolving. The system has a dynamic history of morphing delivery mechanisms to fit the capabilities and needs of a changing population, from the emergence of … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Healthcare
Chronic Disease and Our Food System
Introduction As recently reported by the CDC, the number of states with obesity rates of 35% or higher has almost doubled in the past two years. In 2018, 9 states reported having obesity rates above 35%. In 2020, that number rose to 16 states reporting obesity rates above 35% with Delaware, Iowa, Ohio, and Texas … Continue reading
Delayed Care Suggests Sicker Patients
Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has shocked the healthcare system and changed the manner care is being supplied as well as demanded by patients. Over the past year, the United States has seen demand shifts for many health procedures as there is a widespread deferral of care, including patients missing recommended screenings as well as a … Continue reading
Certificate of Need Laws: Are They Just a CON?
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
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
ACA Made Easy: Individual Shared Responsibility
Since the Individual Mandate statute of the Affordable Care Act was enacted in January 2014, every American is accountable for an Individual Shared Responsibility* payment every year. Meaning, if you do not have health insurance, you will face penalties. While you may not see an actual summons, or pay a fine, the federal government enforces … Continue reading
HIPAA Rights for Minors
In 1996 President Clinton signed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996(HIPAA) into law. Establishing that every American’s health information is confidential, and the people have a right to pick and choose who may access it. While many would assume otherwise, this includes minors. When it comes to a child receiving care, a … Continue reading
Telehealth Series: Fighting Rural Health Inequities with Technology
In late 2015, Wisconsin became the 12th State to adopt the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC). This program recognizes that medical training is fairly uniform across the states involved, and it provides a quicker path to licensure for physicians looking to practice medicine in Wisconsin. The move for Wisconsin to enact the IMLC also presents a major … Continue reading
Fighting Waste: Proton Beam Therapy in Prostate Cancer
Experts across the political spectrum have questioned how much society should be willing to pay for new and expensive treatments, especially if another treatment exists with a proven track record. Although it often escapes policymakers, the heart of this debate should be medical efficacy. For both the new treatment and the old, do they work? How … Continue reading
What You Don’t Know About Physician Assisted Suicide
What would you say a physician does? Chances are, your response would have something to do with healing people who are sick. Would you think about describing doctors as people who readily expedite death for their patients? There are currently three states that have legalized physician assisted suicide (PAS), and there are at least twenty-two … Continue reading
Policy Interns 
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