Citing unaffordable costs of common, essential drugs such as insulin, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) provided testimony for the Jan 29 Senate Finance Committee hearing on high drug prices. The answer is not a government-run pharmaceutical industry, but rather unleashing the “competitive market forces that provide abundant options and push prices down […]
In response to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) request for feedback on a proposal to allow employer-funded Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) to pay premiums for ACA-qualified individual health plans, physicians overwhelmingly asked the IRS to put patients first. To the extent that the proposal increases patient options, “it is a step in the right direction,” […]
Physicians Health Programs (PHPs) are part of the medical regulatory-therapeutic complex intended to protect the public from impaired physicians. Initially, they were supposed to provide a benevolent means to treat physicians with substance-use disorders and return them to the workplace. However, lacking professional or governmental oversight, or an enforceable code of ethics, they may now […]
Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) or physician-assisted death (PAD) are now receiving strong public support, writes Jeffrey Hall Dobken, M.D., M.P.H., in the winter issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. He traces the history of the acceptance of PAS/PAD in public policy and law to the ascendancy of “lifeboat ethics.” Read journal article: http://www.jpands.org/vol23no4/dobken.pdf […]
Of the more than $3 trillion dollars per year spent worldwide on health services, an untold amount is drained through corruption, according to the non-governmental anticorruption watchdog Transparency International. Albert Fisher, M.D., comments on the sources of corruption and proposed remedies in the winter issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Fisher, a family physician […]
An entry in the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) can end a doctor’s career permanently. It is critical for doctors to understand how this works, and patients ought to know what it means. In the winter 2018 issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Lawrence Huntoon, M.D., Ph.D, summarizes the key points in […]
Health-related costs have soared from about 5 percent of the average household’s annual spending in 1984 to 8 percent now, writes Marilyn Singleton, M.D., J.D., in the winter issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons.“ Thus, the focus of healthcare reform must shift from merely providing insurance coverage to providing affordable options and […]
In a Twitter sparring match with Jim Hanson, the president of the Security Studies Group, newly elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) wrote: “Actually, we have for-profit ‘death panels’ now: they are companies + boards saying you’re on your own bc they won’t cover a critical procedure or medicine.” This was in response to a remark […]
U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon asked CVS and Aetna to keep operations distinct, while he reviewed public comments on the settlement. Comments submitted by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) in a Dec 5 letter to Peter Mucchetti, Chief, Healthcare and Consumer Products Section, Antitrust Division, Department of Justice, warned that the […]
Politicians promise to lower costs and assure quality medical care, but voters need to beware. Here are some common misconceptions about Medicare for All: Myth: Medicare for All would get rid of profiteering insurance companies and thereby save billions. FACT: The “insurance” monoliths would still be there to manage the system. Look at the profits […]