By Jane M. Orient, M.D. After a period of silence, Dr. Bandy Lee and her committee of mental-health “experts” have again burst onto the scene, angling to participate in the impeachment of President Trump. They are defying the Goldwater Rule, which holds that it is unethical for physicians to diagnose patients they have not personally […]
By Jane M. Orient, M.D. Stock photos of “healthcare workers” who attend patients—physicians are no longer distinguishable—usually feature a stethoscope draped around the neck. But some, such as cardiologist Eric Topol, consider the stethoscope obsolete, nothing more than a pair of “rubber tubes.” The most important part of the stethoscope is the part between the […]
By Marilyn M. Singleton, MD, JD At a graduation of a family friend, out of the blue, one in our group began lamenting that progressives tended to live in cities. She proposed that progressives should move to rural areas and “purge [such areas] of those awful conservatives.” Thus spake the tolerant Left. I was stunned. […]
In her $52 trillion Medicare for All proposal, Elizabeth Warren would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid, and all state laws and regulations on private insurance, observes the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). Instead, everyone would purportedly receive all necessary care, courtesy of the federal government, without worrying about the […]
Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats have been promising universal healthcare, which will cost more than $30 trillion to $40 trillion, or $52 trillion for the Warren plan. But it will supposedly save so much that we won’t be spending more than we do now, despite all the vastly expanded coverage. The various plans would end […]
Volume 75, no. 11 November 2019 The federal government has been declaring war on waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare since shortly after it was enacted in 1965. In the 1970s, there was the Professional Standards Review Organization (PSRO). AAPS v. Weinberger, the first lawsuit filed by AAPS, which challenged the PSRO, was dismissed in […]
By Marilyn M. Singleton, MD, JD What if purchasing medical products and services were like buying peanut butter? Grocery stores have several brands and varieties: smooth, chunky, old-fashioned, natural, organic, no added sugar, reduced fat, no-stir, and pre-mixed with jelly with clearly marked prices ranging from $1.75 for the store’s generic brand to $7 for […]
In a letter to President Trump, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) thanks him for increasing the options available to Medicare beneficiaries, allowing them to access private treatment and insurance without losing their Social Security benefits. AAPS also agrees with the need for transparency, but emphasizes that patients need access to honest prices, […]
According to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the U.S. wastes between $760 billion and $935 billion on “healthcare”—up to 25 percent of $3.8 trillion. It estimates that interventions could save as much as $282 billion. The biggest source of waste is “administrative complexity,” accounting for $265.6 billion, but the […]
By Marilyn M. Singleton, MD, JD The high cost of medical care is on the lips of every politician and draining the pocketbooks of most Americans. After creating the Medicare/Medicaid monster, the government’s expanded intervention into the medical care marketplace with the inaptly named Affordable Care Act doubled the premiums and deductibles for both employer-sponsored […]