Tag Archives: right to healthcare

Evaluating Quality and Cost Between Medicare Advantage & Traditional Medicare

With enrollment in the Medicare Advantage (MA) program continuing to rise and nearly 50% of all Medicare eligible beneficiaries participating in an MA product, now is the time to evaluate the program’s benefits and possible unintended consequences. Why? A recent study by Landon et al., published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, compared the two programs… Read More »

How Can We Overcome the Unintended Consequences of Medicare Advantage Expansion?

Since the formation of the Medicare Advantage (MA) program, there has been continuous growth in the number of Medicare beneficiaries that have chosen this model of care. The reasons are numerous. For instance, the pace of growth in the number of company offerings and members has picked up over recent years, and the current projection is that MA… Read More »

Money Does Make A Difference

As we begin to reflect on policy changes and how they impacted people during covid, It’s of utmost importance that we assess what enhanced our wellbeing and what did not. We know that a significant determinant of health, especially in children, is access to healthy food and permanent food security. One of the many policies during Covid was… Read More »

Does Telemedicine Really Improve Access in All Neighborhoods?

For many of us, certain technologies, including telemedicine, are viewed in a highly positive light as a methodology to increase access in a consumer-centric manner. However, there are concerns that such technology will potentially increase health disparities because of the lack of broadband access, hardware, and functional literacy. As a result of the pandemic, access to office-based visits… Read More »

Taking a Deeper Look at Inequity within Our Scientific Process

As we continue to address health inequities, we must also consider underlying structural issues. If I am to deliver care focusing on equity, the basis for my treatment must be grounded in science. However, if my science is flawed due to underlying systemic biases and flaws in study design, we will never progress. Since inequities are pervasive and… Read More »

Understanding Why Public Health and Precision Medicine Are Critical for a Healthy Community

There is an ongoing debate surrounding the value of public health in this country. We have seen this play out during the COVID pandemic. During this time, a great deal of focus has concentrated on the science and the speed to which new therapies evolved and the rapid development of a new vaccine, honestly nothing short of miraculous.… Read More »

How Can Health Systems Help in Eliminating Health Disparities?

As our health systems continue to shift to value-based care, it has become paramount that providing quality care to not just some, but ALL we serve is essential. Therefore, focusing on the health disparities that exist is important since a lack of health equity continues to be a significant factor contributing to poor health in many communities. If… Read More »

Let’s Focus on the Problems Instead of a “Sound Bite Solution.”

As the election nears, the conversation concerning “Medicare for All” is being deeply debated. In a country that historically loathes government interventions into our lives, this is quite a significant shift. What is leading to many feeling single-payer is the way to go? If we step back and review many of the issues, we have in healthcare today;… Read More »

The Continued Financial Burden of Home Care

We can’t discuss the challenges in healthcare without considering the aging population who will be moving to home care settings more and more in the coming years. Shifting the focus to home care and the value it brings, it is necessary to remember that the patient and their families absorb a portion of these costs. And the financial… Read More »