Recently I attended an American Academy of Pediatrics gathering of pediatricians representing state chapters from around the country. One of the major topics was gun violence and its impact on children. We heard from leaders in Connecticut, South Carolina and Florida about the impact on child health following mass shootings in recent years and how…
What good is paying for health insurance if it doesn’t cover you when you need it most? Georgia insurance companies are increasingly narrowing their coverage networks and shifting more costs to patients, even as they enjoy record profits and a financial windfall from recent tax reform legislation. Patients deserve access to the quality health care…
When the story broke last month that a former medical director for insurance giant Aetna never reviewed patients’ medical records before denying care, the news media and insurance regulators seemed shocked. But for the millions of Americans – and thousands of Georgians – who are fighting for access to treatment, the news was likely just…
When President Barack Obama and Congress rammed through the Affordable Care Act eight years ago this month, it was adopted on the premise of bringing down health insurance costs for all Americans. But in reality, this plan, also known as “Obamacare,” transferred much of the skyrocketing cost of health care from providers and insurers to…
“Our citizens are dying. We must act boldly to stop it.” This statement by President Trump’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis is in response to drug overdoses now killing more people than gun homicides and car crashes combined. Since 1999, more than 620,000 people in this country have died due to…
When we associate mass shootings with mental illness, we are doing a disservice to the millions of Americans who have a mental illness, have found recovery, are living in wellness and have never shot anyone. The fact that these two issues continue to be associated and presented as cause and effect is wrong. Continuing to…
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle drew attention to the growing chorus of state leaders calling for expanded access to health care in Georgia when he released a statement last week outlining his perspective on a possible state Medicaid waiver. By refusing to expand Medicaid, Georgia’s leaders have for years let the federal government keep funds — $12 billion…
These are extremely uncertain times. The partisan and political divides, more akin to tribalism than ideological debates, have frozen our political leadership in a perpetual state of dysfunction. Uncertainty and failure to ensure access to health care have consequences, often life-and-death consequences, for real people. At the national level, despite years of “repeal and replace”…
The numbers tell the sobering story for Georgia’s infants. For too many, their “number is up” before they reach their first birthday. Georgia’s fetal death rate is well above the national average, and the state ranks 47th in the country for infant mortality. Seventy percent of Georgia infants who die before their first birthday were born low birthweight (LBW,…
When a physician treats a patient, he or she operates under the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm to a man, woman or child. But in today’s world, where patients want an immediate cure for everything from the common cold to an aching back, patients are pushing physicians harder than ever for an instant solution…