The title question might seem silly, even ludicrous. It is anything but. In the United States today, a truck driver is free to choose which gear to use going up a hill and at what speed to go down the hill. Accountants and lawyers are free to accept or refuse specific jobs and how toContinue reading “Are U.S. Doctors ‘Free’ to Practice Medicine?”
Author Archives: deanewaldman1
Shoot HIPAA the Hippo
If you work in healthcare, the initials HIPAA make you gag. If you are not in healthcare, you are probably unaware of this 2000-pound hippopotamus that you are supporting. HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (of 1998). In the early 1990s, there was extensive corporate downsizing, reductions in force (RIF) were common events, andContinue reading “Shoot HIPAA the Hippo”
Release Free Market for Affordable, Accessible Medical Care
Federal bureaucracy is hazardous to your health
Federal healthcare regulations with their attendant bureaucracies are supposed to facilitate patients getting the medical care they need when they need it. Sadly, bureaucracy does the exact opposite: it reduces access to care and can lead to needless deaths. Creating federal rules and regulations costs lots of money. The first round of instructions for the Affordable CareContinue reading “Federal bureaucracy is hazardous to your health”
Seesaw Proves American Healthcare ‘Wisdom’ Wrong
Common wisdom teaches that those who have health insurance get the care they need when they need it, and that those who don’t have coverage, don’t get care. This false “wisdom” is used by progressives to push for government-controlled, single payer healthcare. Evidence proves that this wisdom is not wise. In fact, it is 180Continue reading “Seesaw Proves American Healthcare ‘Wisdom’ Wrong”
Funding the Unfunded, and Their Mandate
The Unfunded Mandate is a legal contradiction and humanitarian nightmare that is also antibusiness. It needs a permanent fix, not a modification, adjustment, reconciliation, and most definitely not Washington style “reform.” What is the Unfunded Mandate? In 1986, Congress passed EMTALA (Emergency Medical Transport and Active Labor Act), colloquially called the anti-dumping law. Its ostensible purpose was to preventContinue reading “Funding the Unfunded, and Their Mandate”
Attending Doctor Should Decide Life or Death-No One Else!
Elected officials such as New York and Atlanta mayors as well as clinical physicians, viz., in Maryland and Colorado, are projecting there will be more patients who need life-saving CoViD-19 services than there are facilities–ICU beds and ventilators–available. Such an imbalance between the needs of critically ill patients and healthcare capabilities requires triage, deciding who gets care and who waits.Continue reading “Attending Doctor Should Decide Life or Death-No One Else!”
CoViD-19 Cost/Benefit Analysis Concludes: Let My People Go
When the CoViD-19 (Corona Virus Disease, 2019) first broke out, there was little-to-no data. Without factual evidence, medical advisers had to depend on mathematical models such as the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis from the Imperial College in London. With an estimate of more than 2 million American deaths, a draconian response was instituted withContinue reading “CoViD-19 Cost/Benefit Analysis Concludes: Let My People Go”
Colorado Took Healthcare Out of Washington and Implemented Medicare-for-All “Lite.” Good Move or Bad?
Supreme Court Associate Justice Louis Brandeis famously urged the states to become “laboratories of democracy” (New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann, 1932) by testing new, alternative ideas of governance. Colorado is heeding his advice. With their Governor Jared Polis’ leadership, the 2019 Colorado Legislative Session passed a number of bills that increase state control ofContinue reading “Colorado Took Healthcare Out of Washington and Implemented Medicare-for-All “Lite.” Good Move or Bad?”
“And this, too, shall pass away…” Lessons from CoViD-19
In a Wisconsin speech before the 1860 presidential campaign, Abraham Lincoln quoted a Persian parable ending with, “And this, too, shall pass away.” His words apply to the CoViD-19 (Corona Virus Disease, 2019) outbreak. At the moment, fear of contagion and death (blown out of proportion) dominate public consciousness. The news cycle is filled with constantlyContinue reading ““And this, too, shall pass away…” Lessons from CoViD-19”
Health Care- Your Way 