Health care

Remapping Debate’s examination of the issues of doctors failing to communicate and empathize reveals that, despite innovative efforts at a number of medical schools, the medical community as a whole still has far to go to remedy these problems.

Despite innovative training at some medical schools, overall it still seems to be awfully difficult.

The abandonment of the element of the Affordable Care Act that was designed to provide insurance against the staggering costs of long-term care, announced by the Obama administration last Friday, raises important questions about the wisdom of having a strategy of always going for a legislative "half a loaf," especially when doing so obliges you both to understate the real costs of dealing with problems and to oversell the promise and potential of your solutions.

Today’s robbing of the NYC employees’ health insurance fund as a “realistic” means to pay to avoid layoffs will become tomorrow’s hysterically anti-union “health benefits costs are out of control” rallying cry. City officials — neither the “education” mayor, nor the backbone-free City Council — are just not prepared to pay for vital services.

Today’s robbing of the NYC employees’ health insurance fund as a “realistic” means to pay to avoid layoffs will become tomorrow’s hysterically anti-union “health benefits costs are out of control” rallying cry.

Why is supporting the successful implementation of health care reform incompatible with asking for more?

Oxford rolls out small business renewal plans, increasing patient cost for out-of-network care by more than 50 percent.

Some propose to increase U.S. dependence on foreign doctors to address the physician shortage and argue that quality concerns can be addressed. Others say that the U.S. already relies heavily on foreign MDs, and question the ethics of that policy. And there is another issue: will a "temporary" solution have the potential to harden into a permanent arrangement?