Slavery, Gynecology, and Modern Medicine — In her book, Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology, author Deirdre Cooper Owens traces the intertwined history of American slavery and the development of gynecology. The first dedicated women’s hospital in the United States was started by James Marion Sims on a slave farm in Alabama…

Drug overdoses of all kinds are rising. We are not ready — We weren’t ready for the opioid epidemic. In 2017, opioid-related overdoses killed nearly 50,000 Americans. Everyone from city councils to the federal government has tried to address the issue and stem the steady march of deaths caused by drug overdoses. In part, we’ve been able to take critical steps in…

The latest ACA lawsuit could uninsure millions and remove protections for pre-existing conditions — One of the landmark changes included in the Affordable Care Act was that health insurers could no longer turn away people with pre-existing conditions, or charge them more based on their health status. It has consistently been one of the most popular protections in the ACA, and was at the…

When it comes to health care, people don’t shop, they stop — It’s no secret that health care costs are rising. Employers, feeling the squeeze of increased insurance prices, are responding by offering their workers health care plans with increased cost sharing. These plans hope to save money by encouraging patients to “shop” for health care, finding lower prices and better value…

An escape hatch into the garbage compactor — In the original Star Wars, in trying to rescue Leia, our heroes find themselves trapped between stormtroopers closing in on both sides. As the pressure rises, Leia finds an escape route — the garbage chute. …

Inventing a problem — At the beginning of March, the Trump administration approved a waiver from Arkansas that would allow the state to introduce work requirements — also euphemistically called “community engagement” — into its Medicaid program. Arkansas will become the third state to have Medicaid work requirements approved, joining Indiana and Kentucky. …

Conflating the two hurts those who need help most — After Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary, or the recent mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, many people question the link between mental health and gun violence. The connection is not what these reports would have you think. Research shows that mental illness is deceptively common…

America’s deadliest epidemic is the one we do nothing about — On October 1st, 2017, a man in Las Vegas shot and killed 59 men and women, and wounding more than 500 additional people at a country music festival. More than four weeks later, on the opposite side of the country, Massachusetts became the first state to ban bump stocks, the…

Massachusetts takes a gamble to control drug costs — Earlier this fall, Massachusetts filed a demonstration waiver based on a heath reform package from Republican governor Charlie Baker. Contained in the waiver is the proposal to allow MassHealth (the Massachusetts Medicaid program) to convert to a closed formulary. If the CMS approves the waiver, the Bay State would be…