Health Policy
- FDA approval for the vaccine that protects women against HPV infection occurred in 2006. Since then, we have seen a brutal match between public health and legislators on policy over this vaccine. Although the science remains clear, some legislators remain adept at muddying the waters to placate their constituency.
- If you tax them, will the pounds fall? In Brazil, the increased taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages led to a drop in consumption in households.
- The Supreme Court was charged with deliberating the constitutionality of the minimum essential coverage requirement. In essence, the healthcare cliff, for the majority of the ACA would fall like a deck of cards if the individual mandate was struck down. Luckily, the law received a reprieve from the high court.
- Once again, Massachusetts and its health reforms serves as a model for study this time for its ability to increase surgical utilization of its minority populations.
- With varying degrees of physical education activity across schools in the US, those states with specific physical activity time requirements reported more physical education time than those schools in states with no or nonspecific policies.
- While full implementation of the ACA will likely create millions of jobs, Medicaid expansion to low-income childless adults may not result in an increase in full-time employment in this population.
- While they both articulated that all Americans should have high quality health care, both Obama and Romney had holes in their healthcare plans. Implementing the ACA and providing premium support for Medicare and Medicaid reflects the microeconomic principle of managed competition in health care.
- Besides gun control, mental health topics are front and center in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The unfortunate events of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting brought back to life the old debate of gun control. Its no surprise with the US leading the world in civilian gun ownership, that its also home of the highest homicide rates.
by Nii Darko, DO, MBA and Renée Volny, DO, MBA
