Healthcare Musings For May 29, 2026

Healthcare Musings For May 29, 2026

by | May 29, 2026 | AI in healthcare, democracy versus illiberalism, Diversity Equity Inclusion, Dr. Robert Wachter, Dualism, Empire v. Shalom, Ezra Klein, Featured Post, Kleptocracy, Liberalism, Marina Ovsyannikova, Non Zero, Social Determinants of Health, Universal Access, Workforce Shortages in Healthcare, Yuval Noah Harari

May 29, 2026 Dear Interested Readers   Looking Past Policy Failures To Human Nature   My letter to you two weeks ago revealed that my wife’s PCP had retired and that the practice was unable to provide her with a new PCP. She had originally been assigned to...
Healthcare Musings For May 22, 2026

Healthcare Musings For May 22, 2026

by | May 22, 2026 | A history of federal support to medical education, A story from my life, AI in healthcare, Featured Post, Future of Heathcare, Goodbye to Steven Cobert, Google's Gemini, medical education, One Big Beautiful Bill-OBBB, Politics and Healthcare, Universal Access, Workforce Shortages in Healthcare

May 22, 2026 Dear Interested Readers,   If We Hope To Move Ahead Someday, We Need To Know How We Got Here.   Last week’s letter was a bit of a downer. I reported that the Wellesley Offices of Atrius Health had told my wife that she needed to go elsewhere to...
Healthcare Musings For May 15, 2026

Healthcare Musings For May 15, 2026

by | May 15, 2026 | 2026 mid term elections, Access to care, Andrew Weinstein, Atrius Health, doctor shortage, Featured Post, Future of Heathcare, Global Warming, healthcare under Trump, Politics and Healthcare, Social Determinants of Health, What we have with President Trump, workforce issues

May 15, 2026 Dear Interested Readers,   A Sunnami of Change   My wife spends a lot of time on social media. While scrolling through Instagram this week, she came across a quote from Andrew Weinstein that sums up the disgust so many of us feel as we...
Healthcare Musings For May 8, 2026

Healthcare Musings For May 8, 2026

by | May 8, 2026 | 2026 mid term elections, Benefits of the ACA, Featured Post, healthcare under Trump, How other nations achieve univarsal access, Inequality in Healthcare, One Big Beautiful Bill-OBBB, Our healthcare costs compared to other advanced nations, Paul Krugman, The Supreme Court and Healthcare, Universal Access

May 8, 2026 Dear Interested Readers,   How We Got The Mess We Have   My letter to you last week was a review of Paul Krugman’s Substack letter of April 19, which he published as the first installment of a series he is writing about our healthcare. That first...
Healthcare Musings For May 1, 2026

Healthcare Musings For May 1, 2026

by | May 1, 2026 | 2026 mid term elections, A personal history, ACA, Benefits of the ACA, Dean Robert Ebert, Dr. Charles Magraw, Dr. Eugene Braunwald, Dr. Joe Dorsey, Dr. Paul Solomon, Featured Post, John Russell, Paul Krugman, Politics and Healthcare, The Commonwealth Fund, The Triple Aim, Universal Access

May 1, 2026 Dear Interested Readers,   Can We Get To Universal Access To Care Without Big Changes?   Much of my free time and energy for the past two weekends has been spent in Maine around the birth of our newest grandson. He arrived at Maine Medical Center...
Healthcare Musings For April 17, 2026

Healthcare Musings For April 17, 2026

by | Apr 17, 2026 | A personal history, ACA, Bipartisan Healthcare Process, Boston Marathon, Chapter 224, Featured Post, Health Policy Commission, History of Healthcare Reform, Martha Bebinger, Romneycare, The Triple Aim

April 17, 2026 Dear Interested Readers,   A Celebration of a Past Victory In a Time of Great Concern   There was an unusual gathering this past Monday at historic Faneuil Hall on Boston’s waterfront. The current governor of Massachusetts, Maura Healey,...
Healthcare Musings For April 10, 2026

Healthcare Musings For April 10, 2026

by | Apr 10, 2026 | A personal history, Biases, Boston Marathon, cosmetic dentistry, equity in dental care, Featured Post, Harvard Community Health Plan, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Iran War, Mary Otto, poverty and dental care

April 10, 2026 Dear Interested Readers,   Dental Care Is Not Equitable   My wife and I spend a lot of money on our dental care. This year, we canceled our so-called dental insurance that we were buying through her Federal Employee Retirement Benefit because...
Healthcare Musings For April 3, 2026

Healthcare Musings For April 3, 2026

by | Apr 3, 2026 | A personal history, Atrius Health, Burnout, concierge care, Corporatization of U.S. Healthcare, Crossing the Quality Chasm, Dartmouth Health, Featured Post, Future of Heathcare, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Iran War, Ken Paulus, Moral Injury, Primary Care Challenges, private equity purchases in healthcare, Professional PTSD, The Triple Aim, Thomas Friedman, Wicked Problems

April 3, 2026 Dear Interested Readers,   Moral Injury and Burnout: Different, But Both Challenge The Future Of Healthcare    In 2005, I was 60 years old and beginning to think about when I might retire. I was very busy practicing full-time in the outpatient...
Heaalthcare Musings For March 27, 2026

Heaalthcare Musings For March 27, 2026

by | Mar 27, 2026 | Corporatization of U.S. Healthcare, Crossing the Quality Chasm, David Brooks, Featured Post, Future of Heathcare, healthcare for the rural and urban poor, hospital closings in rural America, Iran War, Jamelle Bouie, narcissistic sociopath, New England Journal of Medicine, Politics and Healthcare, President Trump, private equity purchases in healthcare, Social Determinants of Health, Steward Health Care, The future of healthcare under Trump, The Triple Aim, VUCA

March 27, 2026 Dear Interested Readers,   Private Equity in Healthcare Is the Wrong Road to High-Quality, Universal, Equitable, Affordable, and Sustainable Healthcare.    I must remind myself every week that the intended purpose of this weekly letter is to...