Categories
health policy

Drew Altman, Ronald Reagan and Constructive Leadership in Medicine.

Mike Magee In the fractious world of U.S. Health Policy, contentiousness is an art form. It’s been that way as long as I can remember. When I was 14, late in May of 1962, sitting at the Sunday dinner table with my then 9 brothers and sisters (there were eventually 12 of us), I can […]

Categories
health care reform Uncategorized

Why Are These Doctor Politicians So Angry With Obamacare When The AMA, AAMC and AHA Are Not?

Mike Magee In 1965, as I graduated from high school, I distinctly remember my father being in an unusually foul mood. He was a doctor through and through, and a huge supporter of the American Medical Association(AMA). He was president of New Jersey’s largest County Medical Society, and later a mentor to Jim Todd, who […]

Categories
obesity

Is Obesity a “Disease” or a Trojan Horse? The Debate Inside The AMA.

Mike Magee The vote of the A.M.A. House of Delegates is in – obesity is a disease.(1, 2) But what exactly does that mean? To say that the issue is complex and controversial is an understatement. Just take a look at the debate that preceded the AMA vote. Against Declaring Obesity A Disease:  The AMA […]

Categories
nurses

Medical Leaders and Consumers Lining Up To Support Nurses.

Mike Magee On January 1, 2014, as a result of implementation of the Affordable Care Act,  the US will experience a major expansion of individuals covered by health insurance. The law includes three key pillars – insurers must provide coverage to all comers regardless of medical history; all citizens must pay in (either through purchase […]

Categories
Health Politics health professional leadership

Time To Pivot: Science Leaders (not government relations dept.’s) Must Assert Control and Republican Leaders Must Dump Norquist.

Mike Magee As we have seen over the past few days, science matters and Americans care for each other. Regarding science, you can deny the truth (as some have done with global warming), but that doesn’t change the reality. It simply delays dealing with it and makes us all more vulnerable to forces we might […]

Categories
health care reform

The New RomneyCare: Introducing The Old Status Quo

Mike Magee Nearly a decade ago, I participated in a collaborative gathering of health policy leaders each year at the Sundance Mountain Lodge in Monument, CO. The group, called the Health Sector Assembly, is still in existence. As veteran reporter David Broder wrote in 2003, “Organized by Roy Pfautch, a veteran of the American Medical […]

Categories
Health Care Human Resources

Competitor Analysis: The Future of Primary Care

Mike Magee Most would now agree that we are approaching a fundamental disconnect in two health delivery trend lines. They are: 1) the growing need and demand for services fueled by our aging population and 2) a growing shortage of primary care health professionals. Where opinions diverge is how to address this growing problem in […]

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