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I quit my job while pregnant and battling an autoimmune disease
Alex Taylor used to work long hours. Then she quit her job, changed her lifestyle, and founded a healthcare brand.
I quit my job while pregnant and battling an autoimmune disease
Alex Taylor used to work long hours. Then she quit her job, changed her lifestyle, and founded a healthcare brand.
Work-from-home mandate led to ‘mass exodus’ of radiologists at 1 health system, OIG says
Veterans Affairs launched the probe last August after receiving reports that rad departures were causing care delays and imaging backlogs at the VA Washington DC Healthcare System.
Rep. Salinas introduces bill for first responder mental health grants
Oregon U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas introduced the bipartisan Lifeline for First Responders Act to fund federal grants for firefighter, EMS and dispatcher mental health services via the Transportation Reauthorization Bill.
Digital Health: Is Innovation Widening the Equity Gap?
Digital health can improve access, but gaps in technology, digital skills, and infrastructure may leave vulnerable groups behind as adoption expands across healthcare.
Alaska awards millions in rural healthcare funding, including to restart Presidential Fitness Test
More than $230 million remains to be distributed in Alaska through the Rural Health Transformation Program.
WakeMed-Atrium Health hearing draws differing opinions
Skeptics want more clarity on how the price of healthcare will be affected by a merger, whereas supporters believe it will improve care in several ways.
Ventura County nurses and health care professionals to hold speak out to save Santa Paula Hospital
Registered nurses and healthcare professionals at Santa Paula Hospital in Santa Paula, Calif. and Ventura County Medical Center (VCMC) in Ventura, Calif., will hold a speak out at Ventura County's Board of Supervisors hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 18, to protest changes in services and possible closure.
RFK Jr says community health centers should be the model for American healthcare
During a visit to Castle Family Health Services in Atwater, California, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised community health centers as a “template” for the nation’s health system, saying, “Forget about Obamacare.”
ECU Health honored with 2025 GHX Supply Chains of Distinction Award
ECU Health has been recognized with a 2025 Global Healthcare Exchange Supply Chains of Distinction Award.
Seton Hall's Unique Summer Immersion Program Helps Students Discover T
Through hands-on learning, simulations and faculty mentorship, Seton Hall helps high school students explore healthcare professions and prepare for future academic and career success.
The Use of AI by Government Healthcare Agencies: Is It in the Public Interest? - Petrie-Flom Center
Federal and state departments are rapidly expanding their use of artificial intelligence, and healthcare agencies are no exception.
Abbott and NACHC launch nationwide Food for Health initiative to make nutritious food a core part of healthcare
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Blue Shield of California Renews NCQA Health Plan Accreditation, Advancing Commitment to Quality
"NCQA accreditation is a widely recognized benchmark of healthcare quality,"
Insurance premiums, copays top Americans’ list of healthcare gripes
A new survey from the nonprofit research group the Commonwealth Fund found that the cost to access healthcare was the top concern across political divides. Americans do disagree, however, on how to solve the problem.
Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 337: Marc Bookman Examines the Death Penalty’s Politics, Failures and Enduring Appeal
Marc Bookman, legal director of the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation, recently discussed capital punishment on Episode 337 of 'Everyday Injustice.' Bookman challenged the perception of a national death penalty resurgence, asserting its continued application is increasingly confined to a limited number of states. He also critiqued public opinion polling on capital punishment, specifically a Pew poll, for failing to present alternatives such as life without parole. Additionally, Bookman previewed his forthcoming novel, 'Albert's Time,' which explores the ethical dimensions of capital punishment by confronting the execution of an undeniably guilty individual.
Top salaries at Friend Family Health Center 2024
Friend Family Health Center, which now goes by Friend Health, has provided healthcare in the Chicago area for 65 years, with six locations on the South and Southwest sides.
Health Alliance Plan: Helping businesses build stronger, healthier teams
Learn how smarter employee health benefits, preventive care and coordinated healthcare help Michigan employers control costs.
Health Alliance Plan: Helping businesses build stronger, healthier teams
Learn how smarter employee health benefits, preventive care and coordinated healthcare help Michigan employers control costs.
Connecting a primary care patient with behavioral health treatment could be a phone call away
A statewide referral network could ease burdens and improve access to behavioral healthcare treatment services for Rhode Islanders amid a primary care shortage.
What is Medetomidine? The latest threat in the street drug supply
Medetomidine is a veterinary tranquilizer increasingly found in the illicit drug supply, where it is often mixed with fentanyl and can cause dangerous sedation and withdrawal.
Rural Health Transformation Program Rolls Out in Texas, to Excitement and Confusion
Healthcare providers in Texas say the Rural Health Transformation Program provides much-needed funding. But they worry about tight timelines, lingering questions and awkward restrictions.
Why Hybrid Healthcare Is a Business Imperative for Employers in Maine
Access to healthcare is more than an employee recruiting or retention tool. It’s one of the largest line items on the balance sheet and a critical factor in workforce stability. As costs and expectations rise, employers and employees want a simpler healthcare experience.
Healthcare Providers Hit With New Accessibility Requirements
A pair of federal rules are imposing first-ever requirements designed to ensure that people with disabilities are better served when they visit the doctor.
Healthcare AI likened to a sleeping giant waiting to wake up in many hospitals not named Mayo Clinic
What would it take to put just about every U.S. hospital on par with Mayo Clinic in sheer quality of care? Not a lot more than better use of AI.
Italy’s Universal Health Care and the Role of Solidarity
Universal healthcare relies on collective financing and shared responsibility, while rising costs and competing interests put pressure on systems built on these principles.
Staff Spotlight: Meet Lucy Kilbane
Today we’re highlighting Lucy Kilbane! Lucy works with our Workforce Innovation team this summer, assisting with our TAP Health Summer Academy (THSA). Q: We’re excited to have you this summer. […]
ANTHC partners with UAA to offer local clinical rotations for healthcare students
Dr. Jay Butler, dean of the UAA College of Health, said the partnership will keep local students from leaving the state for clinical rotations.
New Solutions Emerge as Health Care Organizations Confront Workforce Shortages
Healthcare organizations are turning to innovative staffing models, technology and employee support strategies to address persistent workforce shortages and strengthen operational resilience.
Gen Z is eyeing up ‘secure’ healthcare jobs to AI-proof their careers, but be warned: Chiropractors, doctors and paramedics are the unhappiest workers
Health care workers report burnout and lower job satisfaction. So Gen Z's safest bet might just be behind a counter, not a stethoscope, research suggests.
Healing Thyself: Managing Moral Injury in Healthcare
One of the most challenging parts of working in medicine is maintaining your own emotional health. New research on moral distress and moral injury offers clues on how we can better support healthcare workers.
Guest Commentary: For rural Floridians, better healthcare starts with better transportation
For many rural residents, access to healthcare doesn’t end with whether a provider or clinic exists. It begins with whether they can get there.
Ethicists: Clinicians aren’t wrong to expect more from certain patients’ families—but they wouldn’t be right to request it, either
Many nurses have spent untold hours at the bedsides of frail and fading inpatients who, despite having blood relatives in the vicinity, rarely receive visitors. In these scenarios, it’s only human for a healthcare worker to feel some measure of resentment toward the absentee family.
Renton students get free sports physicals, mental health services
The Renton School District, Providence Health, and Seattle Sound F.C. put on a free event Thursday in ongoing efforts to remove barriers to physical and mental healthcare for students.
Intermountain Health named Nonprofit of the Year by Urban Chamber of Commerce
The Urban Chamber's Green Tie Awards recognized Intermountain Health for expanding food access, housing stability, and healthcare in Southern Nevada
Thomson Health Fair bridges crucial healthcare gap for rural community
The event is part of an ongoing, vital effort to bridge the gap between health services and rural communities, providing access to resources that are often difficult to secure in rural areas.
California lawmakers must reject bills that would raise healthcare premiums
“Healthcare needs to be more affordable. But the message isn’t resonating among legislators in Sacramento.”
6 Heart Healthy Dinners You’ll Actually Want to Eat | Hartford HealthCare
Learn more about News Detail at hartfordhealthcare.org
Before employers shift more healthcare costs to workers, they should ask hospitals a question
Healthcare is a growing operating expense and, per Mercer data, roughly three-quarters of CFOs rank healthcare as a top five operating cost concern.
In a Heartbeat: Navigating the intersection of AI and personal healthcare
The use of artificial intelligence is becoming ubiquitous, but when it comes to health care, determining when and where organic intelligence should drive action could be a lifesaving distinction. Dr. Jose Francisco Abad, a family medicine physician and certified clinical informatics specialist guiding AI implementation at UPMC, recently parsed the
Where healthcare could sway voters, Democratic canvassers ramp up an old tactic: talking to people
In Wisconsin, voters weigh candidates who backed cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, and those who want to expand it
Wyoming directs rural health funds to critical access hospitals, EMS and more
Wyoming is receiving $205 million for the first year of the federal Rural Health Transformation Program to expand the capacity of the state's healthcare system.
‘I shot Mr Thompson’: Luigi Mangione describes his planning and the killing of health insurance CEO
It was a dramatic twist to the federal case over the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s Brian Thompson – but state charges are still pending
Mercy Leader Named Among Top Health Information Security Experts to Know
Mercy's Dan Henke, vice president of information security, is on an elite list of 55 top leaders for healthcare information security by Becker's Hospital Review. Those recognized are building the cybersecurity frameworks that stand between the organizations and an ever-evolving landscape of digital threats.
EXCLUSIVE FTC probes health records giant Epic Systems, sources say
Epic Systems, a healthcare database company that holds the medical records of hundreds of millions of Americans, is facing an antitrust investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Luigi Mangione admits killing healthcare CEO and pleads guilty to federal charges
"I shot Mr Thompson in Manhattan and he died," the 28-year-old said after pleading guilty to charges of stalking resulting in death.
University Honors Health Fellows Program to Expand Student Opportunity and Strengthen Tennessee’s Healthcare Workforce
UT Knoxville in partnership with UTHS is launching the University Honors Health Fellows Program in fall 2026 to bolster Tennessee’s healthcare workforce.
Epic launches new diagnostic image exchange
Clinicians can now retrieve diagnostic-quality images from other health systems and patients can "ditch the disc," the company says. Next up: The healthcare IT giant wants TEFCA to adopt it as a standard.
Survey: Healthcare costs potent political issue in Georgia, but more for Democrats than Republicans
As Georgia approaches its gubernatorial election, candidates Keisha Lance Bottoms and Rick Jackson offer opposing solutions to rising healthcare costs amid a University of Georgia survey showing widespread bipartisan concern over affordability and price transparency.
Luigi Mangione to appear in court for expected guilty plea in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO
Luigi Mangione is scheduled to be in federal court Friday for a hearing at which he's expected to plead guilty in connection with the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, according to a person familiar with the matter.
UNC Health Rex Holly Springs Adds New Patient Beds to Meet Demand for Care
Expansion Increases Capacity, Reducing Patient Wait Times
Same knee surgery, twice the price: Hospital monopolies push up healthcare costs
Last year alone, hospital and health systems announced 46 mergers and acquisitions, according to a healthcare business consulting firm. Five ranked as “mega-mergers,” meaning they were valued at more than $1 billion. One merged 28 hospi…
Aesto Health Data Security Incident Affects Multiple Healthcare Provider Clients
A data breach at Aesto Health, a Birmingham, Alabama-based healthcare technology company, has affected several of its healthcare provider clients. Aesto A security incident at the Alabama healthcare technology company Aesto Health has affected at least 27 of its healthcare provider clients and exposed the protected health information of hundreds of thousands of patients.
How Aka hunters and Fulani chiefs helped health workers locate CAR’s missed-out children
In the southeast of the Central African Republic, a special cadre of experts filled in the blanks on the healthcare map.
MHA CEO Report — Strong Hospitals Help Build Strong Communities - MHA | Michigan Health & Hospital Association
Hospitals are often discussed in relation to their impact on patients, but their influence extends much further. Beyond providing care, hospitals help communities attract employers, support local jobs and provide the services families need to live and work in Michigan. Last week, the MHA released the 2026 Economic Impact of Healthcare in Michigan report
Attacks on healthcare in conflict zones averaging more than four a day in 2026, World Health Organization says
Attacks on healthcare facilities, workers and patients in conflict zones including Ukraine and Gaza have continued to rise in 2026, reaching an average of more than four per day, the World Health Organization said on Friday.
New program trains churches, congregants to assist with mental health needs
Grown from stalled 2024 legislation, the mental health certification program has trained more than 100 people in 60+ churches,
U.S. Bank Names Gonzales Healthcare Business Banking Region Executive, West
U.S. Bank named Eric Gonzales healthcare business banking region executive for the West, where he will lead a growing team of 18 bankers serving medical,
Aon's NFP Buys Cannabis Business From Frontier Risk
NFP, a subsidiary of Aon, the international insurance broker, announced it has acquired the retail cannabis business of Frontier Risk Group, a specialty
DOJ identifies home health, hospice fraud as key healthcare enforcement priority
In a new memo outlining the National Fraud Enforcement Division’s enforcement priorities in a variety of industries, the Department of Justice called out home health and hospice fraud as an area of focus in the healthcare sector.
Healthcare horror stories punctuate Wyden town hall in Salem
For two hours, dozens of Oregonians told Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Andrea Salinas stories about the horrors they face accessing proper care.
Hochul warns Washington is gutting New York healthcare
Gov. Hochul was in Fredonia Thursday to highlight $124 million in state funding for the new Northern Chautauqua Hospital.
Luján, hospital leaders talk Medicaid 'headwinds' and rural health gaps at Rio Rancho roundtable
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, a Democrat from New Mexico, told hospital administrators at Presbyterian Rust Medical Center that Republican-backed federal Medicaid cuts won’t just hurt New Mexicans enrolled in the program — they’ll raise care and insurance costs for everyone else, too. Presbyterian Delivery System President Chad Aduddell told Luján the nonprofit system — […]
Republicans see Minnesota fraud scandal as a chance to go on offense in a blue state
The newly minted GOP ticket wasted no time before hammering Democrats over fraud. Dozens of people have been convicted of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars meant to provide food, shelter, healthcare and childcare to people in need.
Computer and environmental science take flight with bird conservation collaboration
Susquehanna University’s computer science department is getting involved with bird conservation through a data management collaboration with the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association.
Rural health panel divvies $205M in federal funds for Wyoming healthcare
by Katie Klingsporn, WyoFile In its marathon meeting Tuesday, Wyoming’s new rural health advisory panel earmarked roughly $200 million in President
Rural health panel divvies $205M in federal funds for Wyoming healthcare
by Katie Klingsporn, WyoFile In its marathon meeting Tuesday, Wyoming’s new rural health advisory panel earmarked roughly $200 million in President
As North Florida's need for healthcare providers grows, FSU Health is responding
As North Florida faces a growing shortage of healthcare providers, Florida State University is helping address the challenge through FSU Health, the
Trump administration finalizes rule to end federal support for gender-affirming care
Move blocking funds through Medicaid and Chip to make it harder for vulnerable children to get healthcare, experts say
Virginia hemp businesses brace for stricter THC limits
Retailers say the new cap will make much of their inventory illegal and could force some to close.
Emergency Medicine Residency Program strengthens South Texas healthcare workforce
For more than a decade, the UT Health San Antonio program has trained doctors to address shortages in care across the region.
Partners in Care offers entertainment at fair - Daily Advocate & Early Bird News
Local Healthcare Organizations Partner to Bring Free Entertainment to the Darke County Fair
Focused mental healthcare for young people delivers big savings to Canadian healthcare
A youth mental-health program, national in scale, has been shown to save a country’s public health system $4,000 a year per patient. And while it’s at it, the program helps young people overcome or better manage serious behavioral issues.
Virginia Hemp Businesses Challenge New THC Limits as Aug. 15 Deadline Nears
Trump’s vaccine order comes with political risks
Click in for more news from The Hill{beacon} Healthcare Healthcare The Big Story Vaccine policies are a political risk that Trump’s sticking with President Trump on Monday abrupt…
Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital CEO is no longer with Memorial Healthcare System
Caitlin Stella, who has been the CEO for Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital for the past eight years, is no longer in that position as of Tuesday, the South Florida Sun Sentinel has learned..
Local Healthcare Organizations Partner to Bring Free Entertainment to the Darke County Fair
GREENVILLE - Several local healthcare organizations are joining together to present Partners in Care at the Fairgrounds, a collaborative initiative sponsoring
Health Gorilla lawsuits consolidated into multidistrict litigation
Nine class action privacy suits have been consolidated in federal court, and it could signal that judges are scrutinizing accountability for healthcare data in motion, say privacy experts.
AI tools now widely available in Oracle Health's patient portal
New artificial intelligence capabilities can help patients understand care plans and medications, offer automated reminders of upcoming visits and prompt them to complete labs or schedule follow-up screenings.
Screen protector leak shows iPhone Ultra's asymmetric corners
A leaker with a decent track record has shown what is claimed to be a screen protector for the forthcoming iPhone Ultra, and it shows the device's unusual corners.
Goshen College expands medical and mental health services for students
The Goshen College Health and Wellness Office has announced two formal agreements with Maple City Healthcare Center and Center for Healing and Hope along with telehealth medical and counseling services.
From first 72 hours to first 90 days, tech extends hospital care beyond discharge
As value-based care expands, health systems are using technology-dependent transitional care to support patients at home, reduce readmissions and improve outcomes.
Patients wary of government, companies pushing AI as a rural healthcare solution
Two of the nation’s most powerful health officials predict artificial intelligence will play a key role in solving rural America’s health challenges, but some rural Americans are skeptical.
Rashee Rice: Jail time was "learning experience" and "reality check"
Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice had an unexpected 30-day offseason jail stint, due to a positive THC test while on probation for felony charges arising from a 2024 street-racing incident.
Dayton Daily News: Wright State-Premier Health partnership helps keep healthcare workers in the area
As the need for healthcare workers is expected to grow, Wright State University and Premier Health are finding success in building up and retaining the nursing workforce with resources developed through the two organizations’ partnership. Wright State and Premier Health, … Continue reading →
His wedding guests gave $6k to fund a health startup. Now it's won a $3 million prize
Dr. Raj Panjabi founded Last Mile Health to bring healthcare to people living in remote areas. The group is the 2026 recipient of the Conrad H. Hilton Humanitarian Prize.
His wedding guests gave $6k to fund a health startup. Now it's won a $3 million prize
Dr. Raj Panjabi founded Last Mile Health to bring healthcare to people living in remote areas. The group is the 2026 recipient of the Conrad H. Hilton Humanitarian Prize.
GW Law Professor Barak Richman Selected to Participate on North Carolina Health Care Cost Commission | GW Law
Professor Richman has been selected to serve as the facilitator for a recently created Healthcare Cost Commission for the state of North Carolina.
15M patients impacted by largest healthcare data breach of 2026
DentaQuest, the second-largest dental benefits administrator in the U.S., suffered the record-setting cyberattack in May. A notorious ransomware gang has taken credit for the attack.
Rural health panel divvies $205M in federal funds for Wyoming healthcare
Panel assigned money to hospitals, EMS services and maternal care in attempt to shore up medical access.
India plans insurance reforms to rein in healthcare costs, sources say
India is weighing wide-ranging reforms of health insurance, from benchmarked treatment rates to a nationwide claims exchange, as it looks to boost transparency in a struggle to hold down some of the highest medical inflation in Asia, two sources said.
Skillfully Adding AI To The HHS Pledge On Advancing Best Practices For National Mental Health Care
HHS released a pledge to advance national mental healthcare. I add AI to the six stated principles, since AI will be integral to this. An AI Insider analysis and scoop.
Northwell medical team, LI homeless coalition take healthcare to unhoused people
Northwell Health's Street Medicine program, which operates in collaboration with the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, has 114 regular patients.
Sharp HealthCare announces restructuring that will impact about 260 workers
Number includes 120 behavioral health workers who will be offered jobs on different shifts to comply with new state law
Businesses brace for impact of Trump's tariffs on Canada
50% tariffs on a slew of Canadian goods are scheduled to take effect Aug. 19 unless the two countries strike a deal.
Trump administration bans the use of federal Medicaid funds to cover gender identity healthcare
The Trump administration finalized a rule that will bar Medicaid from covering gender identity healthcare for children.
Trump administration finalizes rule restricting trans healthcare for minors on Medicaid
The Trump administration on Tuesday released a final rule blocking the use of federal Medicaid dollars for transgender healthcare for minors, as well as barring Children’s Health Insurance Program …
St. Anthony Hospital names new chairman amid relocation effort
Dr. Peter McCauley, currently a strategic adviser for healthcare private equity firm 2Flo Ventures, will replace the hospital's former CEO Guy Medaglia.
Healthcare matters to Georgians in governor's race, study finds. Bottoms and Jackson have different plans
A poll conducted by the Georgia Health Initiative in partnership with UGA's Public and International Affairs Survey Research Center finds that Georgia voters see healthcare as a top priority for the next governor.
The U.S. Healthcare System is Already Mostly Socialized
Now that Abdul El-Sayed is the Democratic nominee for Michigan’s open Senate seat, the outcome of this crucial race will depend mainly on two things: Whether Republicans succeed in demonizing El-Sayed because he’s brown and a Muslim, and whether they succeed in demonizing him as a left-wing radical. I will defer for the now the question of whether bigotry will be effective this year, although I will address it another day. What I want to address instead is El-Sayed’s signature issue — healthcare. Yes, El-Sayed advocates Medicare for All, a position the usual suspects denounce as “socialism.” I will get to the politics of his stance soon. Today, however, I want to talk about the substance. We should be clear that El-Sayed doesn’t even call himself a socialist. On the contrary, he explicitly disavows the label, saying “I’m a capitalist who just knows about capitalism”. In fact, as I explained in a previous post, the policies that El-Sayed advocates qualify him as a social democrat, not a socialist. Still, El-Sayed advocates a system under which the government would pay almost all medical expenses. Isn’t that socialism? Well, if that is the criterion then much of U.S. healthcare is already socialist. In fact, the government’s role is so large that U.S. healthcare is better described as partially privatized socialism than as anything resembling a free market. Let’s start with the raw numbers on health insurance, which pays the bulk of Americans’ medical expenses. Americans receive health insurance either from private companies or from public programs, overwhelmingly Medicare and Medicaid. Here’s what the breakdown of coverage and spending between private and public looked like in 2024: While a majority of Americans with health insurance get it from private companies, well over 100 million of us are covered by government programs instead. And these government programs pay more total dollars for medical bills than the private insurers do. Why do government programs that cover a minority of the population account for a majority of health insurers’ outlays? Mainly because Medicare covers seniors, and we’re expensive. Also, while Medicaid covers many younger Americans, disabled and elderly beneficiaries account for most of its spending. Even by the raw numbers, then, U.S. health insurance looks as much public as private. But that understates the government’s role: Private health insurance in the U.S. is both highly regulated and heavily subsidized. This is obviously true for the insurance coverage purchased by tens of millions of Americans through the exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act. But employment-based health insurance, which covers 161 million Americans, is far more of a government creation than most people realize. For employment-based insurance exists largely because of huge implicit government subsidies that come with major strings attached. Here’s how that works. If your employer pays you $10,000, that’s taxable income. But if your employer pays $10,000 toward a company health insurance plan that meets certain criteria, it isn’t taxable. That’s a huge effective subsidy, running at more than $300 billion a year. Take that subsidy into account, along with the more than $100 billion per year spent subsidizing policies purchased under the ACA, as well as the outlays on Medicare and Medicaid, and net effect is that the government pays for more than two-thirds of Americans’ health insurance. Granted, there are strings attached. Roughly speaking, employment-based health plans can’t discriminate based on medical history — that is, they can’t deny coverage to employees with pre-existing conditions — and they also can’t offer the plans only to highly compensated employees — a health plan that is only for the C-suite is considered taxable income. So given the restrictions of the federal tax code, employer-based health insurance is a lot like Obamacare, which also prohibits discrimination based on medical history and provides subsidies to make insurance affordable to lower-paid workers. The fact is that virtually all of private healthcare insurance is already well under some form of government control through regulation and tax subsidies. How should we think about this system? First of all, is Medicare socialist? Don’t tell anyone, but the way Medicare operates — it covers every senior’s medical expenses, whatever they turn out to be, while being funded by taxes that depend on one’s income — could be summarized by the old Marxist slogan “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” And back in 1961, when Ronald Reagan was the face of a last-ditch effort by the American Medical Association to block the creation of Medicare, he denounced Medicare as “socialized medicine” and warned that it would destroy our freedom. In reality, American freedom survived until Jan. 20, 2025, while Medicare is immensely popular, with an 82 percent favorable rating in the most recent KFF survey. Medicaid, government health insurance for lower-income Americans, comes in at 73 percent. This is in sharp contrast to public views about private insurers, who are widely disliked if not hated and accused of denying essential care. Furthermore, if Medicare is socialism, then the whole U.S. health insurance system, with the government paying most of the bills and placing conditions on private insurers, is almost equally socialist. If you insist on calling any program the government pays for and regulates socialist, then U.S. healthcare would best be described as a partially privatized form of socialism. And one must ask, what is the point of the part that is privatized? Do private insurers add anything positive? Or are they simply parasites, skimming off money that could have been paying for care? The case for viewing insurers as parasites is strong. Many Medicare benefits are now delivered via Medicare Advantage, that is, plans paid for by the government but run through insurance companies. MedPAC, an independent advisory commission, estimates that last year Medicare Advantage plans were overpaid by $84 billion, thanks to practices such as “upcoding,” in which patients’ health problems are overstated to get larger sums from Medicare. Assessing the waste from employer-based insurance is harder, but most evidence suggests that private insurers have substantially higher administrative costs than Medicare does. Furthermore, the complexity of private insurance, with multiple payers all trying to deny care when they can, is a huge burden both on providers — doctors, nurses, and hospitals — and on patients. What do private insurers offer to compensate for these costs? One must go through intellectual contortions to avoid the conclusion that they are, in fact, parasites. Which brings me back to El-Sayed. In supporting Medicare for All, he’s basically calling for an end to the partial, parasitic privatization of a healthcare system that is already hugely dependent on public funding. When one looks at it that way, it’s not at all a radical proposal. Admittedly, the political lift requires overcoming the opposition to higher taxes to pay for Medicare for All. Political realism rather than economics was the reason I and many other progressives supported Obamacare, with all its complexities, rather than demanding an immediate move to Medicare for All. But the political calculus may very well have shifted since the 2000s, as Americans are fed up with a system of unaffordable premiums, rampant claim denials, and byzantine claim administration. Moreover, funding healthcare insurance through taxation would allow for a much more progressive distribution of the cost. That is, compared to the present system, middle-income households would pay less as high-income households would pay more. And the U.S. would stop wasting large sums on pointless administrative costs. So let’s be clear: El-Sayed’s healthcare platform is perfectly reasonable on the merits of cost, fairness and health efficacy. And with private insurers never more hated, while millions of Americans are losing their health insurance, 2026 may be its time. MUSICAL CODA