health care

The Philadelphia Chromosome

Joe Donahue — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:12:00 +0000

In The Philadelphia Chromosome, journalist Jessica Wapner tells the story of the breakthrough cancer drug Gleevec, which has saved the lives of thousands of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and other cancers since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved it in 2001.

Congressional Corner with Bernie Sanders

Alan Chartock — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:50:00 +0000

America’s health care system is in line for some major changes.

In today’s Congressional Corner, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders tells WAMC’s Alan Chartock that primary care needs to be addressed right away.

Andrew Coates: A Near Miss

Andrew Coates — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:40:00 +0000

Many years back during my residency training, on my first overnight as the senior admitting resident, I got a call from an emergency physician at a tiny rural hospital. Her patient had pulmonary emboli -- blood clots to arteries of the lungs. She proposed to transfer the patient to our hospital, where closer monitoring would be available.

Andrew Coates: The Human Consequences of Austerity

Andrew Coates — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:47:11 +0000

I live in upstate New York. If you're hearing this, chances are you do too.

Blair Horner: President Obama's Budget

Blair Horner — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:31:13 +0000

Last week, President Obama offered his plan for the federal budget. According to the President, his proposed $3.7 trillion budget for 2014 would cut deficits by $1.8 trillion over the next decade. The President’s plan includes a number of proposals, most notably: ending the “sequester” (that’s the current law that has automatically cut federal spending), reducing spending in the Medicare and Social Security programs, as well as tax increases that would primarily hit high-income households and corporations.

Andrew Coates: Medicare And Medicine As A Profession

Andrew Coates — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:55:02 +0000

Medicare is the publicly funded health benefit package that covers most necessary care for older Americans and people with disabilities.

Blair Horner: Back to the Future to Curb Health Care Costs?

Blair Horner — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:14:10 +0000

The United States spends more on health care than any other nation on earth. Yet, the U.S. has some of the worst health care outcomes of any nation in the developed world. Why is that? It’s due to the tortured way the nation runs its system.

Blair Horner: Health Inequality Grows

Blair Horner — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 19:37:00 +0000

It’s well established that the income gap between rich and poor in America has increased over the past few decades. Income inequality among developed nations is highest in the United States. Most of the growth in this inequality has been between the middle class and top earners, with the disparity becoming more extreme the further one goes up in income.

New York State Assemblyman Richard Gottfried - Bringing single-payer health care to New York

Patrick Donges — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:26:41 +0000

In Albany today, state legislators, patient advocates, labor leaders, and health care professionals unveiled a new proposal for government funded, universal, single-payer statewide health insurance.

WAMC’s Patrick Donges spoke today with New York Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, Democrat of Manhattan’s 75th district, sponsor of the bill and chair of the Assembly Health Committee.

Vermont House Panel Passes Beverage Tax

Pat Bradley — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 02:40:00 +0000

A Vermont House committee has reversed itself and approved a penny-an-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages to pay for health care subsidies, but the idea still appears to have a bumpy road ahead.

The House Health Care Committee had defeated the measure on a 5-5 tie vote on Friday. But on Wednesday, the panel voted in two 7-4 tallies to advance the measure.