Pauline Chen’s latest column is food for thought. Lots of people resent doctors who drive around in BMWs or live in large houses — why should they get to charge so much when people need their services?

Although I often disagree with Dr. Chen’s policy views, her column this week eloquently illustrates one of the reasons doctors deserve to be paid well: They risk a lot more than most of us do.

Does your job put you at risk for Read more

Mr. Obama:

So you want to force all Americans to buy health insurance, regardless of whether or not they want it, and help families who make less than $88K a year to pay for the premiums.

This idea hasn’t worked in Massachusetts, not one bit. Once the mandate came down, plenty of Bay Staters got themselves insured — but that didn’t mean they got access to care. By government fiat, hundreds of thousands of people became insured Read more

I’m so often writing about what’s wrong in health and healthcare on this blog that I’m delighted to share something positive: a success story!

Back in January, I’d set myself a New Year’s resolution of getting down to 140 lbs. by June so as to start intense marathon training in a better place physically. I tried unofficially going on Weight Watchers, which lost me about three pounds and then I stalled. I simply wasn’t being honest with Read more

If a Massachusetts state healthcare commission gets its way, fee-for-service payment to doctors and hospitals will soon be replaced by a set fee per patient per year. This idea is supposed to discourage doctors from performing unnecessary tests and procedures.

Isn’t it obvious what ELSE it will discourage doctors from doing — from performing NECESSARY tests for those whose illnesses don’t happen to be treatable with a pat on the back and Read more

Here we go again. Out of fear that Congress will create a national insurance program that will drive them out of business, insurers have made another concession: no more charging women more.

Which, of course, only means that premiums will rise for men. Insurers had a good reason for charging women more: We use more healthcare resources. We see our gynecologists once a year. We get pregnant. We go to the doctor more often, period. (How cliche Read more