Advocacy Diary

We traveled to Turkey in the Fall of 2012 and made a 5 day stop at the Turkish-Syrian border not far from the ancient city of Antioch. We were to bring in medical supplies, assist, and learn from medical providers taking care of wounded Syrians. The now two-year-old Syrian revolution has created an extensive grassroots network of activists from within Syria, its neighboring countries, and the West. Our journey began with one activist, Dr. Ahmed, a veterinarian by trade. Due to the war and his medical skills, he subsequently took on the role of medic, nurse, doctor, and supply coordinator for wounded civilians and soldiers near the Turkish border.  At any given time, Dr. Ahmed cared for 10-15 postoperative patients in his single bedroom apartment. Most were rebel...

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the signature healthcare policy from the Obama      administration, yet it seems that much of the voting public is still unsure of what the plan actually entails. A large part of the problem is that the ACA addresses issues as diverse as funding for health information technology to controlling prescription costs. Fundamentally, the way that the ACA will impact voters most are in the provisions designed to contain healthcare costs for national and household budgets. Healthcare spending in the U.S. stands at 17.9% of GDP.  The rate of spending has increased over the decades, driven by rising prescription drug costs, a rise of chronic diseases and administrative costs that are higher than most western nations due to the...

The Republican healthcare ticket for Election 2012 profoundly contrasts with its Democratic counterpart on a host of key issues: Affordable Care Act (ACA) If elected, Governer Romney has pledged to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), dubbed by many as ‘ObamaCare.’  His opposition stems largely from the Republican view that the latest major healthcare overhaul represents government intrusion in a free-market economy: “From its start, it (ObamaCare) was about power, the expansion of government control over one-sixth of our economy, and resulted in an attack on our Constitution, by requiring US citizens to purchase health insurance. It was the high-water mark of an outdated liberalism, the latest attempt to impose upon Americans a euro-style bureaucracy...

One might contend that the US health care system is like patchwork, with various components stitched together. In reality, the US health care system is more akin to a spider web, with strings being pulled by various stakeholders and interests groups. According to Grumbach, the U.S. health care system is not a system per se, but rather a free market where health care is a commodity regulated by market forces. There are no fixed regulations on pricing and everything revolves around demand and supply. These market forces are key to understanding why the U.S has the highest quality health care available and spends the most on health care, yet according to the World Health Organization still ranks very poorly amongst developed nations in access to care. Research...

“How did you get involved with AIDS work?” I asked a muhajiba in the prayer room of the International Conference on AIDS.  “I’m positive,” was her response.  I thought that I did not hear her properly.  “Positive?” About what? This Nigerian sister’s own words are powerful.  Her name was Agbaje.  She traced for me the pivotal moments in her life and her encounter with the virus.  She grew up as the daughter of an imam and fell in love with a man whom she later married.  After two daughters of her own, she learned in 1999 that she had HIV.  Her husband had infected her, but the family (including her husband) accused her of wicked charms that brought the disease.  In the final days of her husband’s life, he even prohibited her from visiting...

I had the pleasure of representing AMHP at the White House’s first Minority Health Summit.  Secretary Kathleen Sebelius offered remarks which gave context to comments by a panel which included members of Latino and black media, famed restaurateur B Smith, and health policy analysts.   AMHP the government’s policy team the following questions submitted to us by our members:   1).What will be the fate of free clinics?  Does the Administration see any funds and non-financial resources coming to free clinics in the short run? The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Free Clinics Federal Tort Claims Act Program (FTCA) extends medical malpractice liability coverage under the FTCA to individuals who meet Program and statutory requirements...