Insights for action

Red Flags in Organ Donation

When I took a Gift of Life class back in the 1990s, the principles seemed sound. I displayed the pin with those from Nurses Christian Fellowship and Right to Life. Twenty years later, Michigan passed the bill for free-standing organ procurement center. I felt uneasy...

Celebrate Nurses Week!

If you're looking for a special way to celebrate Nurses' Week this year, factor in healthcare freedom. Let's start with the reasons. Three great reasons to Celebrate Nurses Week 2023: You probably know at least one nurse, or are related to one. If you are one yourself...

Rejecting IBT: one year in

June 1 will mark one year into Michigan’s mandated Implicit Bias Training (IBT) for all licensed healthcare workers. Back then, I called the IBT mandate immoral, unconstitutional, and tyrannical. Now that they've experienced the "training," professionals who pride...

Workshop: From Headlines to Health Policy Change

MHF Workshop coming up! To most of us, health policy sounds remote, complicated, and boring. We hope healthcare will get better, but honestly - we'd rather someone else dealt with it. COVID is over, so we're fine, right? Nothing could be farther from the truth....

Michigan’s Narcissist

Ever notice how state Medicaid policy is like a narcissist? Too many of us have had a narcissist in our lives. Out of all characteristics, the manipulative mind games may strike the deepest: You are too stupid/ugly/incompetent to make it on your own. No one else would...

Blurring the Lines

Have you noticed how institutional lines are being blurred? I see it in news headlines, and in Michigan bills as I summarize them for the MHF Guide to State Health Policy. Institutions – many of them – have strayed from their core purpose. This breaks down public...

Guest on the Nurses Saving Nurses Podcast

I was a guest this Tuesday on the Nurses Saving Nurses Podcast. The interview with Nathan Baar, nurse CEO, ranged from drug prices to health policy activism. Many experts have documented healthcare shortages for decades, but are they completely real? If you've ever...

Healthcare on Ice

Today, Michigan is recovering from an ice storm. Health policy committees are canceled, so we have a minute to think about how Lansing “iced” us with inflation and subsidies last term. State legislators helped land us here – and they can help get us out. Inflation...

Michigan House: What you need to know

The Legislature has begun another term, and today I have some information about the Michigan House Health Policy Committee. Today's 10:30 am agenda lists presentations from: School-Community Health Alliance of Michigan Michigan Public Health Institute Health Care...

State Exchange is about Monopoly Control

Monopoly Control It’s been a busy week for Michigan insurance regulators. It’s all good if you like monopoly control. I don’t. Monopoly decreases choice where we live and work. It concentrates power at the top. It creates complacency and saps incentive to serve. Last...