The Emperor Has No Clue By Marilyn M. Singleton, M.D., J.D., When President Obama hawks the wonders of the misnamed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, I’m reminded of those “As Seen on TV” products. True believers ridiculed critics of the Independent Payment Advisory Board and its unchecked power to ration health care. They were […]
Physicians Victims of Body Snatcher Invasion
Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Where Have All the Doctors Gone? By author/contributor Marilyn M. Singleton, M.D., J.D., After a 20-hour encounter beginning at 9:30 p.m. in the emergency room at my health plan’s hospital, I honestly don’t know what it means to be a doctor any more. When my husband who had a history […]
UHCDA – Death Panels Are Already At a Hospital Near You
By author/contributor Marilyn M. Singleton, M.D., J.D. When advance health care directives (“living wills”) were popularized, the guiding principle was to allow patients to choose to “die with dignity.” But one man’s dignity is another man’s poison. Surveys suggest that half of those with a serious chronic illness prefer to die at home. The other […]
The Medicare Bundlers and Bunglers Are Coming!
Medicare: The Bundlers Are Coming! The Bunglers Are Coming! Author/contributor: Marilyn M. Singleton, M.D., J.D. My long-time self-paying patient opined that the end of fee-for-service payments (payment for what you get) was imminent. I lightheartedly asked her how physicians would be paid. Would they be housed in military barracks and given vouchers for necessaries? Perhaps […]
Black History Month Tribute: Strength, Persistence, Talent
Author/contributor: Marilyn M. Singleton, M.D., J.D. Black history in American has certainly had its ups and downs. It’s troubling when, for political theater, those who should know better fail to emphasize the inspirational stories that highlight the strengths of blacks and the humanity of whites. While it is undeniable that cruelty and suffering are part […]
A Black Physician Reflects on the 2013 Inaugural Address
Author/contributor: Marilyn M. Singleton, M.D., J.D. Despite the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday, many of us were too busy seeing patients to hear President Obama’s second inaugural address. It was less painful to read the transcript. “What binds this nation together is not the color of our skin or the tenets of our faith or […]
Medicine and the Twilight Zone 2013: To Serve Man
Author/contributor: Marilyn M. Singleton, M.D., J.D. During a discussion on the future of health care, a clinician-turned-healthcare-executive told me that the way we “deliver health care” (not the same as “practicing medicine”) will change. It will be a “process”—a more mechanized one. She spoke enthusiastically about the advantages, such as electronic health records. These can […]
Fiscal Cliff of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Fiscal Cliff Author/contributor: Marilyn M. Singleton, M.D., J.D. It’s doubtful that the country will be popping bottles of champagne on January 1, 2013—we can’t afford it. But we will be throwing confetti printed by the Federal Reserve over a cliff. As of November 27, 2012, the […]
Black American Doctor Brings Patient Fight to Capitol Hill
Black American Doctor Fights for Patients from the Operating Room to Capitol Hill Author/contributor: Marilyn M. Singleton, M.D., J.D. I was born to be a physician. My grandfather was one of two black students in the 1911 graduating class of Starling Ohio Medical College. He dedicated his life to medicine and helping the low-income folks […]