Remembering Thomas E. Kurtz

By MIKE MAGEE This has been a challenging week for me, but not for the reasons you might think. Compartmentalization skills have allowed me to push the 2024 Presidential election into the back reaches of my mind as I worked to complete teaching a course on “AI and Medicine” at the Presidents College at the…

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We Need to Talk About Hospice

It’s a place where compassion and dignity are paramount, where patients and families find solace and support during the most challenging times. We owe it to them to ensure that hospice care is of the highest quality, accessible to all and integrated into the broader continuum of care.  The post We Need to Talk About…

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It’s Only a Subsidy If You’re Poor

By KIM BELLARD Even though most ACA enrollees/would-be enrollees have made their 2026 enrollment decisions assuming the expanded premium subsidies are not going to be renewed, the renewal of those subsidies is not entirely dead. Last week the House narrowly passed an extension, relying on a discharge petition and 17 Republican Congressmen willing to go…

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Stuck in the Middle

By KIM BELLARD Even before the war – oops: special operation, excursion, or whatever your preferred term is – with Iran started, people were complaining about how expensive things are. Home ownership for first time buyers seems out of reach. Sure, egg prices may be down from the late stages of the Biden Administration (thank…

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Setting the Record Straight on the FDA’s Authority Over Drug Ads

Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. Clarifying the FDA’s Role and Authority Over Direct-to-Consumer Drug Ads While several inaccuracies in the recent opinion piece about direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisements by KFF Health News’ Elisabeth Rosenthal have been…

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Silence in Sikeston: Is There a Cure for Racism?

SIKESTON, Mo. — In the summer of 2021, Sikeston residents organized the biggest Juneteenth party in the city’s history. Sikeston police officers came too, both to provide security for the event and to try to build bridges with the community. But after decades of mistrust, some residents questioned their motives.  In the series finale of…

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