On abortion and humanness

My girl DeeDee was to most, including her older sister and mother, too young to care for a child. They, as women, had traveled the road of being young mothers and saw promise and redemption in DeeDee, who shared my gifted and talented classes in high school. I distinctly remember the somber faces...

March 7th, 2011 | Featured, Health, Politics, US | Read More

Medicaid twists the nullification debate

The Idaho Legislature is considering a bill that would make it illegal to implement the Affordable Care Act in Idaho, the so-called “nullification” approach. The idea is that states can dismiss any federal law that they don’t like. And Idaho (and several other states) really don’t like health...

February 7th, 2011 | American Indians, Health | Read More

Can’t touch this: Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance are protected from current budget threats

Journalists like me have played the role of Chicken Little for many years. We have written dozens of stories about the consequences of an election, predicting what will happen after Republicans win and fulfill their promises to drastically cut government. Only very little happened. Sure, there were significant...

January 24th, 2011 | American Indians, Featured, Health | Read More

World AIDS Day 2010: Victory and voice

James was a man of small stature, but with much pizazz. He would come into the record store where I worked during undergrad to check the billboard charts once a week and purchase a few records here and there. He became my friend somewhere through mid to late nineties contemporary rhythm and blues. ...

December 2nd, 2010 | Featured, Health | Read More

The hypocrite’s oath: Latino immigrants and health access in the Hamptons

Like many New Yorkers did this summer, I boarded a Hampton Jitney from the east side of Manhattan in late August and made my way to the finger tips of Long Island. Instead of landing on the beach, however, I found myself in the crowded office of a small community-based organization bursting with children...

September 10th, 2010 | Featured, Health, Latinos | Read More

“Government-run” no longer defines the Indian health system

A single phrase is often used to define the Indian health system: “Government-run.” Add those two words to any discussion about health care or reform and most people reach an immediate conclusion about the merits of the agency. Now it is time for the phrase to disappear because it no longer accurately...

August 17th, 2010 | American Indians, Health, Politics, US | Read More

“Docs or Cops?” Domestic violence is a public health issue in Indian Country

WASHINGTON, D.C. – It’s trite to say, “everything is connected.” It’s a phrase that comes up in the context of family, the environment, or perhaps, philosophy. When the subject is reservation violence, however, that same notion could be rewritten as a blunt question: Docs or cops? Cops are...

August 3rd, 2010 | American Indians, Featured, Health | Read More

Beyond good and evil: Blacks, ethics and the health care system

“If we want our study samples to be broadly representative, then we should make every effort to make our institutions equally representative by increasing the presence of minority clinicians, scientists and members of research teams and institutional review boards. If we want minority communities...

June 25th, 2010 | Featured, Health | Read More