Perhaps unwittingly, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson of Richmond, Va., has enhanced the prospects for single-payer health reform. He did so Monday by ruling the individual mandate provision of the Obama administration's health law to be unconstitutional.

Hudson ruled that the so-called linchpin of the law -- the requirement that...

While it's clear from post-election surveys that having voted for "health care reform" was not a major cause of the Democrats' defeats, the new health law didn't help. What should have been a feather in the administration's cap - i.e. a genuine reform that guaranteed truly universal, comprehensive...

Dr. Carol Paris, a distinguished psychiatrist and a valued colleague in the campaign for single-payer national health insurance, an improved Medicare for all, has written an elegant parody that is really quite serious: the mental impact of private, for-profit insurance companies on our nation's patients and providers/physicians.

I wanted to...

As we approach Nov. 2, it's fair to say that in many ways the distortion of political discourse in our country has never been worse.

Extreme right-wing personalities - reincarnated Know-Nothings - are elbowing their way into the nightly airwaves via paid advertisements and Fox News. Billionaires are

Medicare, one of our nation's most cherished social programs, turns 45 on Friday.

I was in active medical practice when, on July 30, 1965, Medicare was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. The law's impact on older Americans and their families was swift and spectacular. I saw the results...

The movement for single-payer health reform - an improved Medicare for All - is hopping in Indianapolis, "the Crossroads of America."

I can personally vouch for this, having taken part in two events there on May 18 sponsored by Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan and several other...

I'd like to share this remarkable satirical piece written by Dr. Kathy Waller of Colorado, a fellow member of Physicians for a National Health Program. It's an excellent example of the importance and effectiveness of using humor in the good fight.

Maybe answers are over rainbow

By...

Building the Single-Payer Movement

Having just gone through a grueling, frequently raucous debate on health reform, capped by the narrowest of votes to pass the Obama administration's bill, many activists are now tempted to adopt a "wait and see" attitude on how the new law plays out.

A few others...

With the passage of the Democrats' health bill, Congress and President Obama have created a new (and not so new) legislative framework for health care finance in the United States. Now that we've officially entered the post-legislative period, it's worth noting how we got to where we are.

The for-profit...

Having watched the entirety of President Obama's televised health summit Thursday, I was struck by several things.

The president's Republican opponents once again revealed their deep-seated, single-minded commitment to enhancing the profit margins of the insurance and drug monopolies. There were no surprises -- and next to no useful additions...

One year after its much-ballyhooed launch, the Obama administration's approach to health reform is now in serious disarray.

The president's health care summit on Feb. 25 is being portrayed as a last ditch bid to find some common ground with his "just say no" Republican opposition....