-
Better Healthcare at Lower Costs (AHIP 2016)
Jun 16NOTES FROM THE ROAD | I had the privilege of speaking yesterday at America’s Health Insurance Plans Institute and Expo. Along with Bernard Tyson (Kaiser Permanente) and David Bernd (Sentara Healthcare), I discussed “Better Health Care at Lower Cost: Is It Possible?” You know my answer: It is absolutely possible with technology. In case you…
Read More -
Salty Stuff (The Hill)
Jun 2THE HILL | When more than 75% of the sodium you eat comes from processed foods and restaurant meals, it can seem like the problem is out of your hands. How can you cut back on salt effectively when you can’t control those foods? The Food & Drug Administration feels the same way. In a draft guidance…
Read More -
The Most Helpful Illegal Medical Procedure (Fox News)
May 24FOX NEWS | Last year 47,000 Americans had their blindness reversed through the transplantation of cells from a corneal donor’s final selfless act. It is safe, it is effective, and because it is curative, it is a relatively cost effective procedure. It is medicine at its most beautiful. And according to FDA regulations, the distribution of this…
Read More -
The Senate Must Streamline the Drug Regulatory Process (Wall Street Journal)
May 11WALL STREET JOURNAL | Before the Senate is a powerful medical-innovation package of 19 bills—a companion to the House-approved 21st Century Cures Act—that will streamline the nation’s regulatory process for the discovery, development and delivery of safe and effective drugs and devices, bringing the process into the new century. This legislation, crafted by the Senate’s…
Read More -
Four Strategies to Save Lives, Curb Smoking (Forbes)
May 11FORBES | This month, FDA passed The Tobacco Control Act, which grants the Agency the authority to regulate cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, smokeless tobacco, and any other tobacco products including e-cigarettes and hookah pipes. The truth is, smoking and tobacco take 500,000 lives in the US each year, and healthcare for a smoker costs the system…
Read More -
Congress Must Act Now to Improve School Nutrition (The Hill)
May 4THE HILL | While headlines harp that the U.S. is a nation “hopelessly divided,” there is something lawmakers can band together on: forging a solution to our obesity epidemic. In addition to being one of the greatest health threats our nation has ever faced, it is a terrible burden for employers, who are forced to…
Read More -
Let’s stand with retired military leaders to get healthy school meals over the finish line (The Hill)
May 4THE HILL | While headlines harp that the U.S. is a nation “hopelessly divided,” there is something lawmakers can band together on: forging a solution to our obesity epidemic. In addition to being one of the greatest health threats our nation has ever faced, it is a terrible burden for employers, who are forced to…
Read More -
Spring Update (Newsletter)
May 4So much of my work is a balance of progress and conservation. Now, more than ever, that’s playing out at home. Tracy and I are working to turn Old Town, our Williamson County home on the Old Natchez Trace, into a thriving farm while preserving and honoring the property’s centuries-old history. We welcomed new members to…
Read More -
Tomorrow Might Be The Most Important Day This Year (Forbes)
Apr 15It’s true that we are all living longer: the percentage of American adults over 65 years old has doubled since 1940, now reaching 13%. By 2050 that number is expected to double again to 25%. In actual numbers this translates to an estimated 89 million “senior citizens” by 2050. Advances in sanitation and the advent…
Read More -
Improving Access and Adding Value for Mental Health Care (Forbes)
Apr 6“When you break a leg, you get a cast and people sign it and put smiley faces on it. When you’re given a mental illness diagnosis, you’re cast out,” 24-year old Amanda explained to Kaiser Health News. Amanda was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in college, after several years of manic-depressive behavior. The family struggled financially and…
Read More -
Charleston Helps Mothers and Children Globally (The Post and Courier)
Mar 31This week, global health non-profit Hope Through Healing Hands (HTHH) seeks to galvanize the work already being done in Charleston and South Carolina around an important health initiative. HTHH will co-host a luncheon with faith leaders, nonprofit leaders, university leaders, and others in Charleston to discuss how we can better unite on behalf of child…
Read More -
Global Health: The Most Effective Policy
Feb 29As the 2016 primaries unfold, it’s time for candidates of both parties to focus on expanding the big-hearted policies that have made this nation so exceptional. In recent years, the most effective of those policies has been global health — that is, putting U.S. resources to work saving lives in developing nations by spreading health treatments…
Read More -
Cutting Sugar for Better Health
Feb 25On a trip this month to the U.K., I noticed many of their food and beverage products labeled “No Added Sugar,” and the message floods the airwaves. Britain has already caught on to the evils of hidden sugars, and has been loudly making it known to consumers. America should follow suit. Reducing sugar intake isn’t…
Read More -
Tennessee Quit Week a first step to healthier Nashville (The Tennessean)
Feb 22THE TENNESSEAN | Of the thousands of heart and lung operations I have performed, the most common cause of the underlying disease in these patients was a single voluntary behavior: smoking. That tragedy is what Tennessee Quit Week (Feb. 22-28) is all about. Smoking absolutely leads to a shorter, poorer-quality life. It more than doubles a person’s…
Read More -
Flint’s Water Crisis and Public Health 3.0
Feb 16When looking at the ongoing crisis over safe drinking water in Flint one thing is abundantly clear, the decisions made–at multiple levels–were made without a comprehensive evaluation of the impact on public health. Karen DeSalvo, Acting Assistant Secretary for Health and National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and I take a look at the public health approaches…
Read More -
Health Diplomacy in Latin America
Feb 3Strategic Health Diplomacy (SHD) recognizes that targeted global health initiatives can be an important foreign policy tool for the United States. Healthier populations are productive, safe, and less vulnerable to instability. By addressing global health in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the United States can save lives and improve its national strategic interests. Read…
Read More -
A Cancer Moonshot With A Clear Plan
Feb 3The Obama administration announced on Monday that it hopes to spend a total of a $1 billion to fund a cancer “moonshot” in search of cures. That amount is likely not sufficient, but it can establish the framework by which the goal can eventually be met. It is critical that under this rallying cry we…
Read More -
Congressional Challenges for 2016
Jan 162015 was Congress’s year. For the first time since 2011, both chambers of Congress were led by the same party. Leaders of both the House and Senate worked together on legislation instead of against each other. It was an about face. Unfortunately, election years are notoriously less-productive. But with bipartisan commitment, we can continue to reap the benefits of…
Read More -
What’s Needed to Remain Competitive in Medical Innovation
Dec 23Less than a week ago, Congress voted to increase the NIH budget by $2 billion. That’s a lot of money, but it only just reverses the erosion of federal funding for critical biomedical research. This funding increase is much-needed. But there’s more than can be done on Capitol Hill to re-prioritize lifesaving biomedical research. Read more at…
Read More -
Season’s Greetings
Dec 22Merry Christmas all! Tracy and I hope this holiday season brings peace and joy and 2015 was a rewarding year. It’s been a fall of new beginnings for us in many ways. After three sons, and two grandsons, our family welcomed our first granddaughter, Amelia Fearn Frist, just over a month ago. We launched a…
Read More -
The Childhood Experiences That Can Cut 20 Years Off Your Life
Dec 20I recently heard a startling statistic. According to a CDC study, children who endure six or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) by the age of 18—incidents of abuse or neglect that make a child feel unsafe or unwanted in their home—live on average 20 years less than their peers who are not exposed to these…
Read More -
Approve Limited-Population Antibacterial Drug Pathway (The Tennessean)
Nov 23THE TENNESSEAN | A recent study about antibiotic resistance hit close to home for me. It projected that drug-resistant bacteria are developing at a pace that could soon threaten the lives of thousands more surgery patients each year. This study also revealed that as many as half of infections after surgery are already being caused by pathogens…
Read More -
The Numbers are In: The Case for NashvilleHealth
Nov 15I like to keep an eye on my hometown’s statistics. I love seeing Nashville listed among the nation’s best cities to launch a startup, raise a family and visit for a weekend away. According to some estimates, we gain 80 new Nashvillians each day, transplants from all over, drawn to our welcoming atmosphere and our…
Read More -
Our Opportunity Where Health and National Security Converge (Forbes)
Nov 13FORBES | This week, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and I released a report recommending a policy of strategic health diplomacy, inspired and informed by the success of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The report’s publication was announced at a conference in Washington, DC, where many of the architects of PEPFAR came together to advocate…
Read More -
Retreating From Global Leadership Puts America at Risk
Nov 11The 2016 presidential campaign is well under way, and the candidates are already jousting over who is best suited to respond to an increasing number of obstacles abroad, ranging from the refugees crisis in Europe and the Middle East, to the threat of ISIS, to Russian aggression under President Vladimir Putin. As Democrats and Republicans,…
Read More -
What PEPFAR’s Numbers Mean for National Security
Nov 9As of last year, PEPFAR supported anti-retroviral treatment for 7.7 million people, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa, and an astounding 95 percent of at-risk babies were born HIV-free. In 2013, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the one-millionth baby had been born HIV-free because of PEPFAR-supported prevention of mother-to-child transmission. No nation in history has been…
Read More -
The Superbug Fight at your Grocery Store
Nov 2You may have heard statistics about the over-use of prescription drugs, with reports indicating that up to half of all antibiotics prescribed today are used improperly. It’s a huge problem contributing to the rising threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. What you may not have heard, however, is that the majority of drugs used in the U.S. aren’t even taken…
Read More -
In Memory of Fred Thompson
Nov 1Today Tennessee lost a talented and admired statesman and many of us lost a beloved friend. Working at his side in the Senate for 8 years, Fred embodied what has always been the best of Tennessee politics—he listened carefully and was happy to work across the aisle for causes that he believed were right. My…
Read More -
Congratulations to the 2015 SCORE Prize Winners
Oct 27All year long the State Collaborative on Reforming Education—SCORE—works with and for students, parents, and teachers in Tennessee and each October we have the privilege of dedicating an evening to recognizing the amazing progress they have made. I love that our annual SCORE Prize awards ceremony doesn’t just bring together administrators and policy makers in…
Read More -
Making Health Convenient
Oct 19I believe one of the secrets of achieving good population health is to make the healthy choice the easy choice, and I’m so pleased to learn of businesses in Tennessee who are working to make that a reality. Tri-Star Services’ Twice Daily convenience stores are making a strong committment to offering healthy food and drink…
Read More -
In Search of the Family Doctor
Oct 7Over the course of three visits to Cuba in the past year I have learned much about this nation, its people, its art, and its healthcare system. We’ve toured polyclinics, hospitals, and medical schools. I’ve met with professors and medical students. We’ve gotten the government’s healthcare statistics and double checked those with providers on the…
Read More -
Doing the Hard Work for a VA Transformation
Oct 5It was over a year ago that the public learned of unacceptably long wait times and false record keeping at the Department of Veterans Affairs, resulting in shoddy care for our service men and women. Since then, instead of progress, we have been met with ongoing reports of delayed care, wasteful spending, and poor management. Last February…
Read More -
Consumer Still Feeling The Pinch: The Next Big Health Care Debate (Forbes)
Sep 30FORBES | News headlines have touted a moderation in the rise of health care costs since the economic slowdown and passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). But as I have traveled the country and met with health care professionals and consumers, those receiving the care have not felt any reduction in cost. In fact, many…
Read More -
The Future for The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Sep 23Research matters. An agency that I fought to save many years ago is at risk again, and Congress must make a move to save it. I had just been sworn into the U.S. Senate in 1995, when I first found out that the The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) – then known as the…
Read More -
Call for a Conversation: Alzheimer’s in Tonight’s Debate
Sep 16Tonight, when Republican candidates, vying for the White House, debate one another at the presidential library and final resting place of President Ronald Reagan, they should honor his memory and address the illness that claimed his life and the lives of 700,000 Americans annually: Alzheimer’s disease, the sixth-leading cause of death in our nation. Reagan…
Read More -
Nashville’s Role in the Healthcare Landscape
Aug 23I love Nashville and I’m so proud of the work being done here. Healthcare is the heart of this town and the solutions being developed here are helping patients all over the world. I’m particularly proud of the Nashville Healthcare Council’s Fellows program, and was thrilled to introduce it to a broader audience. I am…
Read More -
The Virus Wars: Vaccines that Work and Why We Aren’t Using Them
Aug 18Researchers around the world are scrambling to find an Ebola virus vaccine. Rightfully so. The virus infected nearly 28,000 people and killed over 10,000 in Africa since last year’s outbreak began. But there are other viruses with even more staggering numbers: HPV–human papillomavirus–killed 230,000 women last year. 170,000 more were diagnosed with cancer, but survived. And…
Read More -
Hector Frank and a New Opportunity for Cultural Unity
Aug 15Last October, Tracy and I visited Cuba and got an up close view of the country, the people, and their challenges. I’ve written about my impressions of their healthcare structure–in many ways woefully lacking, but with some surprising lessons for us in America. What I didn’t write quite as much about was the art. We found…
Read More -
Making Dementia Friendly Communities The New Normal (Forbes)
Jul 31FORBES | Alzheimer’s may be one of the most frightening health challenges today. Over five million Americans—one in eight age 65 and older and one in three age 85 and older—are living with dementia and we don’t yet have a treatment that can prevent or cure the disease. But these men and women are not alone….
Read More -
Podcast: Medicare and Medicaid at 50
Jul 28Fifty years after Medicare and Medicaid were created, healthcare in America is still rapidly evolving. Carefully observing where we’ve been will help inform where we are going, so in today’s special issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman and I look at the Perspectives of Beneficiaries,…
Read More -
Telemedicine and the Tools of Care
Jul 24At the Spotlight Health event at the Aspen Ideas Festival last month I had the privledge of speaking on a panel moderated by Steve Clemons. We focused on the Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act and costs of healthcare in America. It prompted some thoughts about my dad’s medical practice many years ago….
Read More -
Three Challenges Impacting The Future Of Obamacare (Forbes)
Jul 3FORBES | Last week’s Supreme Court decision puts the Affordable Care Act firmly and securely into institutional and cultural permanence. It still bears flaws due to its imperfect construction and divisive passage, but after five years, the new certainty for insurance markets will permit a maturity of risk pools, and the more direct and predictable provider…
Read More -
Compensating for End of Life Conversations Is Important First Step
Jun 29The Obama Administration is soon scheduled to release the proposed 2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, which determines what and how much providers can bill for health care services. The administration can choose to compensate providers for offering voluntary counseling services to patients and families about end-of-life care options, and I strongly urge it to do…
Read More -
Advancing transparency in healthcare: A call to action (The Hill)
Jun 12THE HILL | “How much does health care cost?” It isn’t an easy question to answer. Your yearly check-up, a colonoscopy, or trip to the emergency room doesn’t typically come with an obvious price tag. And it isn’t just finding out the price of a service or product that’s difficult; it’s also difficult to determine the…
Read More -
Cuba’s Most Valuable Export
Jun 8If you had to guess, would you guess sugar? Cigars? What about doctors and nurses? The Cuban government reportedly earns $8 billion a year in revenues from professional services carried out by its doctors and nurses, with some 37,000 Cuban nationals currently working in 77 countries. The socialist regime allows the government to collect a portion…
Read More -
The Worst Kept Secret in Healthcare
Jun 1For many of our health problems, the solutions are not a secret: eat well, move, make healthy choices. Of course sometimes that is easier said than done. Our physical and social environments–where we live, what kind of emotional support we have, our access to fresh food and healthcare–determine more of our healthcare than what our…
Read More -
A Charge to Press Forward on Alzheimer’s Research
May 27Heart transplantation revolutionized healthcare in a way that’s hard to comprehend. What was once a death sentence–sometimes without warning–became surmountable. People got their lives back. We need the same revolution in Alzheimer’s research. The answer will be different; transplant can’t solve this problem. But just because the way forward is unclear, we can’t stop pushing…
Read More -
Why Texas is missing out on the future of medicine
May 11If you’ve read much of anything here, you know that I am a big fan of health technologies to improve care and create a sustainable healthcare system. I think it’s essential that we choose the right technologies that will serve patients, and I firmly believe telemedicine is one of those solutions (so much so that…
Read More -
Killing the superbug: A call for Congressional action
May 6When Alexander Flemming accepted his Nobel Prize for the discovery of penicillin, he issued a warning to future generations: his miracle drug—responsible for saving millions of lives—could one day be useless. “It is not difficult to make microbes resistant to penicillin in the laboratory by exposing them to concentrations not sufficient to kill them,” Flemming…
Read More -
The Promises and Challenges of Precision Medicine
May 5Only 15% of our health is determined by the healthcare we receive, the rest are the social determinants of health: environment, economic stability, access to care, education and community resources. Paying attention to that 85% is imperative, and precision medicine aims to take targeted genetic and molecular information and consider it in tandem with data about…
Read More -
MCC: Foreign aid in action
Apr 30Most people are surprised when they learn how little we actually spend on foreign aid. But as we know, global health issues know no boundaries. That’s why it is so very important that spend our foreign aid money wisely. I’m at The Hill today discussing a model that I think does a great job. Most…
Read More -
A Conversation on Haiti
Apr 27Last week, Hope Through Healing Hands and I had the honor of welcoming the former Prime Minister of Haiti, Laurent Lamothe, to Nashville. I’ve been to Haiti many times, and was thrilled to hear the latest updates on the quantifiable successes in Haiti over the last few years, namely in providing housing for those displaced by the…
Read More -
It’s National Health Care Decisions Day: Who will you designate?
Apr 16End-of-life planning is an important part of healthcare. It’s a refrain I’ve been repeating. I’ve called for changes in care models, payment schemes, and physician education. But all of the needed changes aren’t at the system level. There are steps that every individual must take as well. Along with Gary Dodd, a palliative care nurse…
Read More -
Where Health And Environment Converge
Apr 15An area of healthcare that has recently become very important to me is community transformation projects focusing on the social determinants of health: environment, economic stability, access to care, education, and community resources. Only 15% of our health is determined by the healthcare we receive, so looking at the other 85% is not only imperative,…
Read More -
The Mother & Child Project
Apr 12I am thrilled to announce that a huge project of ours has finally come to fruition. Thanks to the team at my global health nonprofit, Hope Through Healing Hands, The Mother & Child Project is now available! The Mother & Child Project was compiled by Hope Through Healing Hands’ Faith-based Coalition for Healthy Mothers and Children Worldwide. In…
Read More -
A Vaccine For Future Health Crises: A Coordinated Communications Strategy Will Be The Difference (Forbes)
Apr 9FORBES | During the Ebola epidemic this fall, I was reminded of the chaos and fear we felt in the Senate in 2001. When the first anthrax letter was opened in the office of Majority Leader Tom Daschle, no one really even understood what anthrax was, much less how it was contracted, transmitted, or the disease’s…
Read More -
Ebola Doctor and Survivor Ian Crozier Advocates Global Awareness and Treatment (Hope Through Healing Hands)
Apr 2HOPE THROUGH HEALING HANDS BLOG | On Tuesday, March 31, Hope Through Healing Hands had the honor of hosting Dr. Ian Crozier, an Ebola physician and survivor at an event with Siloam Family Health Center. I had the privilege of talking with Ian as he shared his experiences with the packed auditorium. His message is one that…
Read More -
Tackling Administrative Waste: The Promises Of Data Science For The FDA
Mar 31Our healthcare system needs an overhaul in lots of areas and the FDA is not exempt. It’s slow, expensive, and cumbersome. Modernizing the FDA is now the focus of several initiatives including ones from Congress and the Bipartisan Policy Center. One of the top priorities: using data to speed the drug approval process without sacrificing safety….
Read More -
Reauthorizing No Child Left Behind matters to Tennessee (The Tennessean)
Mar 30THE TENNESSEAN | Tennessee teachers, parents and local education leaders know what’s best when it comes to educating our children. Federal education law has a powerful role to play in ensuring that our nation’s schools equip the next generation of global leaders, but only if the law is carefully crafted so that local expertise can be…
Read More -
Notes from the Road: Hong Kong
Mar 23I’m in Hong Kong right now attending some financial meetings and touring some infrastructure projects. It’s been an eye-opening trip so far. Today in a financial meeting, one of the smartest participants is an historian, a student of thousands of years of Chinese history. He observed: “The era of a Dynasty always begins with low…
Read More -
Telemedicine Is A Game-Changer For Patients, The System
Mar 12The Affordable Care Act won’t address our physician shortage–a problem expected to grow to as many as 52,000 needed physicians by 2025. And for many, the ACA still isn’t providing actually affordable care. To bridge these gaps, we must find innovative ways facilitate hassle free access to a provider that is more cost-effective. There is a…
Read More -
Separate Health Care For Veterans Does Not Best Serve Our Vets (Forbes)
Mar 2FORBES | I had the privilege of speaking at the Concerned Veterans for America Summit last week in Washington, D.C. I’ve written about my concern for veterans’ healthcare before (and I highlighted some of my thoughts immediately before the Summit). Our healthcare system needs a lot of work, and having served as a VA staff surgeon for nine years, the care…
Read More -
Training the Next Generation of Doctors in Palliative Care Is the Key to the New Era of Value-Based Care (Academic Medicine)
Mar 1ACADEMIC MEDICINE I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone. —Hippocrates We would like to think Hippocrates made this statement about the field of palliative care. Considering the state of medical practice during Hippocrates’s time, and the definition of palliative…
Read More -
A bold blueprint for transforming veterans’ health care (The Washington Post)
Feb 26THE WASHINGTON POST | Imagine how we would meet the service-related health-care needs of military veterans if we had a clean slate and were considering the question for the first time. The answer is obvious. Just as we do with veterans’ educational benefits, we would use the private sector. We would never create something like the Veterans…
Read More -
FDA Reform (Morning Consult)
Feb 19MORNING CONSULT | The FDA’s warning letter Anne Wojcicki received as the CEO of 23andMe in November 2013 came as a shock to the direct-to-consumer product industry dealing in the “peri-medical” device space. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had not previously made such a move, and perhaps 23andMe was being used to set an example,…
Read More -
Bill Frist and Jenny Eaton Dyer: Americans need to step up on global health issues (Dallas News)
Feb 13DALLAS NEWS | The Kaiser Family Foundation recently reported that Ebola is still a top-tier global health concern in Americans’ hearts and minds. Although media coverage has slowed, there is still much work to do in West Africa to curb the spread of the virus that has now killed more than 8,500 people. In a promising…
Read More -
Save the Children’s Insurance (New York Times)
Feb 12NEW YORK TIMES | NO child in America should be denied the chance to see a doctor when he or she needs one — but if Congress doesn’t act soon, that’s exactly what might happen. For the past 18 years, the Children’s Health Insurance Program has provided much-needed coverage to millions of American children. And yet,…
Read More -
I’ve Seen A Measles Outbreak; It’s Not Something We Want To Risk By Denigrating Vaccines (Forbes)
Feb 11FORBES | I last witnessed a measles outbreak in 2011. Thousands were sick with high fevers, dry cough, and a spreading rash. Three quarters of the ill were children under five years old, and the disease was spreading rapidly. Once the outbreak began, immunization response strategies could barely keep up. It took months before even the…
Read More -
New Tennessee telemedicine law grows health care access
Feb 6I am convinced that telemedicine is a crucial part of the solution for delivery of healthcare in the United States–care that isn’t yet affordable or accessible for all. Tennessee has made important steps toward ensuring telemedicine is an option for our citizens, but there’s more to do. Telemedicine is in its infancy in Tennessee. Specialists…
Read More -
We Must All Play a Role in Ending Childhood Obesity (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
Feb 5ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION | We all want our kids and grandkids to grow up happier and healthier than we did. Instead, today’s children are the first generation of young Americans to face the prospect of living their entire lives in poorer health and dying younger than previous generations. The reason is no mystery. Too many…
Read More -
The Physician’s Role and End-of-Life
Jan 29Over the past several months, I’ve been championing a revolution in end-of-life care. The care models need to change. Reimbursement strategies need to change. The way we think and talk about end-of-life needs to change. And physician education needs to change. We, as doctors, need a new perspective on our role as healers and what…
Read More -
Bill Frist supports Haslam’s Insure Tennessee plan (The Tennessean)
Jan 9THE TENNESSEAN | Medicaid expansion has been a contentious topic since the Supreme Court’s 2012 decision holding mandatory state participation was unduly coercive. And the arguments against expansion are well-founded: Does the federal government really have enough money to fund this? What happens if the money runs out? We have tried this before and it was…
Read More -
Real Conversations: You and Me
Dec 24With WK “Big Kenny” Alphin and Dr. Randy Wykoff, I am launching #Conversation2015, a look at the opportunities we have to make dramatic changes through compassion and caring. Read the introduction to the project here, the overview of you and me here, and the conclusion. Then join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #Conversation2015 At the end of the day,…
Read More -
Real Conversation on Democracy
Dec 23With WK “Big Kenny” Alphin and Dr. Randy Wykoff, I am launching #Conversation2015, a look at the opportunities we have to make dramatic changes through compassion and caring. Read the introduction to the project here and the overview of the right to vote here. Then join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #Conversation2015 Hand in hand with freedom of the…
Read More -
Water for the World
Dec 22Back in 2003 I was traveling in Mozambique with a delegation of Senate colleagues to take a closer look at U.S. policy on HIV/AIDS. We found an HIV emergency, but we also identified a health need even more fundamental: access to clean water. That was the trip that prompted PEPFAR, President George Bush’s unprecedented commitment to address…
Read More -
Real Conversation on Creative Freedoms
Dec 22With WK “Big Kenny” Alphin and Dr. Randy Wykoff, I am launching #Conversation2015, a look at the opportunities we have to make dramatic changes through compassion and caring. Read the introduction to the project here and the overview of creative freedoms here. Then join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #Conversation2015 Creativity and freedom of expression are essential to dialogue…
Read More -
Real Conversations on Population
Dec 19With WK “Big Kenny” Alphin and Dr. Randy Wykoff, I am launching #Conversation2015, a look at the opportunities we have to make dramatic changes through compassion and caring. Read the introduction to the project here and the overview of population here. Then join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #Conversation2015 Almost all of the problems of the world today…
Read More -
Real Conversation on Children
Dec 18With WK “Big Kenny” Alphin and Dr. Randy Wykoff, I am launching #Conversation2015, a look at the opportunities we have to make dramatic changes through compassion and caring. Read the introduction to the project here and the overview of children here. Then join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #Conversation2015 Over six million children die per year before they…
Read More -
#Conversation2015
Dec 17I recently got together with a couple of friends, entertainer WK “Big Kenny” Alphin and Dr. Randy Wykoff to talk about American compassion and to make a list: a list of things we should really care about. We wish to start a national conversation to identify and address some of the greatest threats to our…
Read More -
Real Conversation on Disaster
Dec 17With WK “Big Kenny” Alphin and Dr. Randy Wykoff, I am launching #Conversation2015, a look at the opportunities we have to make dramatic changes through compassion and caring. Read the introduction to the project here and the overview of natural disasters here. Then join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #Conversation2015 Natural disasters are a threat in and…
Read More -
Real Conversation on Poverty
Dec 16With WK “Big Kenny” Alphin and Dr. Randy Wykoff, I am launching #Conversation2015, a look at the opportunities we have to make dramatic changes through compassion and caring. Read the introduction to the project here and the overview of poverty here. Then join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #Conversation2015 Poverty is inextricably tied to poor health. The…
Read More -
Real Conversation on Environmental Damage
Dec 15With WK “Big Kenny” Alphin and Dr. Randy Wykoff, I am launching #Conversation2015, a look at the opportunities we have to make dramatic changes through compassion and caring. Read the introduction to the project here and the overview of environmental damage here. Then join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #Conversation2015 Whether we are talking about global warming,…
Read More -
Real Conversation on Safe Food and Water
Dec 13With WK “Big Kenny” Alphin and Dr. Randy Wykoff, I am launching #Conversation2015, a look at the opportunities we have to make dramatic changes through compassion and caring. Read the introduction to the project here and the overview of safe food and water here. Then join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #Conversation2015 For many Americans it is…
Read More -
Time to advance a new oversight framework for health IT
Dec 11By former Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), MD (The Hill; December 11) Innovations in digital technology have changed the way we live our everyday lives, and we are finally, just now, seeing them change the way that we deliver health care and manage our own health. Now new technology makes it possible for us to track…
Read More -
Building Companies that Change Medicine
Dec 9I am a partner at Cressey & Company, a health care focused private investment firm, where I serve as chairman of the company’s Distinguished Executives Council. Yesterday, we announced the closing on a new fund that totals $615 million. Health care in America is changing so rapidly and I believe health-IT is an essential part…
Read More -
November Update
Dec 2The fall has been exceptionally busy around here with several international trips and speaking engagements, but I was able to be home for Thanksgiving and got to enjoy some of the beautiful autumn color that Middle Tennessee has to offer. I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving holiday. Here’s an update on some of…
Read More -
The Way Forward for Ebola
Nov 24Thankfully—and appropriately—the panic surrounding Ebola in the United States has waned over the past weeks. But the calm doesn’t mean it’s time to move on, though the news cycle may have. All major crises can be teachable moments and now is the time to carefully consider our response to the Ebola outbreak and what we…
Read More -
2014 SCORE Prize Awards
Oct 28Each year in late October I have the privilege of hosting the Annual SCORE Prize celebration. Every year just gets better and last night was no exception! We had a great time with school representatives from across the state and country music artist Dustin Lynch. The SCORE Prize celebrates success in Tennessee’s schools, and this…
Read More -
Notes From the Road: A Big Picture Impression of Cuba
Oct 20Two weeks ago, I was in Cuba as part of a healthcare delegation to learn more about the country as a whole and its healthcare system in particular on a “people-to-people” trip. Cuba is a land of heterogeneity and chaos: an amalgam of cultures, colors, tastes, and textures. Wifi access there is severely limited, so…
Read More -
Helping VA Do Better
Oct 16(Military Times, October 15, 2014) By Bill Frist In his second inaugural address, President Lincoln articulated a clear principle to guide our nation’s commitment to military veterans. The goal, he said, should be “to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.” That sentiment still resonates a…
Read More
« Previous
1
2
3
4
5
Next »
