Domestic Health Reform

  • Health security is national security (The Dallas Morning News)

    by Bill Frist

    The global coronavirus pandemic compels us to rethink how we approach development assistance, cooperation, innovation and international organizations. The Dallas Morning News is publishing a multi-part series on important issues for voters to consider as they decide who to vote for president this year. This is the second installment of our What’s at Stake series,…

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  • The US food system is killing Americans (CNN)

    by Bill Frist

    Opinion by Akash Goel, Michel Nischan, Bill Frist and Tom Colicchio CNN | This global pandemic has given a new meaning to the idea of American exceptionalism. The United States is faring far worse than other countries and shoulders a disproportionate share of global disease burden — with 4% of the global population, yet, at…

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  • COVID-19 has left millions of Americans without enough food. Here’s how Senate can help. (USA Today)

    by Bill Frist

    Today’s environment is unlike anything our nation has ever experienced. We are on the brink of an economic and food security disaster. Bill Frist and Mark K. Shriver USA Today | As a nation, we have a moral and economic obligation to address child hunger, food insecurity and avoid economic collapse in the wake of…

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  • Discrimination and Disparities in Health: Examination of racial inequality in Nashville (The Tennessean)

    by Bill Frist

    Bill Frist, M.D. and Andre L. Churchwell, M.D. The Tennessean | As city and community leaders across the country wrestle with their own roles and responsibilities in addressing racial inequality, we believe specific attention to health equity and health disparities will lead to dismantling structural racism and a roadmap for a healthier future for all….

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  • Virtual Care Advances Are The Silver Lining Of COVID-19. Here’s How We Make Them Permanent (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    Forbes | It is said that necessity is the mother of invention, and the explosion of telehealth and virtual care has been one of the most constructive advances to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis. The gains for the patient include convenience, affordability, and rapid access to quality care while eliminating the risk of viral spread….

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  • 3 Ways Policymakers Could Help Our Nation’s Doctors And Nurses (TIME)

    by Bill Frist

    TIME | As a former heart-transplant surgeon and former U.S. Senator, I understand the frustrations many on the front lines of this pandemic are experiencing. Here are three things those doctors and nurses—dedicated but tired, anxious and feeling betrayed by government—wish policymakers would do: First, strengthen supply chains of personal protective equipment (PPE) and diagnostic tests. We are in…

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  • A Storm for Which We Were Unprepared (Claremont Institute’s The American Mind)

    by Bill Frist

    Claremont Institute’s The American Mind | Senator Bill Frist saw it coming years ago. Senator William Frist, M.D. is a nationally acclaimed heart and lung transplant surgeon and the former Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate. In 2005, during his tenure in Congress, he delivered the Marshall J. Seidman Lecture for the Department of Health Care Policy…

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  • We Failed to Act on Pandemic Preparedness Before. Let’s not Make that Mistake Again. (LinkedIn)

    by Bill Frist

    LinkedIn | As the COVID-19 pandemic surge peaks and we begin to think about reopening our economy, our policy makers should immediately address how to prepare for the next one, for it is inevitable that a next one will occur. I share with you my exact words from an address I gave at the National…

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  • Could Congress Vote by Zoom? (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | The COVID-19 pandemic has rocketed the American workforce into the virtual space. Nearly any worker who can is working from home. Company boards are holding meetings and voting virtually. Physicians are seeing patients through telehealth. What hasn’t changed? The United States Congress. Members must still travel to the floor of their Chamber to cast their vote in person,…

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  • How Changing Tobacco Laws Can Save Thousands Of Lives, Billions Of Tax Dollars (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | Today we have a massive and growing public health challenge that is substantially shortening the lives of millions, negatively impacting the health of our children, and adding an astounding $170 billion in health care costs to our nation annually. Unknown to most, it has been for years the leading cause of preventable death in the United States….

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  • Understanding The Burning Platform Of Health Care Spending Growth (Health Affairs)

    by Bill Frist

    HEALTH AFFAIRS | By Bill Frist, MD and Margaret Hamburg, MD In January, we were honored to co-chair the inaugural meeting of the Health Affairs Council on Health Care Spending and Value. This diverse group of 22 health care leaders has come together to stimulate a national discussion about whether we should—and how we could—constrain what feels like runaway…

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  • What Andy Samberg And Sandra Oh Got Right At The Golden Globes: Vaccines Are Worth Celebrating! (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | Last week at the Golden Globes, hosts Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh made headlines as they tried to give out free flu shots to celebrities in the audience. This surprise stunt showed famous stars looking shocked and nervous as needle-wielding nurses descended from the stage to offer vaccinations. Samberg joked, “If you are an…

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  • Has Childhood Obesity Become A National Security Threat? (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | As a physician and lawmaker, I have long argued that federal global health aid improves America’s standing in the world and makes us safer by steadying unstable nations. Countries with healthy workforces have improved economic outputs, stronger family units, and are less likely to become havens for terrorists.  But what many may not…

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  • Reading The Healthcare Tea Leaves In The 2018 Midterm Elections (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | The November elections left us with a lot to digest—it wasn’t the decisive “blue wave” that some were predicting, but the tea leaves did tell us some interesting things about what voters believe and value, particularly when it comes to healthcare. Interestingly, pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies found a notable phenomenon…

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  • The Future Of Healthcare Innovation And Why Government Matters (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | Why do politics matter to health? Because government, when focused, can do incredible things to move our health forward. Here are just two examples that I was directly involved with while in the United States Senate. Read more at Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/billfrist/2018/11/06/the-future-of-healthcare-innovation-and-why-government-matters/#f00d712192d2

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  • Fixing the opioid crisis requires the two things Congress hates most: Bipartisanship and government spending (NBC News)

    by Bill Frist

    NBC NEWS | Practically every community in America, and most families, are facing the still-growing opioid epidemic that is tearing at the soul of our health and wellbeing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 115 Americans die each day from opioid-related overdoses, and research suggests that misuse of prescription opioids is a risk factor for heroinuse. It is…

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  • Loneliness kills: A new public health crisis (and what we can do about it) (The Hill)

    by Bill Frist

    THE HILL | A little-discussed condition raises the risk of premature death by up to 50 percent—making it a health hazard at least as significant as smoking and alcohol and more so than obesity. Yet many medical professionals haven’t heard about it, and the public remains largely in the dark. We’re talking about social isolation,…

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  • Murder In The Capitol: Honor The Fallen And Improve Mental Health (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | Twenty years ago tomorrow was one of the most memorable days in my U.S. Senate career. And it haunts me still. It doesn’t mark the anniversary of major legislation being signed or a bipartisan deal being struck. Rather, July 24, 1998, was the day our U.S. Capitol building was attacked by a mentally ill, armed individual who took…

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  • A Tribute to Uwe Reinhardt: Remarks at the April 21st Memorial at Princeton University Chapel

    by Bill Frist

    For each of the last 46 years, Uwe Reinhardt touched me like a father, a brother, a son, a friend. He walked by my side on every leg of my journey and supported me at every major turning point. These are the remarks I gave at his memorial service at Princeton on April 21 and shared…

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  • Diet quality should become a core SNAP objective (The Hill)

    by Bill Frist

    THE HILL | As Congress considers reauthorizing SNAP as part of the 2018 Farm Bill, we believe it’s time to make nutrition a top priority for the program. First, we request that diet quality become a core SNAP objective. Specifically, we recommend eliminating sugar-sweetened beverages from the list of items that can be purchased with SNAP in…

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  • Alex Azar has the temperament, judgment, and focus to lead HHS (STAT)

    by Bill Frist

    STAT | The secretary of HHS is one of the most important Cabinet positions in the federal government. The department has a budget of over $1 trillion and 70,000 employees, and its programs touch nearly every American. With such an extensive reach, the HHS secretary must be experienced managing complex and large organizations; possess broad knowledge across…

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  • Notes From The Road: Bob Marshall Log, August 2017

    by Bill Frist

    Notes From The Road | The Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex consists of three wilderness areas in Montana totaling over 1.5 million acres. Located in the northern Rocky Mountains along the Continental Divide, the region is as primitive as any found in the United States outside of Alaska. It’s also diverse, encompassing the dry and open…

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  • Bill Frist and Jill Biden: A call for better health and learning (The Tennessean)

    by Bill Frist

    THE TENNESSEAN | At Carpenters Middle School in Blount County, exercise and reading go hand in hand. Nearly 200 students participate in the “Pedal Power” program, spending 20 minutes a day reading a book they select while riding a recumbent bike. Students say that when they are physically active while they learn, they notice a difference, with one…

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  • Put Out The Fire Instead Of Burning Exchanges To The Ground: Extend Cost-Sharing Reduction Payments (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | Eight years ago, former Democratic Senator John Breaux and I wrote: “Given the acrimony that’s developed over efforts to reform our nation’s health insurance system, many Americans wonder whether true bipartisan agreement on health reform can ever be possible. In short, it can.” Back then, we watched contentious debate over what came to be known…

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  • For Patients With Multiple Chronic Conditions, Improving Care Will Be A Bipartisan Effort (Health Affairs Blog)

    by Bill Frist

    HEALTH AFFAIRS BLOG | While federal policy makers are undertaking controversial and divisive debates over the future of the Affordable Care Act, Republicans and Democrats have had a good track record of working together to improve health care delivery and payment frameworks. Most recently, the bipartisan Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 reformed Medicare’s physician…

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  • The National Academy Of Medicine’s Vital Directions For Health: Forging a Path for our Future (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | Health is more than healthcare. Smart reform looks beyond the current conversation of repeal and replace. It must include an active and empowered consumer making choices that matter within a modern, connected, knowledge-driven system. That is the powerful message of the National Academy of Medicine’s pivotal report released today. Drawing on the expertise of 150…

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  • Healthy Foods Are Good For Business And Deserve The Support Of President-Elect Trump

    by Bill Frist

    At the start of a new year, we often find ourselves making resolutions to eat healthier and get active (I know I’m one of those people!). But the good news is, America’s interest in healthier foods has become a year-round trend, not just a New Year’s fad. More than 66% of shoppers say they want…

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  • New Model Can Advance Treatments, Cures For Rare Diseases (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | If your child suffered from a rare and incurable disease, what would you do to find a cure? My former colleague and good friend Dr. Chip Chambers faced just such a challenge, and took the bull by the horns. Last month, Dr. Chambers organized a unique medical conference that should serve as a model…

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  • The time to act is now: Bipartisan action will accelerate cures for Americans (The Hill)

    by Bill Frist

    THE HILL | With the election over, speculation is rampant on what this means for politics and policy in 2017.  We need to take a step back however, and realize there is critical work to be completed by Congress in 2016, to set the stage for a new generation of medical innovation, and demonstrate to the…

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  • TrumpCare: In The Beginning… (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | The immediate question for those whose lives focus around lifting the health of individual Americans is, “What does Donald J. Trump’s presidency mean for health care in America?” At the heart of the answer is uncertainty. Trump is an “unknown unknown” when it comes to deep, thoughtful health policy. He has excelled in many…

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  • Our Abysmal Maternal Health Statistics And How To Improve Them (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | This past year, the United States received the dubious distinction of being one of only 7 countries in the world, including Somalia and Afghanistan, which have seen an increase in maternal mortality. While countries with far fewer resources such as India and Brazil have made great strides to decrease the number of women who…

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  • The Newborn Illness That Nobody Is Talking About – And It’s Not Zika (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | Nothing can prepare a mother for seeing her newborn seize multiple times an hour, refuse to eat or sleep, and shake uncontrollably. That’s what Julia found herself facing after severe chronic back pain from a car accident left her dependent on opioids. Julia had been a college student from a middle class family with…

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  • Congress Must Preserve Quitlines and The Tips Program (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | Smoking is the number one killer and public health challenge today, causing more deaths each year than automobile accidents, firearm-related injuries, HIV, illegal drug use, and alcohol abuse—combined. As a surgeon, it was the primary cause of the heart and lung disease that I operated on every day for 15 years. In my…

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  • The right prescription for biomedical innovation (The Hill)

    by Bill Frist

    THE HILL | If you were a patient suffering from a disease, and you read about a treatment option for your illness, you would probably be eager to learn more. Imagine that the drug, device or other intervention had been on the market for several years, and studies showed that it was especially effective in some…

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  • The Food We Eat Daily That Leads To Poor Heart Health For Our Children (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | Earlier this year, I called attention to the dangers added sugars pose to cardiovascular health and other health outcomes.  In the months since, many people have told me how surprised they’ve been to learn about the sugar hidden in their healthy morning yogurt or afternoon energy bar.  Frankly, I was too.  And this lack of food literacy…

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  • How Bundled Payments Can Change Healthcare (The Hill)

    by Bill Frist

    THE HILL | Rising health care costs are a top concern for Americans today, with 64% of voters in a January 2016 Kaiser Health tracking poll, citing a candidate’s position on the cost of health care, health insurance, and prescription drugs as “the single most important factor” or “a very important factor” in their vote…

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  • FDA Draft Guidance on Real-World Data (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | In a document issued this week, the Food & Drug Administration laid out for comment its draft guidance of how real-world evidence could support regulatory decision-making for medical devices. This is a positive step forward for improving the medical product development process. At the Bipartisan Policy Center, Representative Bart Gordon and I have been urging…

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  • When Regenerative Medicine Changes Everything (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | Two weeks ago I led a panel discussion at the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) on medical innovation with my good friends Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who chairs the Senate Health,Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee, and former Congressman Bart Gordon (D-TN), who previously chaired the House Committee on Science and Technology.  We were…

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  • How Real-World Data Could Change Medicine (US News & World Report)

    by Bill Frist

    US NEWS & WORLD REPORT | With continuing advances in science and technology, the pace of medical breakthroughs is accelerating. Today, we can treat or even cure conditions that significantly shortened life just a generation ago. The exciting promises of personalized medicine are now becoming reality. Congressman Bart Gordon and I co-chair the Bipartisan Policy Center’s…

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  • From Volume To Value: Achieving Bold Change In Our Healthcare Payment Systems (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | One question I hear repeatedly as I travel the country discussing healthcare is whether the transition from fee-for-service to value-based care can really be done in a way that lowers cost and improves patient care. The answer is: it can. While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, successful systems change requires the collaboration and…

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  • Better Healthcare at Lower Costs (AHIP 2016)

    by Bill Frist

    NOTES 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…

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  • The Most Helpful Illegal Medical Procedure (Fox News)

    by Bill Frist

    FOX 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…

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  • The Senate Must Streamline the Drug Regulatory Process (Wall Street Journal)

    by Bill Frist

    WALL 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…

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  • Four Strategies to Save Lives, Curb Smoking (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | 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…

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  • Congress Must Act Now to Improve School Nutrition (The Hill)

    by Bill Frist

    THE 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…

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  • Tomorrow Might Be The Most Important Day This Year (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    It’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…

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  • Improving Access and Adding Value for Mental Health Care (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    “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…

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  • Tennessee Quit Week a first step to healthier Nashville (The Tennessean)

    by Bill Frist

    THE 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…

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  • Flint’s Water Crisis and Public Health 3.0

    by Bill Frist

    When 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…

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  • A Cancer Moonshot With A Clear Plan

    by Bill Frist

    The 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…

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  • What’s Needed to Remain Competitive in Medical Innovation

    by Bill Frist

    Less 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…

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  • The Childhood Experiences That Can Cut 20 Years Off Your Life

    by Bill Frist

    I 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…

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  • Approve Limited-Population Antibacterial Drug Pathway (The Tennessean)

    by Bill Frist

    THE 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…

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  • The Numbers are In: The Case for NashvilleHealth

    by Bill Frist

    I 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…

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  • The Superbug Fight at your Grocery Store

    by Bill Frist

    You 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…

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  • Doing the Hard Work for a VA Transformation

    by Bill Frist

    It 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…

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  • Consumer Still Feeling The Pinch: The Next Big Health Care Debate (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | 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…

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  • The Future for The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

    by Bill Frist

    Research 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…

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  • Call for a Conversation: Alzheimer’s in Tonight’s Debate

    by Bill Frist

    Tonight, 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…

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  • Making Dementia Friendly Communities The New Normal (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | 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….

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  • Podcast: Medicare and Medicaid at 50

    by Bill Frist

    Fifty 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,…

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  • Telemedicine and the Tools of Care

    by Bill Frist

    At 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….

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  • Three Challenges Impacting The Future Of Obamacare (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | 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…

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  • Compensating for End of Life Conversations Is Important First Step

    by Bill Frist

    The 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…

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  • Advancing transparency in healthcare: A call to action (The Hill)

    by Bill Frist

    THE 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…

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  • Cuba’s Most Valuable Export

    by Bill Frist

    If 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…

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  • The Worst Kept Secret in Healthcare

    by Bill Frist

    For 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…

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  • A Charge to Press Forward on Alzheimer’s Research

    by Bill Frist

    Heart 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…

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  • Why Texas is missing out on the future of medicine

    by Bill Frist

    If 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…

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  • Killing the superbug: A call for Congressional action

    by Bill Frist

    When 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…

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  • The Promises and Challenges of Precision Medicine

    by Bill Frist

    Only 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…

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  • A Vaccine For Future Health Crises: A Coordinated Communications Strategy Will Be The Difference (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | 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…

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  • Tackling Administrative Waste: The Promises Of Data Science For The FDA

    by Bill Frist

    Our 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….

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  • Telemedicine Is A Game-Changer For Patients, The System

    by Bill Frist

    The 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…

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  • Separate Health Care For Veterans Does Not Best Serve Our Vets (Forbes)

    by Bill Frist

    FORBES | 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…

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  • A bold blueprint for transforming veterans’ health care (The Washington Post)

    by Bill Frist

    THE 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…

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  • FDA Reform (Morning Consult)

    by Bill Frist

    MORNING 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,…

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  • Save the Children’s Insurance (New York Times)

    by Bill Frist

    NEW 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,…

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  • New Tennessee telemedicine law grows health care access

    by Bill Frist

    I 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…

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  • We Must All Play a Role in Ending Childhood Obesity (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)

    by Bill Frist

    ROBERT 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…

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  • Building Companies that Change Medicine

    by Bill Frist

    I 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…

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  • Helping VA Do Better

    by Bill Frist

    (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…

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  • Join me to Discuss Palliative Care: We know we need it, but how will the system pay for it?

    by Bill Frist

    UPDATED: If you missed the event, the entire webinar broken down by speaker is archived online. On September 10, 1 pm EDT, I and some friends will be speaking at a live, free webinar sponsored by the National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) on palliative care. We certainly need it, but how will the…

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  • Why the VA Should Look Toward Proven Health Care Solutions

    by Bill Frist

    By Bill Frist and Tom Daschle While it is not a secret that the Veteran’s Affairs hospital system has had inefficiencies for many years, the recent spotlight on veterans’ long wait times for basic medical attention has made headlines for good reason. Long wait times are dangerous and extremely costly, resulting in unnecessary emergency room…

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  • Building a Healthier America

    by Bill Frist

    Last week I joined the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA)’s Building a Healthier Future Summit. It was a fun meeting with lots of good food and guest appearances by Sesame Street’s Abby Cadabby and Doug E. Fresh. I’m a firm believer that we must make the healthy choice the easy choice to change behavior…

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  • The Cadillac Tax: Implications and a Potential Silver Lining?

    by Bill Frist

    (Forbes, February 26, 2014 ) Like much of the Affordable Care Act, the Cadillac tax—Obamacare’s solution to a tax subsidy created during World War II—offers a solution to an important problem, but is fraught with unintended consequences. Ideally, the tax would prompt employers to offer more cost-effective plans, with some shift of risk to employees…

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  • Connected Health and the Rise of the Patient Consumer

    by Bill Frist

    (Health Affairs, February 2014) How to achieve better care at a lower cost? Two powerful new forces may hold the answer. America’s health care delivery sector stands at a tipping point—a convergence of a growing, graying, and highly consumptive population with increasingly limited financial and human capital resources. Policy makers naturally gravitate toward government to…

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  • Digitize your own advanced-care plan

    by Bill Frist

    (The Hill, December 18, 2013) End of life planning is so important. It’s a topic I’ve spoken on frequently. But it’s not just a plan that you need. Your family members must be able to find it when they need it. That’s why free, online tools like the ones My Directives offers are so valuable!…

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  • Bloomberg: 30% of Obamacare Needs to Be Fixed

    by Bill Frist

      Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) — Former Senator Bill Frist, a Republican from Tennessee, discusses the Affordable Care Act with Trish Regan on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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  • End-of-life stories give us impetus to learn

    by Bill Frist

    (The Tennessean, December 1, 2013) By Sen. Bill Frist, M.D. and Manoj Jain M.D. Authors’ note: This is the final of six parts. We are honored and extremely grateful that so many shared their family stories with us. We have preserved the stories but have changed individuals’ names. Over the past three months, as we…

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