Op-Eds (not exhaustive list):
Health Insurance/Health Reform
"Republicans' Secretive Plan for Health Care." -- NY Times
"The nightmare delay and denial shows why patients need a bill of rights." -- The Hill
“‘Rationing by inconvenience’: Health insurers count on customers not appealing denials." -- STATNews
"Medicaid cuts will harm rural Republican communities the most." (with Michael Shepherd) -- The Hill
"Medicaid cuts would devastate mental health, substance use treatment services services in red states." -- STATNews
"Cutting Medicaid Funding Isn't the Only Worrisome Change to the Program." -- MedPage Today
"Republicans are trying to turn their attacks on Obamacare into self-fulfilling prophecies." -- MS NOW
"Oz's new plan to root out Medicare 'waste' is actually a recipe for disaster." -- MS NOW
"TrumpRx may disappoint Americans hoping to save money on prescriptions." -- MS NOW
"Trump's new health plan leaves Americans to fend for themselves." -- MS NOW
"Prescribing in a 'Black Box' of Prior Auth Decisions." -- MedPage Today
"As prior authorization requirements expand, consumers need help fighting denials." -- Philly Inquirer
"Insurers shouldn't make health decisions. There's a better way." (with Topher Spiro) -- The Hill
Reproductive Health
"States With more Planned Parenthood Clinics Have Fewer Teen Births and Sexually Transmitted Diseases." -- The Washington Post (Monkey Cage)
"In Some States, Coronavirus Measures are Effectively Banning Abortion." -- The Washington Post (Monkey Cage)
Public Health and Health Bureaucracy
"The Potential Costs of Tom Price as HHS Secretary." -- The Conversation
"Good Luck Getting Healthcare in Donald Trump's America." -- The Guardian
"The US Could Be Vastly Different A Year From Now. Here's How." -- The Guardian
"The Fifth Circuit Halted Biden's Vaccine Mandate. Here's What the Lawsuits Are Arguing." -- The Washington Post (Monkey Cage)
"If Trump wants to cut health spending, he's defunding the wrong agency." (with Alex Sunderman) -- The Hill
"Kennedy is gutting health advisory panels to weaken the Affordable Care Act." (with Beth Jacobs) -- The Hill
"RFK Jr.'s dangerous crusade against antidepressants." -- MS NOW
Music Reviews:
"Springsteen Serenades NYC Metro for Four Hours"
“Let’s go for a road trip,” Bruce says with a smile, guitar in hand, between “Working on the Highway” and “Darlington County” (alas, absent the Nils-sized hat accompaniment). And indeed, that comment is quite apt for a concert by Bruce Springsteen, whose fans are known to take planes, trains, and automobiles to attend his shows, even crossing oceans to experience Boss Time in all its glory. For those who do not know the love for his music, it is strange to invest so much time, money, and energy into a concert. For those who are his devoted followers, happily spending a day in a New Jersey Meadowlands parking lot during sound checks to hopefully fare well in the general admission pit lottery, it is more than a concert. It is a religion. It is faith. It is spirit. It is “getting gotten” by 60,000 strangers who for that four hours are sharing a spiritual experience in which redemption and hope are fair game as sparks fly on E Street. (Click here for the rest).
"Springsteen Proves It All Night, Takes Saint Louis Down to the River"
"Do you have any energy left?" is a question that might appropriately be posed by the fans to this sixty-six year-old artist for whom age is clearly merely a number as he delivers a show that clocks in at approximately three hours and twenty minutes without break. Instead, he asks the audience at the conclusion of "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" whether they have in them the energy for one more song ("Shout"). They are. Indeed, as he is known for doing, Springsteen delivered his all and showed St. Louis who is boss, with St. Louis revealing over the course of the night that it "ooh ooh has a crush on Bruuuuce" as he performed start-to-finish his self-described "coming of age" 1980 album The River. (Click here for the rest).
"Springsteen Rocks the House at his 63rd Birthday Party"
It’s more than three hours past the scheduled start time, which means that it’s more than two hours after the true fans know that Bruce and his E-Street Band are scheduled to roll on to the stage of MetLife Stadium. Rain continues to trickle town and form small puddles on the tarp that has been laid out for the general admission and other floor ticket holders. Many arrived as early as 7am in anticipation of the lottery to determine the order of entry on to the floor, though the hours of waiting – and inevitably, drinking – induced a dose of disarray into the typically orderly system adhered to in each of his many shows across the nation. What’s more, given Bruce’s legendary show lengths and the concert’s scheduling on September 22nd, it is becoming apparent to all that the concert will stretch into September 23rd, Bruce’s birthday. It has not yet truly begun, and yet all know as the lightning subsides and the tension builds, this will be a night to remember. As anyone who has spent their last paycheck on a ticket to his show, or conveniently scheduled “work” and “family” travels around his tour schedule knows, at a Bruce concert, anything can happen.
And so in the darkness and mist, Bruce emerges, walking to the mic with great purpose, the sounds of Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour” booming through the stadium, and says, “I think I just invited 55,000 people to my birthday party!” before launching into the familiar (yes, perhaps too familiar) and classic “Out in the Streets,” which has been featured among the first few songs in many shows on his recent tours. Thirty-two years after its release on The River, the 1980 album filled with classic songs of yearning and sadness, along with a number of hits and entertaining numbers (“Cadillac Ranch,” “Ramrod,” etc.) that often find themselves sprinkled through his legendary concerts, “Out in the Streets” holds up as well as ever as Bruce and the band rock the stage, leaving room for wonder whether sparks will actually fly given the heat of the music and the rain still trickling on the stage as it booms to Max’s drumbeat. (Click here for the rest.)
"Springsteen Entertains Crowd with Seeger Classics at Sleep Train Pavilion" -- June 6, 2006
Even at the age of fifty-six, Bruce Springsteen never ceases to amaze. His three-hour long show at the Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord, which in classic Springsteen fashion began an hour late (but then again, he is the Boss), included the majority of the album We Shall Overcome, covers of other appropriate songs – among them, “Rag Mama Rag” and “Bring Them Home” – and some good old Springsteen classics.
Bruce’s humor shined through in his willingness to talk to the crowd between songs. After playing his opening song, “John Henry,” Springsteen turned to the audience, saying, “So, I’ve got to ask y’all a question. Where the fuck are we? I mean, San Francisco’s practically another state. Here it’s hills, hills, hills…” Bruce conceded before playing “Jesse James” that “The details are right, but the rest is bullshit,” and he cited his enjoyment of “Erie Canal” as being because it’s one of the only love songs to a mule. He noted that following the release of “Erie Canal” were several songs including mules, and they eventually killed what he called “the mule genre.” (Click here for the rest.)
"Springsteen Poignant at Oakland's Paramount Theater" -- May 5, 2005
The scene outside the Paramount Theater – an art deco beauty in the heart of downtown Oakland – was truly surreal, with at least a hundred Boss die-hards hoping desperately that fate would work in their favor on this occasion, his only tour stop in the San Francisco Bay Area on the Devils and Dust tour (so far). As the lottery number was drawn, the fans – some excited, some dismayed – lined up against the theater wall in order according to ticket number, about to begin the long wait to find out how many of us would get tickets. Was it a hundred tickets being released? Was it two? No one seemed to know, and so, accepting that we were all entirely clueless, like acknowledging that we were living in Plato’s cave, we began to relax and become acquainted with one another.
Springsteen fans have a unique way of bonding at shows, and by the start of the concert we felt as though we were long-time friends rather than having a relationship that extended only a few hours. Approaching the ticket office, presenting our lottery ticket and wristband, we realized that we were going to get lucky that night, that we were getting into the concert. The woman handed us our tickets and I, still in a daze, could hardly believe my eyes when I saw our seats – dead center, orchestra row CC. Not just seats, but VIP seats. Incredible. We took our spot next to the fans with whom I had stood in line, all of us ecstatic over our good fortune. The lights dimmed, the crowd roared, and Bruce Springsteen walked onstage, commanding the attention of all of the Paramount’s attendees who were clapping, screaming, and “Bruuuuuuce”-ing wildly for him. The night promised to be spectacular, and it delivered. (Click here for the rest.)
Health Insurance/Health Reform
"Republicans' Secretive Plan for Health Care." -- NY Times
"The nightmare delay and denial shows why patients need a bill of rights." -- The Hill
“‘Rationing by inconvenience’: Health insurers count on customers not appealing denials." -- STATNews
"Medicaid cuts will harm rural Republican communities the most." (with Michael Shepherd) -- The Hill
"Medicaid cuts would devastate mental health, substance use treatment services services in red states." -- STATNews
"Cutting Medicaid Funding Isn't the Only Worrisome Change to the Program." -- MedPage Today
"Republicans are trying to turn their attacks on Obamacare into self-fulfilling prophecies." -- MS NOW
"Oz's new plan to root out Medicare 'waste' is actually a recipe for disaster." -- MS NOW
"TrumpRx may disappoint Americans hoping to save money on prescriptions." -- MS NOW
"Trump's new health plan leaves Americans to fend for themselves." -- MS NOW
"Prescribing in a 'Black Box' of Prior Auth Decisions." -- MedPage Today
"As prior authorization requirements expand, consumers need help fighting denials." -- Philly Inquirer
"Insurers shouldn't make health decisions. There's a better way." (with Topher Spiro) -- The Hill
Reproductive Health
"States With more Planned Parenthood Clinics Have Fewer Teen Births and Sexually Transmitted Diseases." -- The Washington Post (Monkey Cage)
"In Some States, Coronavirus Measures are Effectively Banning Abortion." -- The Washington Post (Monkey Cage)
Public Health and Health Bureaucracy
"The Potential Costs of Tom Price as HHS Secretary." -- The Conversation
"Good Luck Getting Healthcare in Donald Trump's America." -- The Guardian
"The US Could Be Vastly Different A Year From Now. Here's How." -- The Guardian
"The Fifth Circuit Halted Biden's Vaccine Mandate. Here's What the Lawsuits Are Arguing." -- The Washington Post (Monkey Cage)
"If Trump wants to cut health spending, he's defunding the wrong agency." (with Alex Sunderman) -- The Hill
"Kennedy is gutting health advisory panels to weaken the Affordable Care Act." (with Beth Jacobs) -- The Hill
"RFK Jr.'s dangerous crusade against antidepressants." -- MS NOW
Music Reviews:
"Springsteen Serenades NYC Metro for Four Hours"
“Let’s go for a road trip,” Bruce says with a smile, guitar in hand, between “Working on the Highway” and “Darlington County” (alas, absent the Nils-sized hat accompaniment). And indeed, that comment is quite apt for a concert by Bruce Springsteen, whose fans are known to take planes, trains, and automobiles to attend his shows, even crossing oceans to experience Boss Time in all its glory. For those who do not know the love for his music, it is strange to invest so much time, money, and energy into a concert. For those who are his devoted followers, happily spending a day in a New Jersey Meadowlands parking lot during sound checks to hopefully fare well in the general admission pit lottery, it is more than a concert. It is a religion. It is faith. It is spirit. It is “getting gotten” by 60,000 strangers who for that four hours are sharing a spiritual experience in which redemption and hope are fair game as sparks fly on E Street. (Click here for the rest).
"Springsteen Proves It All Night, Takes Saint Louis Down to the River"
"Do you have any energy left?" is a question that might appropriately be posed by the fans to this sixty-six year-old artist for whom age is clearly merely a number as he delivers a show that clocks in at approximately three hours and twenty minutes without break. Instead, he asks the audience at the conclusion of "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" whether they have in them the energy for one more song ("Shout"). They are. Indeed, as he is known for doing, Springsteen delivered his all and showed St. Louis who is boss, with St. Louis revealing over the course of the night that it "ooh ooh has a crush on Bruuuuce" as he performed start-to-finish his self-described "coming of age" 1980 album The River. (Click here for the rest).
"Springsteen Rocks the House at his 63rd Birthday Party"
It’s more than three hours past the scheduled start time, which means that it’s more than two hours after the true fans know that Bruce and his E-Street Band are scheduled to roll on to the stage of MetLife Stadium. Rain continues to trickle town and form small puddles on the tarp that has been laid out for the general admission and other floor ticket holders. Many arrived as early as 7am in anticipation of the lottery to determine the order of entry on to the floor, though the hours of waiting – and inevitably, drinking – induced a dose of disarray into the typically orderly system adhered to in each of his many shows across the nation. What’s more, given Bruce’s legendary show lengths and the concert’s scheduling on September 22nd, it is becoming apparent to all that the concert will stretch into September 23rd, Bruce’s birthday. It has not yet truly begun, and yet all know as the lightning subsides and the tension builds, this will be a night to remember. As anyone who has spent their last paycheck on a ticket to his show, or conveniently scheduled “work” and “family” travels around his tour schedule knows, at a Bruce concert, anything can happen.
And so in the darkness and mist, Bruce emerges, walking to the mic with great purpose, the sounds of Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour” booming through the stadium, and says, “I think I just invited 55,000 people to my birthday party!” before launching into the familiar (yes, perhaps too familiar) and classic “Out in the Streets,” which has been featured among the first few songs in many shows on his recent tours. Thirty-two years after its release on The River, the 1980 album filled with classic songs of yearning and sadness, along with a number of hits and entertaining numbers (“Cadillac Ranch,” “Ramrod,” etc.) that often find themselves sprinkled through his legendary concerts, “Out in the Streets” holds up as well as ever as Bruce and the band rock the stage, leaving room for wonder whether sparks will actually fly given the heat of the music and the rain still trickling on the stage as it booms to Max’s drumbeat. (Click here for the rest.)
"Springsteen Entertains Crowd with Seeger Classics at Sleep Train Pavilion" -- June 6, 2006
Even at the age of fifty-six, Bruce Springsteen never ceases to amaze. His three-hour long show at the Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord, which in classic Springsteen fashion began an hour late (but then again, he is the Boss), included the majority of the album We Shall Overcome, covers of other appropriate songs – among them, “Rag Mama Rag” and “Bring Them Home” – and some good old Springsteen classics.
Bruce’s humor shined through in his willingness to talk to the crowd between songs. After playing his opening song, “John Henry,” Springsteen turned to the audience, saying, “So, I’ve got to ask y’all a question. Where the fuck are we? I mean, San Francisco’s practically another state. Here it’s hills, hills, hills…” Bruce conceded before playing “Jesse James” that “The details are right, but the rest is bullshit,” and he cited his enjoyment of “Erie Canal” as being because it’s one of the only love songs to a mule. He noted that following the release of “Erie Canal” were several songs including mules, and they eventually killed what he called “the mule genre.” (Click here for the rest.)
"Springsteen Poignant at Oakland's Paramount Theater" -- May 5, 2005
The scene outside the Paramount Theater – an art deco beauty in the heart of downtown Oakland – was truly surreal, with at least a hundred Boss die-hards hoping desperately that fate would work in their favor on this occasion, his only tour stop in the San Francisco Bay Area on the Devils and Dust tour (so far). As the lottery number was drawn, the fans – some excited, some dismayed – lined up against the theater wall in order according to ticket number, about to begin the long wait to find out how many of us would get tickets. Was it a hundred tickets being released? Was it two? No one seemed to know, and so, accepting that we were all entirely clueless, like acknowledging that we were living in Plato’s cave, we began to relax and become acquainted with one another.
Springsteen fans have a unique way of bonding at shows, and by the start of the concert we felt as though we were long-time friends rather than having a relationship that extended only a few hours. Approaching the ticket office, presenting our lottery ticket and wristband, we realized that we were going to get lucky that night, that we were getting into the concert. The woman handed us our tickets and I, still in a daze, could hardly believe my eyes when I saw our seats – dead center, orchestra row CC. Not just seats, but VIP seats. Incredible. We took our spot next to the fans with whom I had stood in line, all of us ecstatic over our good fortune. The lights dimmed, the crowd roared, and Bruce Springsteen walked onstage, commanding the attention of all of the Paramount’s attendees who were clapping, screaming, and “Bruuuuuuce”-ing wildly for him. The night promised to be spectacular, and it delivered. (Click here for the rest.)