Some states still face challenges with racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 vaccine distribution, and Texas is one of them. How might we avoid these inequities in the future? Continue Reading
The Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 ruling on the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case Monday, allowing some for-profit companies to opt out of paying for certain contraceptives for their employees. Elena Marks, president and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation and Baker Institute Scholar in Health Policy, offered her insight on the ruling and how it will impact implementation of the Affordable Care Act, women’s access to reproductive care and future court cases. Continue Reading
The Affordable Care Act — Obamacare — was never my idea of the perfect health care reform package, but after it passed into law, I got on board because it offered the opportunity to put a brake on the trajectory of decreasing access to increasingly expensive health care and health insurance. Continue Reading
People were outraged after reading Steven Brill’s article “Bitter Pill” in Time Magazine, which reported on health care charges that appeared ridiculously high: $1.50 for a single generic acetaminophen tablet and 300 percent mark-ups on chemotherapy injections. The article led… Continue Reading
Baker Institute health policy scholar Elena Marks helps coordinate a series of summer salons sponsored by the Center for Houston’s Future that explores an array of issues related to community health. The first, on mental health, will be held on… Continue Reading
Many people cheered when state Sen. Jane Nelson, chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, indicated an interest in looking for ways to accept the billions of dollars available to the state to expand Medicaid to cover 1.5 million… Continue Reading
Earlier this month, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof chronicled the heartbreaking decline and ultimate death of his college roommate, Scott, from prostate cancer at age 53. Scott was uninsured, even though he could afford health insurance. He didn’t get… Continue Reading