WELLNESS

HEALTH WATCH - The study of epidemics has routinely centered around what medical historian Charles Rosenberg calls a “dramaturgic structure”:

WELLNESS - Mental health workers at Kaiser Permanente announced plans Tuesday for an open-ended strike that could lead as many as 2,000 Northern California mental health workers to curtail appointments beginning on Aug. 15.

HEALTH WATCH - When Susan Whitney was a therapist at Kaiser Permanente, her colleagues missed working in prison.

WELLNESS - For years, the private insurance company lobby has falsely claimed that California can’t afford quality and universal healthcare.

HEALTH WATCH - Premiums for health insurance plans sold through the state marketplace will increase an average of 6% next year, Covered California officials announced today.

SUPREME INJUSTICE - A good friend who heads a leading law firm once explained that when a lawyer’s case is weak, he argues precedent.

MENTAL HEALTH - In early March, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a controversial proposal to compel people with serious mental health issues into care and housing. 

THE DOCTOR IS IN - The first baby I ever helped deliver as a third-year medical student at Galveston, Texas was from a 17-year-old petite 5' 0" black female, who walked into the OB-Gyn delivery suite with an unforgettable, blank, and defeated look in her eyes.

WELLNESS - In the near future, Black men in Compton may be able to get a haircut, have their blood pressure checked and maybe even get their COVID shots all in one place: the barbershop.

THE DOCTOR IS IN - This is 2022, and not 2020. There WAS an Operation Warp Speed that got us two mRNA vaccines (Moderna and Pfizer) for us to use in 2021,

MEDICAL WATCH - By now, everyone has heard about monkeypox, which is now in numerous countries.

HEALTH & WELLNESS - My son JJ has cerebral palsy. He’s unable to speak or use his arms and legs.

MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES - A young man with a history of mental illness has been sitting in San Francisco County Jail for nearly a year.

BABY FORMULA CRISIS - My 8-month-old daughter, Jayde, was born with a growth restriction.

WELLNESS - A leaked draft of a United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) opinion that would overturn Roe v Wade, a landmark 1973 decision that gave women the constitutional right to abortion, recently put abortion rights once again on the global agenda.

COVID WATCH - Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist, told The Root today that cases of the deadly Covid-19 virus are slowly rising again across the country and warned that Black Americans could be particularly at risk in the event a more aggressive variant should appear. 

WELLNESS - Anyone holding a high-deductible health plan understands the dynamic:

COVID ANALYSIS - As our country approaches 1 million deaths from COVID-19, it can feel impossible to wrap our heads around such a devastating figure.

MEDICAL WATCH - A major testing company in the United States announced this week that it will now charge people without Medicare, private coverage, or other insurance a $125 out-of-pocket charge to receive a Covid-19 PCR test—

GUEST COMMENTARY - At this most critical juncture of public health and the fate of the planet, science and scientists have been reduced to a political punching bag.

CORONA VIRUS - Community clinics in California that have been waiting for more than a year to be reimbursed for COVID-19 vaccinations may soon be flooding state officials with tens of millions of dollars in bills.