Category Archives: COVID

Health Reform and the Evolution of COVID from Pandemic to Endemic

I am in my fifth day of quarantine due to COVID; I return to work tomorrow. My only symptoms have been those of a mild upper-respiratory illness, which has now nearly resolved.

I diagnosed the first case of COVID in our area on March 17, 2020. I went nearly 22 months without contracting COVID, despite seeing COVID-positive patients in the hospital and, with the recent surge of the Omicron variant, potentially positive patients at the clinic, all with proper protective equipment. I am fully vaccinated for COVID and have received the booster.

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Health Reform and Obamacare

Obamacare lives. After hundreds of votes by the then-Republican U.S. House of Representatives; after a narrow win in the then-Republican U.S. Senate, courtesy of now-deceased Senator John McCain; after four years of failed promises by President Trump; and now, most recently, after a vote by the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of Obamacare — the third overall, Obamacare remains the law of the land and appears to be now unhappily accepted by Republicans as the status quo. Continue reading →

Health Reform and a Political Commercial

This is a proposed political ad for our upcoming election to be paid for by a proposed political action committee named Pre-Existing Conditions Political Action Committee (PEC PAC).

PEC PAC commercial — Take One. Continue reading →

Health Reform and COVID-19 Testing

The content below is a Des Moines Register analysis that includes my comments about the need for widespread, quick testing for the virus that causes COVID-19. The Register’s post, which includes live links to included graphics and social media, is here.

Register analysis: Iowa lags most states in COVID-19 tests per capita

Nick Coltrain, Des Moines Register
April 11, 2020

Iowa’s COVID-19 testing on a per-capita basis lags behind most other states, according to a Register analysis of public testing data.

As of Friday afternoon, Iowa reported 15,953 total test results for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. That equals about 524 tests per 100,000 Iowans — or No. 39 on the rankings of all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

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