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F. Douglas Stephenson

F. Douglas Stephenson , LCSW, is a retired psychotherapist and former instructor of social work in the University of Florida Department of Psychiatry. He is a member of Physicians for a National Health Program.

Featured
Trump's Project 2025 abolishes Medicare; We need to Fight Back and Expand it

Trump’s Project 2025 abolishes Medicare; We need to Fight Back and Expand it

F. Douglas Stephenson

Gainesville, Florida (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) — The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, framed by former Trump administration staffers and secretly endorsed by Trump himself, proposes changes in Medicare benefits that could destroy Medicare as we know it. Instead, we must fight back and expand it. On July 30, 1965, at the Harry S. Truman […]

Addiction
The Sacklers may not Get away with Opioid Grift after all, as SCOTUS strikes Down Bankruptcy Settlement

The Sacklers may not Get away with Opioid Grift after all, as SCOTUS strikes Down Bankruptcy Settlement

F. Douglas Stephenson

Gainesville, Florida (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Allen Frances, M.D., distinguished former chair of psychiatry at Duke University school of medicine wrote in a Oct., 2017 New Yorker magazine expose, “Their name (Sackler/Purdue Pharma) has been pushed forward as the epitome of good works and of the fruits of the capitalist system. But, when […]

Health Care
How the Corporations’ “Medicare Advantage” Harms America’s Patients and Providers

How the Corporations’ “Medicare Advantage” Harms America’s Patients and Providers

F. Douglas Stephenson

Gainesville, Fl. (Special to Informed Comment) – 1). Medicare Advantage (MA), the privately-administered version of Traditional Medicare (TM), is causing significant harm to America’s patients, providers, and health 2). Political support for the private health insurance industry and Medicare Advantage exists because our government permits private health insurance companies to exact large profit from its […]

Drugs
How to Enroll Intelligently in Medicare –  A Consumers Guide 2024

How to Enroll Intelligently in Medicare – A Consumers Guide 2024

F. Douglas Stephenson

Gainesville, FL (Special to Informed Comment)- Medicare open enrollment season begins October 15th, running through Dec.7, 2023. And very soon, everyone will be bombarded with new smarmy health insurance Medicare Advantage ads featuring healthy and happy-looking seniors playing tennis and telling us how wonderful their Medicare Advantage plan is and how much of a no-brainer […]

Health
End Predatory Private Medicare “Advantage” Plans Now

End Predatory Private Medicare “Advantage” Plans Now

F. Douglas Stephenson

Gainesville, Florida (Special to Informed Comment) — Wendell Potter, a New York Times bestselling author, highly respected health care and campaign finance reform advocate, authority tackling corporate and special interest propaganda, alerts us to the dangers of Medicare Advantage plans now offered by the private health insurance industry. “In just a few weeks”, says Potter, […]

Health Care
Let's Celebrate Medicare's 58th Birthday with "Medicare for All"

Let’s Celebrate Medicare’s 58th Birthday with “Medicare for All”

F. Douglas Stephenson

Gainesville, Florida (Special to Informed Comment) – In the long history of struggle to establish a national health insurance system for the USA, Medicare was finally established on July 30. 1965. Congress enacted Medicare under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide health insurance to people age 65 and older, regardless of income […]

Health Care
The Journey to Medicare’s 58th Anniversary

The Journey to Medicare’s 58th Anniversary

F. Douglas Stephenson

Gainesville, Florida (Special to Informed Comment) — The most successful U. S. health insurance program, Medicare, was enacted ln July,1965, to provide health insurance for people ages 65 and older and the disabled regardless of income or medical history. In the 58 years since, Medicare has become living proof that public, universal health insurance is […]

Health Care
States are Shrinking number of Medicaid Recipients, but Everyone would Benefit from its Expansion

States are Shrinking number of Medicaid Recipients, but Everyone would Benefit from its Expansion

F. Douglas Stephenson

Gainesville, Florida — When the COVID-19/pandemic-era ‘continuous coverage’ Federal requirement ended recently, states could resume eligibility checks that can purge people from Medicaid rolls. Many states are currently doing this, with coverage being lost for hundreds of thousands of individuals/families. These cuts are mostly occurring for procedural reasons, not because enrollees actually lack eligibility. Reports […]

Bernie Sanders
New Medicare-for-All Legislation introduced by Sanders, Jayapal, Dingell, others: Why is the greatest Health System in the World only for the Affluent?

New Medicare-for-All Legislation introduced by Sanders, Jayapal, Dingell, others: Why is the greatest Health System in the World only for the Affluent?

F. Douglas Stephenson

Gainesville, Fl. (Special to Informed Comment) – The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was supposed to contain costs and make insurance for health/mental health care affordable. It did bring coverage to 20 million but 30 million remain uninsured. Data indicate that the bad outweighs the good. ACA is too expensive, unsustainable, overly complex and bureaucratic. Even […]

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