Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

A health care reform approach which would permit uninsured individuals to enroll in Medicaid by paying premiums on a sliding scale.  

A federal act passed in 1987 to fund health and social services for the homeless. Programs include physical and mental health care, substance abuse treatment, housing, shelter, outreach, education, job training, and social services. Current funding provides services for only about 15% of the nation’s homeless.  

Limits for physician charge increases which were set by federal statute enacted in 1986. The statute applies only to physicians who are “non-participating” (that is, who have not agreed to accept the Medicare payment allowance as full payment). The limits apply to average charges, rather than charges for specific services; thus, compliance must be evaluated…

A program providing preventive and treatment services for pregnant women, mothers, and children. The services may include health education (often with particular attention to nutrition) and family planning. Funding may be from federal, state, or local sources. One source of funds has been the United States Maternal and Child Health Program under the Social Security…

A requirement that requires competent adults to make prospective choices as to what should be done under specified circumstances. This procedure has been suggested with regard to organ donation, since it has been found that most adults have not really considered whether or not they want to make their organs available for donation. Furthermore, a…

In an organization, the task of getting things done systematically by, through, or with people with the necessary tools and facilities.  

The plan and course of action for the care of the patient, often shown in the shorthand “Mx”, similar to “Dx” for diagnosis and “Rx,” which is used for “treatment” as well as for “prescription.”  

In the 1970s, insurance providers and physicians declared a “malpractice crisis,” basing it on rising jury verdicts in medical malpractice litigation and the rise in the number of those claims generally. A number of states have since enacted measures addressing these problems: prelitigation screening panels, caps (ceilings) on the amount of punitive damages allowed, and…

Legal grounds upon which a defendant may countersue a plaintiff if the plaintiffs lawsuit was totally frivolous and without any merit, and was brought simply to harass the defendant. To prove a case of malicious prosecution, the plaintiffs case must have been decided in favor of the defendant, and the defendant must show that there…

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private, independent grantmaking institution “dedicated to helping groups and individuals to improve the human condition”. The foundation seeks to fund efforts that undertake systematic and sustainable change, reduce inequities in the distribution of power and resources, and put emphasis on fostering healthy, educated, and creative…