Category Archives: Politics

The politics of health care

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Under the circumstances, I am extremely happy to be here in this UCSF hospital getting excellent care.

But here’s the thing. It reminds me that I must be one of the 5%, or 3%, or 1% of the population who have access to this kind of excellent care.

Our system concentrates health resources among those who already have lots of other social, political, and financial resources. To get here, it required excellent insurance, which Meda qualified for after working for the State of Hawaii for 50 years. It also required personal resources so we were able to get ourselves from Hawaii to San Francisco for the specialized care that they have been able to provide.

But there’s another thing that people don’t talk about. And that is that it often takes knowing somebody who knows somebody to get into an excellent system like this. Like so many other parts of life, it get’s down to who you know.

I called on an old friend who happened to have connections here at UCSF and one thing led to another, and I ended up using those connections to get into the system here. I can’t say for sure just how vital they were, but I think they were important in breaking through the. bureaucracy that screens incoming patients.

So that’s a big burden for regular people seeking healthcare without these layers of personal or family resources. We really do have to do something about it.

The value of vaccines

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I saw this study referenced in a lawsuit filed by 15 states seeking to overturn the Trump administration’s reversing of longtime child vaccination protocols supported by years of evidence.

It provides estimates of the value of childhood vaccinations in sharp contrast to the actions of the current adminiatration.

The study: Health and Economic Benefits of Routine Childhood Immunizations in the Era of the Vaccines for Children Program — United States, 1994–2023

Link: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of August 8, 2024

Abstract
Since 1994, the U.S. Vaccines for Children (VFC) program has covered the cost of vaccines for children whose families might not otherwise be able to afford vaccines. This report assessed and quantified the health benefits and economic impact of routine U.S. childhood immunizations among both VFC-eligible and non–VFC-eligible children born during 1994–2023. Diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine; Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine; oral and inactivated poliovirus vaccines; measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine; hepatitis B vaccine; varicella vaccine; pneumococcal conjugate vaccine; hepatitis A vaccine; and rotavirus vaccine were included. Averted illnesses and deaths and associated costs over the lifetimes of 30 annual cohorts of children born during 1994–2023 were estimated using established economic models. Net savings were calculated from the payer and societal perspectives. Among approximately 117 million children born during 1994–2023, routine childhood vaccinations will have prevented approximately 508 million lifetime cases of illness, 32 million hospitalizations, and 1,129,000 deaths, at a net savings of $540 billion in direct costs and $2.7 trillion in societal costs. From both payer and societal perspectives, routine childhood vaccinations among children born during 1994–2023 resulted in substantial cost savings. Childhood immunizations continue to provide substantial health and economic benefits, while promoting health equity.

A copy of the lawsuit is attached below.

Judge orders government to facilitate return of illegally deported Venezuelans

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Here we go again.

Another strongly worded opinion and order by a federal judge in the District of Columbia took the government to task for ignoring both prior court orders and the constitutional rights of Venezuelans illegally deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador without due process. The opinion by James E. Boasberg, chief judge of the DC Circuit, came the same day as a colleague on the court issued an order blocking the government from retaliating against Senator Mark Kelly by reducing his rank and retirement pay.

The Guardian reported:

A US federal judge’s order that some of the Venezuelan men sent by the Trump administration to a notorious prison in El Salvador must be allowed to return to the United States to fight their cases has been greeted with hope and a sense of vindication – but also fear – by one of the deportees.

US district judge James Boasberg ruled on Thursday in Washington DC that the Trump administration should facilitate the return of deportees who are currently in countries outside Venezuela, saying they must be given the opportunity to seek the due process they were denied after being illegally expelled from the US last March.

Boasberg added that the US government should cover the travel costs of those who wish to come to the US to argue their immigration cases.

The tone of Boasberg’s memo was one of frustration and exasperation at the government’s failure to comply with basic constitutional constraints.

On December 22, 2025, this Court issued a Memorandum Opinion finding that the Government had denied due process to a class of Venezuelans it deported to El Salvador last March in defiance of this Court’s Order. The Court offered the Government the opportunity to propose steps that would facilitate hearings for the class members on their habeas corpus claims so that they could “challenge their designations under the [Alien Enemies Act] and the validity of the [President’s] Proclamation.” Id. Apparently not interested in participating in this process, the Government’s responses essentially told the Court to pound sand. Believing that other courses would be both more productive and in line with the Supreme Court’s requirements outlined in Noem v. Abrego Garcia, =the Court will now order the Government to facilitate the return from third countries of those Plaintiffs who so desire. It will also permit other Plaintiffs to file their habeas supplements from abroad.

The order is just 7 pages long, and well worth reading to appreciate the extent to which the government has been extending a symbolic middle-finger at the attempts of the federal courts to press the Trump administration to comply with constitutional guidelines.

Photos from Portland

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It’s early morning on Super Bowl Sunday in Honolulu. Outside our mango trees are dancing in strong gusts of wind and a high wind warning remains in effect.

Strong winds may lead to property damage. Hazardous driving conditions due to powerful cross winds will pose a serious risk for drivers, especially for light weight and high profile vehicles. Loose outdoor items should be brought inside or secured properly. A High Wind Warning means that winds are expected to be at least 40 mph, with gusts over 60 mph. Stay away from downed power lines.

Meanwhile, here are photos of anti-ICE protests in Portland taken by numerous photographers and scraped up from the photo site, Flickr.com.

You should not need a Flickr membership to scroll through the photos, although I have no doubt that you’ll be asked if you want to set up an account.

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