If it becomes law, any healthcare provider or payer could turn away any patient based on personal or organizational beliefs. With so much work to be done to make Michigan a better place to work and live, you’d think legislators would have more important things to do than enact laws that are nothing more than a license to discriminate using […]

Catholic health systems aren’t always held to the same medical standards as secular hospitals. This is the third post in an ongoing series. You can read the other installments HERE. When you go to a hospital, you have a reasonable expectation that you’ll receive the care you need — whoever you are, whatever your circumstances. After all, there’s a reason […]

If past experience is any indication, some healthcare services will no longer be available. This is the second in a multi-part series on the rise of Catholic health systems and the impact on patient care. You can read the first post in the series HERE. Refusal to treat patients on religious grounds in Michigan has made national news recently, with […]

Religious doctrine can trump medical standards and interfere with patients’ rights to make their own decisions. If you want to be sure you and the people you love have access to the complete spectrum of healthcare services, you’d better know who owns your hospital. It’s not always obvious, but it’s important. Because one in six hospital beds in the United […]

More than 30 organizations are engaged in the bipartisan initiative to empower women and ensure gender equality. Women make up more than half of Michigan’s population, yet they are facing some significant challenges. That’s the reason for the creation of the MI Lead coalition, a bipartisan group dedicated to protecting women’s rights and empowering women by giving them more say […]

Let’s get the word out: Obamacare is working. And getting covered is only the beginning. Regular readers of Eclectablog know that I’ve made it a personal mission to share as many Obamacare success stories as I can get my hands on, to educate Americans on the benefits of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). I’ve been urging others to do the […]

After years of going without or paying steep premiums, he finally has insurance that covers the care he needs. Tom admits he’s made some bad decisions in his life. But signing up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act is not one of them. He contracted hepatitis C after using intravenous drugs for the first time at age 15 — […]

She sees the benefits of Obamacare, both personally and professionally. When Judy Stone, M.D., was in private practice as an infectious disease specialist, about one-third of her practice was made up of patients who could not afford to pay. But she never turned them away. “I wasn’t raised to ask for payment,” Dr. Stone says. “I was raised to believe […]

No one’s religious liberty is at risk, but the Michigan Legislature wants to use religion to infringe on the rights of others anyway. That didn’t take long. Less than two weeks after the midterm elections, Michigan Republicans began pushing a bill that would make it legal to discriminate on religious grounds Given the Republican majority in the Michigan Legislature — […]

The MNA is working with Michigan health systems to protect nurses and patients, even as Governor Rick Snyder stalls on meeting about statewide standards. On Wednesday, registered nurses from the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) held a press conference in front of Governor Rick Snyder’s office to discuss Michigan’s ability to safely care for an Ebola patient and demand a state […]

Her story demonstrates how critical health insurance is for many people — and disproves the myth that small companies aren’t going to provide employee insurance under the ACA. For Emily Todebush, going without health insurance simply isn’t an option. In early 2013, the 29-year-old was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system […]