Health Care Issues

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Sunglasses: Rating the Shades

The brands Boston shops are pushing this summer
Summer used to be simple: fun in the sun.
By LAMAR B. GRAHAM | June 14, 2010

What will the highest court say about same-sex matrimony?
It's a given that, at some point — whether in these DOMA challenges or some other future cases — the US Supreme Court will hear a case relating to same-sex marriage. Can we read any tea leaves for indications of how they will rule?
By JEFF INGLIS | June 02, 2010

Preparing for June 8

Candidate breakdown for districts 114, 116, and 119
Stuckey vs. Vincent, Capron vs. Sharif, and Barkley vs. Dini
By DEIRDRE FULTON | May 26, 2010

Will Karl ever quit smoking?

Failure
That shit's radioactive
By KARL STEVENS | May 26, 2010

Beer on a budget

In defense of expense
The beer industry is generally considered recession-proof, since people are still going to drink beer when times get tough. But has the same been true for more expensive craft beer in the recent recession?
By JOSH SMITH | May 19, 2010

Can the Netroots triumph in Rhode island?

On the Hustings
Stories of State Representative David Segal’s nascent, underdog run for Congress invariably make a nod to the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. And rightly so.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | May 19, 2010

Tyme fer moore lernin’

Tee-Partee Lohjik
Much sport has been made of the hilariously misspelled signs created and proudly displayed at rallies by barely literate Tea Partiers.
By JEFF INGLIS | April 28, 2010

Reefer gladness at the Crowne Plaza

Remedy
Thirty-five years ago, a doctor took Elvy Musikka aside and told her that she’d go blind from her glaucoma if she didn’t start smoking. Marijuana, that is.
By ELIZABETH RAU | April 21, 2010

Fed up and low down

For once, the beleaguered taxpayers of Maine can’t lose
Just kidding. Of course they’ll lose.
By AL DIAMON | April 21, 2010

Smith Hill weighs a ban on the under-21 crowd

The Fun Police
Seasoned partiers will recall that about a decade ago our august legislature considered barring anyone under age 21 from Rhode Island night clubs in a bid to curb underage drinking.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | March 31, 2010

Lynch’s left flank

The Southie Congressman may have pushed progressives too far this time.
US Representative Stephen Lynch has held Massachusetts’s ninth congressional district since 2001 — a fact that has irritated the state’s liberals ever since.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | April 02, 2010

Hallelujah!

Health-care reform is a new high-water mark
The Democrats won and the Republicans lost. That, in a nutshell, is the bottom line.
By EDITORIAL | March 24, 2010

What the health-care bill really means

Reforming the System
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama signed the new health-care bill into law.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | March 24, 2010

Tanked

A few guppies short
The term "think tank" looks as if it signifies something impressive.
By AL DIAMON | March 17, 2010

The quest for the ultimate female orgasm

How far will women go for an orgasm?
Let's talk about the female orgasm, and how for some women, it can be difficult to come by.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | March 22, 2010

Taxi turmoil

Plus, controlling local health costs
Taxis are an under-appreciated and often little-considered component in urban mass-transit systems. They fill the gaps left by the MBTA and offer a sort of curb-to-curb, citywide Zipcar service.
By EDITORIAL | March 17, 2010

Pot bill progresses in Augusta

C'Mon Doc ...
At the end of February, Topsham became the latest Maine community to consider moratoriums on medical-marijuana dispensaries in the wake of last November's election.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | March 10, 2010

The power of money

Shame on the nation's biggest health insurer; shame on the Black Caucus
While a cadre of conservative Democrats continues to conspire with Washington's mendacious Republican minority to block national health-care reform, the nation's largest health-benefits company — amusingly called WellPoint — is going about its business of screwing policyholders and scoring record profits in the process.
By EDITORIAL | February 18, 2010

Rhode Island’s own stab at health reform

Get Healthy
Health care reform, if it survives the election of Republican Scott Brown to Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat, will make insurance accessible and provide a slew of new consumer protections for millions of Americans.
By MARION DAVIS | January 20, 2010

Up in Smoke in New Hampshire

Live Fried or Die Dept.
President Barack Obama has championed a platform that pledges commitment to a green economy. But this probably isn't what he had in mind.
By VALERIE VANDE PANNE | January 06, 2010

Portland’s wishes for 2010

New Year’s resolutions
Ah, these fresh moments of the new year, when our hopes and resolutions are unsullied by the rough ravages of time, politics, and the Maine winter.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | December 30, 2009

Call for health-care reform

Letters to the Portland Editor, December 25, 2009
The November 7 passage of health-care reform, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, in the House of Representatives was a very important and exciting moment for everyone who is dedicated to the idea that all Americans need and deserve access to high quality, affordable health care.
By PORTLAND PHOENIX LETTERS | December 22, 2009

Kennedy, Catholic Church, and Politics of Compromise

Reform Dept.
US Representative Patrick Kennedy's confrontation with Providence Bishop Thomas J. Tobin over abortion and health-care reform has soaked up quite a bit of ink.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | November 18, 2009

Fight for your right to party

Civil Liberties Dept.
Rhode Island's tragic collision with teen drinking in recent years has heightened concern about substance abuse in the state's school districts.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | November 11, 2009

Has Obama peaked? No, he hasn't

Obama’s days of greatest power and popularity lie before him. But be warned: he might not do what you want with it.
Barack Obama's popularity should not be judged by the day-to-day, media-driven vagaries of politics — nor by the wishful thinking of his opponents.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 12, 2009

Look for activist postcards on First Friday and beyond

AIDS Art Action
Approximately 1300 people in Maine live with HIV/AIDS, according to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 04, 2009

Kennedy vs. the Catholic Church

Opinion Dept.
Last week, Congressman Patrick Kennedy took the Catholic Church to task for opposing health reform that fails to include an explicit ban on federal funding for abortion. And he was right to do it.
By MARY ANN SORRENTINO | October 30, 2009

Referendum explainer

What you need to know about all the questions you’ll have to answer
There are seven statewide referendum questions on the November 3 ballot.
By PORTLAND PHOENIX STAFF | October 28, 2009

The waiting game

Congress is making progress. We think.
We know, we know: Last week, Olympia Snowe made history by being the only Republican in 2009 to vote for any sort of healthcare reform, even in committee-level draft language far from its final form.
By JEFF INGLIS | October 21, 2009

Band-Aid for expensive healthcare

Until there's a real solution, use these free and discounted medical services
Until there's a real solution, use these free and discounted medical services
By TANYA WHITON | October 21, 2009