In his final column for Modern Healthcare, Merrill Goozner reflects on more than eight years of writing about healthcare policy and politics.

Lawmakers are gearing up for another round in the nation’s never-ending fight over how to make health insurance universal and affordable. Here’s my advice. Stop putting patches on a broken system.

Restoring faith in the Food and Drug Administration will take more than simply changing who sits in the Oval Office.

The only way to avoid endless fights over healthcare and get to near universal enrollment is to make Obamacare plans—and all employer-based plans—truly affordable for individuals and families.

President Joe Biden and his economic advisers, many from the Obama administration, have learned from experience. That’s why they’re pushing for adequately sized relief on all fronts.

Want to know who raised hospital prices in the middle of the pandemic? Every hospital in Maryland, and the state seems fairly happy with the results.

President Joe Biden’s heartfelt plea for national unity will be immediately tested by the American people in how they respond to his plan for ending the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now is not the time to suspend some campaign contributions by healthcare organizations. Now is the time to permanently end them all. And, in the spirit of unity, to candidates from both parties.

With limited supplies for at least the next six months, single-dose vaccination allows more people to get their shots during the initial phases of the campaign. And there’s some science backing that approach.

The incoming administration faces a stark choice. It can dramatically expand antitrust enforcement and rely on competition to drive down costs, or vigorously pursue payment reform and aggressively push providers into risk-based pay arrangements.

Merrill Goozner is asking Santa for some public health goodies this year, along with insurance coverage for all. Also on the list: moving all providers to value-based pay arrangements and ending surprise billing.

Confidence will be greatly advanced by guaranteeing that power-hungry politicians and self-interested corporations will never again be allowed to override science in determining what best serves the public interest.

Pfizer’s premature vaccine announcement, even though it does look promising, is like heralding an election outcome based on day-of voting and not waiting for the mail-in votes to be counted.

Legal challenges could keep the presidential race up in the air for weeks. But no matter who eventually occupies the White House, the next president faces a divided Congress, which makes passing major healthcare legislation an unlikely prospect. 

Post election, one way or another, healthcare will be the first order of business when the new Congress convenes next January.