President Obama has accomplished something else that no other President can claim while in office. He became the first sitting President to publish a scholarly article in a prestigious medical journal. The article entitled “United States Health Care Reform: Progress to Date and Next Steps” was published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) with Barack Obama, JD listed as the author.
In the article, President Obama provided evidence that the number of uninsured Americans has dropped dramatically and resulted in lower hospital readmission rates.
The article assesses how the Affordable Care Act has improved the American health care system along with expanding and improving coverage as a means of reform. Alongside the evidence presented, the President also introduces a “public option” plan in parts of the U.S. and calls on the federal government to decrease drug prices.
President Obama’s submission did not happen because, you know, he’s the President. Even though he did not go through peer reviews and is listed as a special contribution, his article was thoroughly vetted and fact checked which took about two months to do.
Editor in Chief of JAMA, Howard Bauchner said, “While we of course recognized the author is the president of the United States, JAMA has enormously high standards and we certainly expected the president to meet those standards.”
Where does he find the time to do these things? President Obama is listed as the only author but credits seven members of his staff for helping with research and writing.
He wrote, “I will repeat what I said 4 years ago when the Supreme Court upheld the ACA: I am as confident as ever that looking back 20 years from now, the nation will be better off because of having the courage to pass this law and persevere. As this progress with health care reform in the United States demonstrates, faith in responsibility, belief in opportunity, and ability to unite around common values are what makes this nation great.”
Congratulations to President Obama for continuing to aim higher even as he closes out his presidency. Click here to read the entire article.