Author Archives: Robert Nelb

Last Thursday’s failed vote on children’s health care was the latest example of politics at its worst. Both sides were unwilling to compromise, and in the end, not one House Republican changed votes. Even worse, the sides became more entrenched. Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the goal of covering 10 million children is “non-negotiable,” while President »

Making change is a difficult business. Two weeks ago, I wrote about the importance of reauthorizing the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, but on Thursday, President Bush again promised to veto the bill, citing the same false statistics that I criticized in my op-ed. Last week, I went a step further and collected petition signatures »

As the debate heats up in Washington over the reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (commonly known as S-CHIP), one statistic has been notably missing — according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, as many as three out of four uninsured children are already eligible for state health insurance, but they are just not »

The beginning of a new school year is a time for choices. We choose our classes, our activities, and even the arrangement of that dorm room that will be our home for the next nine months. Choices are often stressful, but Yale at this time of year is infused with a special sense of energy »

On Saturday, May 5, I’m going to the state capital to rally for universal health care. It may be the week before finals, it may be a two-hour round-trip drive, and it may not make a difference, but these details are irrelevant. Access to health care is one of the most pressing issues for our »

April is a month that separates the best from the best. For high school seniors, this means receiving the thick or the thin envelope in what was described as one of the most competitive college admissions seasons ever. For those of us who have already been accepted, this month means going through yet another round »

Before spring break, you might have overlooked an article in the News about a Connecticut high-school student with a simple but powerful plan to save the world. Jessica Adelson doesn’t have an answer to the war in Iraq or a solution to world hunger, but she does have a dream to tackle an even more »

As I write, billions of your health-care dollars are being wasted, and you probably don’t even know it. According to the Wall Street Journal, $20 billion are spent each year by doctors and insurance companies trying to sort out each other’s claims. Moreover, according to the McKinsey Global Institute, $66 billion are wasted on pharmaceuticals »

On the day after Valentine’s Day, it’s time to talk about sex — the good kind: safe sex. Perhaps you think Yale is doing pretty well in this area. Indeed, last fall Yale topped a sexual health report by Trojan as the only school to receive a perfect score. Being a leader, however, isn’t easy, »

In my last column, I called you to action. Now it’s time to discuss the details. The theme is global health and the story is how you, dear reader, can save lives today. It’s no secret that global health presents some of the most striking instances of injustice and inequality in our world. While we »

By the third day of shopping period, you may have already chosen your courses for the semester. Maybe you don’t have a clue. Either way, this column is for you. I’m not going to describe which courses are good for your health — although excessive stress certainly doesn’t help — but I am going to »

This Friday, World AIDS Day demands your attention. Twenty-five years after AIDS was first identified, we are called to reflect on the over 25 million people who have died of one of the most devastating diseases of our time. 39.5 million people are currently living with HIV, according to a recent U.N. report, and the »