Email Author Sharon Lerner

1998 Stories by Sharon Lerner

• Who Decides?

  published December 29, 1998

  Joanne Lukomnik was a fan of managed care, at least in its earliest forms. "She believed in the ideals," says Len Rodberg, a health policy expert... More >>

• Ticked Off

  published December 22, 1998

  Michael Egan often feels like he has a bad, full-body sunburn. The sensation worsens throughout the day; by 6 p.m., it's so bad that the... More >>

• Wham Bam

  published December 8, 1998

  Back in what we'll call the honeymoon period, managed-care companies saw the earth, moon, and stars in medicaid patients. Signing up poor people... More >>

• Repro Man

  published December 1, 1998

  Niels Lauersen tends to the gynecological needs of the rich and famous. He has a swank private practice on Park Avenue, a Park Avenue apartment,... More >>

• Out of Network

  published November 24, 1998

  The 2400 ABC television technical workers who were locked out of their jobs after striking over health benefits two weeks ago have lots of support... More >>

• The Church's HMO

  published November 17, 1998

  When Nicole got pregnant three years ago, she asked her doctor about an abortion. The 27-year-old mother felt her family was already complete: Her... More >>

• Pain in the Neck

  published November 10, 1998

  Dr. Jordan Stern treats cancers of the neck and throat. But the surgeon also has another specialty: getting managed-care companies to pay his... More >>

• Blight To Life

  published November 3, 1998

  Just after Buffalo-based OB-GYN Barnett Slepian was killed by a sniper bullet last Friday night, the two other doctors who provide abortions in... More >>

• Lump Sum

  published November 3, 1998

  Joel Feldstein went to the doctor because he thought he'd strained a throat muscle and instead learned he had a rare cancerous tumor on his... More >>

• Empire Turns Back

  published October 27, 1998

  This story has a happy ending. After almost three years of off-and-on struggle with their HMO, a family's health-care nightmare appears to be... More >>

• Numbers Game

  published October 20, 1998

  Lou Fay is exactly seven years, seven months, and seven days older than Anna, his wife of 33 years. When the two were growing up in the Bronx, the... More >>

• Damaged Care

  published October 13, 1998

  Back in the days before managed care, the doctor's bag was the preferred symbol of American medicine. (Or, for dress-up purposes, that mysterious... More >>

• The 'Partial' Ploy

  published September 29, 1998

  This past Friday, the Senate fell just three votes short of overriding Clinton's veto of a ban on "partial birth abortion." The vote seemed to be... More >>

• Vendor Bender

  published June 9, 1998

  Many New Yorkers may think of Wednesday's citywide vendor protest as a day without hot dogs, but the shutdown--and the controversy that spurred... More >>

• The Outpatient is In

  published June 9, 1998

  When then mayor Koch announced the closing of Harlem's Sydenham hospital back in 1980, all hell broke loose. Angry protesters stormed the... More >>

• Starve and Sever

  published May 19, 1998

  A few short weeks ago, labor leaders warned of the bloodbath that would ensue if the city went through with layoffs of more than 900 public... More >>

• Anatomy of a Drug Craze

  published May 12, 1998

  The abandoned trailer in Bushwick, Brooklyn, has only been a serious crack hangout for a few years. Inside, perched on crates, car seats, and... More >>