Opinions are almost never news; but when they are, the stakes are almost always astronomical.
For nearly two decades, I steadfastly avoided writing opinion columns, fearing it would loosen my desperate grasp on objective reporting. The possibility of crafting a weekly health plan column that would have any significant impact was not even the shred of a thought in my mind when I was covering the town of Franklin, Mass., as a cub reporter in the mid-1990s.
As I reach the six-month mark working at HealthLeaders Media, a weekly health plan column installment has become a surprising source of pride, albeit of the bittersweet variety.
A rarely shared secret of the journalism profession is the frequency of occasions when reporters are required to become nearly instant experts, with varying degrees of success. When I decided to write a health plan column about efforts to curb painkiller medication abuse, my opinions were supportable but insufficiently expert to capture the full truth.
One of my best friends, who worked with me in the Franklin Bureau back in the day, shared his expert opinions on painkiller medications and helped me shine light on one of the country's darkest medical quandries. The Mayor of Martha's Vineyard started forming those expert opinions the dark night death visited the seat next to him in the twisted wreckage of car on the island.
Read his truthful account about painkiller medication abuse in America.
