Author, Doctor, Speaker, Joseph Bentivegna

Doctor Bentivegna is an ophthalmologist living in Connecticut. He has written numerous op-ed pieces for The Hartford Courant and The New York Times regarding health care, tort reform, and the political situation in Haiti.

All Articles

The Insurance Companies Don’t Care if my Patients Go Blind

         One of the proudest accomplishments of my profession, ophthalmology, is the reduction in blindness from glaucoma. Decades ago, it was common to hear “Uncle John went blind from glaucoma.” Now such tragedies are rare. But now the insurance companies are refusing to pay for the most effective glaucoma medicines while increasing the patients’ deductibles. The result will be that more patients go blind.       Unlike many diseases, glaucoma has few symptoms in its initial stages. In most cases, the pressure in the eye is elevated causing damage to the optic nerve, the nerve that transfers visual images from the eye to the brain. Usually, glaucoma affects the peripheral vision first. But many patients don’t notice this as it occurs gradually. This is why ophthalmologists advise all patients to have their eyes checked, even if they have no visual complaints. A simple eye pressure check along with examination of the optic nerve can identify patients at risk for glaucoma.       Over the past generation, the pharmaceutical companies … [Read more...]

The Ruling Class Goes After Bernie Sanders

        America’s incompetent Ruling Class has struggled without success to remove President Trump from office, whether it be by recounts, harassing electors, charging him with being a Russian agent or impeaching him. While there may be another soporific “bombshell” in the next few months, it appears that the only way the President will leave office is if he is defeated this November. However, an unforeseen problem has occurred: the popularity of Vermont senator Bernie Sanders.       A self-described socialist, Sanders launched a populist campaign against Hillary Clinton in 2016 and may have been the nominee had the system not been rigged by superdelegates and a fawning Clinton-loving media. Furthermore, polls consistently showed that Sanders was a stronger candidate against Trump than Clinton.       With Sanders, what you see is what you get. Unlike Joe Biden, who has flip-flopped on virtually every issue, Sanders consistently favored Medicare-for-All, free college, forgiveness of all student debt, amnesty for illegal … [Read more...]

Failure of Lamont’s Toll Plan Shows Lack of Trust in Our Institutions

        In spite of a having a large majority (22-14), Senate Democrats informed Governor Ned Lamont that they will not support his scaled back plan to place tolls - or in Lamont’s Orwellian term “user fees” - on fourteen bridges. This is after the media, multiple civic groups and Connecticut’s corporate leadership have been cheerleading for tolls for the past year. Why?       It is because nobody believes anything Lamont or our institutions tell us.  Lamont’s election victory was due to his promise to only allow tolls on incoming out-of-state trucks. Had he been honest about his real plan to place tolls on Connecticut drivers, he would be comparing the nose of first-growth Bourdeauxs at his Greenwich estate.  But voters expect politicians to lie and may have forgiven Lamont if his latest proposal was not replete with more myths. Let’s take a look. Myth Number 1. The repairs will cost $21 billion.       Connecticut is notorious for low-balling construction and transportation estimates and then shafting the taxpayers. The construction for the ball park that houses the … [Read more...]