Medium January 21, 2020
We’ve been spending a lot of time these past few years debating healthcare reform. First the Affordable Care Act was debated, passed, implemented, and almost continuously litigated since. Lately the concept of Medicare For All, or variations on it, has been the hot policy debate. Other smaller but still important issues like high prescription drug prices or surprise billing have also received significant attention.
As worthy as these all are, a new study suggests that focusing on them may be missing the point. If we’re not addressing wealth disparities, we’re unlikely to address health disparities.
It has been well documented that there are considerable health disparities in the U.S., attributable to socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, gender, even geography, among other factors....