American Healthcare Is A Blood Sport.
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Development Set’s focus on global health has always included the United States — which oddly isn’t always the case (as if the world’s richest country weren’t part of the globe?). So let’s talk about it.
For those of you who don’t follow U.S. news, Republicans in the House of Representatives passed their revised version of the American Health Care Act, intended to dismantle Obamacare.
Let’s not mince words here: A bad bill passed haphazardly in the House that could cost 24 million people their health insurance, and who knows how many lives (and for any public health nerds, QALYs and DALYs). Having a C-section, mental illness, or being a survivor of sexual assault could mean you’re denied health coverage. Meanwhile, it “cuts taxes that primarily benefit high earners, while reducing government health care assistance to the impoverished.”
For me, along with so many Americans, yesterday was spent digesting the fact that poverty and gender might now be pre-existing conditions, and that, in no uncertain terms, giving wealthy people tax breaks is more important than giving the rest of us healthcare. I won’t lie; I cried. And so did many people I know.
I think one of the biggest travesties in American politics is how it’s taken after the worst tendencies in sports. There are so many great things to learn from sports — camaraderie, the discipline it takes to achieve difficult goals, how to get through tough times with grace. Instead, it seems like politics today is about maintaining loyalty to one’s team, even if the field has caught fire and your teammate is holding the lighter fluid.
I felt this acutely three times yesterday: first, when Democrats were taunting the Republicans about how they’re going to lose their jobs; second, when I saw tweets about how “badly” the Republicans needed this win; and third, when I saw a photo of beer being rolled into Congress to celebrate this Republican “victory.”
When a bill is passed to kick the population of Australia off their health insurance, why would the immediate reaction be to cheer, taunt, or drink beer? And why are CNN reporters live-tweeting the proceedings as if it were the Cavs-Raptors game?
Readers: how do you propose The Development Set cover the AHCA — if at all? What do you think is missing in today’s coverage? What if anything would you like to contribute yourself to the conversation?
In the meantime, here’s some weekend reading:
When You Call 911 and Nobody Picks Up
Across the United States, every disclaimer about emergencies tells you to call 911. The American Red Cross teaches certification courses in life-saving skills like CPR, and before administering aid you’re advised to call 911. But most of us don’t know what happens between the time we call and the time help arrives.
Turns out, emergency dispatch services are consolidating across the country, and in many cases, run privately. And particularly in rural areas, it could mean the difference between life and death.
To the U.S. Resistance Movement: America Is Not Exceptional
What I hope we can understand, after crossing 100 days into the presidency — and the growing U.S. resistance movement — is that we are not exceptional. Nor are our struggles particularly new.
Around the world, people have been fighting authoritarian governments and oligarchic regimes for lifetimes, and in some cases, for generations. Citizens in the United States have an opportunity to learn from the visionary leadership of women, youth, and Indigenous people around the world.
Bring Back Home Ec
By Fiona Tapp
Because what life skill is more important than knowing how to feed yourself?
