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Politics & Healthcare

Healthcare will remain on the front lines of the culture wars for the foreseeable future. Issues including abortion, Covid-19 mitigation and transgender care have clearly shown a red state– blue state divide. Doctors in one state can now face jail time for practices that are the standard of care in the state next door. For millions of Americans, these fissures have engendered distrust of physicians, medical researchers and once-trusted institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While this trend is most noticeable on the far right, some groups—both liberal and libertarian— have also become increasingly skeptical of government health policies. In both red and blue states,…

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Featured

 Health Care on the Ballot in 2024

When American voters are asked to name their top issues in this year’s election, they say health care second only to the economy. And with good reason — despite spending the most on health care, the United States has the shortest life expectancy, the highest rates of avoidable deaths, and the highest health care costs of any country. Voters understand that policy changes made by the next administration and Congress will profoundly impact our health care system, shaping its affordability, access, and equity.

Articles of Interest

Politics in health care: insights from an expert

As this political cycle continues to progress, we will continue to hear more and more about the directions candidates want to see health care go. Will we see a move towards the middle from both parties or will we see just the opposite?

The Politics of Health Care and the 2024 Election

Health care issues often, but not always, play a dominant role in political campaigns. Health care is a personal issue, so it often resonates with voters. The affordability of health care, in particular, is typically a top concern for voters, along with other pocketbook issues, And, at 17% of the economy, health care has many industry stakeholders who seek influence through lobbying and campaign contributions. At the same time, individual policy issues are rarely decisive in elections.

As Healthcare And Politics Intersect, Doctors Urge Patients To Vote

Aspects of healthcare influenced by politics extend beyond women’s health. Insurance reimbursement, gun violence, criminalization of illicit substances, pharmaceutical cost-regulation are just a few active political issues that affect patient outcomes.

Healthcare, politics, and public policies

All countries currently face the challenges of reorganizing, restructuring, or redesigning their healthcare systems. Health (care) is globally universal in that everyone gets ill at some point in time. It refers to a consuming good or service (care) and it deals with the most precious ‘commodity’ one can have: life.

How Doctors Derailed a US National Health Plan

New research shows how organized political opposition helped derail support for a US national health plan decades ago.

How Politics And Health Are Intertwined

Political polarization is affecting Americans' health, according to a new study. Researchers find higher levels of premature death in Republican-leaning counties compared to those in Democratic-leaning ones. The higher mortality in GOP counties is across the board – everything from heart disease to suicide. Allison Aubrey talks to Emily Kwong about what may be causing these disparities.

How Politics Are Changing Health and Science

With a contested presidential election looming, we explore what's at stake for health and science, from fertility medicine to cyber security with voting machines, and efforts by scientists to protect themselves from political influence.

Impact of Political Economy on Population Health: A Systematic Review of Reviews

Politics, economics, and public policy are important determinants of population health. Countries with social democratic regimes, higher public spending, and lower income inequalities have populations with better health.

Keep Political Beliefs Out of Medical Care?

Readers discuss an article about how the Gaza war has been divisive at a hospital and medical school.

Political Aspects of Health

Who gets health care, and what kind of care, are political questions. The health care strategies of any society have a significant class dimension: Will resources be used primarily to improve nutrition, sanitation and workplace environments, and the health of the base of the population, or to acquire expensive technologies that will benefit mainly those holding economic power?

Politics affect views on healthcare quality—but not on personal experience with car

When participants were asked about the major reasons for problems in the healthcare system, the answers were nearly identical between political groups. The most common issues were being able to afford needed tests or drugs and the influence of health insurance on treatment decisions. However, one issue differed by politics: attitudes toward government regulation. "Excessive government regulation" was cited as an important reason for problems with healthcare quality by two-thirds of 'healthy' Republicans versus one-fourth of 'healthy' Democrats. But in the 'sick' group, there was no significant difference—40 percent of both Republicans and Democrats cited regulation as an important factor.

Politics and health

The amount of scientific literature on social inequalities in health has increased exponentially in recent years. However, the effect of politics and policies on health and on social inequalities in health has rarely been studied.

Politics and Public Health

Politics shapes the social, economic, and environmental conditions that, in turn, shape the health of populations. From monetary policy, to pollution control, to the appointment of judges who decide the great civil rights cases of our time, politics is integral to the safety and well-being of many millions.

Public Health is Always Political

Why should we be surprised COVID-19 appears to be the most politically divisive disease outbreak in U.S. history?

The Impact of U.S. Election and Healthcare Politics on Company Paid Health Insurance

The debate over American healthcare policies and the workplace is nothing new. In 1912, President Teddy Roosevelt endorsed a plan that included a health care policy, and since then, almost every decade after, insurance has been hotly debated. The political divide over this topic is clear today: Democrats generally advocate for expanding access to affordable healthcare through government programs. Republicans often promote market-driven solutions emphasizing individual choice and competition. These contrasting approaches shape the policies that govern healthcare, including employer-sponsored plans.

The Influence of Politics on Healthcare Delivery

Politics has a significant influence on healthcare delivery, impacting various aspects of the healthcare system including access to care, funding, regulations, and the overall quality of services provided. The relationship between politics and healthcare delivery is complex and multifaceted, with political decisions often shaping the structure and functioning of healthcare systems in profound ways.

The politics and policy of racism in American health care

We’d have to go as far back as slavery to fully grasp the racial history of US health care, but I’ll start at a much more proximate place: 1946. On August 13 of that year, President Harry Truman signed the Hill-Burton Act (then known as the Hospital Survey and Construction Act). Hill-Burton was the first significant federal intervention into the domain of health care, and it was nothing short of pathbreaking.

The Politics of Health Care Reform: Lessons from the Past, Prospects for the Future

In The Politics of Health Care Reform, some of America’s best-known political scientists, historians, and legal scholars make sense of our most turbulent policy issue. They dig below the jargon and minutiae to explore the enduring questions of American politics, government reform, and health care.

The politics of health system quality: how to ignite demand

Kevin Croke and colleagues consider how demand for quality health systems can be made a political and public priority to drive change in low and middle income countries.

The Politics of Healthcare

According to a study from Standard & Poor’s, “No other force is likely to shape the future of national economic health, public finances, and national policies as the irreversible rate at which the world’s population is growing older.” Indeed, people are living longer—but not necessarily healthier—lives in almost every single corner of the globe, and costly-to-treat chronic diseases are rising rapidly alongside existing infectious disease burdens, placing increasing financial pressure on already strained health systems.

Understanding the Connection Between Political and Social Determinants of Health

“Political determinants of health” feels like a loaded phrase, but what it means may surprise you. It’s not about Democratic or Republican politics. Instead, it involves taking an in-depth look at policies and procedures that guide population health practices within a community.

Resources

The Future of Health

Will we seize the opportunities presented by the emerging technologies of today and tomorrow to reengineer our health system with compassion, common sense and ethical clarity?

Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law

Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law focuses on the initiation, formulation, and implementation of health policy and analyzes the relations between government and health—past, present, and future.