Class 11: “Reducing Health Inequities” by UC Berkeley Professor Reich

Welcome back to my Wealth and Poverty class. We’re coming up to near the end of the semester but still have a lot to do — so keep your seatbelts on. This week we examine inequities in health. Among the questions I’ll be addressing are: Why and how are inequalities of income, wealth, power, and race related to health? Next, assuming that good health care is a limited resource, what’s the best means of allocating it – through the so-called “free market,” through rationing, through government subsidies, or some other means? More specifically, I’ll be asking how poor and lower-income families can achieve better health? Which inevitably raises the question whether we should move toward a single-payer healthcare plan — and if so, how? And finally, how is the range of politically acceptable health policy solutions likely to change as a result of the pandemic? This is the eleventh class in the 14-week series. I’ve shared some select readings from the syllabus for you. They’re available at: https://robertreich.substack.com/p/wh... Class Outline ------------------------- 0:00 Current events and prior classes recap 12:44 Introduction 13:18 How does the US compare? 19:06 Income and health 28:46 Racial disparities and health 39:28 Private for-profit health insurance 47:50 Public health insurance 1:07:38 Personal behavior and health