I write this inaugural diary as a public health researcher, and a strong Obama supporter. This is my attempt to explain what I value in health reform, and why I am both hopeful and frustrated by the current debate.
It is easy for a health policy researcher to despise the practicalities of a presidential campaign. Health care and public health are huge, complex, and troubled enterprises that touch every interest group in America. Each candidate must speak clearly and substantively about these the challenges facing health care. Yet the candidates cannot become enmeshed in many of the complexities we want to honor as clinicians and researchers. Meanwhile, health care is just one piece of a tough, important presidential campaign.
Most citizens (with the exception of most Kos readers) are equally uninterested in the fine print. They listen to us debate arcana of electronic medical records, reinsurance, risk adjustment, and the rest. They watch each candidate, and they rightly wonder: Which of these accomplished and privileged people understands the challenges I face? Who will address my interests and values as a patient, a caregiver, and, for many, as a health care provider?
Read More