We Must Fix US Health and Public Health Policy | AJPH | Vol. 111 Issue 4
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Despite a history of public health progress and the most expensive health care system in the world, the United States failed in its initial response to COVID-19. Much of this failure resulted from a presidential administration that sidelined, undermined, and maligned public health. But the roots of failure are deeper . Recovering from the pandemic and building health and public health back better will require recognizing the roots of failure and working persistently to achieve the progress that the country needs—especially among the most underserved communities. This must begin with recognizing the shortcomings in the US health system response to the pandemic, but the multiple overlapping failures laid bare by this crisis demonstrate the need for a systemic, multifaceted, sustained approach to reform that goes beyond pandemic preparedness.
Over the past 40 years, the United States has gone from having a life expectancy near the average for upper-income countries and average per capita health care costs to being a negative outlier [...]
