Single-payer health insurance has a lot to recommend it. Some—but not all—single-payer systems provide convenient and comprehensive access to care. Some—but not all—singer-payer systems can constrain excessive costs. When it comes to single-payer, it’s the wonky aspects that matter, not the big vision thing. Overall, there is no particular connection between single-payer systems and quality. […]
Monthly Archives: February 2016
Many public health interventions are designed to address already existing public health epidemics, for example by encouraging physical activity to address the obesity epidemic or creating a vaccine after a large outbreak. Public health challenges can be difficult to predict, which explains why interventions are often designed after a public health challenge is considered an […]
22
Feb
Feb
Many of Bernie Sanders’ policies would make America a lot more like Denmark, and David Brooks complains that the country would become “a lot less vibrant” as a result. This tired canard came in for a lot of well-earned criticism on the NYT letters page: it turns out that America’s current vibrancy doesn’t look so hot to […]
Another city is jumping on the cash incentives bandwagon. Washington, D.C. is considering a program that would pay people not to commit crimes. We’ve written about a very similar program in Richmond, CA. Richmond saw a 77% percent drop in homicides over a 7-year period, although critics say the decrease can at least be partially […]
The vaccination rate for California kindergartners has increased 2.5 percentage points since the previous school year, according to recently released data from the California Department of Public Health. Los Angeles County saw the largest increase in the number of fully vaccinated students – almost 9,000 children – compared to the previous school year. Alameda County […]
Another great podcast by Jeff Wood interviewing Jay Crossley of Houston Tomorrow about Houston’s new general plan. Jay is a proponent of “meaningful, equitable planning,” and finds it distressing that until now, “A $5 billion business [Houston] doesn’t have a general plan.” Houston also notable for its bus system redesign. There are many interesting […]
07
Feb
Feb
Angie Schmitt has a great piece on Obama’s transportation proposal. I’d like to highlight the potential benefits to population health. Obama proposes a $10-per-barrel surcharge assessed on oil companies, which would generate about $30 billion annually to be spent disproportionately on transit and bike and ped improvements. To put this in context, the price of a barrel […]
As extreme weather conditions become more common, connecting people to information and aid during emergencies can be crucial to saving lives. Social media sites and other technologies are quickly becoming common tools for public health departments and other organizations to quickly inform and mobilize people. Today, more than 100,000 health apps are available in the […]
It’s official. The World Health Organization declared the Zika virus an international public health emergency on Monday. So far all known cases in the U.S. have been infected abroad, but the virus is expected to spread rapidly if nothing is done, partly due to warmer weather patterns that let mosquitos thrive. The past year […]