Political Science 394EI - US Health Politics and Inequal

The United States leads the world in spending on health care and is without peer in terms of biomedical research. However, the United States is not the healthiest country in the world as measured by key indicators of population health like infant mortality and life expectancy. Unequal access to quality health care is certainly part of the explanation in a country where, even after the new health care reform legislation, some 25 million Americans will have no insurance. But other factors are at work that are related to health as well: our relatively high income inequality, our stubbornly persisting patterns of residential segregation, our food environment and uneven educational system, to name a few. All these issues are matters of politics and public policy. This course will try to demonstrate that, far more than anything else, political decisions shape the health profile of the nation, and largely explain the persistent health disparities in terms of race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Satisfies the Integrative Experience requirement for BA-PolSci majors.

Open to Undergraduate Seniors & Juniors only.