Newsweek - USA (2021-03-12)

NEWSWEEK.COM 29

thermometers from Kinsa, a maker of medical de-

vices, found that the rate of illness in the Los An-

geles area was eight times higher in families with

incomes below $20,000 than in those with incomes

above $140,000. “Eighty percent of what makes you

healthy has nothing to do with the doctor’s office,”

says the APHA’s Benjamin.

It has everything to do with who can afford rou-

tine health care.

The Road to Better Health

beyond leading the country out of the covid-19

crisis, Biden seems determined to push the govern-

ment to make broader and longer-term improve-

ments to both public health and healthcare in the

U.S. For starters, he is already moving to bulk up

the country’s ability to respond more effectively

to the next pandemic. Among his proposals are an

epidemic forecasting center and new facilities for

genetic testing of spreading viruses for the purpose

of quickly identifying dangerous new variants. His

administration is also looking into funding the

development of prototype mRNA vaccines against

known viruses considered especially likely to mu-

tate into new threats, as well as ways of expanding

manufacturing and distribution facilities for vac-

cines and protective gear.

Some of Biden’s proposals for immediately im-

proving the country’s COVID-19 situation could

have lasting benefit, notes Kaiser’s Levitt. For

instance, a plan to add 100,000 workers to the

rolls of public-health agencies across the country

would have benefits beyond pandemic prepared-

ness. “That adds capacity that could translate into

a stronger public-health infrastructure,” Levitt says.

“I would hope the pandemic has illustrated how ill-

equipped our profit-driven healthcare system is for

dealing with population health.”

That added workforce would be part of a larger

investment in public health. Only three percent

of the money spent on health in the U.S. currently

goes to public health and its emphasis on protect-

ing against disease; the other 97 percent goes to

paying to treat the disease that the health system

failed to protect against. “The other rich countries

of the world have public-health infrastructures

that are much larger than ours in proportion to

their populations and their economies,” says Reich.

Biden seems determined to narrow that gap both

THIS IS THE MOMENT

WHERE WE CAN

ADDRESS OUR

HEALTH PROBLEMS

AND MAKE

TRANSFORMATIONAL

CHANGES. BUT

IN WASHINGTON

WHEN WINDOWS

LIKE THIS OPEN, THEY

CLOSE QUICKLY.”