Join Professor Peter Swenson ’85 PhD, author of “Disorder: A History of Reform, Reaction, and Money in American Medicine,” to explore the history of divisive politics surrounding public health in the United States.
Professor Swenson traces a century of medical politics up to the present day where health care now represents approximately 20 percent of the U.S. GDP, the highest proportion in the world. And yet compared to other developed nations, fewer people have guaranteed care and our health outcomes are far from the best. He'll explain the rise of what he calls “the American medical disorder” — including, as the Institute of Medicine puts it, an underfunded public health system “in disarray.” Drawing on themes from his book, he'll discuss the perennial conflicts over quality, equality, and economy in health care delivery.
