The following post originated from a student trip to D.C. called "Advocacy in Action" in May 2011, where 10 Dukies met with interest groups and policymakers on the Hill and chatted about health policy. This post is copied from our trip blog.
In a time when our nation's saddled with a $3 trillion deficit, the reality is pretty clear: the healthcare pie can only be so big, right? It's a pretty simple realization - but, as students, we saw the repercussions of that first-hand today at Housing Works.
After learning that a D.C. councilwoman was planning on re-distributing HIV/AIDS funding to support efforts against diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension, we helped compose a letter in response urging the councilwoman to not touch the AIDS money. After all, HIV/AIDS is still a huge problem in D.C., where many citizens are still being infected with both the virus and social stigma attached to it on a daily basis. The city's even hosting the International AIDS Conference next year - I mean, why cut funding now? Instead of putting health money in different pots - some for diabetes, some for cancer, etc. - why not just create a better health system that prevents this stuff in the first place?
Yet, maybe the councilwoman had a point. Ideally, this stuff about health systems is the right action - but how long will it take to implement? Who's going to restructure our delivery infrastructure? When will D.C. citizens actually feel the effects? Who's paying attention to folks with other diseases right now? The health community does not want to overtly compete with each other for resources and attention for policymakers, but our money crunch might be forcing all of us to do so. The reality is, most health interest groups are built upon a narrow but definitively clear mission: cure HIV/AIDS, end cancer, give everyone insurance, etc. It's simple: highlighting the tangible oppression of a diseased patient is way more effective than marketing the abstract notion of health system strengthening . We all care about health, but in a world full of small pies where there's not enough slices to go around, our interests by default compete.
Maybe, just maybe, there's room for students to induce collaboration. To unite folks in the stand for health as a human right. To show that, at the end of the day, we collectively need access, quality, and cost of healthcare to improve in America. Massaging this inherent competition may be difficult, but it has to be possible. To settle for less would be an injustice to us all.
After learning that a D.C. councilwoman was planning on re-distributing HIV/AIDS funding to support efforts against diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension, we helped compose a letter in response urging the councilwoman to not touch the AIDS money. After all, HIV/AIDS is still a huge problem in D.C., where many citizens are still being infected with both the virus and social stigma attached to it on a daily basis. The city's even hosting the International AIDS Conference next year - I mean, why cut funding now? Instead of putting health money in different pots - some for diabetes, some for cancer, etc. - why not just create a better health system that prevents this stuff in the first place?
Yet, maybe the councilwoman had a point. Ideally, this stuff about health systems is the right action - but how long will it take to implement? Who's going to restructure our delivery infrastructure? When will D.C. citizens actually feel the effects? Who's paying attention to folks with other diseases right now? The health community does not want to overtly compete with each other for resources and attention for policymakers, but our money crunch might be forcing all of us to do so. The reality is, most health interest groups are built upon a narrow but definitively clear mission: cure HIV/AIDS, end cancer, give everyone insurance, etc. It's simple: highlighting the tangible oppression of a diseased patient is way more effective than marketing the abstract notion of health system strengthening . We all care about health, but in a world full of small pies where there's not enough slices to go around, our interests by default compete.
Maybe, just maybe, there's room for students to induce collaboration. To unite folks in the stand for health as a human right. To show that, at the end of the day, we collectively need access, quality, and cost of healthcare to improve in America. Massaging this inherent competition may be difficult, but it has to be possible. To settle for less would be an injustice to us all.
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