In Brief: March 19

Visiting Harvard scholar to speak on ethical foundations of ‘Medicare for All’ at BGSU

William Hsiao The U.S. spends more per person for health care than any other wealthy nation, yet has some of the worst health outcomes. Twelve percent of Americans are uninsured, and there is $1 trillion of waste and unnecessary medical care each year. Many place some of the blame on the lack of an ethical foundation for the health system.

On Thursday (March 22), BGSU will host a free lecture, “Ethical Foundations of ‘Medicare for All,’” by visiting scholar Dr. William Hsiao, K.T. Li Research Professor of Economics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The presentation takes place at 4:30 p.m. in 155 Olscamp Hall.

Hsiao has specialized in universal health insurance for more than 40 years. His current research focuses on diagnosing the causes of the successes or failures of national health systems, on financing and payment incentive policies, and behavioral “nudges” to both patients and providers.

“Medicare for All,” proposed in a bill last fall by Vermont independent senator Bernie Sanders, aims to provide universal health coverage with affordable and quality health care for every American.

“Health policy is a pressing issue, not only because the cost of health care is higher than any other developed nation, but because there are questions about the just distribution of health care when our resources are limited,” said Dr. Kevin Vallier, associate professor of philosophy and director of BGSU’s program in Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Law, which is hosting the lecture. “We have to understand the political, economic and legal dimensions of health care policy in order to figure out the right way to make health care affordable to everyone.”