Unequal Opportunities, Unequal Outcomes? Averting The Worst for Health and Health Care in America

While the quality of medical care in America is good, the lack of its availability and affordability for many Americans has created a divided, unequal country. Well educated, upper income Americans are living longer and can afford expensive medical care, but less fortunate Americans are often receiving inadequate medical care and — with the soaring expense of healthcare plans and rising deductibles — cannot pay for similar healthcare. How can the U.S. improve the health of its population, address its chronic disease and opioid addiction crises, broaden access to healthcare for all, and maintain expenditures within sustainable bounds? Susan Dentzer, a Dartmouth graduate, served on the Dartmouth Board of Trustees from 1993 to 2004, and as Board Chair from 2000 to 2004. She was senior writer at Newsweek and then chief economics columnist at U.S. News & World Report. In 1998 she joined the PBS News Hour With Jim Lehrer, serving as its on-air health correspondent from 1998 to 2008, leading the show's award-winning unit covering health care and health policy. In 2008 she joined Health Affairs, a journal on global health policy. She is currently President and CEO of NEHI (Network For Excellence In Health Innovation), a consortium of almost 100 health care organizations focused on creating and identifying innovations that improve the quality and lower the cost of care, and spanning the hospital, health insurance, and pharmaceutical fields.