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Yin on Policy Changes to Reduce Medical Debt

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Associate Professor of Public Policy Wesley Yin was cited in a Health Care Journalism article about the burden of medical debt in the United States. Yin said that medical debt, totaling at least $140 billion, is the single largest source of consumer debt in the United States. To address this issue, the White House announced four steps to ease the burden of medical debt on health care consumers, including holding medical providers and debt collectors accountable for harmful practices and forgiving debt for low-income veterans. “Just shining a light on that type of behavior might lead to reducing the most egregious practices from providers,” Yin said. He expressed hope that the “White House’s actions to shine a light on charity care practices will have a positive effect for low-income individuals.” The policy changes may also “nudge providers to be stronger advocates for increased subsidies for health insurance and Medicaid expansion,” he said.

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Peterson on Power of Health Care Industry

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Professor of Public Policy Mark Peterson  spoke to California Healthline about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pledge to lower health care costs in California. During his campaign for governor, Newsom promised to lead California’s single-payer movement, eliminate private insurance and decrease the amount that providers are paid. Polls show that the majority of California voters agree on the importance of making health care more affordable. Powerful interests in the health care industry have pushed back against legislative efforts to reduce health care costs, however, and the COVID-19 pandemic further strengthened their influence. “There’s no question this industry has power. The real question is what they do with it,” Peterson said. ““They’re getting wins, and important ones.” During the recent recall election, health care executives helped keep Newsom in office by supporting his campaign. Newsom will likely face pressure from both sides when he runs for reelection next year.

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Diaz on Diversifying Health Care Field

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Latino Policy and Politics Initiative Executive Director Sonja Diaz authored an opinion piece in the California Health Report about disparities in the American health care system. “The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed immense inequities across our health care systems, from coverage gaps to preexisting health conditions,” Diaz wrote. These inequities are felt most acutely by communities of color, she said, calling for urgent action to address the physician shortage and “diversify the field to include more doctors who share language, ethnicity and cultural norms with their patients.” Despite the diversity of the American population, communities of color remain underrepresented in health and medical occupations, which hinders physicians’ abilities to build trust with patients. “Expanding and diversifying our physician pool is a necessary infrastructure investment,” Diaz wrote. She suggested increasing opportunities for Americans to enter health professions by expanding federal scholarships and prioritizing students committed to serving in medically underserved areas for grant funding.

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Peterson Discusses Newsom’s Support Among Health-Care Workers

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Public Policy Professor Mark Peterson was mentioned in a Kaiser Health News article about support for Gov. Gavin Newsom among health-care workers as the recall election approaches. Although many Californians expressed frustration with Newsom’s approach to the pandemic, including closing businesses, keeping schoolchildren at home and mandating masks, health-care workers have credited those same pandemic measures for protecting them as frontline workers and saving the lives of numerous Californians. Now, health-care unions and trade associations have donated more than $4.8 million to the campaign to keep Newsom in office. “If you’re in health care or public health, the prospect of Newsom being booted from office is worrisome, especially if you want the state to continue combating the pandemic,” Peterson said. “I don’t think anyone who would be replacing the governor in the recall would be anywhere near as aggressive and might actually reverse the public health actions that have been taken.”

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