January 2003 - Division of Medical Sciences Bulletin - Harvard ...

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The Harvard University BBS website: January Bulletin Copyright ©2003 - Harvard University. All rights reserved. Privacy policy file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/JJL21/Desktop/bulletin/2003/WebonlyJanuary2003/courses.html (3 of 3)11/13/2006 10:28:42 AM
The Harvard University BBS website: January Bulletin BBS Calendar BBS Bulletin Staff BBS Home Page This Issue Current Issue Previous Issues Articles by Category ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● BBS Events Boston Eating Extracurricular Faculty Profiles Grad Student Life Housing Science Science and Society Women in Science Volume VII, Number 1 - January 2003 42 Million and Counting - Michael Dukakis Speaks on Universal Health Care By Peggy Stolt "The singular inability of this great country of ours to provide health care to all people is an embarrassment!" declared Michael Dukakis during a very animated presentation on universal health care given this fall. The current state of health care in the U. S. is bordering on disaster. As Dukakis cited, health care costs are currently increasing at 10-15% annually. While the U.S. spends twice as much per capita on health care than any other country, we have poorer health outcomes. Emergency rooms now serve as primary care facilities for those with no insurance. However, the topic of universal health care has been virtually unaddressed since the ill-fated Clinton plan in 1999. Although Dukakis presented no magic solution for this crisis, it was a pleasant surprise to hear someone speak with such sincerity on a topic to which more politicians should be paying attention. Dukakis' interest in health care began at an early age, as he observed his father, an HMS graduate, at work in his clinic. Dukakis himself had no medical aspirations, and instead attended Harvard Law School and launched a political career. Dukakis is of course best known as a former governor of Massachusetts, serving from1974 to 1978 and 1982 to 1990, and as the 1988 democratic candidate for president. While governor of Massachusetts he was able to sign a bill for universal state health care, although full implementation of this bill was inhibited by subsequent administrations. Dukakis began his talk by tracing the history of efforts towards universal health care coverage in the U.S., from Truman's attempts file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/JJL21/Desktop/bulletin/2003/WebonlyJanuary2003/dukakis.html (1 of 3)11/13/2006 10:28:43 AM
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