Jonathan Oberlander, PhD, Chair of the Department of Social Medicine, is the lead author of a Perspective piece published in the October 22, 2020 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Jonathan Oberlander, PhD, Chair of the Department of Social Medicine, is the lead author of a Perspective piece published in the October 22, 2020 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The piece – titled “Can the Elections End the Health Reform Stalemate” – offers an analysis and possible scenarios of what might happen with regard to the Affordable Care Act, depending on who wins the U.S. presidential election and which party controls each branch in Congress.
It concludes that “a breakthrough in health policy is not inevitable during the next administration. Still, the profound political and economic instability wrought by Covid-19, frustrations with the ACA’s limitations, the legal uncertainty, and a polarized environment in which parties are willing to legislate without bipartisan support mean that major change is possible.”
Co-authors of the piece are Phillip M. Singer, PhD of the University of Utah and David K. Jones, PhD, of Boston University.