“The relationship between health and income is remarkably clear. Those who are fortunate enough to have higher incomes live longer, healthier lives. The richest among us have life expectancies of more than a dozen years beyond the poorest. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare our class divides and points to the imperative of prioritizing health equity as we get past these terrible weeks and months.
As we describe in “Pained: Uncomfortable Conversations About The Public’s Health,” poverty is a public health problem. The COVID-19 crisis only clarifies the mechanisms by which a new health threat makes the poorest among us the most vulnerable.
The coronavirus highlights three questions: Who gets exposed? Who needs critical care? Who receives care?”
Read the full piece on The Hill.
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