WHY WE WEREN'T READY FOR COVID-19

"Voters find policies with up-front prevention costs to be less attractive than more-expensive policies that pay large amounts after the fact" For THE PAST DECADE, we have been studying how local governments respond to public health crises: from 19th-century yellow fever and cholera outbre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:USA today (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2020-05, Vol.148 (2900), p.36-37
Main Authors: Strach, Patricia, Pérez-Chiqués, Elizabeth, Zuber, Katie, Sullivan, Kathleen
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Access to Health Care
Cholera
Communicable Diseases
Community Relations
Coronaviruses
Cost control
COVID-19
Disease prevention
Disease transmission
Epidemics
Expertise
Federal Government
Feedback (Response)
Fever
Health care access
Health care expenditures
Infrastructure
Local Government
Narcotics
Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act 2010-US
Politics
Public health
Public Officials
Rural areas
State Officials
Tropical diseases
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Summary:"Voters find policies with up-front prevention costs to be less attractive than more-expensive policies that pay large amounts after the fact" For THE PAST DECADE, we have been studying how local governments respond to public health crises: from 19th-century yellow fever and cholera outbreaks to the contemporary opioid epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic. [...]the community's capacity to address public health problems has been diminished. According to one study: "Voters reward relief spending but punish prevention spending." [...]in a study of natural disasters, researchers found "voters significantly reward disaster relief spending" but "show no response at all, on average, to preparedness spending, even though investing in preparedness produces a large social benefit."
ISSN:0161-7389
2168-362X