Background on Health Equity Framework

Experts of all political stripes agree: our medical system is strained to the breaking point. We spend more than twice as much per person on health care than the average industrialized country spends, more than 15% of our GDP. Yet we live shorter, less healthy lives than people in other countries. Almost one out of every three Americans is obese, and chronic diseases cost American businesses more than $1 trillion per year in lost productivity. Why are we so unhealthy?

Guaranteed health care for all is essential (we’re the only industrialized country in the world without it). But what’s making us sick in the first place? Believe it or not, things we don't usually associate with health - for example, good jobs, affordable housing, a clean environment, guaranteed sick leave, and a good education - matter as much for health as efforts to get people to eat right, exercise more, and stop smoking.

Background on Unnatural Causes

UNNATURAL CAUSES is stimulating a national dialogue about what we as a society can - and should - do to tackle our health inequities and create more equitable, healthier conditions for everyone. The goals of the series’ accompanying Public Engagement Campaign are challenging but straightforward: to expand our debate over health to include underlying social and economic conditions, and to inject consideration of health consequences into debates over our social and economic policies. The challenge is that improving health outcomes demands tackling other social problems. But there's a silver lining: working towards equity in other areas means better health and a better society for everyone. Things CAN be changed. Together, we can make a difference.